Cooking Should I get a crockpot?

[MazdaUK]

I did try mu mums last year but the thing took forever (maybe I had it on the wrong setting ) and my kitchen is small so I decided I didn't want to take up space. Also, so many recipes seeed to need pre-prep, and if I've got time for that I'll cook right then, IYSWIM.

But they had the real thing in John Lewis today, the sort of roundy one with a narrower bottom and the oval ones, and I do love new toys So I'm thinking I might borrow mum's again and see if I can get on with it. So what foolproof dishes can I do? (Don't like spicy food, but love savoury herby things, so no to chilli but yes to bolognaise ) Post numbers from the crokpot sticky are fine if you've already put up your favourite. And preferably all in one pot - I really want it easy, don't I

 

[ddavis860]

I love mine and use it all the time. Right now I have chicken wings in it on warm so they will be ready for dinner tonight for the boys when I'm at work. Last week I made "Candy Chicken" in it...that was a recipe rave, but they still like good old fashioned BBQ in it. I also make my Grammie's Irish Stew (were you in the heritage recipe swap? if so you have that recipe already)...

Yeah, there is a bit of prep work involved, but maybe 10 min at most. Then it cooks all day for you at low heat, and it's ready for dinner when you are. Prep the night before and have it all ready to dump in before you leave in the morning...

Mine has heat on the bottom and the sides. It has 3 settings, high, low, and warm. I program it for x hours, and when it's done cooking, it switches to warm till I turn it off. It's a big white oval thing.

Here is a link for the blog of a woman who is doing a year of crock pot recipes. The nice partis she gives her review on the recipe, good and bad, and others respond if they liked it...I got the candy chicken from her, and DH wants to try the fish packets... http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

 

[MazdaUK]

Thanks - yes I have the Irish Stew recipe (its on my "to do" list ) I was hoping it would magically make goulash for me if I gave it the ingredients - but the recipe from my MIL takes ages with loads of stages. I suppose I'd have to play around. I might ask mum to bring it over next weekend - I'm hoping if we can get to grips with it DH will load it up before work and everything will be ready in the evening (while my arm is out of action next month).

 

[MazdaUK]

If I do get one, which one should I get??

 

[piratemamaof3]

If you get one and plan on turning it on and leaving the house (for work or something) OR using it over night I suggest one that you can set the time on it. That way when it's done it goes to warm and you don't have to worry about leaving it on too long at one temp.

I like the fix it and forget it cook book b/c it has recipe's submitted by people so they are a lot of basic tried and true recipe's. Some don't like it b/c it may have the same basic recipe several times but they each are a little different. I do like it b/c it gives me a lot of choices. You don't get a lot of recipes that are full of strange ing. that no one in your house will eat.

We cook ham in our and Love it that way. BBQ, chicken dishes, soup, you can even do desserts and hot drinks in them.

 

[MazdaUK]

DH just saw me checking a review site and said "You're not getting one of those! You've got WAY too much in the kitchen as it is". So I might borrow mums and see if we can't live without it I love the idea of chuck in and forget - if I've got to do extra stuff I might as well just cook anyway and reheat. (Which I do quite a lot at the moment).

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[sweetiee]

I love my crockpot(s). I asked for a larger, oval one this past year for Christmas and I really enjoy it. I always do my roasts in a crockpot and the oval is better at fitting the meat in there. So if you bought ONE crockpot, I would say get an oval one.
I even buy the frozen crockpot meals that you just pour the stuff in the pot, cook all day, then you usually have to add the noodles or something right before you serve. So easy during a work week!
Thanks to the poster who posted the 365 crock pot recipe site. I've saved it and I'm going to go read up on it!

 

[MazdaUK]

We don't have frozen crockpot meals here

I love the 365 site too - I might try the BBQ chicken with cornbread on Thursday.

Mum said it works best if its hot when you put things in Can someone explain please? seems to sort of defeat the object

 

[ddavis860]

I think I saved about every chicken recipe she has over the weekend. DH tried the fish in packets, and said it worked great for him.

I'm going to go through the beef recipes this week...

 

[piratesmate]

I rarely use mine for things that require prep. I'm strictly a "dump it & forget it" kind of gal. But I couldn't live without it...there are certain foods that I don't like cooked any other way as I like my meats almost falling apart. LOL

I find it difficult to understand why your meal took so long in your mum's pot...unless you mean by comparison to "regular" oven cooking. Yes, it takes longer than that, but the "newer" pots (aka the past 15 yrs) cook much faster than the original ones did. I used to like mine for tossing things in & coming home after a long day at work to everything being ready...so there was no comparison in cooking time! But if you're standing around waiting for it, I think you'll be disappointed.

