Kitchen

[HonnyBrown]

I don't own a crock pot. I do my braising or long stovetop cooking on the weekends when I Wen. The questions I have:

Are they safe? Can you leave a heat source on and cooking without being home?

Are they good for turning on in the morning (before work) then coming home 10 or 11 hours later? Can they cook (safely) that entire time?

Can you prep Tuesday night, put everything in the pot, put the pot in the fridge, then start cooking the next morning? I'm not a morning person. I wouldn't do any prep work in the morning.

How is the clean up? DH is on cleaning. Nothing more needs to be said.

Is there anything else I should consider? Bells and whistles? Must haves?

[house_cat]

I researched them a bit and they seem to be safe. However, 10-11 hours is a long time to cook something even on the low setting. Mine has no bells nor whistles, but if I were making the purchase again I would get one with a timer. As it is now, I have to make sure to stop at home in between work and other obligations because my dog needs to be walked - I turn the crock pot off when I get home after about 8 hours. It would be nice if it could turn off on its own.

[151949]

I used to work 12 hour shifts and before I went to work i would start the crockpot. when DH got home he would have his dinner and keep it on low for me when I got home around 8PM.

I would often have everything all prepped and in the fridge in a lock & lock then in the morning all I had to do was dump it in the crockpot and turn it on.I never had any problem leaving it. You always have to have a considerable amount of liquid in anything you make in the crockpot.

As for cleaning - I generally spray the sides with Pam before putting anything in and it washes out easily.

[lovesrecess]

they sell crock pots with timers; if you can prep things the night before, best to put it in a bowl or other container and refrigerate till morning....I once put the stuff in the crock and put in fridge till morning; when I put the cold crock into the cooker, the crock cracked into pieces due to the temperature change....

you will love coming home in the early evening during the winter and having the aroma of your dinner greeting you!

[debcakes]

On 9/8/2014 house_cat said:

I researched them a bit and they seem to be safe. However, 10-11 hours is a long time to cook something even on the low setting. Mine has no bells nor whistles, but if I were making the purchase again I would get one with a timer. As it is now, I have to make sure to stop at home in between work and other obligations because my dog needs to be walked - I turn the crock pot off when I get home after about 8 hours. It would be nice if it could turn off on its own.

You can buy a timer that plugs into an older crock pot. Check the hardware store or a place that sells a lot of them. This will turn it off when you want it off.

[house_cat]

On 9/8/2014 debcakes said:

On 9/8/2014 house_cat said:

I researched them a bit and they seem to be safe. However, 10-11 hours is a long time to cook something even on the low setting. Mine has no bells nor whistles, but if I were making the purchase again I would get one with a timer. As it is now, I have to make sure to stop at home in between work and other obligations because my dog needs to be walked - I turn the crock pot off when I get home after about 8 hours. It would be nice if it could turn off on its own.

You can buy a timer that plugs into an older crock pot. Check the hardware store or a place that sells a lot of them. This will turn it off when you want it off.

I'm such a dodo sometimes. I ordered a set of two timers from Amazon Prime and when they arrived I realized they were two prong and not three.

I think I'll get one next time I'm at Wallymart.

[debcakes]

http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Touch-C30001-Original-Shut-Off/dp/B002KKCVYQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=und...

Not sure how many prongs on this, but it looks easy to use. Happy cooking.

[beach-mom]

I couldn't live without mine! YES - to most of your questions!

The only thing I would do differently is not to put everything in the pot the night before and put it in the refrigerator. I prep, then put items in separate containers in, and dump it all in in the morning. I do allow myself about 30 minutes, just to put everything in, even though it may not take that long.

Clean up is so easy. Sometimes I do have to let it soak a while, but I've never had a problem with anything sticking.

I have 4. I use one for taking food other places, then I have one oval, one round, and one extra large. Only the extra large one has a digital read out; the others are just standard, so I really don't think you need all of the "bells and whistles."

[moto]

I encourage you to get one! With the one I have (and it is at least 5 years old) you can set to cook for certain amount of time, and after that set period of time, it will automatically keep on a warm setting until you come home.

Also you can find crockpot liners to make cleanup even easier (find them in the aisle with foil and plastic wrap.

[colliemom4]

They are very safe. I've been using them forever. You're going to love having one!