Your Crockpot Cooking Salvation

by ScottHernandez

How To Save Time With Your Slow Cooker

The great thing about using a slow cooker is that you can prepare your meal in about 15 minutes and not have to worry about it anymore. When I rise in the morning, it seems that this is the time of day when I feel the most energized. This makes it an ideal time to add all of the ingredients into my slow cooker and head off to work.

Who wants to work all day and then come home and spend an hour or two preparing dinner? Not me! Though slow cookers will save you a lot of time, there are a few tips I can give you that can help you use your slow cooker more effectively.

The first thing that you can do to save time is prepare your foods the night before and refrigerate them. This will save you time in the morning because you only need to place your ingredients in the slow cooker and you are done! Some foods such as rice and pasta you will not be able to prepare ahead of time but most foods can be. Just do as much as you can. After all, you have enough to do in the morning with getting ready for work, breakfast, the kids and so on.

Being that the majority of popular slow cookers only have two settings of low and high, I have found that cooking on the lowest setting gives me the best results. A common problem with slow cookers is that they cook too hot and if you use the high setting, you have a good chance of overcooking your meal. I have never overcooked any food by using the low setting. Programmable crock pots are also an excellent idea because they make it literally impossible to cook something incorrectly because you can set and forget.

Many slow cooker recipes call for vegetables and if you are going to use fresh ones, you will want to plave these under the meat as they will take longer too cook. Canned vegetables cook fast and should be placed over the meat. Also, it is a good idea to thaw out the meat before placing it in the crock pot. Some people will put a frozen roast in a slow cooker but I have found that my roasts have cooked better when they are thawed out first.

I hope that these small suggestions will help you utilize your slow cooker better and save you time. You will find that as you use your slow cooker more and gain experience, you will develop your own habits and find other ways to save time.

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Crock-Pot SCV400B 4-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker, Black

• 4-quart oval slow cooker
• High, low and warm settings are perfect for making chilis, stews, sauces and more
• Perfect for four or more people or a four pound roast
• Dishwasher-safe stoneware and lid
• Measures approximately 12 by 9 by 12 inches

Simply perfect. Simply delicious.Crock-Pot Slow Cookers make mealtime and entertaining more flavorful. Turn the dial to “High” and get a hot meal, snack, appetizer or dip in no time. Set it on “Low” and tonight’s dinner can cook while you’re at work. Or use the “Warm” setting during a get together with friends so your dish stays ready to eat until the party is over. No matter the recipe or the occasion, your Crock-Pot Slow Cooker keeps the temperature steady so your food is cooked to perfection, full of flavor and delicious. To keep clean up easy, the 4-quart removable oval stoneware slides right out of the base for easy transport to the table or storage in the fridge. And both the stoneware and lid are dishwasher safe. Crock-Pot Slow Cookers are available in a modern finish, perfect for your modern kitchen. Crock-Pot Slow Cookers simplify your day with slow-cooking solutions that fit your lifestyle. Crock-Pot The Original Slow Cooker

Rating: (out of 2 reviews)

List Price: $ 24.99

Price: $ 15.50

by Chrysophylax

Crock Pot and Slow Cooking: Making the Most Out of Them

If you are pressed for time, slow cooker or crock pot cooking offers the perfect solution in both flexibility and versatility.

When you put together the benefits of limited preparation, the use of one pot and the time saved by not having to prepare a meal on the spot, you know you have a winner. A meal can be cooked and served from the same pot, without having to juggle pots and pans and serving dishes.

Imagine coming home after a long hard day and smelling that your meal is already cooking, just waiting - a pure plummet in your stress levels.

If you don't already own a slow cooker, there are a number of things you need to look at before deciding on the best one for you and your family.

The first consideration will be the size of the cooker. Small versions can be handy if you eat a lot of appetizers, dips, and salsas. Generally these are 16 oz. or quart size and are perfect for serving these types of foodstuffs. Obviously, they are the best size also if you are cooking for one. A large family would be best served with a 5 quart or maybe a 7 quart model.

The second thing to think about is the type of cooking you usually do, or plan to do with your slow cooker. If you are wanting to slow cook large or awkward cuts, like rack of lamb, you will definitely need the larger crock pot version.

There are a couple of options available as far as control of the slow cooking goes. If controlling or setting the temperature is your wish, there are crock pots that let you do this.

The other option is that you can just opt for a push button model that cooks at preset low or high temperature settings and sometimes a warmer setting. You need to be aware that if the "low" setting is too low and the lid is not on properly, the cooking temperature can drop below the safe level for cooking some foods.

Finally, you need to look at the heating elements. Crock pots can come with either bottom or side elements, or they can have both. Pots with side elements often require more liquid while slow cooking to avoid the risk of drying up over long cooking times.

If you are someone who really enjoys mixing things up and experimenting, slow cooking provides a wealth of possibilities. Where the crock pot really takes its place head and shoulders above any other cooking method is for slow cooking leaner and cheaper cuts of meat. The moist, long, slow cooking provides very tender meats where the fat is either dissolved or very easy to remove.

There are a few things you need to remember with crock pot cooking. Some meals will require the ingredients to be added at different times. For example, a casserole may require the meat to be cooked for a few hours before you then add firm vegetables, with softer vegetables being added toward the end of cooking.

