Your Crockpot Cooking Salvation

by ScottHernandez

From A To Z - How To Buy A Slow Cooker

Buying a Slow Cooker

Okay, so you've heard your friends or family touting how they are saving time and money on meals with their new crock pot. Heck, you might've even gotten one for Christmas. You're interested in using one, but don't have a clue about crock pots. All you want to know is which one should you get, and more importantly, which one is right for you. Well, I am here to help you sort through all of this.

You'll first have to ask yourself some basic questions: 1. How many people will the crock pot be used for? We're talking about servings in one pot. You might know the answer to this one yet, but, what sort of food do you think you'd be cooking in the crock pot? 3. As an example, my husband and I will dump all of our ingredients into the crock pot before we leave for work, and have it start cooking while we are at work, so we come home to a nice, hot meal. 4. In a nutshell, if you can answer these questions, you're pretty much all set.

Some crock pots have simple lids, while others actually allow you to seal the lid via a clamping mechanism, etc. Good for taking it to a potluck, etc. You can cook the meal and serve it directly out of the pot. There are also smaller crock pots that are mainly used for dips, etc.

As already mentioned, there are crock pots with many features while some are pretty much just a turn on / turn off variety. The feature-rich variety will allow you to switch certain settings depending on the type of meal you are preparing. Generally speaking, most crock pots will have a warm, low, and high setting.

Locating a crock pot is pretty easy. Any major retailer carries them, online or off. My husband and I purchased ours at Wal-Mart, for the very reasonable sum of . For that price, it even has a timer! What a bargain.

As also mentioned above (question #4), some are have removable inner bowls for ease of washing. These are usually dishwasher safe as well. Lids will either come in glass, or plastic. I'd go with the glass lid for safety.

If you have a large family (let's say, at least 4 members), then you'll probably want at least a 5 or 6 quart unit. If it's only two persons, then a 3 quarrt unit will probably suffice. Lastly, for those single people, 1.5 quart units are also available.

I hope you have found these tips useful. Crock pots are very economical, but also create very delicious meals. Leftovers can be used for the next day's lunch or even dinner again. Do your research, read some reviews, and start using that crock pot.

Find More Crock Pot Slow Cooker Articles

Programmable Slow Cooker For Perfect Taste

Programmable Slow Cooker is the best ways for preparing nutritious food with great ease. This is one of the best companions of the person who is short of time and lives busy life. Making use of a slow cooker is the best solution for your problem, what you have to do is just prepare the ingredients and put them in the programmable slow cooker and leave for the office. When you will return back home your food will be ready.

The programmable slow cooker should exhibit a timer and temperature control. Most of the cookers available in the market are available with stoneware inner. These pots can also be used to keep the prepared food hot after the food is ready to serve.

The major advantage of a programmable slow cooker is that it gives the freedom of leaving the cooker unattended. You just need to set the cook time the desired amount of time. After cooking the food inside the slow cooker it will automatically switch to the mode where the food will remain hot.

Following features must be considered while shopping a programmable slow cooker.

Quick-cook is an important feature which is used when you forgot to load up the slow cooker. This is one of the best ways of cooking than employing conventional method.

It should be dishwasher safe so that the time required to clean it up should be minimum. You just need to place it in the dishwasher for cleaning.

Another important feature which must be considered while selecting a programmable slow cooker is that it should keep the food hot and savory for long hours.

Size is another factor which should be considered while selecting them, its size should be selected considering the requirement and preference whether you need to cook small or large amount of food.

The Hamilton Beach is one of the best and renowned names offering six quart programmable slow cooker. It exhibits a LED digital control panel and cooking options in form of Program, Manual and Probe. The pot also exhibit side handles to facilitate the safe transportation of the pot along with an automatic function for keeping the food warm. It also exhibits a power interruption facility in order to withstand with the conditions if power goes off.

KitchenAid 7 Quart is also one of the most renowned brands that offer bigger, best and reliable cookers. It cooks food at the high heat temperature for about 120 minutes then it automatically sifts to the low temperature for completing the cooking process.

The programmable slow cooker also exhibits one of the most remarkable feature that it can be also be used manually. It offers a spoon from the top of the lid for steering the meal. You can event get back to the manual mode and watch the food and preparing it in your way.

