Why would you need it....How about an old fashioned..or new fashioned heavy cast iron dutch oven...put it into the oven at the temperature you want and it will slowly cook aas long as youw ant...
and you can even prebrown the meat in it, then add your veggies and broth or wine and let it cook all day.
As far as I can see, the only thing they are good for is keeping something warm.
Linda C

I like to make pot roast by putting a large piece of boneless chuck (no liquid) in the slow cooker and leaving it set on low all day. The result is really good. This could be done in the oven as Linda says, but the slow cooker is more energy efficient for this purpose I believe.

If nothing else, a slow cooker is great to have for buffets and pot lucks.

Jim

I LOVE mine. But I am a single, person who works a lot outside the home. I don't want to watch the stove or heat up the house in the summer with the oven for long periods of time. I can and do put ingredients in the crockpot and come home to a hot cooked meal. But mostly I use it on the weekends. I make stew or soup with what I have to use up in the fridge. Last weekend it was pineapple chicken--delicious! If I'm having a party, I make sloppy joes or shredded beef and it's always a huge hit with the meat eaters, and I don't have to worry about it. I do brown my meat before I put it in the slow cooker. Other good dishes I have made are chicken cacciatore, moroccan chicken, chili and many other types of bean stews, black bean soup, mulled cider and wine for parties, borscht. I like soups and stews, I don't try to cook whole cuts of meat in it, it's ideal for the cheaper cuts, plus mostly I'm vegetarian. It's great for making dried beans and baked beans that can be finished off in the oven.

Jim, did I read correctly and you put no additional liquid in the slow cooker when making pot roast? That seems like the solution to keeping foods from becoming so water laden. I've got to try that next time I use my slow cooker for big chunks of meat.

Years ago, when I was working, I used to stick two frozen turkey thighs on a rack in the slow cooker before I left in the morning. By the time I got home, they were fully cooked, of course, but all the moisture had evaporated and the skin was wonderfully brown & crisp.

I think a slow cooker has its place, especially in the summer when you don't want to have the oven on for hours at a time. It's good for beans & soups too.

I have a crock-pot that is several years old, and I love it!! Are you sure you put the proper amount of liquid into yours, following instructions of a recipe? You need to use enough liquid in it so that it doesn't run dry.

You say that you "picked up". Where did it come from? If it was from a garage-sale...maybe you bought someone else's defective pot. I understand that the new ones on the market have timers on them...."smart pots". Will start and stop to however the timer is set.

Mine isn't new or modern, but very reliable. Have made some great roast beef and stews in mine.

At any rate....don't think I would not leave *anything* electrical plugged in if I were to leave it alone for hours at a time.

My slow cookers are "vintage!" One is from the early 1970s and the other from early 1980. The newer crocks do cook at a higher temperature which isn't always satisfactory. Check out thrift stores and yard sales to see if you can find an old Rival pot that still works. If I needed one today, I don't think I would buy one of the newer models.

And I don't have a problem with leaving them on when I'm at work. 'Course, I usually come home for lunch each day too.
Teresa

I liked my old crock pot better than my newer one, the newer one got too hot and overcooked everything. I got a different one for Christmas, a Rival, and it works great. As a matter of fact, I just cooked a big batch of beans in it last night. I plugged it in about midnight and let it cook on low until about 8 a.m. this morning.

Since I plan to use the beans for bean dip, it doesn't matter that I didn't want beans for breakfast, LOL. It ran all night while the house was cool, and I didn't turn the oven on today while it was 85F, I sure wouldn't want the oven (or even stovetop) on for hours today.

I use mine to make pulled pork and it's great for BBQed beef sandwiches, I can cook a chuck roast all day, "pull" it into pieces, add BBQ sauce and put it on buns, the kids love it.

I also use it for split pea soup, lentil dishes of all types, vegetable soups and to caramelize onions.

Oh yeah, I like mine a lot, for certain uses. I don't find that it's good for everything, but it's sure good for some things.

Oh, and Elery and I made a bean based vegetarian chili from Prevention magazine a couple of weeks ago and it was very, very good.

