At this very moment millions of people are asking themselves this question: "What's for dinner?" Maybe you are hearing yourself asking this very question yourself.

If you didn't plan ahead you might be thinking of just going to a fast food place for a bite to eat.

"No, that's not very nutritious. Besides we just did that yesterday."

Maybe a nice sit down restaurant is what you're thinking would be good option.

"Should we dress up?"

How about getting food delivered to your home.

"Now where's that phone number?"

Maybe you're feeling a bit adventurous and will just head out to the nearest drive thru to have a teenager hand you a bag.

"No, not today."

Now what? You're hungry.

You may want these types of spur of the moment 'what's for dinner' decisions to be the exception and not the rule. These types of meals are just plain less nutritious, more expensive, and more time consuming than if you had prepared the meal at home. Expenses as you know can be astronomical at the end of the year if you do this a few times a week.

So what's the answer for a short on time, health conscious, cost conscious person?

If you're short on time a crockpot might me your answer.

If you're looking for a more well balanced meal, a crockpot might be your answer.

If you're looking to save money, a crockpot might be your answer.

You may be asking, "How can a slow cooker save me time in making dinner, that's counter-intuitive isn't it?" The answer is "Yes" it is counter-intuitive and "Yes" it will save you time in your dinner preparations. Many are re-discovering this fact.

Crockpots are the right answer for many occasions and many meals. Let it do all the work for you while you're away. Simply put in the ingredients the recipe calls for and make sure to turn it on. Then go take your kids to school, drive yourself into the city for your job, do your errands or whatever. If in the past you always seemed to be short on time, you will see that most of the work involved in making dinner has just been completed. And it's still morning! Now it's the slow cooker's turn to do its work.

And creating a meal will get easier and easier as you learn which recipes you and your family really like and have all the necessary ingredients handy. There are recipes out there where all that is called for is four, maybe five ingredients. How much easier can it get?

One other thing you'll notice is this: Buying the top of the line meats is quite unnecessary. You see the crockpot will tenderize your meats for you just by the nature of the slow cooking process. Very easy on the pocketbook for what will end up being deliciously tenderized cuts of meat.

One final benefit. When you come home from a full hard day of doing all the things that needed to be done, you will be greeted by an aroma-filled home and a dinner that's fit for a king and queen!

So next time don't wait until dinner time to ask the question, 'What's for dinner?'. With a little pre-planning you will only need to spend a few minutes in the morning and you're practically done with dinner. Prove it to yourself!

Copyright 2006 Tony Buel