Camping With Your Crock Pot

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January 24, 2010

 

I must admit I have a bit of a crock pot obsession. I’ve got three of them and I still don’t have my “dream” crock pot (Yes, I’m cool like that, I dream of crock pots). I’ve got a 5-quart pot for the camper, a 6-quart pot for the house and a 2-quart pot that goes between the house and the camper.

I know some of the cooks complain about not actually getting a break when they’re camping with the family, because there’s still the cooking and cleaning for all the meals, but my crock pot really seems to cut down on a lot of that. I use the crock-pot bags by Reynolds to make clean up easy. Toss your meal into the crock-pot bag and your good to go. The meal cooks it’s self while you’re out enjoying your vacation with your family. When you’re done eating, just take the bag out and toss it. If by chance there’s leftovers, you can store them in the bag in a container in the fridge.

I know you’re thinking, but I don’t want a pot roast while camping, well that’s ok, because you can cook just about anything in the crock-pot. For summer trips I make North Carolina pork BBQ, taco meat or sloppy joes ahead of time and then just pop them in after lunch. In the spring and fall chili, stew or baked potato soup all make the camper smell wonderful and take the chill off when it’s time for dinner. I guess if you really wanted to, you could even do the pot roast, but my guys might not want to take all that time to eat when there are so many are adventures to be had.

Now if you want a quick lunch just put the hot dogs in the 2-quart pot w/ a bottle of BBQ sauce on low after breakfast and you’ll be good to go for a quick lunch after a morning of exploring/fishing/playing.

A great place to find deals on a crock-pot (if you don’t own one already) is yard sales. There are people out there who own a crock-pot and just don’t understand how wonderful and useful a crock-pot can be, so they’re almost giving them away!!! (no really my parents bought me the one in the picture for $5, never used, new in the box) Just think how happy that crock-pot will be to find a home in your camper and hear your family rave about how yummy dinner is!

Read about budgeting tips for your next RV trip.

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6 comments

  1. Cheryl R

    I’ve had a West Bend crockpot for 20 yrs and use it almost daily in the trailer. It’s rectangular with a teflon interior that can be used on the stove top for browning meats and the put on the unit for cooking. With this one I save on washing that extra pot for browning.Easy to clean and no problems with my meals when I leave it for hours on end at the campsite. I also cook outside to keep the trailer cooler during the summer months. Everyone who passes our trailer at the campground always asks,” what’s for supper ?’ I’ve met a lot of nice people and made some new friends this way.

  2. Pete Names

    The first couple nites we are out we always pop leftovers into our crockpot and rest up and have a glass of wine after driving all day and then settle down to dinner. We use our crockpot almost exclusively on the road – summer and winter. Stop at a local farmers market and get your green necessities and have something in the crockpot to come “home” to. And yes, it makes the “little house” smell wonderful and gives you time to be out and about enjoying new adventures.

  3. Virginia Meeker

    Selling home and setting out full-time from Who-Dat Nation! (Lafayette, LA) LOVE to cook using a crock pot but have been a little afraid of leaving it on in my Class A with my little Cidney (Mal-Shi) inside while I am gone. Should I be concerned? Best size for just two normal eaters? 3 to 3.5 qt?

  4. Debbie Block

    When my Mother-in-law died I got her beautiful harvest gold rectangular crockpot and it still work! It is larger and easier to cook big hunks of meats. Just love it! Good thing she’s gone…

  5. I LOVE this! I thought I was the only person who dreamed of small appliances! Currently the object of my affection is a coffee grinder! Thanks for this!