For busy folks on the go, crock pots, also called slow cookers,
can be an amazing advancement. They offer the convenience of delicious,
hot, and healthy meals, even after a long day of work. While using them
is easy -- just add the ingredients, turn on, and then ignore until
finished, cleaning the slow cooker's crock can be a challenge.
Here are some strategies to make it easier...
Liner Bags
There are several different brands of slow cooker liner bags available. You simply line the crock with the liner bag, add the ingredients and cook as directed. After the meal is ready, remove the meal from the bag and serve it. In most cases, you'll be able to toss the liner bag, leaving the practically clean crock ready for a quick clean up. You should never leave the food in the bag after cooking or store the food in the bag. While these bags can make clean-up easy, you'll need a bag each time, which can be costly. In addition, the bags may not hold up for longer recipes (in the 8-10 hour range).
Cooking Spray
Cooking spray is one of my favorite kitchen tricks. I use it for a lot of applications. In this case, simply spray the slow cookers crock thoroughly, before you add the ingredients. This will keep the cooked food from sticking to the pot walls. Obviously, you will need to clean the pot, but the sticking should be minimized if not completely eliminated.
Clean Up Immediately
Food fresh out of a crock pot is very hot. You can easily let the food sit for 5 minutes while you start clean up on the pot and it will have no adverse on affect the dinner.
As long as the crock isn't too hot to handle, you should be fine. In the case of a ceramic pot, avoid bringing a very hot pot in contact with a cold surface like a counter top or sink. I run hot soapy water into the pot, using my sink sprayer. I leave the pot sitting in the unplugged crock pot while I eat.
Soaking
More often than not, I wait until I am doing the rest of the dishes to wash my crock pot liner. I fill it with soapy water and leave it soaking on the counter while I do the rest of the dishes. I don't have a dishwasher, so I wash the dishes by hand which take a bit of time. Leaving the crock until the end gives it plenty of time to soak and makes cleanup a breeze.
Machine Washing
Ceramic and stoneware crocks are usually dishwasher safe. Check your instruction manual and if it says it is alright, just whomp that puppy into the dishwasher!
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Here are some strategies to make it easier...
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Liner Bags
There are several different brands of slow cooker liner bags available. You simply line the crock with the liner bag, add the ingredients and cook as directed. After the meal is ready, remove the meal from the bag and serve it. In most cases, you'll be able to toss the liner bag, leaving the practically clean crock ready for a quick clean up. You should never leave the food in the bag after cooking or store the food in the bag. While these bags can make clean-up easy, you'll need a bag each time, which can be costly. In addition, the bags may not hold up for longer recipes (in the 8-10 hour range).
Cooking Spray
Cooking spray is one of my favorite kitchen tricks. I use it for a lot of applications. In this case, simply spray the slow cookers crock thoroughly, before you add the ingredients. This will keep the cooked food from sticking to the pot walls. Obviously, you will need to clean the pot, but the sticking should be minimized if not completely eliminated.
Clean Up Immediately
Food fresh out of a crock pot is very hot. You can easily let the food sit for 5 minutes while you start clean up on the pot and it will have no adverse on affect the dinner.
As long as the crock isn't too hot to handle, you should be fine. In the case of a ceramic pot, avoid bringing a very hot pot in contact with a cold surface like a counter top or sink. I run hot soapy water into the pot, using my sink sprayer. I leave the pot sitting in the unplugged crock pot while I eat.
Soaking
More often than not, I wait until I am doing the rest of the dishes to wash my crock pot liner. I fill it with soapy water and leave it soaking on the counter while I do the rest of the dishes. I don't have a dishwasher, so I wash the dishes by hand which take a bit of time. Leaving the crock until the end gives it plenty of time to soak and makes cleanup a breeze.
Machine Washing
Ceramic and stoneware crocks are usually dishwasher safe. Check your instruction manual and if it says it is alright, just whomp that puppy into the dishwasher!
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