One of the unspoken niceties about fall is the financial relief of turning off the A/C. Isn’t it lovely to have the reprieve where we neither have to heat nor cool our home? As we begin to turn off the grill outside and tuck ourselves in for the winter, I look forward to hunkering in with my favorite comfort foods. Have you broken out the slow-cooker yet?
Rocky Mountain Power reports that small appliances like electric woks, electric griddles and slow-cookers, are a great way to save on the high cost of heating the oven or range top. Coming in at around $30, these small and handy appliances of the 1970’s that are making a comeback are not only frugal to use but to purchase too.
Today’s chefs use them for roasting squash, baking pies and stewing up breakfast. You can find a plethora of Crock-Pot recipes on various websites devoted to honoring the magic of slow cooking. Check out CrockPotLadies.com, GetCrocked.com and 365DaysOfCrockpot.com for some inspiration.
Directions: Dredge 2 lbs. of the meat of your choice in a mixture of salt and pepper seasoned flour. Preheat a skillet to a nice hot temperature and brown all sides of your meat in olive oil (about 2 tablespoons). It’s tempting to skip this step (and I do on occasion) but the added flavor this adds to the meat, coupled with the pan juices and thicker sauce the flour creates is worth the additional dirty pan. Place the meat in your slow-cooker and top with the onions. Combine the Ketchup and Cola in the skillet you browned the meat in and scrape up all those bits of yumminess on the bottom. Pour the sauce mixture over the meat. The two ingredients paired together make a nice BBQ flavor plus, the cola actually acts as a tenderizer for the meat.