Benefits of a Slow Cooker

Using a Slow Cooker, or Crockpot is one of my favorite ways to cook and a great lifestyle solution to adopt! Crockpot's themselves, and their tasty home cooked meals, have come a long way in the past 30 years! The past five years have seen a huge resurgence in their use! They are bigger than ever, have a timer setting that allows auto shut off, a warming setting, and specialty recipe books abound. They are large to store, but their benefits outweigh their size!

Be sure to check out my Crockpot Recipes page for some practical cooking tips, as well as my recommended Crockpot Recipe Cookbooks!

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A Slow Cooker should earn a spot in even the minimalist kitchen for these reasons:

• Laziness: The dump and go method of cooking is so simple. As long as you keep your cupboards well stocked with staples, your freezer full of meats and produce, your spices up to date, and an assortment of herbs on hand, there will always be a quick easy meal that you can throw together, that will taste wonderful! Food tastes as if you have slaved all day long! No one has to know your slow cooker did all the work!
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• Taste: The majority of meals taste better cooked slowly, but today lives are too busy for this luxury! Many opt for processed meals that can be quickly dumped into the microwave and do not taste great! Slow cooked food is very tender, the flavors are blended well, sauces are thickened nicely, and the taste is outstanding.
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• Smells: Crockpot cooking fills your home with the most tantalizing smells. Most meals take 4 to 6 hours if cooked on the high cycle, or 10 to 12 hours if cooked on the slow cycle. Your home will smell wonderful all day long, and your family will be drawn to hang out with you in the kitchen! There is nothing as nice as walking into your home, when you are bone tired, to a house that smells like your grandma was cooking all day long! Priceless!
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• Vegetables: Crockpot meals are a great way to include extra vegetables into your diet! It is simple to keep proportions correct. Fill your slow cooker half full of vegetables, one fourth full of a carbohydrate vegetable like potatoes, and one fourth full of a meat or bean choice. This is such a simple way to practice the half plate rule! Use the vegetables that you have on hand! Vegetables take on the flavor of the stew, or stew recipe, and taste wonderful! Even if you are not a vegetable lover, you will be hooked! It is also easy to practice stealthy healthy cooking by finely blending in small chopped vegetables. It's a great way to feed extra vegetables to your healthy kids!
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• Variety: Almost any recipe that you enjoy, will taste better cooked slowly in your slow cooker. You are not limited to just cooking a few recipes, but you can almost cook entirely with this appliance! Use creativity! My kid's favorite meal, of all time, is Scalloped Potatoes with Ham. You simply add the ingredients and top it with organic mushroom soup. It tops anything I have ever eaten cooked in the oven!
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• Health: Processed foods are full of chemicals and additives that you should limit. You can use all real foods when you cook with your Crockpot. No need for lots of additives or added salt and sugar! You control every ingredient that you eat. No long food labels to search through to see the junk you are eating. Simple real food that you control!
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• Frugality: Crockpot cooking allows you to practice food frugality and save money! You can purchase lower quality cuts of meat that do not contain as much fat and are cheaper. Slow cooking tenderizes tougher meat to where it will melt in your mouth! No one will know you purchased a cheaper cut of meat!
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Best Crockpot Purchasing Tips!

• Purchase a Crockpot that fits your family size. I say this, but my recommendation would be to buy one of the 5.5 - 6/7 quart cooker's, which are the large ones, no matter what your family size. (oval size is best!) The reasons for this are: an entire chicken will fit, a turkey breast will fit, a roast will fit, many vegetables will initially fit and cook down, and extra food can be frozen for lunch leftovers, or another meal. Lazy people look for ways to save time!
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• Make sure you buy one that has a liner. This will allow you to remove the pot and clean it well. Most of them today are made with a stoneware removable liner.
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• Purchase a Crockpot with a timer and a warming cycle. These automatically cut off when your meal is done, and keep meals warming. This feature is worth the extra cost! Your meal will not burn, if you arrive home late!
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• The Slow cooker that I own is the Rival Crock-Pot Stoneware Slow Cooker. It is 5.5 quarts and has a timer, settings of low, high and warm! I love it!
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Recommended Products from Cooking.com

This is their best seller, and currently selling for $99.95:

Cuisinart 6.5-qt. Programmable Slow Cooker Programmable technology makes homemade meals easier than ever! This family-sized Cuisinart Slow Cooker features 24-hour programmable cook time, a digital countdown timer and three cooking modes. It automatically shifts to Keep Warm when cooking is done to ensure that up to 6 ½ quarts of your favorite family entrees, sides, or desserts are warm, ready and waiting to enjoy. Features: Touchpad control panel with LCD timer display 24-hour cooking timer Off/On, Warm, Simmer, Low, and High settings Removable 6.5-quart, oval ceramic cooking pot Automatically shifts to “Warm” when cook time ends Brushed stainless steel housing with chrome-plated handles Glass lid with stainless steel rim and chrome-plated knob Dishwasher-safe lid and ceramic pot Nonslip rubber feet Includes cooking rack for use with ramekins or other bakeware Spiral-bound recipe book with 70 basic to gourmet dishes Instruction book

Cuisinart 6.5-qt. Programmable Slow Cooker

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Here is a less expensive Programmable Slow Cooker from Hamilton Beach:

Hamilton Beach 5-qt. Programmable Slow Cooker Family Size 5- quart oval Programmable slow cooker with flat panel digital read-out and white base for easy storage & clean-up, plus separate temperature probe for large cuts of meat. No more over cooked or under cooked beef or poultry as the probe reads the internal temperature as it cooks & automatically switches to keep warm once set temperature is reached. Operates in three different cook settings including manual cook mode. Easy to read LED digital control panel & timer for setting preferred cooking time. Features Include: 3 choices for easy, automatic cooking: Probe. Program and Manual Thermometer probe for meat Full-grip handles Power interrupt protection Clip-tight gasket lid

Hamilton Beach 5-qt. Programmable Slow Cooker

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Crockpot cooking is simple! It allows you to practice healthy diet habits and cook real food that is vegetable laden, soups, stews, or anything you are creative enough to try! Using it does not require you to heat up your kitchen in summer, and allows you to produce wintery soups and stews! A must kitchen small appliance for any season!

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