When people imagine gourmet chefs, they think of pans, knives, stoves, and a lot of fire. Not too many of them imagine a crock pot. You might think that the crock pot is a joke of a cooking tool, that when compared to the microwave, the oven, or the stove, that it just doesn’t stack up. But this is just not so! Let me show you a few things that you can cook better with a crock pot.

Chili

Never have I tasted chili as delicious as that which comes out of a crock pot. Buy a pound or two of ground beef and fry it up in the bottom of the crock pot instead of using a pan, then you can be sure all the juices will be a part of your chili. This really adds flavor since the rest of your favorite chili ingredients soak it all up.

Shredded Pork

The recipes for shredded pork are nearly endless. There are so many things you can use it for: pork sandwiches, sloppy joes, or tamales, just to name a few. You can even sprinkle it on top of a taco.

The easiest way to make pork so tender you can shred it with a fork without even cutting it is to use a crock pot. Get some pork and place it in the crock pot. Then let it soak in your seasonings for the rest of the day, and by the time you’re ready to use it for dinner, you can easily shred it with your fingers or even a spoon.

Cooking Spaghetti and Pasta

The sauce is actually the best to cook in the crock pot. You should boil the pasta in another pot on the stove as usual. But either while the pasta is boiling or before, you can get the sauce ready.

The first thing you need to do is cook the ground beef in the bottom of the crock pot, just like you did to make the chili. Next add some tomato sauce and whatever other ingredients or seasonings you like to add to your pasta sauce. While the meat is cooking with the sauce you should boil your pasta, and then once that’s done, you can add it to the mix by draining it and dumping it right into the crock pot. Let the pasta mix with the sauce and pretty soon you’ll have yourself a meal.

Cooking Chorizo

Chorizo is a quick and easy dish to prepare for a hearty breakfast. Buy yourself some pork chorizo from the store and toss it in the bottom of the crock pot. Mix in some eggs as well, and let them cook together. The crock pot will help the eggs and chorizo blend to form a delicious mix. Once the eggs and chorizo are cooked, sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top and cover it up to let the cheese melt. Enjoy with flour tortillas whenever you’re ready.

I know the crock pot can take up a lot of space, and maybe it has been lying around gathering dust in your apartment for some time now. But don’t relegate it to the back of the cupboard or throw it away without at least giving it a chance to prove itself! Try a few of the suggestions that I mentioned, and you might be surprised. You might decide that you’re a crock pot chef after all.

The best crock pots are the ones that satisfy your individual preferences, so be sure to buy what you need and not just what’s on sale. A lot of consumers opt for a programmable crock pot from Rival since it’s a well known brand, but a little research will give you a wider range of choices.

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