I have two slowcookers tha I use pretty often. One is a 6 qt programmable Smart Pot (I think it by Slower Cooker/Rival--but I'm at work, and I can't remember exactly). I bought it at BBB. The other one is a 4 qt Hamilton Beach--it isn't programmable. I also bought it a BBB. I find both very useful--they don't substitute for my oven, but I do find them useful and totally w/o problems. I use the large one for stews, eg, I recently made what my guests thought was a terrific Osso Bucco. I use the small one for overnight oatmeal, apple butter, and to prepare carmelized onions for onion soup. I had both of the crock pots going making turkey stock with the turkey carcases after Thanksgiving. BTW, there are some terrific (healthy) slow cooker recipes in Cooking Light (on their website), in Eating Well magazine, and then Cooking Light has a slow cooker cookbook that I bought recently from Amazon. Interesting reading about the AC slow cooker. Honestly, I was tempted by one feature, and that is that you can brown meat in the slow cooker dish on the stovetop before proceeding to the slow cooking. That seem's very nice to me since I often brown my meat in a skillet before dumping into the ceramic slow cooker dish. But I can't really justify buying yet another toy....

We got the KA (7qt?) slow cooker last winter (was a godsend during our kitchen reno--I could make some home-cooked meals!!!). Had originally purchased at L&T with a 20% coupon in the SS finish (BB&B only carried it in the Cinnamon color), but within a day or two of purchase, another store that offers coupons, ironically in the same shopping ctr., had it for the same price, and not only could I use a coupon, they were offering a $30 store gift card (for future use) with the purchase of that item. Needless to say, I made the swap! With that kind of bargain available (and the KA cooker is supposed to be a good one) I just couldn't justify spending the much higher price for the A-C (although I did like the one with the stove-top usable insert). The one downside to the KA; the silicone/rubber gasket around the lid (ostensibly to prevent spills during transport, or steam escape?) tends to pick up cooking odors which seem impossible to remove. I tried soaking in bleach, can't remember if I tried vinegar yet, but will try again. Otherwise, it worked well for us.

Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who went to W-S and paid big bucks for the large oval All-Clad....and I couldn't be happier with it! I gave away the only other crockpot I'd ever owned 15 or 20 years ago. Couldn't stand the mushy texture of meat cooked in it, and it was a PITA to clean. But then I had a couple of important events coming up, and a cp seemed like the only answer to the logistical problems. For one party, I had to transport and keep a large quantity of food warm for 4-5 hours. For the other, it supplemented the meager oven space in my kitchen when serving a crowd. In both cases, it worked like a charm! After hours and hours, nothing was scorched, and nothing was dried out. There are 2 models. I got the super-duper deluxe version. :) I know, I'm a sucker. But the more expensive one has a cooking insert that can be used on the stovetop to brown stuff before you begin the actual slow-cooking process. That makes such a difference in taste and appearance, and without the hassle of browning in one pan and then transferring to the cp. Honestly, I think you'd be wasting your money to buy the one without this feature. Better to buy a $35 or $40 one in that case, because you'll have most of the same limitations. The insert is dishwasher safe. The base is a snap to clean. The digital display is great. And it's just soooo purty!! lol I also find that the recipes available are far superior to the ones I tried a decade or two ago. (No doubt due to all the info available on the internet now.) Although I've actually only used it about 10 times so far, I'd rate 5 or 6 of the dishes a real success. After years of 'making do', I'm gradually replacing the junk with high-quality kitchen tools now that the kids are grown. Although a crockpot wasn't even on my (incredibly long) wish list to begin with, I'm just delighted now that I splurged. sm

Wow, now THAT'S what I call a slow cooker..... Nope, not for me either, but it's sure pretty. Everyone wants something different, I think. If I'm going to blow $200 on a kitchen item, I'm getting an All American pressure canner. Yeah. Then I'm going to have to use it as a kitchen chair because I sure don't have anywhere to put it. (grin) Annie