Annie

I picked it up at Bed Bath & Beyond probably 2-3 years ago. It was an impulse buy. When I reseached the model last night, Rival Smart-Pot programmable, the only place still selling it was Amazon. It had 96 reviews and 68 of them were for 1 star and 6 were for 2 star. There was an engineer who bought one and did proper temp tests and concluded that even though it has 2 low settings and 2 high settings, it is always on high. Since I already owned it I figured I would give it a shot with a tried and true recipe from this forum and close supervision.

I added 3 pounds of perfectly sliced sirloin and it was scorched within an hour on low. I kept opening the lid to cool it off and I kept adding cold beef broth to it. After 4 hours when I lifted the lid to cool it down I realized it had become shredded beef. I added some more broth and put the rice on so we could eat earlier. The recipe tasted great, only it was shredded beef with peppers and onions. LOL

Linda, I do have a cast iron pot and I love to do pot roast and stew in it but I work full time and I am searching for a time saver. I thought if I could prep the inside pot for the crock pot the night before and just turn it on in the morning, I could come home and not have to cook.

I know you folks on the board are cooking machines but I have only been a hobby cook. In January I went on weight watchers and now my fast food habit has become a thing of the past. I am down 32 pounds!! Yay me! But this cooking every single night after work is a real pain. I can't even pull it off on the 2 nights that I have yoga. I find myself making double batches of stuff so we can have leftovers and I can skip a night of cooking.

I think I will go on a mission to find a good recommended slow cooker to use once or twice a week. I can set it to be done right after yoga class. That would be sweet!

Care to see the result after 5 hours on low?

Annie, which model Rival do you have? I would hope the newer ones don't have the same problem.

I love mine, too. They are great for some things, and don't use much energy or heat the kitchen. I prefer cast iron in the oven for pot roast, though.

My Crock Pot is simple: Off, low, high. And it's pretty old.

Shambo, you read it correctly. After experimenting with many methods while trying to duplicate the delicious brisket I had at Tujague's (pronounced Two-jacks) in New Orleans, I came upon this method in the slow cooker's user manual. Just put a large piece of beef in the cooker, nothing else added, and cook on low all day. At the end of the day it will be immersed in rich broth, moist and tender. How that happens is a mystery to me since starting out with liquid produced a dry tasting beef. You can add seasonings at the beginning or end. You could start with some onions and carrots for flavor but they will not be appealing to eat after that amount of cooking. I add nothing at the start.

Tujague's serves their brisket with a sauce based on ketchup and horseradish. Yummy!

Jim

I have heard somewhere that the newer ones cook hotter than old models, something about health hazards-old ones didn't keep hot enough. I had one for years I received as a wedding present, cooked in it regularly & never got sick. Food was much better than in my new ones, which I've had more problems with scorching. I got one with a metal pan, hated it. It scorched easily. I now have one with a ceramic insert which works much better. It was an inexpensive Rival model. I've heard there are lots of problems with those smart pots.

I love my crockpot for certain things. First, during the summer time, I don't want to have the stove or oven on for long periods of time. I can put the crock pot out on the cement slab back porch.

The other day, for example, I had a bunch of lobster shells I wanted to simmer for a bisque stock. No way did I want either the smell or the heat in the house, considering that we've been in triple digit heat around here. So now I have the stock in the freezer, taking up less room than the bulky shells would have done.

It's handy in the same way for legumes, stew meats & long cooking soups.

I don't even have any idea how long I've had it, but it's a simple, Off-Low-High Rival.

joanm, I have the basic Rival, it doesn't say anything except Rival. It has a removable stoneware crock portion, and the settings are Off/Low/High/Warm.

Very basic but it works well. Now I'm off to find a crock pot potato recipe. The kids are coming over tomorrow night and I've pre-cooked ribs to go on the grill but I'll need something to go with it. I have to go to the farm tomorrow, so I won't be home to cook anything, it'll have to cook while I'm gone.

Annie

Annie

I think it depends on what kinds of foods you like. I love stews and soups and leftovers, so I like the dishes I make in the crockpot. I'm not sure what it is that makes meat moist in the crockpot, but it is not the sitting in broth aspect. I'll bet it has something to do with the marbling and connective tissue in the meat. Chicken you have to cook fast and for much slower amounts of time, like 3-5 hours tops. I do mine about 4 hours. Also, always sear the meat first.

Here's a pineapple chicken recipe I've been enjoying all week. I think it would work with Weight Watchers, since I got it out of a lowfat cookbook.

