crockpot cooking?

[CheshireVal]

I've been using my crockpot quite a bit lately on weekends, but I'd really like to be able to use it while I'm at work so that dinner is ready when I get home.

My question is: if the recipe says to cook it on low for 8 hours.... and from the time I leave in the morning til when I get home in the afternoon is more like 9 or 9 1/2 hours.... is that okay? Will the food burn? Will the house catch on fire?!

How do you all do it?

 

[clh2]

We do that from time to time.

We tried it once with a whole chicken - didn't like it because it tasted a little too stewy. It wasn't dried out, but it did taste overcooked.

We do pork roasts and beef roasts in the crock pot. Sometimes, if the liquid in the crock pot doesn't eventually get to cover the roast, the top will be dried out. We work around this by shredding the roasts.

My best recommendation for doing something that might be cooked longer than the recipe recommends is doing a beef stew type of recipe, and since it is a stew, tends to have a lot of liquid in it, which then the meat won't dry out.

 

[CheshireVal]

I was kind of afraid of that. I guess I'll continue to use the crockpot on my days off or else try a stew like you suggested.

Thanks!

 

[SDFgirl]

There are some crockpots out now that will automatically turn themselves down to "warm" after a certain amount of time.

 

[CheshireVal]

There are some crockpots out now that will automatically turn themselves down to "warm" after a certain amount of time.

I've seen those-- I bought my mom one for Christmas a few years ago for that exact reason.

I stupidly didn't think of that, however, when I registered for mine when I got married earlier this year!

 

[we3disneygo]

for most things like a soup or stew I think it's ok to leave it.

 

[Disneyrsh]

I usually make spaghetti sauce in the crockpot, and that just gets better the longer it cooks. I use hamburgers that we grilled out on the grill and then were leftover and frozen, and also sausages that got the same treatment, chop em up and put those in the crockpot, some fresh mushrooms, about 8 whole cloves of garlic (they disintegrate into the sauce after 8 hours) lotsa fresh basil, a can of Paul Newman's spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup of beef broth, 1 can of tomato paste, 1 can diced tomatoes (drained), a few chopped pepperoni slices, and hit "go", and 8 hours later the house smells amazing and everyone's eating the sauce like crazy. I use the sauce later to make lasagnas with, too, becuase it makes a lot!

 

[heart4pooh]

In my book I just bought, Fix It and Forget It, which is great by the way, it says they sell a timer that you plug the crock pot into and then it plugs into the wall socket. It's for the ones that don't have it built in. I'm going to look for it this weekend. Sunday I made beef tips over rice and last night I made chicken cacciatore in the crock pot. Wednesday I'm making a meatloaf in it.

 

[sharbear]

I know that the manufacturers say not to but if I need to cook something for a long time, I put my meat in frozen. It cooks up nicely and I have never had a problem with a)the meat not cooking in time or b)the crock cracking with frozen meat.

If you have to cook something 8 or 9 hours beef is better, chicken even frozen only takes 4 or 5 hours and tastes like mush any longer than that.

 

[Southern4sure]

In my book I just bought, Fix It and Forget It, which is great by the way, it says they sell a timer that you plug the crock pot into and then it plugs into the wall socket. It's for the ones that don't have it built in. I'm going to look for it this weekend. Sunday I made beef tips over rice and last night I made chicken cacciatore in the crock pot. Wednesday I'm making a meatloaf in it.

Let me know where you find these and what price. I want one.

I usually cook a whole chicken with onions, celery, salt & Pepper. I do not add any water. I let this cook for about 8 - 10 hours on low or until the chicken falls off the bone. I debone and make chicken salad with freshly chopped onion, celery, pickles and mayo. The onions and celery and such cooked in the crock pot, I drain to take away the bones but this makes the best stock for chicken soup or a gravy and such.

 

[mainewmn]

I use my crock pot all the time during the colder months and I never had a problem with it. Just remember that what each crock pot is different form another, I have two one of them is like the name says it a SLOW COOKER, the other one (bigger) is the fastest slow cooker in New England. Know your cooker and understand it and test it out a few times. If I need a recipe of mine to cook for an additional hour or so I make sure to add some extra liquid and I stay away from chicken or potatoes as they tend to get too mushy with the LONG cooking times.

 

[Marseeya]

I have that Fix It and Forget It cookbook too, and one thing it says is that cheaper cuts of meat are a lot better for crockpot cooking. So, I'll get a really cheap cut of pork roast and put it in for 10 hours with a cup of water and some sliced onions on top. Delicious! The roast shreds itself when it's done and I add some flour to make a good gravy.

Hmmmm... I think I have a pork roast in my freezer!

 

[Lorikr65]

QVC has a crockpot that is programmable. If you go to QVC.com and put in K5607 in the search it will come up. It looks like you can program it to start after you leave home - I'm not sure, I'm in a hurry so I didn't pay close attention to it when I read it. It's worth a try to check it out on the website. Good luck!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

In my book I just bought, Fix It and Forget It, which is great by the way, it says they sell a timer that you plug the crock pot into and then it plugs into the wall socket. It's for the ones that don't have it built in. I'm going to look for it this weekend. Sunday I made beef tips over rice and last night I made chicken cacciatore in the crock pot. Wednesday I'm making a meatloaf in it.

This is how my sister did it was with the timer that you plug into the wall, she never gave me that secret tip until a few weeks ago. It is the same timer that you can plug your lights into for them to automatically turn off.

You can find these at Ace Hardware, Lowes, Home Depot, Target, Walmart, etc. Best part is the only cost about $4.00.