I use it all the time! It's great in summer since it doesn't radiate heat. I prefer vegetarian food, but we do make chicken and pork (esp BBQ pulled pork) with it. Great for curries, too. I love my programmable rice cooker.

If I had all the time in the world on my hands, I probably would use the crockpot a lot less, b/c sometimes the quality of the food that comes out isn't the best (ie, chicken can dry our, vegetables mushy if it cooks too long), but nothing is TERRIBLE and often it's quite good. I can deal with homemade, healthy food that may not be gourmet if it makes the after work scramble easier.

I don't like chicken dishes in the crockpot either, but I use mine to cook vegetarian dishes. You can also cook great fish/seafood stews - the broth and veggies cook all day and you throw in the fish and seafood at the end (they only need a little cooking). I use mine to make steel cut oats for breakfast as well (cook them over night). You do have to experiment with them a bit - each one cooks a little differently so recipes will work a little differently in each brand of crockpot.

Anonymous wrote:I don't mean to hijack OP's thread but we have a slow cooker that I've used only a couple of times, and the reason for that is that it seems to get quite hot on the outside, but the food is colder and colder as you get to the middle and simply appears to stay half raw.

Am I doing something wrong (eg. are you only supposed to fill the crockpot up to one-third of its capacity) or is it defective?

Are you taking the lid off a lot?

Anonymous wrote:No we don't use it frequently because we are truly sickened by the way meat tastes when it comes out of it. When I was registering my MIL was raving about how wonderful it was, I had high hopes but after many different dishes were tried, we realized that it just wasn't for us. The only thing I currently use it for is chili every once in a while.

ditto

^ Defective. I've never had that issue.

I don't mean to hijack OP's thread but we have a slow cooker that I've used only a couple of times, and the reason for that is that it seems to get quite hot on the outside, but the food is colder and colder as you get to the middle and simply appears to stay half raw.

Am I doing something wrong (eg. are you only supposed to fill the crockpot up to one-third of its capacity) or is it defective?

No we don't use it frequently because we are truly sickened by the way meat tastes when it comes out of it. When I was registering my MIL was raving about how wonderful it was, I had high hopes but after many different dishes were tried, we realized that it just wasn't for us. The only thing I currently use it for is chili every once in a while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13.49, what has burned in your crockpot? Nothing ever burns in mine. As long as there's enough liquid, you should be fine. The whole point is to be able to use it when you're out for the day. And if you have a programmable one, you can set it to cook for 8 hrs and then switch to "keep warm" if you don't want it to continue cooking.

13:49 here. I don't have a programmable crockpot. But I've burned several dishes, even with plenty of liquid, like stew and chili.

Maybe I'm just a terrible cook...not my strongest suit.

Get a new crockpot. Yours sounds dangerous. NP here, and I have never had anything burn.

Anonymous wrote:13.49, what has burned in your crockpot? Nothing ever burns in mine. As long as there's enough liquid, you should be fine. The whole point is to be able to use it when you're out for the day. And if you have a programmable one, you can set it to cook for 8 hrs and then switch to "keep warm" if you don't want it to continue cooking.

13:49 here. I don't have a programmable crockpot. But I've burned several dishes, even with plenty of liquid, like stew and chili.

Maybe I'm just a terrible cook...not my strongest suit.

I use it a fair amount for the nights we are running around and eating in shifts. (We have 3 elementary-age kids who all do sports/activities, and we have a baby. We try pretty hard to have family meals, but some nights it is just impossible to all sit down together.)

So it's great for those "eat whenever you can" kind of meals. Last night I made a big pot of chili in it, made rice on the side, and one kid ate at 6, another kid & DH ate at 7:30, I didn't get to eat until 8:30, etc but everyone had a hot meal.

Last week I made chicken taco filling in it - same thing, I put tortillas out and had some cheese in the fridge and let people eat when they were home. The week before that I think I made ropa vieja. I make pulled BBQ chicken for sandwiches all the time.

13.49, what has burned in your crockpot? Nothing ever burns in mine. As long as there's enough liquid, you should be fine. The whole point is to be able to use it when you're out for the day. And if you have a programmable one, you can set it to cook for 8 hrs and then switch to "keep warm" if you don't want it to continue cooking.

I've got a chicken cooking in mine as we speak. Whole roaster, garlic, paprika, and some chicken broth. I was out of onion or I would have jammed one in the cavity. Scrunched some foil in the bottom and set on "low" for 8-10 hours. Delish!

I love my crockpot, but it isn't a good answer to after work meals. Most crockpot receipes take 6 or 8 hours and will burn if left on for the 9 to 10 hours it takes to drop off at daycare, commute, work 8 hours, commute, pickup at daycare, etc.

But I do use it all the time on weekends.

I try to use ours about once a week during the cooler months. Rarely use it during the summer.

other things that help me keep my sanity with regards to meals:
* plan ahead. I make a menu and shop just once a week.
* grill. DH cooks most meats on the grill. Very little prep needed, except maybe marinading.
* roasted veggies. Even easier if you use pre-cut veggies.
* rice cooker with a timer. If you like stir-fry or other meals that traditionally go with rice, this thing is worth its weight in gold to working parents.
* simple really is OK. DH doesn't really care for salads, so most of our dinners are grilled meat and a hot veggie.
* delegate to your spouse. This shouldn't fall entirely on your shoulders.

I do, especially now during the fall and winter. I love this site: www.crockpot365.blogspot.com

I often chop the veggies or "prepare" the food for the crockpot the night before, then plop it in the CP and let it cook during the day so it's ready by dinner time. If you're going to buy one now, go for a version with a timer, so it will automatically switch to warm after a set number of hours. I also like the about website because it isn't just soup, stews, and pot roast, but really unique ideas.

am back at work with a baby and toddler and am totally struggling for dinner ideas. have been buying semi-prepared foods at whole foods with mixed success (i.e. burgers and sausages) and just throwing them on a salad and sometimes making a side vegetable. My toddler eats a pretty basic menu (starch, beans, cheese or chicken nuggets and a vegetable) so i don't have to worry too much about him. Am really having problems getting dinner on the table and am exhausted at night so i don't want to spend a lot of time doing meal prep post bedtime. Is a slow cooker a good answer? do you use it a lot? thanks