Chicken with Pineapply Chutney
Adapted from "Moosewood Restaurant Lowfat Favorites" pg. 292

Four skinless chicken breasts (I doubled the recipe and added four chicken thighs with most of the skin removed)

Chutney:
-1 cup fresh or undrained unsweetend canned pineapple chunks (I used 1 cup fresh pineapple and 1 can mandarin oranges since I ran out of pineapple in the double recipe)
-1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel
-1 lemon, peeled and seeded
-1 cup chopped red bell peppers (I used green)
-1/4 cup chopped scallions
-2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
-dash of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce to taste (I used Thai hot pepper sauce)
Salt and white pepper to taste

Layer all ingredients except green peppers in a crockpot and cook on high for 3-5 hours. Do not put bell peppers in the crockpot, they get bitter with long cooking.

When chicken is ready prepare peppers and sauce. Saute peppers in canola oil in a large skillet until cooked through. Take chicken out of crockpot and set aside. Pour sauce/juice from bottom of crockpot into large skillet with peppers. Simmer til thick. I added a slurry of about 3 TBLSP cornstarch to thicken.

Add chicken back to sauce. Serve over rice.

Note: With all the peppers this was still a little bitter so I added a bit of honey and low salt soy sauce. Basically pineapple chicken, lower fat style.

This is not a "put it in the crockpot before work and come home to a meal" kind of dish, but it is a "put it in the crockpot after lunch and have a nice dinner ready with very little fuss" kind of thing for a busy weekend.

In my 30 years of married life, I have been through 3 previous Rival Crock-Pots: a 3-1/2 qt, a 5 qt and a 6 qt. I burned the first two out - one I zapped its cord, and the other I just used it until it wouldn't work any more. When I replaced it with the 6 qt - well, it still works but the handles (plastic) broke off. Now I have a Hamilton Beach Smart Pot - and I'll totally agree with everyone here that the newer pots are hotter and therefore cook faster. I used to do a 5 lb chicken in 8 hours; now it only takes 6. But it has a timer.

As far as leaving something plugged in and cooking while I'm gone, the slow cooker/Crock Pot is the ONLY thing I will leave doing that. When Rival first put out the Crock Pot, the slogan was, "It cooks all day while the cook's away."

Mine is out on the average of once a week, sometimes more. Today, there's a chicken roasting in it. I do spaghetti sauce, "That Bean Dish", roast beef, "barbecue" chicken, and chili in the slow cooker.

"That Bean Dish" - Brown a pound of hamburger on the stove top or in the MW. Drain and blot. Put in the slow cooker. Add 2 cans of dark red kidney beans and two big cans of pork-and-beans, a dollop of ketchup, a couple of shakes of onion powder (or onion flakes, or a small amount of chopped onion - you choose), and stir. Cook on low. Old cooker: 6 hours; New cooker: 4 hours.

"Barbecue chicken" - Put some chicken quarters in the slow cooker. Cover with your favorite BBQ sauce. Cook on low. Old cooker: 8 hours; new cooker: 6 hours.

DonnaR/CA

I have an old Rival that was a wedding gift in 1986. It sounds like Annie's, with very basic control settings. I like it fine for beans and chili but I'm never happy with the outcome of any meat unless I'm going to shred that meat and mix it with some sort of thick sauce. Something odd happens to the texture.

That chicken recipe looks good. I come home for lunch so I would probably be able to use this thing with the shorter cooking times. Now I'm curious to see what it would do with chicken pieces in 4-6 hours. This may work out better for me, setting it up at lunch time.

The newer Rival's are horrible. They boil your food on the lowest setting. How they can even sell those things are beyond me.

My Rival is 18 years old and works great. It has no fancy timers or settings but I would take it over one of those new ones any day.

I love my crock-pot! It's true that sometimes a good, old fashioned dutch oven does a better job, but a crock-pot has its uses too.

Here's a few of my favorites:

Crockpot Coconut Rice Pudding

2 ¾ cup water
¾ cup uncooked white rice
1 can cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
1 can evaporated milk
2/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 T dark rum

In crockpot bowl, stir in water, rice, cream, and milk until combined. Cover and cook on Low for 4 -5 hours or High for 2 ½ to 3 hours.

Toast coconut and set aside. When rice is done, remove crockpot bowl and stir in rum. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Refrigerate with plastic wrap pressed directly on pudding.

