Although you can use your slow cooker any time of year, many people associate them with the warm, rich foods of autumn and winter. It’s true that slow cookers are ideal for meaty stews and other hearty winter dishes. They are also economical.

Regardless of what style or size of slow cooker you have, there are other benefits to using a slow cooker as well. Here are some to consider.

1 –  The Busy Woman’s Best Friend

The slow cooker can be a busy woman’s best friend, especially if you are going to be gone all day. While quick-cooking foods can be convenient too, a slow cooker allows you to do something else all day while dinner cooks. There are some breakfast foods you can allow to cook all night, too, so that you can awake to a hot breakfast or have a meal ready to take to a morning or afternoon potluck. Continue reading →

Slow cookers are an absolute wonderful way to have food “cook itself.” If you’re not familiar with using one, knowing some tips and tricks ahead of time can help reduce your learning curve. Even if you do use your slow cooker frequently, it’s nice to expand your recipe repertoire and learn something new about this time honored stand-by of busy cooks.

Here are some tips and tricks for crock pot cooking success:

1 – Keep the Lid On!

When you’re using your slow cooker, leave the lid on unless the recipe directs you not to. If you take the lid off during cooking, it can take up to 25 minutes for the food to resume its proper cooking temperature, and that extends your cooking time. It’s rare that a dish needs to be stirred. That’s why crock pots are so loved and useful, no standing over a hot pot stirring to keep foods from sticking. Continue reading →

You may have a slow cooker or crockpot that you just haven’t used much, or maybe you would like to get one but aren’t sure what you can cook in it. And if you do have a slow cooker, you might have just a few favorite dishes you cook in it and that’s it. Well, get it out or go buy one, because we’re going to change that! Here are some tips and suggestions for choosing recipes for your slow cooker.

1 – All-Day Cooking

As you choose recipes for your slow cooker, it’s a good idea to consider how long you have to cook your food. Some foods just don’t hold up well for many hours of cooking. For example, if you’re going to be assembling everything in the slow cooker in the morning and coming home to a cooked dinner, then consider recipes that involve roasts like beef or mutton. Continue reading →

Have you ever wondered if your favorite dishes can be prepared in the slow cooker? Many of us with slow cookers have eyeballed them and wondered if we could cook our favorite recipes in them. Often, you can. But before you just throw everything into the slow cooker and hope for the best, there are some general principles you should consider as you adapt your favorite recipes for the slow cooker.

1 – Temperature

In most slow cookers, “Low” is around 200 degrees F, and “High” is about 300. Cooking takes about twice as long on Low as it does on High. Although, you do need to check your slow cooker manual. Sometimes low and high settings cook at the same temperature, it just takes the low setting longer to reach the cooking temp. Continue reading →