Slow cooking is always better for food as it improves the taste and keeps it warm and ready for consumption any time after the cooking is complete also it keeps your food fresh.

This modern kitchen equipment has made the life of the user thousand times feasible and easier.

by fiveforefun

Dust That Crock Pot Off!

What's slow and steady and will fit right into your face-paced life? Would you believe cooking with that old crock pot?!

Going slower in terms of cooking can actually help you go faster in the long run. Make sense? Keep reading and it will. When you prepare a crock pot meal in the morning, the food will be ready when you get home. No more waiting for the oven to preheat or food to defrost in the microwave.

Fast and slow cooking entered American kitchens in a big way during the 1970s. Rival introduced the Crock Pot slow cooker in 1971 (the slow cooking appliance was originally called a beanery). Microwave ovens also became affordable during the 1970s. (They actually went on the market in 1952 for the price of ,295). By the 1980s, most couples could count on receiving at least one crock pot as a wedding gift. While it's almost unthinkable to cook without a microwave today, many crock pots have been relegated to the closet shelf. It's time to revive the Rival!

Five reasons to dust of the crock pot and start slow cooking again.

1. Save money. Starting a meal in the crock pot in the morning can save you from the temptation of grabbing fast food during the evening family rush hour. Save those fast food bucks for a meal out at a nice restaurant on the weekend when you have time to sit and enjoy it.

2. Save money. This reason's so nice we said it twice. Crockery cooking can make less-expensive cuts of meat tender and delicious.

3. Save time. Cook when you have more energy and less stress. Have your food ready and waiting for you rather than the other way around. You’ll also save time on clean up. After the meal, you'll have just one pot to wash. If you have a crock pot with the removable crockery liner (and you really should), clean up is extra easy.

4. Eat healthy. It doesn’t take a nutritionist to know that a meal of meat and veggies with a green salad on the side is going to be better for your body than another frozen pizza.

5. Keep your kitchen cool and your food hot. You won't have to heat up the whole house just to roast a chicken or cook a pot of stew. The crock pot also frees the oven and stove for other foods when you're cooking a big meal.

To make the most of your rediscovered crock pot, try not peek at the food while it's cooking. Every time you lift the lid, you add 20 minutes to the cooking time.

To convert regular recipes for use in the crock pot, reduce the amount of liquid by one-third to one-half, unless you're making soup, rice or beans.

I hope this all makes sense. The best part about crock pot cooking is all the recipes you can make with the same crock pot. Just cut up the ingredients, throw them in the crock pot, wait 8 hours and a delicious meal is ready!

Related Crock Pot Slow Cooker Articles

Crockpot SCVP600-SS 6-Quart Smart-Pot Programmable Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel

• 6-quart oval-shaped programmable slow cooker with 4 time settings
• Simple touchpad controls; automatic keep-warm setting
• Evenly distributes heat for tender, flavorful results; Sure-Grip side handles
• Dishwasher-safe glass lid and stoneware crock; recipe book included
• Measures 15-1/2 by 11 by 10-1/4 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Prepares meals with the touch of a button. Cooking in two easy steps: 1. place ingredients in stoneware, 2. select cook time. Four time settings with automatic temperature settings. Automatically shifts to warm when done.

Rating: (out of 102 reviews)

List Price: $ 86.67

Price: $ 39.99

More Crock Pot Slow Cooker Products

by ekonon

Crock Pot Cooking is Perfect For Soup

If you think that you are too busy to make homemade soup, think again! With your handy crock pot, cooking tasty homemade soup is a breeze. Just about any type of soup can be adapted to the crock pot, so you can come home after a long day to a nice warm bowl of soup. Add some crusty bread and you are all set for a relaxing evening at home.

Soup for the Crock Pot Cook

There is nothing as satisfying as ladling a warming soup into your bowl. When you use your crock pot, you can easily make soup from fresh or pre-packaged ingredients. Canned broth or creamed condensed soups make an easy base if you do not want to make one from scratch. Add vegetables, noodles, rice, or any other favorite ingredient and let it simmer all day long on low. Even if you are feeling under the weather, it only takes a few moments to throw some ingredients together and plug in the crock pot. Later in the day, you will have a wonderful, nutritious soup to soothe your throat and make you feel better.