Fall Off The Bone BBQ Ribs

1 med onion chopped
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup tomato paste
2 T paprika
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T yellow mustard
Salt & Pepper
4 lbs pork spareribs

In crockpot, stir in onion, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, 1 tsp salt & 1 tsp pepper until combined. Cut ribs into several large pieces to fit the crockpot bowl and add to crockpot. Spoon sauce over ribs, cover and cook ribs Low 8 10 hours or on High for 4 5 hours.

Slow Cooker Cornbread Casserole

(This is a great, basic dressing to bring to a pot-luck. It's actually very good!)

4 ½ cups cornbread crumbs
1 (16 oz) package herb stuffing mix
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
1 med onion, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
4 large eggs
1 T rubbed sage
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 T butter, cut up.

Stir together cornbread crumbs, stuffing mix, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl. Pour cornbread mixture into a greased crockpot (spray with Pam). Place cut up butter pieces on top. Cook on low for 4 hours.

I love our slowcooker. As a working mom, nothing beats being able to throw a bunch of stuff in a pot in the morning, and come home to a cooked meal.

That said, I now work out of my home office and find I use it less and less because if I need to start dinner in the afternoon, I can sneak away to put something in the oven.

But I've been reading this blog lately, and am tempted to try some of the recipes that she's had success with. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

We still have our vintage orange-colored 1982 Rival Crockpot (a wedding gift).

We do love it. Ours works very well, with low and high settings, and now that I found those disposable Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners, cleanup is not a problem. It doesn't use much energy and doesn't heat up the kitchen on these hot summer days.

A couple of our favorites are beef stew and boneless/skinless chicken thighs with carrots, onions and celery.

I've heard about the overheating problems with the newer Rivals before and I agree with the suggestion to look for an old Rival at thrift stores or yard sales.

I have an old fashioned (no removable insert) Rival, too. I've never tried the liners because I don't like cooking with plastics. Oddly, I use aluminum foil fairly frequently on the grill, and foil probably isn't good for us either. (But try cauliflower drizzled with sea salt and olive oil wrapped in foil on the grill, and you won't care. Or carrots, asparagus, etc.)

Even though the liners sound enticing, I find that if I soak the crock pot well and use a good scrub brush, clean up is pretty easy. Here in Florida in the summer, crock pots are a nice alternative to grilling. (The oven gets a break from May-Sept.)

I brown veggies and/or meats in sizzling olive oil first, and use a moderate amount of liquid - less than the old recipes call for.

Nothing beats coming home from work and having dinner ready! Yes, I do love my slow cooker.

I also love my slow cookers. The favorite around here is chili. It's nice to make when you have to bring something. Also you may want to try to slow-cooker bags. I have and it really helps on the clean up.

I have the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go. It comes with a probe and turns itself off when the meat reaches whatever temperature you program. Big cuts of meat always come out moist and delicious with no liquid. Or, you can skip the probe and program it to cook soup or stew for however many hours.

I used it all the time when I first got it. Now, it's packed away in the pantry so I forget I have it until we have a heat wave that lasts more than a couple of days.

The mention of "all-day pasta sauce" on another thread made me think of the discussion on this one. I don't make long cooked pasta sauce, but I would think a slow cooker would be good for that purpose.

Jim

Yeah, I do, but it doesn't reciprociate.

It tells me that we should just be friends, that we're not right for each other...

Sigh.

I saw a Rival the other day that was really nice looking but I knew, of course, of the too high temperatures. Sure enough, when I read the reviews on it, it came to a boil on low. I have two non-removable ugly old ones that work the way crock pots are supposed to work. They won't ever go in a garage sale!

LOL kframe! Have the 2 of you tried therapy?

Maybe you went to fast at first? Maybe you could try slowing things down and find true love after all.

Hello all,

I have a Ravetti (3qt.(?)) and a GE (5 qt.), and they both boil the heck out of anything I put in it.
The 5 qt. SC when it is completely full of sauce, it will boil it within 2 hours; no way would I trust the thing in any all-dday senario.
Now, Im puck shy to buy another slowcooker.

I too love my basic and old model crockpot.

Another great thing to make in it is caramelized onions. Put a stick of butter in and fill the thing up to the top with sliced onions (a lot of onions!) Cook on low for 12 hours. They carmelize great with no stirring, burning or watching. You can keep them in the refrigerator to add to things or make pretty instant onion soup with the addition of beef broth.

Of course, your house smells like an onion warehouse, but they are good!

I wound up donating the too hot Rival and I picked up a Hamilton Beech Stay n Go. It has warm, low, and hot buttons so I am hoping the low is resonable. I have next week off so I can experiment with it while supervising it. Wish me luck :->

"...I picked up a Hamilton Beech Stay n Go."

How do you like it?

I'm thinking about getting one. The gasketed lid sounds great for travel, but is it a nuisance in regular use?

Jim

I liked it. I didn't try the exact same recipe but I did some country ribs in it and it did not boil like the crock pot did. Nice slow gentle simmer. If I turned it up to high I got the same result as the crock pot on low. It's a keeper for me. I did not get the fancy one with the meat probe. I kept staring at the hole in the lid and couldn't bring myself to buy it. I got the 6 qt stay and go that sells for $30-$35. The have it at Walmart and Kmart. The gasket wasn't an issue on my counter because I have never locked it down but it looks like it would not leak if I locked it down and took it in to work.

Thanks for the quick reply, Joan. You surprised me. I think I will go ahead and buy it. It's available locally at a good price.

I have a Rival slow cooker from the era when all appliances were either avocado or harvest gold color. Mine is avocado. I got it out and cleaned it up. I think it is still a good one, but with a few drawbacks such as small size, round shape and non-removable crock. Still, it has its uses.

Jim

I do love my crockpots. I have a small ( maybe 1 and a half quarts?), made by Rival round one with a dark green non-removable insert. I have a medium size round one that is my oldest, from Rival (5 qt ?), with a non-removable pink (yes pink) stoneware cooking pot. I also have 2 large ones- an older one made at least 10 years ago, round, (6 qt?) with a white insert made by West Bend (it's my favorite still). My newest one is a Rival oval, I think it's 6 and a half quarts.

I think the easiest way to tell the older ones from the newer ones is that the oldest were 'off/low/high' only. The newer ones added 'warm'.

My older round West Bend is still my favorite because it seemed more consistant in temperature, whether low or high, than is my newer oval Rival. But although my newer oval Rival is indeed hotter, I've just kept that in mind and have been quite successful with some adjustments to favorite recipes... like using low instead of high, or cooking less time on high than I do in the older West Bend.
I have NOT however had the problem with it- that it seems not to HAVE a low but just a high. That sounds plain defective to me- it should have both, even if the high is a bit "too hot".

I believe I read somewhere that the reason all the cookers have gone oval is that the very inside of the large round cookers did not reach the proper safe temerature as did the food next to or near the walls of the cooker (the cookers have no direct heat from the bottom, only the sides). So they started making the cookers oval so all the food would be the same distance from the walls. That makes sense to me, though I don't have to like it.

A couple of things from my old manuals that really do make a difference in cooking in the old or the new crockpots:
----veggies go in first,then meat in middle and on top (veggies take longer to cook usually than the meat).
----if the meat is fatty, the fat should be trimmed off and the meat wiped with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and fat residue. If you do not want to do that, the meat should be browned on all sides in a fry pan or under the broiler and then drain off the fat before placing in the crockpot. Crockpots just don't like more than a small amount of fat.
(With pork roasts (4 to 5 lb loin end pork roast) they suggested putting the roast under the broiler for 15 to 20 minutes to remove the excess fat.)
----liquids don't normally "boil away"like on the stovetop-and usually you end up with more liquid than you started with. One half to one cup liquid is usually enough for most recipes unless they contain rice or pasta.
---- crockpots are meant to be at least half full. (They no longer tell you this in the newer tiny manuals). If they are not, although you can still cook the smaller amounts,the cooking times will have to be adjusted. (That didn't seem to be as much of a problem with the smaller round ones, but now with the 6.5 QT and larger oval ones, it is harder to fill half the pot with enough vegetables and/or meat by volume. There is just me and DH, that's why I add a lot of yummy veggies to equal half full-it does seem to make for much more consistant time and settings).

