piper--Haven't checked out the thread at cooking yet, but will go there next. Your question about the largest crock does seem valid. A lot of that large crock is outside of the cooking surface. I found a forum reviewing crocks (lord knows where). Some people liked this cooker, some didn't. One gal was very scientific. She used a thermometer and checked temps using water in the various sized crocks, at the different settings. She determined that she liked the crock but only if she "fooled" the cooker by using different settings for different sized crocks. For instance--she used the 4 quart setting for the 6 quart crock and had good cooking results. Who knows. All I know is that I do not need a huge slow cooker (one child grown, one at college, two littles at home). Do not get the versaware. That thing is worthless. I do not want to buy 10 slow cookers and put each one in a garage sale to find one I like--how about you? I saw this 3 in one at Target Sunday--and the control seemed flimsy--like the dial might fall apart easily. Off to the cooking forum to find that thread. Thanks!

OK, LOL I just got back to this. I was too scared to cook it on 3 so I brought it to a boil then turned it down to 5 and did 4 hours. It's a chicken enchilada soup and the chicken just fell apart so I guess it's ready. This will definitely be trial and error. Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup Skinnytaste.com Servings: 6 ⢠Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups + cheese ⢠Old Points: 5 pts ⢠Points+: 7 pts Calories: 260.9 ⢠Fat: 6.6 g ⢠Protein: 25.4 g ⢠Carb: 29.9 g ⢠Fiber: 6.7 g ⢠Sugar: 4.1 g Sodium: 572 mg (without salt) Ingredients: ⢠2 tsp olive oil ⢠1/2 cup onion, chopped ⢠3 cloves garlic, minced ⢠3 cups low sodium fat-free chicken broth ⢠8 oz can tomato sauce ⢠1-2 tsp chipotle chili in adobo sauce (or more to taste) ⢠1/4 cup chopped cilantro (plus more for garnish) ⢠15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained ⢠14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes ⢠2 cups frozen corn ⢠1 tsp cumin ⢠1/2 tsp dried oregano ⢠2 8 oz skinless chicken breasts (16 oz total) ⢠1/4 cup chopped scallions, for topping ⢠3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese ⢠fat free sour cream (optional) Directions: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft, 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken broth, tomato sauce and chipotle adobo sauce and bring to a boil. Add cilantro and remove from heat. Pour into crock pot. To the crockpot, add drained beans, diced tomatoes, corn, cumin, oregano and stir.Add the chicken breasts; cover and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Add chicken back into the soup, adjust salt and cumin to taste. Serve in bowls and top with fat free sour cream, cheese, scallions and cilantro. You can also top with avocado or crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy! This recipe would have been just right in the big crockpot but I doubled it and made it in my huge stockpot. Going to freeze it in Jumbo muffin pans for my kids to thaw and heat for lunches. BTW, I didn't have any chipotle in Adobe sauce so I used chipotle powder from the Spice House mixed with a bit of smoked paprika - yummmm.

for anyone interested here is another free cookbook. DINNER - 55 Easy Recipes (Mama's Legacy Series) [Kindle Edition]

I have all three as well. PC's are excellent timesavers--steamed artichokes in 12-14 minutes instead of 45. Excellent for quickly tenderizing cuts of meat. (Great curry dishes in 20 minutes.) And sometime this week I'm gonna make corned beef & cabbage in just a little more than an hour. And I find that I prefer osso buco made in the PC to the non-PC way. Also, with a PC I can make foolproof risotto with hardly any effort and very little time, so I end up making risotto more often. (Indeed, Kuhn Rikon markets a small PC as a 'risotto maker'.) Dutch ovens are great for unfussy cooking; starting something on the stovetop and then finishing them in a slow oven is their forte. If you like this technique, take a look at Molly Stevens' All About Braising. Great resource. I have found that since I got into PC cooking I don't use my slow cooker as much. Slow cookers are great for stews, chili, beans and other things where the timing isn't critical--but the pressure cooker is very good on beans and grains as well, in about a third the time. If you want to work more grains and beans into your menus, a pressure cooker really is worthwhile. Lorna Sass, the pressure cooker expert, has written a pressure cooker cookbook precisely aimed at vegetarians. (See the link.) If I had to give up any one of those gadgets, it would be the slow cooker. I definitely wouldn't give up my PC, and I really like the enameled cast iron Dutch ovens as well. Here is a link that might be useful: vegetarian pressure cooker cookbook