What Kind of Soups Can You Make in a Crock Pot?

Add some stock or broth and your favorite vegetables before you leave for work. When you get home, add some noodles and let it cook for about half an hour. Before you know it, you have some lovely chicken noodle soup or beef noodle soup all ready for dinner. If you prefer dumplings, add them instead of the noodles for a filling meal. If you have leftover ham, you can easily make a tasty bean or split pea soup for a cold winter night. For bean soup, it does take a little planning, since the beans must be soaked overnight before adding them to your soup.

Chowders are perfect for the crock pot. Since they are usually milk based, scorching is a concern when making seafood chowders from scratch on the stove. In the crock pot, add your ingredients and set the pot on low. When you come home, you'll have the best tasting clam or seafood chowder you've ever tasted, perfectly prepared every time. Just drop in the oyster crackers before you serve each bowl.

Just about any combination of ingredients can be thrown into the crock pot to make soup. If you have some kielbasa in the refrigerator, make some soup! Sausage, hamburger, potatoes, broccoli... they can all be used to make soup in the crock pot. If you prefer vegetarian fare, pumpkin soup is easy to make with pumpkin or squash, parsnips, apples, potatoes and some seasonings. Just puree it at the end of cooking with a stick mixer and you will have a tasty bowl of goodness to warm you through and through.

Crock pots are also an excellent choice for stews of all kinds especially when using cuts of meat that may be not quite so tender for budget reasons. This is not so much a problem in a crock pot or slow cooker as the process naturally tenderizes the meat and makes for a very flavorful stew. All you need to do is cut up into bite sized pieces some meat and sear it in a pan and add to this some sautéed mushrooms, onions and some of your favorite vegetables in bite size pieces, cover in liquid (wine works nice), season, and let cook on low all day. At the end add a roux to this to thicken the sauce and you have a wonderful hunter's stew.

More Crock Pot Cooking Articles

by PrincessFroglips

Question by Mommy2BeOf3: Anyone have any really good crock pot recipes for little smokies? Ever heard of one with spaghetti sauce?
I have to make a whole lot of little smokies in a crock pot tonight to take to work and want to try something different. Someone at work had mentioned a recipe where spaghetti sauce and grape jelly are used, yet i can't seem to find any recipes like that on the web anywhere. Any type of recipe will help me out though! Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by soliloquy621
I'm not sure of the proportions, but we always used chili sauce and grape jelly.

My friend used to make it just by putting barbecue sauce on it, but I dont think it quite has the "little smokies" flavor like the chili sauce and grape jelly.

Add your own answer in the comments!

by shannonpatrick17

Question by Pete: Crock Pot BRISKET - Fat side UP or DOWN?
When cooking BRISKET in a Crock Pot should I put it in with the Fat side UP or DOWN? Thank you.

Best answer:

Answer by Vince
I'd say with fat side down, to help prevent the meat from cooking too fast, or too much.

What do you think? Answer below!

DeLonghi DCP707 Stainless-Steel Programmable 5-Quart Slow Cooker

• Stainless-steel 5-quart slow cooker with 10-hour countdown timer
• Touchpad control panel; 3 heat settings; 2-hour keep-warm mode
• Dishwasher-safe ceramic cooking pot doubles as a serving dish
• Tempered glass lid; nonslip feet; stay-cool handles for safety
• Measures 13 by 11-4/5 by 9-3/5 inches; 1-year limited warranty

DeLonghi's 5-quart compact and stylish stainless steel slow cooker features high, low and auto keep warm functions. These functions are designed to cook food at the ideal temperature and keep warm for 2 hours after cooking is complete. Also features a convenient 10-hour countdown timer and removable dishwasher-safe removable ceramic pot that's perfect for serving. Large cool-touch handles and tempered glass lid ensure safety.

Rating: (out of 5 reviews)

List Price: $ 140.00

Price: $ 85.48

US $4.24 (3 Bids) End Date: Friday Jul-30-2010 16:40:11 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $39.95 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 14:22:52 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $39.95 Buy it now | Add to watch list