I think the slow cooker is my best friend in the Fall. Between soccer, school activities, and seasonal stress we seem to run at a pretty harried pace until after the holidays. We’d probably eat cereal for dinner or hit the drive-thru if it wasn’t for the slow cooker.

It’s an easy and economical way to cook. You can throw things in first thing in the morning and then enjoy them for dinner just minutes after getting home in the evening. There are endless recipes (meatless and meaty) that work best by simmering slowly over an extended period of time.

You can also buy cheaper grades of meat, too. Crockpots tenderize the meat because they cook over such a long period of time. This saves you money but your stomach won’t feel cheated at all. The meat turns out soft, tender, and juicy in a way you can’t replicate in the oven.

I’ve also become a big fan of cooking with dry beans. I have a friend who showed me how her family prepared and cooked beans in Mexico and I’ve taken off from there. My memory of “homemade” beans as a child is pretty unpleasant – hard, crunchy and tasteless. But she’s opened by eyes to a world of cheap and easy slowcooking recipes from refried beans to homemade chili. Again, this is an extremely economical and healthy way to cook and eat.

I recently upgraded to a large crockpot with a fancy timer. You can program it to start and stop at certain times or to change the temperature level on the pot at different intervals. It even has a meat thermometer you can attach. It’s pretty handy, but it’s also large enough for me to put several roasts in at once. I’ll cook up more than we can eat and then freeze the other half for another meal in a month or two.

Besides the fact that it saves both time and money, there’s nothing better than coming home after a long day to a homecooked meal that is ready and waiting for you. The smell knocks you over when you walk in the door and no matter how tired or hungry you are you know you’re only minutes away from relaxing together as a family over a great meal.

Question: What is your favorite crockpot meal?