Comments on: A Beginner’s Guide to Slow Cooker Use

By: Jen

Jen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:43:08 +0000

Trent, Great post! My husband and I have a slow cooker but rarely use it because we are gone for so long throughout the day and even on “low” have overcooked the last few meals we have tried. I had no idea they had programmable ones! I am going to try a few more recipes and if I still have problems with the cooking done-ness I’m going to look into one of the programmable ones. Thanks!

By: Emma

Emma — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 01:41:34 +0000

@#5 deRuiter Oh, I know what quick and dirty meal is! I do it all the time. Rushing after work, frying chicken cutlets on one pan, bread crumps all over over the dish, beaten eggs, zillion utensils, 2 dish rags, oil, broccoli, minced garlic, rice, safron and spices cooked in the thrid pot, greens beans in the next. Steam, adrenaline rush. I take 30 minutes to cook a healthy meals for teens- but it takes me 1.5 hr to clean the working area after such ordeal. And I am tired. Trent’s slow cooking is neat and not much cleaning after is involved.

By: Nate Poodel

Nate Poodel — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:15:08 +0000

Trent,
It would be nice to see a series on Slow Cooker Meals. My husband and I work very long hours. 9-9 on most days. Getting a Crock Pot has saved us time but we tend to get stuck in a rut with what we cook. I also find alot of the recipes tend to be heavy on the meat side. That’s all fine and dandy sometimes but meat is very expensive where we live and some low meat/veg options are always appreciated.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:25:00 +0000

I have found that I can cook nearly every slow cooker recipe on the stove top, using a “chicken fryer” pan (a deep fry pan with a lid), in less than an hour and it tastes 10 times better than meals prepared in a slow cooker. The first slow cooker I bought in 1988 had “off” “low” and “high” and worked great. I’ve bought four slow cookers since and they all cook too hot. I’ve given up on slow cookers.

By: Max From Liquid

Max From Liquid — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 13:45:12 +0000

Now you cannot use the time excuse to avoid cooking at home. You will save 80% by cooking at home and you’ll discover how fun it can be. Use the savings to pay down debt, start an emergency fund and save for retirement.The more you cook at home, the faster you’ll GET LIQUID.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:07:36 +0000

Definitely agree with the “pull out” variety!

We use our slow cooker all the time. My favorite no-think dinner is Italian Chicken: Put 3-4 chicken breasts in the slow cooker, cover with your favorite Italian dressing, cook on high for 4-5 hours. in the last hour, I add some vegetables–usually broccoli, carrots and cauliflower. serve over rice.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:04:52 +0000

“…very quick and dirty at home.” ?????? “dirty”??????? What’s a “dirty” meal?

By: Ken

Ken — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 22:47:28 +0000

Get decent non-programmable crockpot and then buy an appliance timer. Now you have a more useful crockpot than all but the most powerful programmable crockpots.

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 21:37:05 +0000

Consider: If your mornings are busy or even hectic getting everyone out the door to school, day care and/or work, you’ll need to prep or at least gather all your ingredients the night before – you won’t want to add yet one more thing to do in the morning.

Some people aren’t comfortable leaving a heated appliance on all day in the house if no one’s there (I’d put it on a GFI outlet or a power strip if that’s a concern).

We’re replacing our recently deceased slow cooker with one with a removable pot that can also be used on the stove top or in the oven rather just on the slow cook base. I wasn’t going to replace the a slow cooker and we were looking at getting a good dutch oven instead, so this gives us both options.

By: Vivianne

Vivianne — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:59:33 +0000

Crock-Pot, like Kleenex and Xerox, is a brand name fallen into common usage.

When picking a slow cooker, find one in which the pot can be COMPLETELY removed from the base for washing.

For best flavor when cooking add much less liquid than you think you might need, put the vegetables on the bottom, and brown meats. Add tomato paste, boullion or concentrated stock. Fill the cooker about 2/3 – 3/4 full for more even cooking.

Slow cooker mistakes: Green peppers become unpleasant for some reason, and chiles become more spicy, good to know if you’re making chili. Some curry powders also react badly — ymmv on this one, and it’s not the cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, turmeric, mustardseed or ginger if you wish to make a homemade mild curry blend.

By: Carole

Carole — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:21:35 +0000

Slow cookers can often be found at garage sales. That would probably the best place to buy the first one to see if you like it.