Macklen Mayse, Lenexa senior, juggles a full schedule. From 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., she’s in class. With no time to grab lunch, Mayse sneaks a peanut butter sandwich and a granola bar into one of her lectures. After classes are over, she heads to the Lawrence Art Center to teach until 5 p.m. Then she drives to Kansas City, where she grabs a salad for dinner at the restaurant where she works. She usually doesn’t make it home until 11 p.m. Mayse works on weekends, too, so finding time to cook a meal from scratch is almost impossible for her.

But there’s an easy solution to the “what’s for dinner?” problem: a crock pot.

Busy moms and dads have been using them for years, and college students who are busy people, too.

With a crock pot, also called a slow cooker, you can save money, meal preparation, clean-up time and calories. They are simple to use but still allow you to cook creatively.

Save time and money

One major benefit of crock-pot cooking is lower food costs, says Dawn Hall, author of Busy People’s Slow Cooker Cookbook. While you may not be able to afford filet mignon on a regular basis, you can make inexpensive, tougher cuts of meat into masterpieces. Fatty, more expensive cuts usually don’t turn out well when cooked in crock pots. Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes are cheap, and they become tender and flavorful when cooked in a crock pot.

Preparation time can be as short as you want, depending on the complexity of the recipe. You can put meat and chopped vegetables in the crock pot the night before or in the morning, add water or soup broth, plug it in and let it go. Most recipes call for eight to 10 hours of cooking time. Clean-up is a breeze, because you only have one pot to wash.

Pick a Pot

Photo by Kit Leffler

You can buy a slow cooker at Target or Wal-Mart for $13 to $60. Pro Pots, a brand sold at both stores, even makes pots shaped like basketballs and footballs. If you’re on a budget, check garage sales and thrift shops.

Keep in mind the number of people you want to feed. If you only plan to make enough food for one to three people, a four-quart pot will be fine, says Rick Rodgers, author of The Slow Cooker Ready & Waiting Cookbook. If you are feeding a house full of roommates or you plan to freeze leftovers for quick meals later, you might want to go with a larger pot that holds six or seven quarts.

Bethany Colwell, Olathe junior, learned not to use a bigger pot when cooking just for herself.

“If you don’t put enough food in to fill the pot, your meal will burn very easily,” she says.

Rodgers also recommends choosing a pot that has heat coils running up the side of the unit instead of just on the bottom, so food will heat evenly.

For convenience, try to find a slow cooker that has a removable crock. These are usually dishwasher-safe and make it easy to pop the leftovers in the fridge.

Be creative

So what can you cook in a crock pot? Almost anything.

“You can basically do nothing wrong in a crock pot,” says Tina Bell, caterer for Liz Karr Catering, Inc. “It’s really a no-brainer because it’s such a dump vehicle.”

Recipes are easily available on the Web, and a variety of cookbooks have been published specifically for crock pots.

That doesn’t mean you have to follow a recipe, but Rodgers says some foods just don’t mix well with slow cookers. Although there are some recipes for making cakes and breads in a crock pot, Rodgers says some of these items simply fare better in a hot, dry oven.

For beginners, he recommends dishes like pot roast, chili or stew. You can also make great party snacks, such as nacho cheese or mini smoked sausages with barbecue sauce. Rodgers’ book even includes a recipe for lamb vindaloo, a spicy Indian dish. One of Colwell’s favorite recipes simply consists of chicken breasts and a can of spaghetti sauce, with pasta added toward the end of cooking time.

Master the art of slow cooking

The difference between amateur and expert dishes is in the preparation.

Most dishes can cook overnight or while you’re in class all day. While throwing the ingredients in the pot and walking away will yield edible results, Rodgers says you might be forgoing flavor for simplicity.

Browning the meat and softening the vegetables in a skillet before putting them in the pot may take a little time, but it adds flavor.

Rodgers also recommends cooking with fresh ingredients. Although some recipes call for frozen vegetables and canned soup, they won’t be as tasty as those you make from scratch. Also, take it easy on the seasonings. Little evaporation takes place during cooking, so spices will be intensified, especially garlic and chili powder.