I got a lot of feedback about cooking in crockpots last week, so I decided to do a follow-up post this week about the fun of cooking with limited ingredients. We go through really busy spurts and I find that my fridge begins to look more like a barren wasteland than a plentiful storage area for cold edibles.

I have to admit I also like to challenge my culinary skills and see how long I can make healthy and delicious meals without taking a trip to the store.

Using recipes with few ingredients offers several perks, too. One, these recipes usually take less time to prepare. They usually cost less, too, because you have less to buy. Also, they often can be made from items you have on hand.

A girlfriend bragged to me recently about her delicious crockpot chicken. She put a whole chicken in a crockpot on high for several hours with salt and pepper, a chopped onion, and minced garlic. It was just that simple and she raved about how delicious and tender it was. Who can beat that?

Below is a website with oodles of great recipes for busy moms.

http://busycooks.about.com/cs/crockpotrecipes/a/3ingredcrock.htm

Question: What is your favorite recipe that has five or fewer ingredients?