I got a slow cooker, what now?

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Really...I have never ever considered slow cookers until Christmas morning when what I expected to be an XBox turned out to be a slow cooker. What can I do with it?

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 29 December 2004 19:56 (nineteen years ago) link

do not try and get it to play Halo2

alternatively, make stock/soups.

chuck in a chicken, some veg, set it off and an hour later you've got soup!

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 20:20 (nineteen years ago) link

or am I getting a slow cooker confused with a pressure cooker?

― Porkpie (porkpie), Wednesday, 29 December 2004 20:21 (nineteen years ago) link

I honestly have no idea what the difference is.

― Huk-L, Wednesday, 29 December 2004 20:44 (nineteen years ago) link

you've got it confused Chris. Basically, you can put stuff in your slow cooker to make stews etc. bung the stuff in before you go to work, and when you get home, you'll have a delicious stew ready and waiting for you.

I borrowed my mum's when i was a student, and it was a very simple way of eating well without any hassle.

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 30 December 2004 13:15 (nineteen years ago) link

It's good for stews, soups, chilli, etc. google 'slow cooker recipes' and you'll get loads of hits, for example: http://www.bowhunting.net/susieq/crock.htm

― Vicky (Vicky), Thursday, 30 December 2004 13:19 (nineteen years ago) link

Lamb shanks! Lamb shanks! With tomatoes, artichoke hearts, potatoes, carrots, celery, a little stock, onions, garlic. Brown the shanks and then add everything to the slow cooker. Let it bubble all day and come home to lamb falling off the bone in a stew.

― Orbit (Orbit), Monday, 3 January 2005 01:40 (nineteen years ago) link

That sounds wonderful. I wish anybody else in my family would eat that.

― I Am Curious (George) (Rock Hardy), Monday, 3 January 2005 02:17 (nineteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

I had my parents over last night and made a very wonderful spinach and artichoke dip. Then, when I was turning the damn thing off, the knob broke. On the first use!
Anyway, I'm starting to open up to the possibilities. I can, for example, roast my own nuts!

― Huk-L, Monday, 17 January 2005 19:50 (nineteen years ago) link

You broke your knob so now you're going to roast your nuts?

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 17 January 2005 20:17 (nineteen years ago) link

Yes, that is correct. Is there something funny about this that you'd like to share with the rest of the class?

― Huk-L, Monday, 17 January 2005 20:40 (nineteen years ago) link

This never would have happened if your parents had gotten you the XBox.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 17 January 2005 20:48 (nineteen years ago) link

But the "working at home" thread on ILE reminds me that I'm lucky I didn't get an XBox, because XBox = freelancer kryptonite, I'm afraid.

― Huk-L, Monday, 17 January 2005 20:57 (nineteen years ago) link

Whereas slow cooker - a better understanding of the passage of time, and hopefully a more effecient use of such.

― Huk-L, Monday, 17 January 2005 20:58 (nineteen years ago) link

two years pass...

so i have a david jones voucher and i think i'm going to blow it on a slow cooker. i would be pleased to accept recommendations of brands and functions etc from ILX's epicureans! i don't think they're used so commonly in australia as in the US and UK, no one i know has one or knows what to look for. but we're about to come into winter here and i love the idea of putting dinner on before leaving for work and coming home to it nearly ready. also slow cooker recipe books?

― gem, Monday, 16 April 2007 10:55 (seventeen years ago) link

If you can, get one with a ceramic pot. The one we bought recently has a metal container and it's nowhere near as good as my mum's crock pot one was, it takes twice as long to get anywhere near the same fall apart tenderness in meat.

Why buy a slow cooker recipe book when there are so many recipes on the web? And once you've got the hang of it it's the easiest thing to adapt normal stew and soup recipes for

― Vicky, Monday, 16 April 2007 15:18 (seventeen years ago) link

See also

― Vicky, Monday, 16 April 2007 15:20 (seventeen years ago) link

i take your point about the wealth of recipes on the web (though i must say i was at bit bemused by the preponderance of 'venison' in the site linked to up above)... but i love recipe books! i like to have them to pore over and compare and such.

i think i have settled on a breville 4.2L one, it has a ceramic pot and a timer. and it is a fair bit cheaper than i expected... i reckon it will only require half my DJs voucher thus leaving me more money to spend on some other appliance. yay! i'm really looking forward to some tasty casseroles and stews. that's about the only thing i enjoy about winter really.

― gem, Wednesday, 18 April 2007 13:48 (seventeen years ago) link

five years pass...

gf wants one of these

recs?

― iatee, Thursday, 20 December 2012 16:11 (eleven years ago) link

Bump. Would also take note of recs.

― ljubljana, Monday, 24 December 2012 00:38 (eleven years ago) link

I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-33967-6-Quart-Programmable/dp/B001AO2PXK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356309637&sr=8-2&keywords=6+quart+crock+pot

I love it.

― Jaq, Monday, 24 December 2012 00:41 (eleven years ago) link

they all basically do the same thing in the end, right?

― iatee, Tuesday, 25 December 2012 15:39 (eleven years ago) link

Yes. You can also get the same effect with a covered dutch oven in a low oven for 6-8 hours.

― Jaq, Tuesday, 25 December 2012 16:09 (eleven years ago) link

Iatee, I got a big cheap one from target that has been working fine for a couple of years, I think it was around $30.

Just make sure it has a tight-fitting lid, and a good timer is useful. Mine only has ”low” (6-8 hours) and ”high” (2-4 hours), and it doesn't switch off, it switches to warm.

― just1n3, Tuesday, 25 December 2012 17:31 (eleven years ago) link

two weeks pass...

pulled out my slow cooker to make dinner tonight. It's a cheap Proctor Silex model. One of the handles broke off a little while ago - it still works but I should replace it at some point.

Googled to find out what the low temp specificaiton is for the model - found out this model has been recalled.

Why?

The handles break. LOL

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 13 January 2013 18:15 (eleven years ago) link

omg!

So Mr Veg followed up on the recall and called Proctor Silex -- they're totally sending us a new crockpot! We just had to send them a photo of the old one with the power cord cut off. The recall was posted in 2003 so we kinda figured it was done.

So exciting!

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 15 January 2013 21:42 (eleven years ago) link

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