Judy, My menu was predicated on several things, certainly not well thought out--or maybe it was. I wanted to use my new Happy Call pan and didn't have octopus, so I made grilled cheddar and bacon sandwiches. I had the last of the tomatoes from the garden so I made ensalada caprese. The ratatouille was because we went to a new Farmer's Market and I wanted to try a little of everything.

I own a Rival Crock pot, a Chef's pot (virtually the same thing only a little larger and is a multipurpose crock pot, deep fryer, etc) and a 4 & 6 qt size Nesco roaster. Hands down winner is the Nesco roaster. They work in a similar fashion. You just have much more control with the roaster. I'm going to talk about Nesco since that's what I have and I know its features. The other roasters do not necessarily have the same features. Cost of a crock pot or roaster are about the same. I just bought two of the 6 qt Nescos at Target for $24.99 each (they were on clearance and I couldn't turn them down for gifts). The crock pots have Off/Low/High for settings. I never found them to really be right. Low wasn't hot enough and High boiled everything so it was a constant switching back and forth. Granted, others do not have this problem. The Chef's pot has a variable temp controller, and a crock. I just hate cleaning the crocks. They're NOT easy cleaning. The Nesco with the enamel pot is fine for a while, but gets harder to clean. But with the non stick which comes in them now, it's easy cleaning. Plus you have temperature control from off to 450° or so. I've baked bread (frozen white bread and banana bread in the Nescos. I can put a 7# turkey breast in the 6 qt version. Beef roast is great. I'll cook up a package of boneless chicken breast and have for other things. I'll use it for baking potatoes. Basically if you can put it in the oven and cook it and can fit it into the Nesco, it works fine. The best lasagna I've ever made was in the Nesco and not cooking the noodles. In summary, yes, you'll do everything with a Nesco that you can do with a crock pot and more. I don't use my crock pots anymore. No need to and it's less hassle to clean and don't fight the heavy crock. Lift out cookwell fits in the frig better too. I'm also hearing people who have similar units say they're not as good as the Nesco brand. No, I don't work for them, just very satisfied with it. The people I know and have either bought them or received them as gifts *all* love them and won't go back to crock pots. Crock pots served their purpose but are now obsolete. I equate it to a can opener and an old can to a pop top lid. The Nesco is more modern way of doing the old way. Yes you can still use a can opener and crock pot, but why when you can use pop top lids and a Nesco? OK, not the greatest analogy, but you get the idea. Ken

My oven goes to 170F, so it's always in the "safe" zone, I guess. If I were going to cook the roast for 7 hours, I'd still go for 225F, probably. I'm assuming it's covered and being braised, not roasted? And it also depends on how large the "large" roast is. 5 lbs? 7 lbs? Bigger? Smaller? It depends on the roast, of course, but I figure about half an hour per pound at 350, so if you have a 10 pound roast, that's going to be 5 hours at 350F, and longer at lower temperatures. So my answer is......depends on the size of the roast! Annie

You probably already know my answer, there's nothing I prefer in a slow cooker, whether Crock-Pot® brand or otherwise. I threw both my Crock-Pots out. Never gave the temp I wanted and in decades of use I can honestly say I have never said or thought gee I wish I had a Crock-Pot® again. Not once. All I do on the Nesco is adjust the dial. No cuss, just adjust. I've said my piece on slow cookers before so won't repeat that except, to say to each their own. My dad, for instance, absolutely refused to get or let me get him an automatic washer. Nope, no way, no how. Only a wringer washer for him. ("Dem automatic washers walk across the floor you know! That's what they say! Wouldn't take one if dey gave it to me!") :) annie1992 has a point, maybe, but I really didn't see that happen when I had slow cookers. I will say, and thought at the time that in theory, the crock should not burn edges as much, right? But I experienced the same burn in unattended cooking in a side by side situation, unless I had it only on low which kept the food unedibly cool. Both units apply heat, and too much heat will burn. The slow cooker applies heat continuously though while the electric roaster cycles on and off. I would think that if anything the opposite would be true but I don't use my roaster for beans (no pun intended) so I'll yield to Annie's greater knowledge on them. And I don't have a slow cooker to test my theory and wouldn't have one anyway so I guess it'll go on as one of life's great mysteries for me! I would say this, Try it and see if you like it. My guess is you will like it far better for at least most applications if not all. There's been quite a few people who were skeptical but found out what a versatile appliance a roaster is once they had one.