Crockpot Cooking
While I’m living on campus during the semester, I sometimes get homesick and miss having family dinners and home-cooked meals. I’m sure many students have this same dilemma so here are some easy and affordable meals that you can make if you are in a dorm or small apartment in a crockpot:
- Chili
- Pot Roast
- Soups
- Stews
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Barbecue Meatballs
- Taco Dip
Of course, you can make all kinds of things in a crockpot. You can do a quick search to find so many more meal ideas, these are just some of my favorites. You can look online for specific recipes or reach out to a family member if you want a certain recipe. As for looking online a quick google search can be beneficial but there are recipe websites too such as AllRecipes. Some of these recipes require the meat to be cooked before going into the crock pot, but most of the dorms on campus have a kitchen area with a stove top that you can use. Also, most of the dishes I have chosen to do have meat in them but can be replaced with a meat substitute to make it vegetarian or vegan.
If you do not own a crockpot, you can go to almost any thrift store and find one that works. They have them in all different sizes from miniature ones for dips to giant ones that could fit a whole chicken. If you would like a brand new one, Walmart sells them.
There are few essentials you might need besides the crockpot and the food, for your own safety. You should have a meat thermometer if cooking meat, have cooking mitts, and proper utensils to help protect yourself when cooking. When the crockpot is not in use, it should be turned off, unplugged, and stored away.
Lastly, you should reach out to your RA or RD Before to make sure you were allowed to use a crockpot in your dorm room. You should have a meat thermometer if cooking meat, have cooking mitts, and proper utensils to help protect yourself when cooking. When the crockpot is not in use, it should be turned off, unplugged, and stored away.
