For those of you who cook with a "crock pot".... how do you like them?

Question

.......... or are they a thing of the past? I have never seen one (let alone used one) but back when, they seemed to be the rage. What types of meals can you cook in them? I'm asking because my kids are becoming the age of "league sports" and practice always seems to be around dinner time! I'm looking for ways to make fast, holesome meals.

Answer 1

I use my constantly! I actually had to buy a second one cause I use it so much! you can look up recipies on the internet or find oodles of great cookbooks devoted to crock pot cooking. They are so convenient. If my hubby dosnt come home to the crock pot he asks if we are going out or having pizza! LOL

Answer 2

I have 2!! A 5-1/2 quart one and a 3 quart one. Both have pots you can lift out for easy cleaning. I love using my larger crockpot for soups and roasts w/veggies. I use my smaller one for meatballs with sauce or spaghetti sauce or those little sausages w/bbq sauce, etc. that I take to work. I make something different every time we have a potluck at work, and they all wait with interest to see what I've brought in.

I don't like cooking chicken in my crockpots, unless it is a soup. The chicken cooks too fast, and the bones turn dark. I don't like that.

But a cheaper cut of beef is great. Put the veggies on the bottom with the seasoned meat on top, add a little bit of broth, an leave on all day. Yummy when you get home..

I hope you buy one and use it. Let us know how it turns out!!

Answer 3

The crock pot lets you use fresh, inexpensive meats and produce AND have a meal waiting when people get home.
The meals won't have all the strange ingredients as those overly processed market products.
They are excellent for people with long jobs and kids. They are also much safer than having a oven running all that time ( and at a much cheaper energy cost ).
Get the larger size with the removable crock for easier cleaning.

Answer 4

Crock pots are still widely used. In fact the Reynolds company has developed a disposable lining for them in order to make the clean up easier. During football and band and baseball season with 3 boys; I wouldn't dream of not having one.
You can put anything you want in them the night before and it is cooked by the time you wake up. You can also put the ingrediants in early that morning and go do all the sports things and when you get home the dinner is ready. Great tool. I recommend though with some meat dishes you brown the meat before putting it into the crocky. It will give it a nice color and also speed up the cooking.

ROUND STEAK ITALIANO
1 1/2 lbs. round steak
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (15 1/2 oz) jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms or your choice
1 (16 oz) can whole small onions drained (or chop fresh)

Cut steak into 5 or 6 serving size pieces. Coat with salt,oregan,and pepper. In slow-cooking pot pour spaghettis sauce over meat. Cover and cook on low for 7 -9 hours or until meat is tender. Turn control to high; add onions. Cook on high for 110 to 15 minutes. SERVE WITH italian green beans and toasted garlic cheese bread. makes 5-6 servings
steamed white rice also goes well with this.

Answer 5

I love using my crock pots. I have two a bigger one and a smaller one. Get the kind that the "liner" lifts out of for easier cleaning. A lot of people still use them. You can use them for many many recipes from beef roasts-potatoes and carrots, to chili. You can make meat loaf in them or soup. The newer crock pots seem to have at 'hotter' heat and may not take as long on the low setting as an older recipe would state. I think you would enjoy using one.

Answer 6

I use the crock pot now and then.
It is great because you can turn it on in the morning and you will have a warm meal for supper.

I usually make chilli, lentils w/ham. They have those "crock pot meals" in the freezer section of the stores, and those are fairly good, I usually add a bag of vegetables to it, to stretch it out.

Oh yeah! Corned Beef ! That is great in the crock pot.
Just add water basically. (spices too)

I wish you could make pizza in one though.
Well shoot hold on..........

Crock Pot Pizza
1 (12 ounce) package wide egg noodles
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can mushrooms, sliced
1 (3 1/2 ounce) package pepperoni, sliced and halved
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons italian seasoning
3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 garlic clove, minced
===================================
Spray crockpot with pam.
Cook the noodles.
In large frying pan Cook onion, garlic and groud beef, drain.
Stir in spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, italian seasoning.
Layer in crockpot, 1/3 meat, then noodles, then pepperoni, then cheese.
Repeat layers twice.
Cover and cook on low 3-4 hours.

Answer 7

I love my crock pot! I use it all the time. You can cook anything.

My favorate slow cooker meal: A frozen beef chuck roast, about 3.5 - 4 lbs. Put in in the slow cooker. Pour a can of Swanson's Beef Broth over it. Add about 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle thickly with Penzey's English Prime Rib Rub. (www.penzeys.com). Set on high (my slow cooker is a West Bend 2-piece one with a seperate pot and base) and leave for 8 hours at least.

There will be a lot of juice, which you can either make into gravy and serve over noodles or rice, or use for au jus. Make hot roast beef sandwiches. It will be so tender you can cut it with a fork.

Also, inexpensive cuts of beef, like chuck roast, are better for slow cooking - the slow cooking time tenderizes them. More expensive cuts turn to leather in a crockpot.

When you get home your house will smell delicious!

Answer 8

I enjoy using a crock pot - throw in a bunch of meat and veggies in there and go to work and when you get home dinner is ready - it really is nice and slow coocking is great if you have a less than terrific piece of meat. The down side of most crock pots are that they are a pain to clean - then have a heating element inside which makes it impossible to put them in a dishwasher or submerge them in a sink - if you can find one that resolves these prblems, get it and have fun.

Answer 9

Absolutely! Nothing better than the taste of a meal slow cooked all day to retain the flavors. I am a busy single mom, who also runs a daycare out of my home. These are perfect, and time saving. I wouldn't want to be without one. You can cook just about anything in them. Find yourself a good slowcooker cookbook or go online to allrecipes.com and look up slowcooker recipes. Once you get the hang of it, it is simple to make your own recipes. With experience, you will realize that with meats, you will not need much liquid. This is also excellent for the less tender cuts of meats. Makes them "melt in your mouth" tender. Excellent!

Answer 10

they are still around and are wonderful. I use one..i'm 23 and I work during the day. my favorite recipe is so simple...peel an onion and throw it in the empty pot. open a large can of green beans and dump them on top. throw in a couple packages of chopped cooked ham and soem cut up potatoes. set it on medium/high before you leave for work, or early in the morning. by dinner time, it is done and it is a whole meal. and, left overs ar eeasy becuase you just leave them in the pot, put the lid on, throw it in the fridge once it cools off and then reheat it when you want it again. or, to take someplace, you just put the lid on and you can take the pot with you wherever you go. as long as there is somewhere to plug it in, you are good.