A Must Have for Busy People

I have just discovered the world of slow cooking and am SO glad that I did! I'm a busy stay-at-home mother of 3 children, dealing with Chicago traffic and trying to start a home business.

This Rival 6 quart slow cooker cooks just enough for dinner in the evening and a light lunch for myself the next day. I prep my vegetables after I get in from dropping off my son at school in the morning, pop them in the slow cooker, and then get on with the rest of my day. I can run errands, work on my business, go shopping, take the kids to doctors appointments, and STILL have a home-cooked meal on the table at 5 or 6:00. The food is very tasty, although I've made so far are stews and chilis. Its nice to not have to worry about what time dinner will be done if I get stuck in late afternoon traffic and just arrive in the door at 6:00. The house is always filled with lovely scents of dinner when we get in now.

Most recipes call for you to saute hard vegetables such as carrots and onions before putting them in the slow cooker. You then chop other vegetables, add your cooking stock and/or water to your saute in the slow cooker and turn it on. There are only 2 settings needed: the temperature and the timer. Once your meal has cooked, the crock pot switches over to the 'warm' setting to keep your meal warm. The instructions warn not to leave food warming more than 2 hours because of risk of bacteria growing, but that is basic food safety.

I think crock pots should be rediscovered by students, busy homemakers, working mothers and more. Particularly with the cost of groceries going up, this accessory allows you to cook with dried pulses (presoaked the night before) - the cheapest foods in the grocery store. It also lets you quickly through together any vegetables in your fridge that are about to go bad, thus reducing your waste. Many chilis and stews can be whipped together that morning from canned beans (again - CHEAP). Finally, if you got your crock pot going in the morning (maybe takes 15 minutes tops), you'll come home after a long day to a cooked meal - negating the need for take-out food, pizza, fast food, etc...

I bought several slow cooker cookbooks to go with my purchase, but the rules seem pretty easy to follow. Presoak dried pulses, go easy on the liquid as there will be no evaporation, add soft vegetables or rice and herbs just 20 minutes before finish time, and saute hard vegetables before adding to the pot. No great cooking skill needed here to cook impressive meals.

I'm even considering getting another slow cooker so that I can make several courses at once (maybe use one for a soup and one for the main dish - or one for a dip and one for the entree if I'm entertaining). I used to never consider having guests for holiday meals before late afternoon due to cook times. I may even start entertaining more now that I've discovered this tool!

Finally, I came across the suggestion that you could plug your slow cooker into a standard timer purchased from a hardware store, having your cooker start when you're not home yet or even still asleep. Do this for a slow-cooked lunch or even breakfast in bed (prepped the night before)!

This will be a hit once it catches on - I'm very glad I bought mine. Huge timesaver - easy to clean, use and maintain. Cuts down on fast food AND dirty dishes. I can't speak higher of it!