As a rule of thumb, you should add things like spices, herbs and seasonings at the beginning of the cooking cycle, and things like frozen vegetables and seafood toward the end. Since ingredients are generally thoroughly cooked over a long period of time, a lot of stirring is not recommended or the food may break apart or turn to mush.

The versatility of the crock pot even allows you to create breads and desserts, but this is one area where you must take particular care during preparation. This becomes even more important if you are leaving your creation unattended while it is cooking. An over beaten or whipped dessert can quite easily raise the lid off the crock pot and create an ugly mess. This is certainly something you would not want to come home to after a long day at work.

A crock pot can deliver meals as classic as pot roast and vegetables, as simple as a cream cheese layer dip, or as complex and spicy as paella. The crock pit is one kitchen appliance that can rightly be called the cook's best friend, especially if you learn to use it to its full potential.

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Crock-Pot SCCPTP600P 6-Quart Oval Programmable Slow Cooker, Black & Polished Stainless Steel

• 6-quart oval stoneware is perfect for seven or more people or a six pound roast
• Four programmable time setting options provide one-touch versatility and automatically shifts to warm once the cook time is complete
• Lifting side handles and cord storage for added convenience
• Dishwasher safe stoneware and lid
• Measures approximately 20.0 by 12.0 by 15.8 inches

Crockpot one touch digital slow cooker with removable lid.
Digital display timer, with four convenient pre-set time settings

Rating: (out of 3 reviews)

List Price: $ 69.99

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Crock-Pot SCR500SS 5-Quart Round Manual Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel

• 5-quart round stoneware
• High, low and warm settings are perfect for making chilis, stews, sauces and more
• Perfect for five or more people or a five pound roast
• Dishwasher safe stoneware and lid
• Measures approximately 14.0 by 9.4 by 14.3 inches

The perfect size Crock-Pot slow cooker for a 5 pound roast, the SCR500-SS accommodates varied cooking needs and time constraints with high, low and warm settings. Clean up is a snap with dishwasher safe removable stoneware that doubles as a convenient serving dish complete with a dish-washer-safe glass lid.

Rating: (out of 1 reviews)

List Price: $ 29.99

Price: $ 14.99

by absenthero

Question by Anna E: When can I put vegetables in the slow cooker with my pot roast?
I'm making my first pot roast in the slow cooker today and I'm not sure when I can add my carrots and potatoes. The recipe I made I adjusted from one I found online, 2.4 lb roast, can of cream of mushroom, half a packet of onion soup mix and a cup of water.

Anything else I should add?

Best answer:

Answer by Chloe
I put everything in at the same time and have never had a problem.

Add your own answer in the comments!

The Best Slow Cooker - Cook An Entire Meal With One Appliance

The slow cooker. What a wonderful product. There is no denying the fact that this appliance has revolutionized the cooking experience. It facilitates multi-tasking and therefore makes the daily chores of life a whole lot easier for working mothers, stay-at-home-mothers, and housewives in general.

So, what is the slow cooker? The slow cooker, also referred to as a crock- pot, is a small electric cooking appliance that cooks while maintaining a low temperature compared to other cooking methods. Because of this low temperature, the slow cooker allows you to leave your cooking unattended for many hours.

The slow cooker was developed by the Naxon Utilities Corporation of Chicago. It was introduced as the Naxon Beanery All-Purpose Cooker. In 1970, Naxon Utilities Corporation was purchased by the Rival Company. In 1971, Rival reintroduced the slow cooker under the name Crock-Pot, and introduced removable stoneware inserts in 1974. The brand is now owned by Sunbeam Products. Presently, there are several other brands of the slow cooker including Hamilton Beach, West Bend Housewares, and Magic Chef.

The slow cooker consists of a round or oval cooking pot with a lid. The cooking pot is made of glazed ceramic or porcelain and is surrounded by a housing which contains an electric heating element. The lid, which is mainly of transparent glass, is seated in a groove in the edge of the pot. The condensed vapor that is trapped in the groove of the pot edge provides a low-pressure seal to the atmosphere. When a slow cooker is in use, the pressure inside is at atmospheric pressure, despite the water vapor generated inside the pot. It is for this reason that a slow cooker is much different from a pressure cooker. With the slow cooker, there is no danger from a sudden pressure release.

The majority of slow cookers have two or more temperature settings and sometimes a "keep warm" setting. A typical slow cooker is designed to heat food to 170o F (77o C) on low, to perhaps 190-200o F (88-93oC) on high.

Recently, there was another upgrade to the slow cooker. This upgrade, in my opinion, qualifies this appliance to be called the best slow cooker. This improved slow cooker was introduced by the Slow Cooker Mate company and the appliance is called the Slow Cooker Mate. With this appliance, you can cook a meal in one pot and take your cooking to a whole new level while making a complete meal in one slow cooker.

The Best Slow Cooker is an innovative three chamber slow cooker that allows you to cook an entire meal with one appliance. The large capacity base crock is removable for easy serving and clean-up. The unique stoneware divided insert, which is found only in The Best Slow Cooker, allows you to cook two more items at the same time. You can cook vegetables, warm dips or sauces and much more. Both stoneware crocks are microwave and dishwasher safe. The lid is also dishwasher safe. The Best Slow Cooker is ideal for the chef in the house who is already short of time.

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