Scared of my slow cooker

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katieleggett_321
katieleggett_321 Posts: 37 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have a slow cooker and literally have no idea what it does.

Will it blow my house up? will it turn itself off? wheres best for receipies?

Im out the house 12-13 hours a day, will this work for me?
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Replies

  • pamfgil
    pamfgil Posts: 449 Member
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    Slow cookers are great for stews, you need to read the manuel re whether it will turn itself off. It shouldn't get hot enough to be a risk unless you have pets that will jump on the counter and knock it off. I used to set it going on low, leave for work, back home 13 hours later to cooked dinner. There are lots of blogs, recipes Facebook pages full of slow cooker enthusiasts, but a basic almost no work meal, pound of chicken thighs, tin diced tomatoes, 1/3 cup dry red lentils, 1/2 cup red wine, or water, chicken stock cube or tsp of stock powder, 2 pounds mixed frozen veggies, put all into slow cooker turn on to low, leave for 12 or so hours, serve
  • Wiggymommy
    Wiggymommy Posts: 106 Member
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    Just made taco soup (tons). Fantastic stuff.
  • giraffe72
    giraffe72 Posts: 1 Member
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    I love my slow cooker. You can do roasts. Stews. Anything really can be put in one. We both work and are busy so fantastic to come home after a long day to a already cooked meal, just steam some vegies or put on rice cooker & voila instant meal.
  • flowerhouse
    flowerhouse Posts: 140 Member
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    Go for it, changed my life....
    Only downside is that i find it slightly harder to estimate portion sizes as i usually batch cook
  • Derpy_Hooves
    Derpy_Hooves Posts: 234 Member
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    We use ours probably 3, 4 times a week. There's a bolognaise in there as I type this. Both husband and I work fulltime and we have two children. So by the time we're all home at 6pm later, there will be a lovely meal ready. Just need to boil a little pasta to go with it and Bob's your uncle.

    We just have a basic crockpot and we use a separate timer in the socket. So if, for whatever reason, we won't be home by 6, it will stop anyway.

    Google and Pinterest are great for recipes. My favourites are stews, chili con carne, soups, pulled pork and bolognaise of course.
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Mine's running right now while I'm at work; I'm making this for my son's football potluck dinner tonight:

    https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/smoky-baked-beans
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    YUM! get it going!, let it do all the cooking. get out the wine and get sipping, then enjoy your full dinner!
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    katieleggett_321 wrote: »
    I have a slow cooker and literally have no idea what it does.

    Will it blow my house up? will it turn itself off? wheres best for receipies?

    Im out the house 12-13 hours a day, will this work for me?

    What kind of slow cooker do you have? What do you want to cook?
    I have 3 slow cookers. They have never exploded or caught fire.
    Generally food is cooked for 8-10 hours on low but depends on what you are making.
    One of my slow cookers has digital controls and is programmable. You can set it to stop cooking at a certain point. It has the most features. I would probably use this if I was going to be gone 12-13 hours and it was something that could overcook.
    Another has a knob with 3 settings- keep warm, low and high- that you manually set. It does not shut off or switch settings on its own. I use this one the most.
    The third and smallest just has a knob that goes from on to off. I use this least. The temperature is kind of very high and it is too small for most things. I would not leave the house with this one on.

    I have a couple of slow cooker cookbooks. There are slow cooker recipes on recipe web sites like allrecipes. There are videos on youtube. There are blogs devoted to slow cooking. http://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2005/01/table-of-contents-year-of-slow-cooking.html

    https://www.chowhound.com/food-news/175311/slow-cooker-crock-pot-guide-beginners/

    I place my slow cooker in a location so it is not touching anything on any side.
    I most often use mine for large pieces of meat like a roast or soups or stews. I have used it for oatmeal, baking potatoes, corn on the cob, baked apples but those do not have as long of cooking times.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited September 2017
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    katieleggett_321 wrote: »
    I have a slow cooker and literally have no idea what it does.

