This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at WVU chapter.
College is all about learning how to live on a tight budget. But that is no reason you can’t have a great meal with minimal cost and minimal effort. Sounds too good to be true though right? Its not! My secret? Invest in a Crock Pot. You can pick one up at Walmart for around $20. Its one of the most essential pieces in my kitchen. Most days I find myself coming home either too tired to cook or too lazy. I’m still trying to kick that fast food habit and my crock pot is just one of the ways I get through it. When it comes to crock pot cooking you do have to plan ahead a little. The best trick is to plan on Sunday what meals you’d like to eat throughout the week. No need to plan out 7 meals a week because theres always a good chance you’ll have some leftovers. My trick is to plan on at least 3 different meals and make extra for leftovers. Then when you go to the grocery store you can plan according to your recipes and not splurge on items you may not need.
Crock pot meals are the best because on a day you know you’ll be busy or not home throughout the day you can throw some food into the pot and let it cook throughout the day. Then when you come home the hard part is already over and you can sit back and enjoy a delicious meal! Its as easy as 1,2,3.
These are two of my favorite Crock Pot dinners using typical food items you may already have!
First up on the menu:
Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
What you need:
-Boneless skinless chicken breasts; typically one breast per person eating.
-1 (12 oz.) bottle of buffalo wing sauce
-Ranch dressing
-2 tablespoons butter
-Bread or lettuce for lettuce wraps
-cheddar cheese slices
Get Cooking:
1. Place chicken breasts in lightly greased slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine the buffalo wing sauce and ranch seasoning to taste; I like mine
spicy so I overload on the wing sauce.
3. Pour mixture over chicken in slow cooker.
4. Cook for 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.
5. Shred the chicken with a fork in slow cooker and stir in butter until melted.
6. Place buffalo chicken on buns on in lettuce wrap. Top with ranch or blue cheese dressing.
Next up on the menu:
Fiesta Chicken
What you need:
-1 to 1-1/2 pounds of chicken breast
-21(14 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, undrained
-1 (10 oz.) can of corn, drained
-1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
-1 package of taco seasoning mix
Get Cooking:
1. Dump all ingredients into the crock pot
2. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 hours.
3. Shred chicken with a fork and stir
4. Serve with rice and top with cheese
Enjoy!