Buying a CrockPot?

Bump. I'm in the exact same boat.

I have a very basic slow cooker. It is fantastic. It has a warm setting, and high and low, high for 4 to 5 hours of cooking and low for the 8 hour range. You really don't have to know how to cook, basically you throw in your meat or what ever and some seasonings, put the lid on and leave. I bought the Company is coming cookbook for slow cookers and there are some nice reciepes in it. Roast come out falling apart they are so tender. I will usually throw in potatoe and carrots with the roast and you have a meal in one. If you have a large family then you may need a larger one but the small one cooks everything I need.

I am attracted to red appliances. If there is more than one red crock pot I get the cheapest one. This method has never failed me.

Def get one with the removable crock!

Yup, it is "Crock pot season" again!

I have the Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 that comes with 3 sizes of crock, which can be really helpful. It works pretty well, but it doesn't have a timer and you can't use a lamp timer to turn it on because you have to press the crock size button.
http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Attractive-Versatile-Stoneware/dp/B005KYUGLE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1315505846&sr=8-3

Love my crock pot - You will have to look at the sizes in the stores to decide what you would like to do. I have a 6 or 6.5 quart because I cook big pieces of meat (i.e. pork shoulder). Depending on what your home situation (i.e. whether someone is home all day or not) you should look at getting one that includes a timer - mine automatically shuts off after so many hours and goes to warm so if my husband isn't home from work yet it is not overcooking the meat. Also make sure you get one where the "pot" is removable - it will make for a lot easier cleaning.

Finally, be very careful with recipes. You need to read the crockpot instructions that come with whatever crockpot you buy. A lot of recipes out there don't have you add enough liquid and the food will come out dry. Remember you are cooking a piece of meat for a long period of time. I usually add a can of either chicken broth, beef broth or veggie broth to whatever recipe I am cooking (especially the first time) and after I make it I make a notation on the recipe whether I can add less next time or not (after all you would rather have too much gravy than a gross piece of dried out meat). Well I could probably talk about this for awhile - I love my crockpot. If you have more questions feel free to friend me. One last thing :bigsmile: I would buy a name brand here - not necessarily the most expensive but in this instance I do believe you get what you pay for. Also keep the receipt so that if you have a problem with it the first time you use it you can bring it back.

I LOVE my Crockpot brand and the company stands behind their products. I bought a crock 3 years ago & the lid started falling apart. I called the company to just get replacement parts, which they didn't have. That lid was obsolete. They looked for a comprable lid and couldn't find one, so they actually sent me a brand new crockpot for FREE that was better than the one I originally had!! My original crockpot still works, .the handle just came off the lid. My husband can engineer up a new handle & I'll have two 5-6 qt. pots now :happy:

I've just bought mine (three weeks ago) and am still 'experimenting' with meals as with only two of us at present, it's hard to judge when to cook on high or low (so going low from 8am -6pm for most meals) If you are in England, Morrisons have them on offer, £17 instead of £20. But with the two successes so far (boiled ham and sausage casserole) I now wouldn't be without it! Also bought an all in one, three pan steamer (again, Morrisons, £15), potatoes with water at the bottom, then one or two extra 'pans' to steam your veg. So much less washing up and great tasting food! Best buys EVER! As I'm a tad OCD, I've also bought a spiral bound notebook to write in my successes and create my own 'cookbook' - give yourself time to experiment and don't get disheartened if it does go wrong, just try again.
Best advice I can give, only add root veg to the crock and put meat on top and add stock/soup. Other veg and pots cook seperately. Never put in broccoli or cauli as it ruins the taste of everything!
Best of luck x

I don't know what brand I have, but I actually have two, one's about a 5quart and the other is smaller. I don't cook, but I can do quick, easy, yummy meals in this that are really healthy too! I work full time and the kids are ALWAYS hungry when I get home, like NOW, so if I have something in the crockpot, I can get the table set, finish up whatever (if I need to make rice or something), get a salad on the table and eat within a few minutes! The meat always turns out good and I'm starting to learn what I like and don't like and what my kids will eat. Made some yummy shredded pork the other day and some Santa Fe chicken as well! Both turned out good!!!!

I made Beef Stroganoff today and it turned out excellent. I just tossed in as much as I thought looked good, but here is a rough recipe.

2 cups chopped leeks
8 cups mushrooms - I used white mushrooms, portobello and baby buttons, sliced or chopped if they're large
2 onions, sliced
1 kg stewing beef
2 cans of Weight Watchers Condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can hot water (use the mushroom soup cans, swirl the water to get all the soup out)
salt, pepper and spices to taste (I used salt and a "Steak and Chops" spice mix)
Cream cheese (I used two "slices" from a block of Philadelphia I had in the fridge)
Sour cream

I opted to brown everything in a pan first, to enhance flavours and give the meat some colour. First I cooked the onions until they were browned at the edges, then tossed them in the crock. In the same pan, I sautéed the leeks in a bit of butter, then added them to the crock. Next, I browned the beef in batches in a little bit of sunflower oil. I sprinkled the salt and spices on while the beef was in the pan. I added the browned meat to the crock, then added the two cans of soup and water. Stir everything and turn on the slow cooker.

I cooked it on high for about 2 hours, then had to go out, so turned it to low. It was ready after 6 and a half hours, so then I boiled some tagliatelle pasta to serve it with (if you're on a diet you might want to use wholewheat pasta or rice, I just cooked the pasta for my family, I will eat the beef stew only). About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve, add cream cheese (how much you add is up to you) and a couple of tablespoons of sour cream (again, the amount is up to you, you can leave these out if you're trying to cut down) and stir it in. It will melt into the sauce and create a nice creamy texture and colour.

That was that, very easy and very delicious.