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<blockquote data-quote="Lil" data-source="post: 673383" data-attributes="member: 17309">Fast, good, and cheap? &nbsp;Choose 2. &nbsp;There's no such thing as fast, good and cheap that I can think of, especially when you're talking about meat.&nbsp; Have you seen the price of beef and pork?&nbsp; You'd think they were feeding the cows and pigs gold.&nbsp; I told the butcher in the grocery store the other day that at the price they're charging you expect the marbling to shimmer! &nbsp;BUT, that being said, there are really good crock-pot meals.&nbsp; You don't have to be a good cook...though it helps to not like bland. lol&nbsp;Pot-roast is the #1 meat in the crockpot meal.&nbsp; In my opinion, the key to keeping it from being bland is seasoning and the key to not overcooking is to put it in frozen.&nbsp; Yep, frozen.&nbsp; Put the onions, potatoes and carrots on the bottom.&nbsp; Put the still frozen roast on top.&nbsp; Sprinkle&nbsp; with pepper and the contents of a beefy onion soup mix packet.&nbsp; Sometimes I toss in some Italian seasoning or garlic.&nbsp; NO WATER.&nbsp; If you MUST use liquid, put a bit of red wine - no more than 1/2 a cup.&nbsp; You want it to roast, not boil.&nbsp; I've also topped with condensed cream of mushroom soup or golden mushroom...right out of the can, no water unless it's a tiny bit to wash out the can.&nbsp;You can make meatloaf in a crockpot.&nbsp; The key there is to wrap it in foil so you can lift it out of the pot.&nbsp; I've never actually done this.&nbsp;One of the BEST things I've ever done in a crockpot is Choucroute Garnie - which is a fancy name for sauerkraut with meat.&nbsp; You layer in thick pork chops, brats, ham, as you please, top with sauerkraut mixed with apple slices and onions and maybe some brown sugar, top the whole thing with hard apple cider and let it cook...yummy! &nbsp;If you don't want to go crock-pot, I can't really think of easy.&nbsp; I mean, there's the usual hamburgers and hot dogs.&nbsp; Meatloaf takes like an hour to cook in the oven. &nbsp;I guess the easiest meat dish I can think of is potatoes and sausage.&nbsp; Simply thinly sliced potatoes, add some onion if you wish, fry them in a skillet until just almost done, add sliced smoked sausage and cook until done. &nbsp;I also make a smothered pork chop dish that's quite simple.&nbsp; Lightly bread pork chops in flour and salt and pepper (I like to used seasoned salt in breading) and brown them - or brown them without breading is okay too.&nbsp; Put in a 9x13 pan and mix up a can of cream of mushroom and cream of celery, 1/2 cup milk and pour over the top, cover with foil and bake for 1/2 hour, uncover and bake about 15-20 minutes more.&nbsp; The sauce makes great gravy for mashed potatoes or rice.&nbsp; You can make it with any meat or poultry really...and use the low-fat soups to make it lower calorie. &nbsp;We eat more chicken than anything else at home.&nbsp; In the crockpot, chicken cacciatore is probably the easiest and won't be bland.&nbsp; The key is to use dark meat - thighs - at least in part.&nbsp; Simply chicken, peppers, carrots, onions, covered in a spicy spaghetti sauce.&nbsp; Serve over pasta. &nbsp;My best suggestion is to go to allrecipes.com.&nbsp; BEST website ever!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lil, post: 673383, member: 17309"] Fast, good, and cheap? Choose 2. There's no such thing as fast, good and cheap that I can think of, especially when you're talking about meat. Have you seen the price of beef and pork? You'd think they were feeding the cows and pigs gold. I told the butcher in the grocery store the other day that at the price they're charging you expect the marbling to shimmer! BUT, that being said, there are really good crock-pot meals. You don't have to be a good cook...though it helps to not like bland. lol Pot-roast is the #1 meat in the crockpot meal. In my opinion, the key to keeping it from being bland is seasoning and the key to not overcooking is to put it in frozen. Yep, frozen. Put the onions, potatoes and carrots on the bottom. Put the still frozen roast on top. Sprinkle with pepper and the contents of a beefy onion soup mix packet. Sometimes I toss in some Italian seasoning or garlic. NO WATER. If you MUST use liquid, put a bit of red wine - no more than 1/2 a cup. You want it to roast, not boil. I've also topped with condensed cream of mushroom soup or golden mushroom...right out of the can, no water unless it's a tiny bit to wash out the can. You can make meatloaf in a crockpot. The key there is to wrap it in foil so you can lift it out of the pot. I've never actually done this. One of the BEST things I've ever done in a crockpot is Choucroute Garnie - which is a fancy name for sauerkraut with meat. You layer in thick pork chops, brats, ham, as you please, top with sauerkraut mixed with apple slices and onions and maybe some brown sugar, top the whole thing with hard apple cider and let it cook...yummy! If you don't want to go crock-pot, I can't really think of easy. I mean, there's the usual hamburgers and hot dogs. Meatloaf takes like an hour to cook in the oven. I guess the easiest meat dish I can think of is potatoes and sausage. Simply thinly sliced potatoes, add some onion if you wish, fry them in a skillet until just almost done, add sliced smoked sausage and cook until done. I also make a smothered pork chop dish that's quite simple. Lightly bread pork chops in flour and salt and pepper (I like to used seasoned salt in breading) and brown them - or brown them without breading is okay too. Put in a 9x13 pan and mix up a can of cream of mushroom and cream of celery, 1/2 cup milk and pour over the top, cover with foil and bake for 1/2 hour, uncover and bake about 15-20 minutes more. The sauce makes great gravy for mashed potatoes or rice. You can make it with any meat or poultry really...and use the low-fat soups to make it lower calorie. We eat more chicken than anything else at home. In the crockpot, chicken [B]cacciatore [/B]is probably the easiest and won't be bland. The key is to use dark meat - thighs - at least in part. Simply chicken, peppers, carrots, onions, covered in a spicy spaghetti sauce. Serve over pasta. My best suggestion is to go to allrecipes.com. BEST website ever! [/QUOTE]

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