Quick and easy meals are definitely a good thing when it comes to trying to manage a busy family, and a bustling career. So the quickest and easiest thing for me to do would be to have our personal family chef-"Pierre" to whip up a meal while I sit soaking in a luxurious bubble bath finishing that wonderful novel or reading up on the latest magazine fashions. While soaking and reading, my husband gives me a marvelous foot rub. After my soak, I dress for dinner and head to the Dining room to find my smiling husband and beaming children washed and eagerly awaiting our meal. A wonderful aroma escapes from the kitchen as Chef Pierre approaches the table with the first course of our meal... O.K., Reality Check!

Unless you are some multi-millionaire, your evening meal did not go quite that way. If you are like me your evening went something like this: You pick up the kids from the bus stop, and head home, Kid 1 says, “I'm hungry, what's for dinner?”. Kid 2 is too busy picking his nose to be concerned about dinner and decides that kid 1 should eat his "nose nugget" for dinner! So as World War III commences in the back seat of your car over a booger attack, you start to do a mental check of what is at home in the fridge or freezer that doesn't require a haircut before cooking!! You get home unload the kids and wipe Kid 2's hands and nose. Kid 1 stands at the fridge with the door wide open saying, “Hey, Mom, I'm hungry, can I have some pudding?” . With Kid 2 in "tow" you shut the fridge before Kid 1 can finish opening the pudding snack, and you send them into the living room to play while you fix dinner. As you are pondering tonight's meal, you hear a "blood-curdling" scream from Kid 2 and rush into the living room to find Kid 2 lying in the floor crying having been pushed by Kid 1. Kid 1 is wiping his face saying, “He got me again, Mom!!”, “Boogers are nasty, doesn't he know that?”. At this point, you wipe the face, kiss the boo-boo and try to get them to make-up and play nice. So back to kitchen! You open the freezer to find a frozen pizza, 1 bag of frozen blueberries and huge "hunk" of beef that looks the size of an elephant's butt (you bought it on sale and didn't divide it before you froze it). Your pretty sure the "elephant butt” will not fit in the microwave to defrost, so it's gonna be blueberries or pizza. You opt for the pizza, and preheat the oven, as you are about to put the pizza in the oven, your sweet hubby walks through the door and says with a smile, “Hey, hon!”, “What's for dinner?”. You fight back the urge to whack him with the frozen pizza in your hands and simply say- “pizza”.

Well, if any of this sounds familiar to you then, let me tell you some good news- there is a way to get a nice cooked meal on the table with out pulling your hair out. The secret is a personal chef- but his name isn't Pierre, it is Mr. Slow-cooker. The good news is that with women's busy schedules, the slow-cooker a.k.a. the "Crock-pot" has made a comeback!! To get that meal on the table with little effort and time, get that slow-cooker off the shelf, dust it off and find some simple slow-cooker recipes that your whole family will love. All you have to do is, place your veggies and meat in it in the morning- cook it on low (or high depending on the recipe) throughout the day and enjoy dinner that evening. It really can be that simple! You never know, with that "personal chef" on duty you might get that bubble bath after all!

Slow cooker tips

Here are a few tips I have found to help when using a slow cooker:

1. Do not fill the cooker full- only half to three-fourths of the way.
2. Keep the lid on until finished cooking- you lose about 25 degrees or more of cooking heat every time you lift the lid.
3. Thick veggies should be placed on the bottom because they will not cook as quickly as the meat.
4. Brown meats before adding to the slow cooker it helps to seal in flavors that might be lost by a slower cooking method.
5. Spray your cooker with a non-stick cooking spray to prevent hard-to-clean sides.

“The Crock Pot” is a registered trademark of Rival.

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About the Author

Sherry Pence is a wife, mother, educator and WAHM. She is the owner of SSP Life Lessons and creator of http://womansguide.net. If you would like more information on the e-book she is working on or if you would like to know how to get a free copy when it is finished please visit http://womansguide.net/freeebookhomebasedbusiness.html Want to lose weight? Check out http://womansguide.net/weightlosseguide.html

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