Crock pot cooking is a great idea and will cost you less than your range. The approximate cost of a slow cooker at a 500 wattage is 3.3 cents per hour. Which means an 8 hour cooked crock pot meal would cost you 26.4 cents for the electricity. This is quite a savings if you look at the average 79.3 cents per hour on the Range (12200 average wattage). One of my favorite recipes in the crock pot is Chicken & Soup. Take chicken. use thighs & legs I can usually buy them on sale for .29 – .49 a pound.Throw in one can of creme of chicken soup***(see recipe for homemade creme soup below)*** Cover the crock pot and cook for 6-7 hours.Use the gravy over rice and you have a great meal for less.
CREAM SOUP BASE MIX
• 2 cups dry milk
• 1 1/4 cup corn starch
• 1/4 cup chicken bouillon powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp thyme
Mix ingredients and store in an airtight container. Mix 1/3 cup mix to 1 1/4 cups water. mix together in pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly.