How to Cook Affordably with Little Time

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Crock pots are wonderful. Its so easy to cook root vegetables and hardy greens. How many people eat collard greens, mustard greens or rutabagas, turnips or parsnips? The crock pot makes it so easy.

With these chilly months, a crock pot can bring in so much warmth to your home. Its easy and you can try some vegetables you’ve never had before.

Start with some hearty vegetables. Potatoes, onions, parsnips, rutabagas, sweet potatoes and wash and cut them up into large chunks. Layer the veggies on the bottom of the pot. Then take a whole chicken and put it on top breast side up. You’ll want some seasoning, and the one I use is from a cook book called The Best Slow Cooker Cook Book Ever.

All you need is:
1 TBS olive oil
1 tsp of paprika
½ tsp of each: thyme, basil, salt, garlic powder and pepper.

Mix together and smear over the chicken. No liquid required. Turn on the crock pot on low for 7 ½ hours and let it go. Easy, delicious and healthy! Now one tip. If you are near your crock pot say within the last hour of cooking, you can add in some collard greens or spinach or any greens by lifting the chicken up and layering a bag of prewashed and cut greens. The liquid and steam will cook them in that last hour and they will be so yummy. Mushrooms work well like this too. When its done the meat just falls off the bones. Use steel tongs to dish up and a large spoon to pour on the liquid sauce that been simmering.