10 Slow Cooker Hacks That’ll Save You So Much Time

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Credit to image used in pin goes to JeffreyW, Janine, Reynolds, and The Family Freezer– Changes were made to the original image.

Your slow cooker is probably one of the most useful cooking appliances in your kitchen. It’s a great way to make healthy and tasty meals easily. And when you’re having a lazy or busy day, you don’t always feel like cooking.

And that’s why I’ve pulled out some of the best tips and tricks to help you slow-cook like a pro. They’re a must if you want to clean up faster, make your food taste amazing, and save time. So check them out and let me know what you think!

Cook Two Dips at Once

If you’re hosting a party and run out of time to make those dips, try using tin foil to create a divider and place a liner on the bottom. Then you can have the two cook side by side or just keep the dips hot.

You can get crockpot here.

Double Broiler

Similar to cooking two dips at the same time, your crock pot can serve as a double boiler too. Simply fill up two mason jars with different types of chocolate (or whatever you want to melt), fill your slow cooker halfway with hot water and turn the cooker on high. After a little time, you’ll have melted chocolate.

Prepare Freezer Meals

One of the best things about crock pot meals is that they’re often freezer-friendly, meaning you can prepare them in advance, put in your freezer, then throw in your slow cooker to cook whenever you want.

This is a great idea for busy days when you don’t have much time to spend in your kitchen. Also, it’ll keep you from ordering takeout and make sure your dinners are healthy.

Check out this book (link changed to her homepage because the original page no longer exists) done by Kelly McNelis on all of her freezer meal prep ideas.

Erase Residue

If you’re someone who used their slow cooker often, you’ll probably start to get a white residue over time from scrubbing and cooking. Fortunately, a mixture of vinegar and baking soda (or vinegar alone) can fix this in a minute. Impressive right!

Bake Some Bread

You could spend $5 on fancy bread loaves or you could use your slow cooker to make this with ingredients you already have. Just place your dough ball on a sheet of parchment paper, and place into the slow cooker. It’s fresher, cheaper, and requires little effort.

Cook Main Dish and Sides at the Same Time

There’s nothing as satisfying as knowing your dinner is cooked on time using your slow cooker. By wrapping individual foods in aluminum foil, you can cook two dishes at the same time and still retain their original flavors. Try some roasted chicken and buttered side vegetables using your slow cooker.

Seat Your Meat

If you want to have a much fuller and richer meat flavor for your dish, brown your meat first in a pan before placing them in a crock-pot. This will release the meat’s natural flavors and crisp up any extra fatty parts.

Simmering Potpourri

Make your home smell amazing by simmering potpourri in your slow cooker. Choose your scent ingredients, (like cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, apple peels, orange rinds, etc.), boil them in the water and leave all the work to your cooker. Before you know it, your house will start to smell amazing and inviting.

Slow Cooker Liner

Use this slow cooker liner for mess-free cooking. When you’re done eating, you simply remove the bag and throw it away. No scrubbing needed. This is seriously perfect for your baked cheese, sauce recipes, or anything else you want to make.

You can easily get a slow cooker liner here!

Catch Condensation

Condensation is no good when you’re cooking brownies or bread in your slow cooker. Placing a towel under the lid of the cooker can catch unwanted drips. This will avoid sogginess and keeps your bread firm.

There’s no doubt that the slow cooker is one of the handiest things in your ktichen. It’s an all-in-one cooking appliance that can be used in many recipes, and makes delicious meals without much effort. And whether you’re cooking for the holidays or for an ordinary day, it’ll make things so much easier and faster. So if you don’t have a slow cooker in your kitchen yet, then I highly suggest getting one.

Now, if you have other crockpot tips that can be added to the list, comment down below. I’d love to hear from you!

You can get crockpot here.

Silas & Grace

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Chasing Foxes was started in 2016 as a way for Grace and her husband, Silas, to start traveling. However, they started to realize that they had a passion for improving themselves, and wanted to help others level up their lives as well. So whether it's with cooking, travel, or staying healthy, they want to help you better your life bit by bit, as they do the same.