I prefer the oval shaped ones because I can put in a roast while it's still frozen without having to hack off a piece. LOL (I used to do that 30+ yrs ago.) Things just seem to fit better. I can even do a boneless ham in the oval - a big one with leftovers for the week.

I'm sure you've read in other threads that I use it to cook large quantities of boneless chicken that I then shred & freeze for later use.

It's the only way I'll make a beef roast....sometimes as a roast with potatoes & carrots and other times to shred for hot sandwiches with au jus.

We love it for pork & sauerkraut. (I use microwave potatoes so it's a no effort meal.) As kids, we always had hot dogs with this meal to cut costs on the pork. I still like them done that way, so I'll open the crock & toss in a pacakge about an hour or so before the pork is done.

I'm sure I'd use it even more if we ate a lot of canned soup. I see many, many recipes that call for dumping condensed soups in with meat, but that's too much fat for us. They always sound good, but I prefer recipes that add taste by spices instead of calorie-laden dressings & soups.

 

[merekc]

I rarely prep my recipes either. If something is suppose to be browned before going in, I still toss it right into the crockpot. I've never had any problems doing this.

Just make sure the crock can come out of the heating element for easier cleaning. They may not even make the other kind anymore, but just in case.

I find that I use my large oval one the most. It is the kind that has locks for traveling.

 

[MazdaUK]

I had it on for 6 hours but the potatoes weren't done - I ended up microwaving portions! (I knew it would take a long time but only the long time I expected, IYSWIM ) What do you use instead of soup? Water or stock? I'm not big on canned soups generally as I don't like the flavour (they seem to taste of salt and nothing much else - even expensicve soups).

 

[piratesmate]

Gee, that's kind of weird about the potatoes... My very 1st stone pot (Rival brand) stated that when making a roast the carrots go in first, then the meat on top of them and the potatoes "which cook fastest" go in last/on top. I'm not sure if the newer instruction booklets still tell you that, but it's how I still do it. And I do know what you mean about the time. I certainly wouldn't have been happy if I had to cook a meal & then cook it again! LOL Of course when I've taken things out & part wasn't quite done, I've just put it all back for a bit longer.

When I said I don't use soups, I meant for the type of recipe that makes a sauce that flavors the meat like this one:

Cheesy Crock-Pot Chicken

6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
to taste salt & pepper
to taste garlic powder
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup

Rinse chicken and sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix undiluted soup and pour over chicken in a crock pot. Cook on low all day (6 to 8 hours). Serve over rice or noodles.

While that sounds really tasty, I just have a hard time with the added calories. (I'm not a gravy person either.) Most meats don't require any liquid when cooking - unless it's to flavor the meat. For a beef roast I don't use any at all (well except for some Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master) unless it's still frozen...and that's because my original pot's instructions said to add a cup of water if the meat is frozen. I know some people use stock, but I like to sprinkle a bit of granulated beef bouillon over the roast after the KB/GM goes on it. (That's instead of the Lipton soup mix.) That's plenty of salt for us.

To be honest, I really haven't tried too many actual "recipes" for the crock because of the soup thing. I read the recipes & if they sound good I just kind of wing it to recreate the flavor by adding spices and maybe some juice for additional flavor.

 

[merekc]

Couple of questions. Did the potatoes not get done on Low or High setting?

How old is the crockpot you were using?

 

[WDWMom]

I like dump and run recipes for my crockpot. A family favorite is diet coke ham. Put your ham in the pot on low, dump some diet coke (or any kind of pop/soda), enough to cover an inch at the bottom. Put the top on and forget about it until you want to eat.

I also make stew in mine. I don't brown the meat, I stick in raw and it's great 6 or so hours later. I also put a roast in mine. ANother favorite is chicken breasts (or whatever pieces you like) along with a can of died tomatoes (I use Delmonte garlic and onion). Cook on low and it falls apart! I have also made meatloaf. Use my regular recipe, pat it in crock, cook on low all day. Instead of a loaf you have a cirlce but it tastes the same.

 

[MazdaUK]

I think I had it on medium - its not that old, I think Mum bought it about 5 years ago but she's not used it much.

I looked at the instructions last night and it said if you prep stuff the night ebfore don't put it in the fridge in the crockpot, tip it into the crockpot in the mornign and add boiling stock. I'm going to try recipes from the crockpot lady (and yourselves) and see how I get on. though ti would be good for 1/2 term as I won't be able to chop, so DS(15) can prep and turn it on and I don't have to worry about splatting pans.

 

[Sillyminny40]

Yes. Buy one. But get a GOOD one.

 

[MazdaUK]

I've kidnapped my mums!