A slower dinner option for busy families will be the topic of a University of Illinois Extension class this week. U of I Extension Nutrition and Wellness Educator Lisa Peterson will teach a slow cooker class on Thursday.

What I'm doing is talking about everything you need to know about using a slow cooker or what we usually call a Crock-Pot, which is the brand name. I'm also giving out recipes with that, we're going to do some taste testing, we're going to talk about adapting recipes, so, changing recipes that you would usually use maybe in an oven - I've got a method that you can use to adapt it, to put it into a slow cooker and use a little bit less energy in your house. I also go into detail about the different uses and different cooking strategies you can use. Some people can actually cook desserts in slow cookers, which they're not aware of.

Peterson says the class is called Healthy Eating for Busy Families.

It focuses a lot on busy families. A family could be one person - just somebody who's in a hurry and (wants) to be able to eat healthy. Using a slow cooker is a great way to do that you can throw it all in in the morning, go to work, come back and your house smells wonderful.

The class takes place at 5:30pm on Thursday at the University Extension Office in Taylorville. To sign up for the class or for more information, call (217) 287-7246 or go to the Extension's Christian County webpage.Thomack 1/13/16