    Will it blow my house up? will it turn itself off? wheres best for receipies?

    Im out the house 12-13 hours a day, will this work for me?

    I live and die by my slow cooker. It is wonderful for all kinds of soups, stews, and casseroles. You just have to dump your ingredients in, set it, and ignore it.

    Any recipe site will have a section specifically for slow cooker recipes but one of my favorites that is only for the slow cooker is http://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2005/01/table-of-contents-year-of-slow-cooking.html

    ETA: my slow cooker is a Crock Pot from Rival that is 35 years old and still cooking great.

    ETA2: Cook in it for a little while before trying to adapt recipes for it. The moisture content of foods cooked in a slow cooker is way different than that cooked in an oven so it would be better to get a feel for it first.

    ETA3: I don't like the ones with timers. If you are not home when it turns off, the slowly cooling food (especially if there is meat) can be a breeding ground for nasties.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
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    The slow cooker is a GODSEND. However, if you're out of the house for that one and yours does not have a timer, you may want to invest in one that does. That's it. Seriously, it's one of the best culinary inventions ever. They are made with the purpose to be on for extended periods of time. For recipes, I'd start with Pinterest and go from there.
  • ccruz985
    ccruz985 Posts: 646 Member
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    Derpy_Hooves wrote: »
    We use ours probably 3, 4 times a week. There's a bolognaise in there as I type this. Both husband and I work fulltime and we have two children. So by the time we're all home at 6pm later, there will be a lovely meal ready. Just need to boil a little pasta to go with it and Bob's your uncle.

    We just have a basic crockpot and we use a separate timer in the socket. So if, for whatever reason, we won't be home by 6, it will stop anyway.

    Google and Pinterest are great for recipes. My favourites are stews, chili con carne, soups, pulled pork and bolognaise of course.

    @Derpy_Hooves Um, about that bolognese recipe...maybe share? Pretty please?
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    ccruz985 wrote: »
    Derpy_Hooves wrote: »
    We use ours probably 3, 4 times a week. There's a bolognaise in there as I type this. Both husband and I work fulltime and we have two children. So by the time we're all home at 6pm later, there will be a lovely meal ready. Just need to boil a little pasta to go with it and Bob's your uncle.

    We just have a basic crockpot and we use a separate timer in the socket. So if, for whatever reason, we won't be home by 6, it will stop anyway.

    Google and Pinterest are great for recipes. My favourites are stews, chili con carne, soups, pulled pork and bolognaise of course.

    @Derpy_Hooves Um, about that bolognese recipe...maybe share? Pretty please?

    Second the request. You share yours and I will share my reduced fat crock pot lasagna recipe :D
  • skymningen
    skymningen Posts: 532 Member
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    earlnabby wrote: »

    ETA3: I don't like the ones with timers. If you are not home when it turns off, the slowly cooling food (especially if there is meat) can be a breeding ground for nasties.

    Isn't that a general problem, not only for the cooling food but even more so if it is on low "keep warm"?

  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    Don't fear the crockpot! I'm using mine today to make bean soup. Mine has 4 settings (4 & 6 hour high and 8 and 10 hour low). It goes to warm setting when the time is up. Never have had a problem with burning.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    skymningen wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »

    ETA3: I don't like the ones with timers. If you are not home when it turns off, the slowly cooling food (especially if there is meat) can be a breeding ground for nasties.

    Isn't that a general problem, not only for the cooling food but even more so if it is on low "keep warm"?

    Low is still high enough of a temp to prevent bacteria growing (190° where the recommended lowest temp for food is 140°).

    As you should with all food, something cooked in the slow cooker should be refrigerated immediately, not allowed to cool on the counter.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    If you are gone for 12 hours most recipes are for 6 to 8 hrs I set my crockpot to turn on such that the time I get home it is perfect cooked. Black bean soup, pulled pork or chicken, chilli are all favorite choices. Also homemade stock

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