If you own a slow cooker, chances are you know that there are many benefits to slow-cooking dinner for you and your family. Here are three more reasons to love your slow cooker even more:
- Slice. Dice. Freeze. Many recipes require cutting meat into chunks, chopping or dicing vegetables, and sometimes browning or sautéing ingredients to bring out flavor and reduce the chances of them drying out. Since these tasks might seem daunting during busy mornings, prepare and freeze your ingredients beforehand for convenience. You can prep your ingredients the night before—or any day during the week when you have some downtime—and put them in freezer bags to store. Then, in the morning, you can throw the food into your slow cooker, and it will be ready by dinnertime. Freezing your own ingredients will result in healthier and tastier meals compared to buying frozen meals, which are usually full of sodium and contain lower-quality ingredients. Plus, you can prep several meals in advance, which will save you time and money and also offer some variety.
- Drop It Low. Cooking food on low while you’re out of the house eliminates the stress of getting dinner ready at the end of a long day. Plus since most of the ingredients you’ll be using are frozen, they’ll take longer to cook. You won’t have to rush home for fear of burning your ingredients and instead swoop in, grab a plate and enjoy.
- Make in Bulk. Lots of slow-cooking recipes use ingredients that can be cooked together all at once. Use this to your advantage to make several servings in one session. Then transfer your meals into to-go containers for quick grab lunches that hit all the delicious major food groups.
Since you have complete control over the ingredients, you can make anything from soup and chili to pot roast and casseroles that are healthier than takeout.
