Crock Pot Cooking on the Road

Have you seen those spiral bound crockpot cookbooks? I love those because you can lay them out flat... Im sure that takes an investment on someone's part though...

 

Get u a pork butt, put it in the crock pot with a small amount of vinigar and then the rest water, u can rub the butt with some bbq rub if u want, let it slow cook for about 10 hours on low, then pour out the liquid and pour in any sauce you want ( I perfer the yellow carolina classic sauce), mix the sauce and meat up and you have bbq sandwiches, throw on some cole slaw and hot sauce, heck yeah very good, just made some the other day.

 

I just have to reply. While I am not a trucker yet, I lived on the road for a few months when I owned my own truck, but during that time I was doing contract work in another field. A few years ago I bought a Nu Wave Oven. You have to see it to believe it. But I liked it so much I bought another. I know for a fact that I can eat healthy and better than any truck stop for $40 a week or less. I am not talking about vienna sausage or spam. Here is an example:

Bagle bites...40 count...$7 - cooking time frozen 7 min...thawed 5 min
Pork chops...5 pkg...$7 cooking time frozen 14 min...thawed 9 min
Chicken thighs...8 pkg...$7 cooking time frozen 25 min...thawed 20 min

Variety of veggies...$7 cooking time depends but it can be cooked on the oven at the same time.

Total cost for week $28

Now the unique thing about a Nu Wave is it can also reheat a previously cooked meal.

This thing...bakes...grills...steams...dehydrates...reh eats

Clean up is a breeze....

Just go to you tube and see for yourself all the things that a Nu Wave Oven can cook.

I recently cooked a frozen 14 lb turkey to perfection in under 4 hours....

This thing is amazing...and I will actually be showing everyone in my training class how to cook on one...and I will be taking it to orientation also since I know the company I am going with has apu.

There are 2 different sizes...regular...1500 watt max...but I have not seen it peak over 1430 watts.

I have not yet used the smaller one, it is on the way...but it says 800 watts max...so I imagine it will only have a 730 watt peak... I know it will take a couple more minutes to cook something, but it will still save me a ton of money and I will be eating healthy...

Just check it out for yourself....

 

I recently got Johnny one too. He has done stew, pulled pork BBQ, Italian Chicken, BBQ Chicken, the prepackaged roast with the veggies they sell in the store are great to, and this last week he tried shrimp scampi and smothered steak. I am going with him next week so we are definitely going to be trying some different things.

 

Along with meat, veggies, and water, I toss in a handful of dry barley. It soaks up the water and juices, and is a nice change from either potatoes or rice.

 

I've been using a slow cooker crock pot in the truck now for about 3 months. Oh man what a change from eating fast food every day.

I find I have been using recipes from some of the diabetic oriented sites. I think my favorite recipe is veggie beef soup. Simple easy to make.

1lb 95% lean hamburger (can substitute 1lb stew beef if desired)
1 medium onion diced
1 lb frozen veggies ( I like using stirfry veggies)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes. I like the garlic and onion flavored.
I small can mushrooms sliced
1 packet powdered onion soup mix
1/2 carton beef broth low sodium (15-20oz)
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce (optional - can sub for onion soup mix)
1/2 tsp garlic salt/pepper
Dash of oregano and italian seasoning
A small handful of barley.

Toss everything in the 3qt crock pot. Mash it up including the raw hamburger.
Cook 4 hrs on high or 7-8 hrs on low. Keep an eye on broth level if using barley. That will soak up a lot of the broth and make almost a thick stew.

This makes the most awesome soup. I make it at least once a week. It lasts about 2-3 days unless i get real hungry...lol

It fits in a 3qt crock pot but fills the crock up almost to the top. I might suggest using a 4qt if you have one.

 

One of the things you could do which could make it less messy and help for a good clean up is to surround the meat/veges, whatever in foil. Maybe double wrap it and add a touch of water, butter and seasoning for flavor, and put it into the crockpot. Perhaps leave a small vent hole in the foil. It will cook nicely in its own juices and come out really moist and tender. I just hate all that cleanup after. May have to experiment with the time.
The sky's the limit with a crockpot. Anything goes. But I like to get one where you can secure the lid with clips on either side, so it doesn't slide off.

 

It is great on chicken and pork. l love making Old Bay hot wings in the airfryer!