Saving Stress-Crockpots & Microwaves

[Spontaneo]

I am married to my crockpot and have occasional affairs with the microwave! As I am a freelancer, I don't have the time to slave over a hot stove for 2 roommates and myself. I do almost all of the cooking and cleaning up.

How about you? Do you rely on your crockpots and microwaves?

[NRoach]

I'm unemployed at the moment and so have plenty of time to spend on cooking and trying out new techniques for myself and my girlfriend (which she appreciates, as long as it goes well). That said, we don't have an oven and only have a single pan and pot, which means a lot of the stuff we make boils down to stir fries and "pressure" cooking in the pot.

We share a kitchen with what sometimes feels like the entire population of Uzbekistan, who have perfected the art of tossing everything into a pot and boiling it for a couple of hours, then feeding fifteen people on 5 euros, and I hope to get to their level at some point.

[JuliaKay]

I try not to use the microwave except to reheat what I have already cooked, but I will admit to using the crockpot a couple times a week; however, some of the meals I make in it take a lot of prep time also. I DO want an Instant Pot though because I have heard wonderful things about them. One of my friends was telling me how fast she was able to cook mac & cheese (homemade) in it the other day.

[Spontaneo]

I have heard about the Instant Pot also! Seems to be the rage these days...

[Jackie Holycross]

I find that I don't like the texture of meat when I cook it in my crockpot. Maybe I don't leave it in the right amount of time.

[Spontaneo]

I usually leave meat such as chicken, meatballs, etc. in the crockpot for 4 to 5 hours on HIGH.

[nikkyteewhy]

I believe almost everyone will agree that crockpots and microwaves are the best things that ever happened to the kitchen world.

[Jillpillbooknerd]

I love a good crock-pot meal! My boyfriend and I use our crock-pot pretty regularly since we both work so much

[thaservices1]

I love crockpots! And I've learned tons of microwave tricks from living in the desert. They don't heat up the house which can be a huge factor in the summer. Cakes and rice were my two greatest microwave discoveries, they both come out perfect with a little attention. If you stick a shot glass upside down in the middle of your pan of cake batter it cooks perfectly, no gooey centers. Rice turns out great as long as you tend it the last five minutes of cooking and stir it down if it starts to boil over...It turns out fine if you don't too, but it's a big mess.

[dssccoach]

I absolutely LOVE to use anything that makes cooking easier and faster. And if it makes cleanup a breeze, all the better. I do enjoy cooking and have a huge blast baking, but I am a super busy mama. I don't have time to be doing a lot of prep work or washing a ton of dishes from everything I used to make dinner. Because of that, I rotate between my crockpot, pressure cooker, and cassserole or dump meals. Sometimes I will do freezer meals and love to meal prep freezer meals in advance (Once a Month Cooking - OAMC) so that I can toss it in to the pressure cooker or crockpot on those busy days. I definitely have to plan ahead a lot of times, especially when I see a busy week in the shared family calendar.
Trisha

[Rhianne]

It might be strange but I’m quite seasonal with my cooking. Happy to be cooking on a hot stove in winter but when summer rolls around the crockpot comes out! That and the barbeque.

[TaaraLynn]

Crockpot for sure! I have a microwave, and it's been unplugged for years. So, most of the time I forget about it. To me, when I used it the past, the taste and texure of food is not the same. Crockpot, stop-top, and oven for me!

[LaurenHaupt]

I use both quite often.

[palilogy]

I do love my red microwave..or my toaster oven.
For lunch I made a wrap - rice and cheese in a tortilla - microwaved and it was delicious.
So much cheaper then Chipotle...

[Charlaigne]

We share a kitchen with what sometimes feels like the entire population of Uzbekistan, who have perfected the art of tossing everything into a pot and boiling it for a couple of hours, then feeding fifteen people on 5 euros, and I hope to get to their level at some point.

This is a valuable skill which I would like to perfect. Please feel free to share tips