The Clever Foil Hack To Make 2 Slow Cooker Dishes At Once

When it comes to convenience, it's hard to beat a slow cooker. Simply add meat, veggies, and seasoning to a slow cooker in the morning, and you'll have a delicious meal waiting for you once you get home for dinner. The only downside to these appliances is that since they are so cumbersome and take so long to cook, you can't normally use the same slow cooker to make multiple dishes in a day. Fortunately, there's an easy way to turn your lone Crock-Pot into a duplex of flavor. All you need to do is make a divider using a couple of slow cooker liners and a few sheets of aluminum foil.

You're going to be using the foil to make the divider. We recommend using heavy-duty foil since it has more structure, but you can achieve the same effect by using two or three layers of regular foil. The divider should span across the slow cooker and be thicker at the bottom than the top so it doesn't tip over, so try to form the foil into an upside-down T or wedge shape. Once the divider is secure, place a small slow cooker liner into each section (or a large liner over the whole thing) and tuck in the plastic. Now, you'll be able to really use your Crock-Pot like a pro.

This hack is perfect for entertaining or anytime you need more than one meal option. For example, if you want to make this spicy beef chili for a game night but know that not all your guests can take the heat, you can make a non-spicy version alongside it — just don't get the two mixed up! At house parties, you can keep the queso warm right next to the bean dip, and you could even use the divider to separate soups and drinks. Think chicken noodle soup next to veggie, or hot apple cider next to a batch that's been spiked.

If you try this technique yourself, don't forget to use a slow cooker liner. The foil by itself will not be enough to keep apart anything other than perhaps raw ingredients. Plus, using a liner means less cleanup afterwards. As long as you avoid the one mistake that's ruining your slow cooker meals, there are no downsides to using this hack. It's quick, simple, and will give you double the amount of food to look forward to at the end of a long day.