| Okay, I have become victim to the take out blues | | | | meat, it is often is tough and lacks flavor. Because of |
| myself. It is so easy on a weekday night or a lazy | | | | the slow cookers even the cheapest cuts of meat |
| weekend to simply go thru a drive thru and dinner is | | | | become tender, juicy and full of flavor. You might be |
| served. On average for a family of four it will easily | | | | a skeptic but you will not be as soon as you try it. |
| cost 12 dollars to go thru your favorite drive thru. If | | | | You can make almost any classic meal you would |
| you do this only once a week, in a month you have | | | | prepare in your oven or on your stove top with a |
| spent upwards of 40 dollars. Who are we kidding; | | | | slow cooker. Whether it is chicken recipes, beef |
| even the best of moms do this more then once a | | | | recipes, ground beef, pork, ham, lasagna, meatloaf |
| week when life gets busy. | | | | pretty much anything can be made. If you have a |
| I am a busy mom, working a full time job, three | | | | party at your house the slow cooker is an easy way |
| children at home, and each of them having soccer or | | | | to prepare appetizers and keep them warm. I |
| gymnastic practice I never seem to be home. Run | | | | actually have three slow cookers in my house for |
| home from work, pick up the kids, change and off to | | | | such occasions. On Thanksgiving and Christmas, my |
| practice. It is after 7 before we walk in the door, and | | | | husband likes to have turkey and ham, with only one |
| there is still showers and homework to be done, so | | | | oven I turned to my slow cooker to cook up the |
| who has time to cook dinner. So to the drive thru it | | | | ham, and it was delicious. |
| is. One month I decided to truly scrutinize the | | | | My family loves Mexican food; so I serve up this |
| amount of money I was spending down to the last | | | | fajita recipe on a busy night. |
| dollar, and I was astonished to find out that I had | | | | Slow cooker Fajitas |
| spent over $60 just on take out food. That truly | | | | 1 ½ of boneless sirloin (or any cut will do) |
| sickened me, not only was I wasting my hard earned | | | | 2 tbsp lemon juice |
| money but I was teaching my children not to put | | | | 1 glove garlic |
| healthy food into their bodies. Truly, their lives are as | | | | 1 ½ tsp cumin |
| busy as mine, they have school, practice and | | | | 1 tsp salt |
| homework, and how were they going to keep up | | | | ½ tsp chili powder |
| their stamina with out feeding their body proper | | | | 1 lg green bell pepper (or use 1 med green and 1 med |
| nutrition. | | | | red bell pepper for color) |
| Of course, then we go back to the original dilemma | | | | 1 lg onion |
| of no time. The answer to this question was right | | | | Brown meat in 2 tbsp of oil. Place meat into |
| under my nose, or in my cupboard to be exact. My | | | | Crockpot. In a bowl mix together the lemon juice, |
| slow cooker. | | | | minced garlic, cumin, salt and chili powder and pour |
| The slow cooker has been around since around 1970, | | | | over meat. Cook on high for 3 hours, or leave it on |
| and to this day, in my opinion, it is still one of the | | | | low and it is ready when you get home. An hour |
| greatest inventions. | | | | before you eat add the thinly sliced green peppers |
| With a slow cooker you can spend 10 minutes the | | | | and onion. If you are in a hurry sauté the |
| night before preparing your meal, turn on the slow | | | | onions and peppers on the stove top for a few |
| cooker in the morning, and when you come home | | | | minutes. Slice and serve up the beef with flour |
| dinner is served. Seems to simple to be true, but it is | | | | tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream and your |
| that easy. | | | | favorite salsa, and dinner is served. |
| Also by utilizing a slow cooker you save tons of | | | | Note: If you are in a hurry you do not have to |
| money. For one, you can resist your urge to go thru | | | | brown meat, just add 30 minutes too the cooking |
| the drive thru because you know there is a hot, | | | | time. |
| home cooked meal waiting for you when you get | | | | There are so many great slow cooker recipes out |
| home. With a slow cooker you also save money, | | | | there. From main dishes, to appetizers, desserts and |
| because you can use the cheaper cuts of meat. | | | | warm beverages almost anything can be made in a |
| Cuts of meat that you would need to use for grilling | | | | slow cooker. So take a bite out of take out, and |
| can often be very expensive and we save them for | | | | treat your family to a home cooked meal that only |
| a really nice meal. If you try to grill up a cheap cut of | | | | seems like you slaved in the kitchen all day. |