Slow Cooker Questions

I don't think you are suppose to cook frozen meat in a crockpot. You could prepare the night before, put it in the fridge & then plug in the morning. I've never had anything turn to mush. A pressure cooker seems like maybe it would be better for your situation.

Don't know much about them, but wanted to let you know that WS is having a sale on them.

For things like roast I like them to cook a long time. You could always get things ready before you go to bed and turn the slow cooker on "low". Or put everything in the removable insert and put it in the fridge. Then have a family member remove it from the fridge and turn it on before they leave for the day.

As far as brands, I think mine is a Rival.

I have prepared a meal in the crock pot at night (not cooked it) , I have also set everything up in the morning & plugged the crock into a timer, like the ones you use for Christmas window lights. I work full time, so I am not home to turn it on at 10:00 or 11:00 AM to have it done by 6:00 PM, so the timer works out great. I get home & dinner is ready & no one has to wait around for me to cook.

Maybe this method will work for you ?

Have a Good Day !

You should not put frozen foods into a crockpot, as they may not be safely cooked in the time the recipe gives, which is based on thawed foods.

Check different recipes. You can add meat at one time and vegetables later - I do that so that the veggies don't get too mushy. It depends on the veggies you want to add, but some I'll add an hour or 30 minutes before serving.

You can assemble the meal in the crock pot or in a baggie and keep it in the fridge (the whole crock pot or the baggie) and then remove and plug in when you're ready to turn it on. If the meal was in the baggie, just dump it out of the baggie into the crock pot and then cover and turn it on.

I'm sorry you don't feel like your husband is capable of remembering to turn the pot on before he leaves, but I would work with him on that. He should be able to take some responsibility for the family meal - anyone in the family should. Plugging it on and turning it on shouldn't be too much to ask. If he can't do it or forgets, I'd say he should be picking dinner up that night until he learns. You can leave a note for him on the coffee pot, the front door, wherever to help him remember. Tell your kids to remind him in the morning and make it a family responsibility to get the family meal ready and everyone has a part - mom sets it up, the kids remind dad to get it out of the fridge and turned on, and dad turns it on.

When I need my husband to give the dog her medicine, I set the kitchen timer and put it by his computer. He can't forget that way!

On 8/21/2014 ccassaday said: You could get a programmable one that switches to warm automatically after 4 or 8 hours and stops cooking.

And if you are in an area prone to power outages, you will want want one with memory so that it turns back on where it left off when the power went out.

Otherwise, you will be tossing whole pots of food.

All of mine are Crock Pot brand and never had an issue with any of them. You want to make sure that they have good, sturdy feet and are off the counter so that air circulates under it. You want to make sure you don't have any kind of towels or hot pads under them or near them. Slow cookers are safe, but you have to use common sense, too.

I have two - one is a Rival that I think cooks a little hot, and the other is a Temptations that I got about 4-5 years ago from Q. This one is my favorite since on one setting I can brown foods and then just flip it over to slow cook. Sadly, they no longer carry it. I like the time suggestion best but have also assembled the ingredients in a slow cooker liner and then just plop it in in the morning to cook.

So, maybe it's not technically safe, but I put frozen stuff in there pretty often.