For a pot roast for us, I put 2 or 3 potatoes peeled and sliced thin in, with a couple of carrots (or a couple of large handfuls of those small carrots in the bag left whole) and an onion or 2, peeled and sliced. I salt and pepper a 3 or 4 pound pot roast/rump roast/brisket and put it on top of the veggies. I add 1/2 cup water/beef stock/consomme over top and cook on low 10 to 12 hours, (High 5 to 6). Most often with beef and pork whole roast cuts, I start on high for at least an hour or 2, then dial back to low. Seems to be safer to get a large cut of meat up to temp fast, then low and slow. Each hour on high is about 2 on low, so you can figure the time left.

A whole chicken is pretty similar-
same carrots, same onions, add a couple of stalks of celery with the leaves, cut into 1 inch pieces. You can of course put in more veggies if you like. Put the veggies in first, add a whole 3 pound (or larger in a large crockpot but adjust times for the chosen setting), broiler/fryer (I like to rinse inside and out and pat dry) on top of the veggies.
Add some salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup water/chicken broth/white wine and some dried basil and/or rosemary/thyme over the chicken. Cover and cook low 8 to 10 hours or on high (but use 1 cup liquid for high) for 3.5 to 5 hours. Or do the first hour on high thenswitch to low like the beef roast above.

I suggest you check any cooked meat's interior with a meat thermometer until you have the times and settings down for your model, for all the larger whole cuts of meat. Safety first in the oven or the crockpot- if yours isn't cooking fast enough (still on the raw side after the maximum suggested time for that setting), or it's cooked the meat on the outside but not enough inside- don't use that crockpot! Many old crockpots are still cooking great but many aren't!

I have cooked all of the above cuts of beef/pork meats with only salt & pepper, no veggies and added no liquid. I've browned first and not browned before cooking in the crockpot. It usually comes out great either way. The meat and the gravy is usually a bit more tasty if the meat is browned first, but it's really not necessary.

Soups and stews are great to cook all day or night.
Whole acorn squash rinsed (or split and wrapped in foil before putting in pot). Season and butter after cooking when on the table. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

Baked apples, pork chops with sauerkraut,and oh yes, I make gallons of apple-maple butter in all of them together some years, (sure beats standing over a hot stove stirring and stirring and stirring).

The 2 cookbooks that taught me all I needed to ever know are Mabel Hoffman's Crockery Cookery, revised edition 1997, and Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook by Dawn J. Ranck and Phyllis Pellman Good. This one was their first and I think their best book of the name. Copyright 2000.
A good recipe book is invaluable for crockpot cooking.

Don't give up- they are a real joy to use. Coming into the house to the smell of a home cooked meal when we've been outside all day is the cat's meow.

Rebecca

I LOVE my slow cooker! It's an old Rival, probably from the eighties, given the floral motif in country blue. It has a heavy, ribbed, earthenware insert that holds the heat well, and clean-up is SO easy, no matter what has been in it or for how long (don't need those new inserts!). It just has the two settings, low and high, and has a plastic lid. I can't even remember where I got it. I think maybe my mom found it in a thrift shop, and I think she gave it to me because she thought it was too big just for her.

Anyway, I work long hours, and having a hot cooked meal waiting for me when I get home is a godsend. (Has anyone read Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal Vegetable, Miracle? Her family has named their crock pot, "Betty Crocker," because she stays home and cooks all day for them! Tee hee.)

One of my favorite things to make in it are pork roasts (either with teriyaki and pineapple for an Asian flair or with applesauce and onions for a Germanic twist--always browned on the stove first before adding to the crock pot). But recently, I made the BEST chuck roast ever--a Polish recipe with chopped dill pickles in it! Sounds weird, but it was HEAVENLY! Here's a link to the recipe and a picture (from my cooking blog): http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/2008/08/big-o.html

And finally, the very best thing I make in my crock pot is a pasta sauce with braised short ribs that must be tasted to be believed! It is just FAN-tastic! Here's the link to that one:
http://lindseysluscious.blogspot.com/2006/10/short-ribs-long-on-flavor.html

I think slow cookers are going to become sexy again. ;-)

Enjoy yours--Gina

I seem to use mine more in the winter with stews and soups and meats cooked in sauces. I guess in summer I am cooking the meat on the grill more. I like it for making certain dishes like New England Boiled Dinner (corn beef and cabbage), Chicken Catchatori, Slow cooked pork ribs, and homemade spag sauce. And also use it to make McCann's Irish Oatmeal (Steel Cut Oats)over night for Saturday morning breakfast. Best way to cook those hard oat whole grain groats.

