Crock Pot Cooking for Singles

You’re probably familiar with the picture of single living: unkempt kitchen, dirty dishes, nothing but stale cookies in the fridge. Often, it’s the result of a busy lifestyle that doesn’t leave much time for home cooking. But living alone doesn’t have to be that bad, at least meal-wise. It’s easy to eat well and stay on budget when you’re on your own—in fact, in some ways it’s even easier. One easy solution is to use the crock pot. Most people associate crock pot recipes with big family meals, but many singles are finding out otherwise.

Cooking for one with a crock pot requires a bit of planning, but the results are often more than worth it. Not only do you eat healthier, you also save time and money in the kitchen. Because it does most of the work for you, all you need is to prepare the ingredients and load them into the pot. What’s easier than coming home to a warm, home-cooked meal at the end of the day? This guide offers a few simple tips to help you make the most of crock pot cooking.

Think small.

Crock pots come in a variety of sizes, from large soup and stew pots to smaller ones more suitable for snacks or desserts. Most singles need only one crock pot for everyday cooking. When buying crock pots, it’s usually tempting to get the smallest size and save a few dollars, but that’s not always practical. For one thing, you’ll have to adjust your recipes to suit the amount of liquid you can put in the pot. You may also find yourself out of room when you’re cooking for friends or family.

The safest solution is to buy a pot that’s one or two sizes bigger than the minimum. It’s still small enough for easy handling and maintenance, but not too small that you can only make one serving at a time. It also allows you to prepare extra food for leftovers. For most people, a 5-quart pot is usually more than enough. If you like to prepare specialized meals once in a while, pair it with something smaller such as a 3-quart pot.

Plan your meals.

This applies to any household, but it’s even more important for singles. A lot of people go to the grocery with no idea what they’re having for the week, or even for that evening. As a result, they either overbuy some stuff or change their mind later on, causing half the food to go to waste. Crock pots allow you to plan your meals so that ingredients are used up more systematically. Since groceries rarely sell small portions of produce, this can come in really handy.

For example, you can plan some ground beef crock pot recipes for one meal and use the leftover beef for the next. These recipes tend to yield a lot of leftovers, so it really saves you time and money. You can pre-cook a large batch of beef, chicken or other main ingredient in the crock pot, and just add the rest later on. If you make it a habit, you can save a good 10 to 15 minutes each day—and it really adds up over the week.

Look for "reusable" recipes.

Reusable recipes are those that are easy to make in bulk and store for later use. This works well for side dishes or appetizers, such as soups, stews and salads. Make enough of one dish for two or three meals, and just freeze the rest until you need them. That way, you can make less of your main dish or use the leftovers for the next meal. It all adds up and before you know it, you have enough to last you a few days without having to touch the stove!

Soup is one of the easiest reusable recipes for the crock pot. At the start of the week, you can make a crock pot vegetable soup recipe that’s good for a few days, and just have it as a snack or a meal accompaniment whenever you feel like it. It’s also a great way to make use of leftover vegetables. You can choose to puree your ingredients for a thick, creamy soup, or leave the broth as is if you like it more thin or chunky.

Invest in ready-made foods.

Experts would normally advise against jarred or canned products like sauces, dips and frozen meals. But that’s no longer the case. A lot of companies now offer pre-cooked foods that are completely free of preservatives. For the solo cook, that means a lot of potential time savings. Why spend an extra half hour making that pasta sauce when you can just grab a jar from the shelf?

Of course, nothing’s stopping you from getting creative and making your own recipes out of them. For example, you can use jarred pasta sauce to make crock pot chicken cacciatore—a simple recipe with chicken, onions, and a few other spices. Just leave all the ingredients in the pot and let it cook for about eight hours. Let all the flavors blend together, and you’ve got an easy, tasty dish that doesn’t taste like fast food!

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