A slow cooker, or Crockpot, is an easy way to save money in the kitchen. Cheaper cuts of meat often need to be cooked slowly to make them tender and delicious. And a slow cooker is an energy-efficient way to do that.
Where I live, my oven uses about 2300 watts an hour and therefore costs about 30 cents each hour I have the oven on. (I looked this up on my utility company’s web site.) To cook a pot roast in the oven would typically take 3 hours, costing about 90 cents.
Slow Cookers Can Save You 74 Cents Each Time You Use Them
A slow cooker only uses about 200 watts an hour, thereby costing about 16 cents to run for 6 hours, which is pretty typical for cooking a roast. Newer slow cookers cook a little hotter but you ought to be able to read the wattage usage from your instruction booklet.
In addition to the initial energy savings, you’re also not heating up your house and then running an air conditioner in the summer!
Cook with Cheaper Cuts of Meat
Besides saving money on energy, you will also find it easy to cook with cheaper cuts of meat. Where I live, a sirloin roast cost $6.99 a pound whereas a 7-bone pot roast costs $1.49 a pound. Prices will vary around the country, of course, and some of the more expensive meats you’d never throw in a Crockpot but would grill or broil instead so the energy savings would be different.
Most Crockpots come with a nice set of recipes to get you started. Here are a few more of my favorites:
I just retired my old Crockpot and bought a new one and it came with a small Crockpot in addition to the dinner sized one. It’s great for keeping dips or other appetizers warm during parties. My kids still love those Li’l Smokies with grape jelly and chili sauce at parties!