I had an old 3-1/2 qt Rival Crock-Pot that went back to 1978. Last year the crock part of it cracked all the way through. Instead of getting a replacement crock, which I didn't know if you could get, I got a new one. I am not as happy with this one as I was with the old one. It does seem to run hot.
Clare

"I think slow cookers are going to become sexy again. ;-) "

Gina, you and Rebecca and Clare have convinced me of that. What a huge amount of valuable information you have provided! I need to get going with slow cookers immediately. I'm looking at this as not just another kitchen gadget, but as the basis of a very good cuisine. Is this view too grandiose?

Rebecca's explanation of the rationale for oval crockpots is interesting and it makes sense. I had assumed the shape was to make roasts and chickens fit better, which I think it does, but the even heating is as good or better a reason.

"Betty Crocker". I like that. I need to pass it on to my daughter, who names inanimate objects.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post all of this.

Jim

I sprung for the 4 qt. Hamilton Beech Stay n Go, which was half price at Shaw's Supermarket, so I paid $15. With Joan's recommendation behind it, as well as good reviews on Amazon, I thought that was a pretty good buy. Those of you in Massachusetts may be interested in that deal.

I haven't used it yet, but it looks well made. It is the right size for me. I think a small chicken or medium roast will fit nicely. With Rebecca's explanation of how crock pots work, I understand that the food must be a good fit for the pot for it to work well. Half full or more is the rule. This pot, together with my old, small Rival will serve my slow cooker needs. I like that the larger one, the one which I would take to a pot luck, has the clamp-on lid.

Jim

I purchased four new crock pots. They are great for big dinners, in that if you are cooking more dishes than your stove will accomodate, you can get one finished and put in the crocks to keep warm. Great for pulled pork, great to keep soups warm, good just to cook in, especially in the summer, doesn't heat up kitchen. My new ones have warm, slow and fast, and I love the new ones. I also like cooking in Linda's cast iron dutch oven, but this has been great for me for these reasons. Also good to take the beans, etc. outside in the summer to keep bugs away while plugged in on low or warm.

I think I have the first rival crockpot made. It is my favorite out of the five I have. 2,5,6 and 7qt. The original may be 3 quarts. The color is brown and the inside is not removable. That being the only drawback.

For pot lucks and such, crock pots are the new chafing dish.

For cooking, they are a mini oven.

Jim

Jim, you're right, we had a couple of crockpots going at the wedding party and a couple of electric roasters. We kept pulled pork hot, and baked beans, Mom's sauerkraut and polish sausage, some nacho cheese dip for chips and the pasta. Worked like a charm, as soon as I figured I needed a power strip to plug all the darned things in, LOL.

Annie

Im glad this was posted. I have used a slow cooker ever since we got one for a wedding present 27 years ago. There are some weeks when I use it 3 times. Chili, beef or lamb stew, soups, and certainly our favorite pot roast. We are on our third: we just wear them out. The handles breaking off are the first thing to go, but we used each until the crock broke. Our first 2 had settings for Low, High, and Automatic. The Automatic would switch to low after a few hours on high. This was great since we both had a long commute and it could easily be 12 hours before we were home again. Starting on high would brown the food and then low would finish it.

The last time we bought one (maybe 8 years ago?) I looked all over for one with an Automatic setting but had to buy one with just Low and High. I have been looking again since our current crock is cracked. I dont like probes or the idea of a digital one since in my opinion thats one more thing to break. I contacted Hamilton Beach and was told there was no more "Automatic". I have read on threads here about the problems with the newer "too hot" models. This has made me hesitate to buy one. Im glad there is a model that does not have this problem: now I know what to look for. Thanks!

Has anyone out there experienced the following problem with their slow cooker crock insert?

Last month, I got this Hamilton Beach slow cooker with a temp probe and it has different settings etc. I have cooked chicken, roast, beans and different soups in this crock insert. I have used the probe and I have cooked without the probe as well. BUT everything has a "metal/clay" taste. All the foods cooked in there taste like that. I don't know what to think or to do to get rid of this metal/clay taste. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated! I love the thing but I hate the taste. I had a Rival Crockpot that I used from the early 70's and it finally worn out! Please help me if you can.