beesnees, that's a great idea and thoughtful of you for your hubby... I gave up my slow cooker, which I never really used much.

However, I googled (and you might have too) for small slow cooker recipes and found some links for dinners for 2 : )

Even when I was slow cooking for one, I'd still use my big crock pot to freeze and have meals handy for the future. Besides, trying to find a 1 pound roast around here? Impossible!

OP - what a great question. I've been thinking of buying a small slow cooker but there is just the two of us now as empty-nesters.

2manyDiversions - Thanks for the link, (I love your name)

I'd be shopping for some good freezer containers for those leftovers! Two week old pot roast, spaghetti sauce, spare ribs, chicken whatever, and soups are excellent out of the freezer!

I use the crock-pot, a lot. Any leftovers are used for the next day's lunch, or froze, for later use. I'm sure your local library would have cookbooks, that would be helpful. Here are links to a couple of website, with crock-pot recipes, for two.

Taste of home, has some crock-pot recipes, for two. https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/crockpot-recipes-for-two/

https://www.bustle.com/articles/137507-12-crock-pot-recipes-for-two-people-because-dinner-should-always-be-delicious

Thanks for all the comments so far folks. I do use the bigger slow cookers too, I have two of them that I use fairly often. And grandmas old fashioned deep pot on a hot plate that I use on occasion to poach a whole cornish hen in perfectly. But fridge and freezer space is finite around here- only oh so many leftovers to pack up and use up. Most of what I make in the big cookers is meant for 6-8+ people. So I want to reduce the leftovers end of things a bit by scaling down the front end cooking a bit. More along the lines of 4+ servings.

I already do this reducing a lot with my stovetop, oven cooking, and baking/sweets making- I want to get better at it with my slow cookers.

@2ManyDiversions- I buy bigger/bulk meats and break them down for the freezer. So I will pick up a larger beef roast, break it down into smaller 1- 1 1/2 lb roasts, vacuum-seal, and into the freezer. I can't find 1 beef lb roasts around here either unless they are special super expensive things. Depending on the cuts/sale on beef, I sometimes take the time to break down a couple pounds worth of stew meat instead of getting the pre-cut stuff.

I do the same thing with other meats too. Big package of large chicken (bone in or boneless) breasts get 1 per bag into the freezer, other bone in cuts get a few pieces per bag depending on what it is. Family packs of pork cuts, sausage/kielbasa, and the like too. Bulk ground meat gets broken down into 1 pound packs. Bone in hams get a second smoking, then stripped, packed, and the bones used to make stock in the nesco, the fatbacks saved to render in a bigger slow cooker once I have enough fat saved up.

beesnees, gosh do I hear you about finite freezer space! Cooking for 2 here but we are fortunate to eat at the same time. And yep, I cut down sale proteins and freeze for later also! I do understand that it's just nice to have freshly made dinner as opposed to thawing something already made and re-heating.

I hope you find some great recipes you both enjoy, and congrats and good luck with your new job!

You really don't need special recipes for a smaller crock pot. Real crock pots, the kind that have heating coils that wrap around, not just from below, work best when they are from 1/2 to full. So simply halving the recipes for the larger ones generally will do the job.

You said: Real crock pots, the kind that have heating coils that wrap around, not just from below,

Hi watchmelol -- I had one of those tiny crockpots -- I used to make one time dishes for my husband because we, too, often have no room in the freezer. I did ribs and things like that and they did cook but I didn't know about the coils. How can you tell? The little crockpot didn't come with a recipe book so now I realise it may have been meant for warming sauces and the like.

bleusblue2 - Well all my crock pots are by Rival except for one clone. I suppose if I was going to check a pot I wasn't sure had the heating element on the sides I would just plug it in and see how quickly the side got warm. The ones who have a shallower cradle to set the pot into obviously would not have the elements up the sides.

Personally, if you have room for a freezer it's worth it! I cook full meals and freeze whenever I can and use my foodsaver to freeze the leftovers!

I'm the main cook in the household (except for some BBQing) and get pretty bored with it at times!

I love being able to pull out a frozen meal, have the hubby slice some bread and make a salad and take a night off!

We also made these frozen meals for my FIL while he was ill. He thanked me on his deathbed for the cooking I did for him! NT

I've always thought of the tiny crock pots to be used for keeping dips warm and not really used for cooking. I'd never really thought of cooking a meal in a tiny pot like that. I would contact the company and find out what they say. They may or may not be intended for cooking food. What you could do is put water in it and turn it on and see how hot it gets.

Had a small crockpot but it had no choices in temperature. Cooked very hot and I used it only to cook a few pears or apples at a time. But they turned out perfectly!

I use the heck out of my crockpot. Load it in the am or midway, and you have supper. Usually flavors meld and get better in the fridge. I also fix soups, and transfer to the big crock pot for holidays. Even great for hot cider with cinnamon sticks ...

Here is a link, check out the question and answer tab and I think that all of your questions will be answered. It appears that you can actually cook in this and it is preset at the LOW setting. I did see some people comment that their pot got too hot. Maybe they just got a bad one? It does not have two settings like a large one though, it's just set to one setting which is LOW.
crock pot 1.5 qt.

They make the best boeuf bourguinon. Freezes well too.