How Do I Change to a Crock pot

Most big meals that Mom and Grandma cooked were done in the oven or cooked for hours on the stovetop.  They constantly checked on it, stirred it, added more water, or generally fussed with it until it was ready.  

With today’s busy lifestyle, it’s hard to cook like Mom or Grandma did.   Working outside the home for 8 to 10 hours, you don’t have the time to fix those meals. The answer is to switch those meals to a crockpot.  

Here are a few tips on converting those recipes over to a crockpot:

Generally, most uncooked meats and vegetable require at least 8 hours on the low setting. You usually need less liquid in the crockpot than the oven.  As a rule of thumb, reduce the liquid by half when cooking on low unless your adding pasta or rice.

You may also need to adjust the herbs and spices.  Start with about ½ the herbs that you normally use and don’t add spices until the last hour of cooking.  Overcooking can make them bitter.

Be cautious with rice, pasta, seafood, milk and Chinese vegetables.  They do not hold up in long cooking.  Milk products tend to curdle.  The others tend to go mushy.  Add them to the last 1-2 hours of cooking for best results. 

Any strong flavored foods may smother the flavor of the other foods during this long cooking process.  You may want to reduce their quantity. 

Here are some general cook times for “Mom’s” meals cooked on LOW in a crockpot.