I never thought of using a crock-pot but I imagine it would work. However, it seems kinda small to handle a decent sized batch. At least 15 years ago an Italian lady told me about using an electric roaster and I have been doing that ever since. NO MORE BURNED SAUCE!!!!! Some details: 1) Skin and core the tomatoes first--cut them open to be sure there are no yucks inside. 2) Cook up in a big pot and boil for at least 5 minutes till the steam coming off the stewed tomatoes changes from a harsh smell to a sweet tomato smell. 3) Ladle into a blender and rev her up for about 15 to 20 seconds. 4) Pour the blender load into a hand cranked processing strainer and turn the crank BACKWARDS, SO LIFTING THE SEEDS UP OFF THE SCREEN INSTEAD OF FORCING THEM THROUGH. The strained juice goes into the electric roaster and the seeds and small amount of tough pulp gets recycled to the garden. 5) Continue blender load after another until all the juice has been extracted. You will be impressed with how thick and creamy your juice is at this point--It is actually as thick as any commercial juice on the market and is much more tasty. You can add a teaspoon of salt to each quart and a vitamin C tablet, process and can per standard procedures and enjoy as the finest juice possible. Note that if you throw some seeded hot peppers into the stewing pot you will end up with something like snappy tom--but now on to sauce making. 6) I set my electric roaster thermostat at about 280; I think you can piddle with this to match your unit to a good simmer rate. I also set a small electric fan next to the roaster to blow away the vapors and have found this cuts concentration time down considerably. A thick crust tends to form on the surface of the simmering sauce; I stir frequently to bust this up and it helps a great deal. 7) Before I turn the roaster on I measure the depth of the juice using a clean ruler. I concentrate to 1/2 that depth to get the thickness of sauce I like. I find I can boil down a full roaster load to 1/2 depth in 4 to 6 hours. 8) Once your concentration is complete you can add into the roaster pan whatever flavorings/etc you desire to end up with your maranara or spaghetti sauce. 9) I then pressure can but one could also freeze if desired.

each time my electric kettle, humidifier, etc gets caked up with lime scale I clean it with vinegar. It is MAGIC. For the kettle, and humidifier, I use half vinegar and half water, fill to desired level and turn the appliance on. ( this makes vinegar fumes but I don't mind). After the mixture gets good and hot, I turn it off and let it sit to do its work. For my kettle and humidifier, which heat up fast, this is a 5 minute process. After which I actually save the vinegar/water mixture to use again cause I am a cheap skate and I get several uses out of it- but I don't dilute it again. I do this on a weekly basis in the winter and my appliances are like new. I hope it works for you, too.

Gary, I'm not an expert as I don't use the crockpot often, but I usually brown the meat before adding it to the crockpot and I always follow the instructions to fill the pot at least 2/3 to 3/4 full. I don't add a lot of liquid, only enough to accomplish whatever I'm trying to make, as it doesn't really evaporate. Cooking time depends on the meat product. Beef I let go for 8 hours, usually on low. Chicken cooks more quickly and gets a strange texture if overcooked. I haven't been able to successfully cook ground beef products and have them edible, the texture is just too mushy. I've made spicy foods in the Crockpot with no ill effects, and I'm a wuss, so you're probably safe. As for vegetables, for some reason they seem to take longer to cook, not less time, but I like them to be tender, not crisp. Crockpots also cook differently, so you'll have to experiment with yours and see how it works, especially since it is a thrift shop model. You might be able to find the instruction manual online. Welcome to the cooking forum! Annie

I found this pork chop recipe originally on pinterest. Since I use my Aroma multi cooker I can do it all in one pot because I set it on saute first to brown the meat and cook the onions etc then just switch it over to the slow cooker setting for how ever many hours it calls for. Yay! only one dirty pot that is a breeze to clean. I usually serve it with some type of rice and add the sauce over the rice as a gravy. I like the very thick bone in chops but I have done this with thick boneless pork loin chops too, there's only the 2 of us. Crock Pot Maple Dijon Pork Chops Ingredients: 2 large bone-in pork chops 1 large yellow onion, chopped 3 tbsp pure maple syrup 2 tbsp dijon mustard 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper 1 tbsp vegetable oil Directions: Heat up the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When hot, add the pork chops and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sear both sides of chops over high heat (about 2 minutes per side) then transfer to your Crock Pot. Lower the heat to medium low and add the onions. Cook until onions are just starting to soften then add the cider vinegar, maple syrup, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes and then pour sauce over chops in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Serve chops drizzled generously with sauce.