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Message |
    
shoshannah
Citizen
Username: Shoshannah
Post Number: 1014
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 - 12:09 pm: |     |
Six quarts is a big one. Three to four quarts would be good for a family meal without leftovers. |
Zoesky1
Citizen
Username: Zoesky1
Post Number: 1125
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 - 7:51 pm: | |
I want one of these!!! Having read this thread on a lark, I now have decided I MUST get a crock pot (some crack pot wouldn't be so bad either after the week I had). I am known to all who love me as a terrible cook, and actually as a NON-cook (my idea of cooking is toast). But I think I would actually like to try my hand at this, having grown up in a household where there was always a big pot of something aromatic and hot bubbling on the stove and wanting my kids to have a similar experience. So are there any models that are particularly good for culinary morons? We are a small family (3 of us) and don't need one of the giant ones, although I like the idea of leftovers. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2651
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 - 9:20 pm: | |
My standby crockpot recipe:
2-3 lb chuck roast or other inexpensive cut of beef (or cubes for stew) coated with flour
small potatoes (or larger ones cut into chunks)
carrots (peeled and chunked or the already-peeled ones)
whatever other leftover veggies are lurking in the fridge
one packet of onion soup mix
1.5 - 2 cups water (or beef broth)
salt, pepper, worcestershire or other spices to taste
Put ingredients in pot in (more or less) the above order - veggies on top of meat or mixed together for stew
Cook all day on low (or 4-6 hours on high)
Thicken gravy if desired |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2652
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 - 9:25 pm: | |
The one I have would probably work great for you. It is a round 3.5 quart size Proctor-Silex. Very simple - off/warm/low/high. No timer, but the crock does come out of the base. I think it cost about $20 or so at Bed Bath and Beyond a couple of years ago.
I just made stew in it yesterday. Pot roast last week.
They probably don't have the exact same one, but I'm sure that you could find something similar there or at any number of other discount stores in the area. (Don't forget to take the 20% off coupon if you go to BBB or LNT.)
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Robert Little
Citizen
Username: Boblittle
Post Number: 192
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 7, 2005 - 9:57 pm: | |
I don't use mine too much once I got the 13.5 quart Le Crueset stock pot. I double or quadruple crock pot recipes then freeze for the monsoon season. You could also get a cast iron dutch oven (such as from Lodge) and put it either in the oven (220 degs max) or on the stove top, flame on lowest.
Crock Pot is a brand name of the Rival company, and is the progeny of their early 70s Beanery. Slow cooker is the generic name.
Brand is not too important. It's an electric coil around an insulated pot. The old days featured only LOW and HIGH, both of which resulted in the same temperature (which was too high for most applications), but LOW got to that point slower. Newer ones have WARM, which is hot enough to cook, albeit slowly, which is the point anyway.
Look for all three settings plus a countdown-to-off timer.
One newer model has a pot that can be put directly on the stove top so you can brown meat without using a separate pot.
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Ben
Citizen
Username: Ros
Post Number: 255
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, October 8, 2005 - 8:58 am: | |
Sac-
I used the exact same stew recipe yesterday for the family--it's my usual stew recipe--without having read this thread until just now. Even same spices, flour on the meat, etc. It was delicious!
Great minds think alike--great chefs cook alike! |
sk8mom
Citizen
Username: Sk8mom
Post Number: 357
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, October 8, 2005 - 5:37 pm: | |
Cook's Illustrated just rated slow cookers. Did anybody post the results? If not, I have them somewhere. |
Mozek
Citizen
Username: Mozek
Post Number: 44
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 1:57 pm: | |
sk8mom,
please post results from Cooks Illustrated! thanks!! |
lah
Citizen
Username: Lah
Post Number: 370
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 5:12 pm: | |
This is not that recent, but this website is affiliated with Cook's Illustrated (it's from the show they run on PBS)
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/testing.asp?testingid=98&iSeason=4
It gives some basic info on various crock pots, but the models may be a bit dated (although they don't really seem to change that much).
As for recipe books, I like the "Fix it and Forget It" series. Someone on this board recommended it a few years ago. You can usually find these books fairly cheap on half.com.
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Dego Diva
Citizen
Username: Fmingione
Post Number: 615
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:03 am: | |
I'm a kitchen gadget fanatic and I love to cook, but a crock pot is one of those things that I just never thought was worth it because I only cook vegetarian food. I love the idea of setting a pot to cook in the AM and coming home to a meal. Convince me - should I get a crock pot if I'll never cook meat in it? Besides soup and veg chili, what can I make? |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 1783
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:14 am: | |
Dego, I don't cook much meat either, but I went out yesterday and bought the crock pot from Costco. It was only $40 and I'm sure there have got to be vegetrian recipes to cook in the crock pot. I have two I'm going to try. One is Autumn Tuscany Chicken (I sometimes do chicken) but provides a vegetrian substitute of extra butternut squash and garbonzo beans. The other is called Big Flavor Black Bean soup. Both sound really yummy, but I think I'm going for the Autumn Tuscany thing on Sunday.
If you're a gadget fanatic, I say go for it! The Rival crock pot I bought at Costco yesterday has this really pretty removable black crock with a pattern around the outside edge. And at $40, it's pretty much a bargain, as far as some kitchen gadgets go, at least IMHO.
I'll even make you a deal. You get one, we both research vegetarian recipes for crock pots, and we share what we find. |
Eats Shoots & Leaves
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 2416
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:23 am: | |
Google Vegetarian Crock Pot Recipes--you will find a few dozen. |
cmontyburns
Citizen
Username: Cmontyburns
Post Number: 1379
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:49 am: | |
The "Fix It and Forget It" books are the ones being sold at Costco. Or at least they sell them around the holidays -- I got a two-pack of them for cheap, and they are full of great recipes. |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 1785
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:52 am: | |
Yes, but how many of them include meat, cmonty? |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2669
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 9:56 am: | |
Most of them ... |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 1786
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:02 am: | |
I figured, sac. That's generally the case with most cookbooks. A majority of the recipes call for meat, with a few non-meat recipes sprinkled in. Kind of makes it not worth the money for those of us who prefer not to eat meat.
Did find these titles at Amazon: 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes, by Judith Finlayson, and The Vegetarian Slow Cooker (Nitty Gritty Cookbooks) by Joanna White. Might wait to peruse them in person to be sure they're good basic non-meat recipes, and not crazy and obscure "vegetarian" recipes with lots of tofu and curries and wild ingredients! |
Virtual It Girl
Citizen
Username: Shh
Post Number: 3312
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 10:11 am: | |
I have experimented with a few vegetarian recipes. Last summer, when my kitchen was under reno. I made ratatouille a few times. I've also made a stew, similar to the beef stew, minus the beef. (Carrots, potatoes, etc. seasoned with onion soup mix). My only problem was that it came out a little watery.
One cool thing I have made is tortellini with cream sauce. This comes out great, and serves a crowd. Buy the precooked cheese tortellini from Costco. Saute mushrooms in a pan with a little garlic or onion. Put the tortellini in the crock pot with the mushrooms, some cream, some chopped tomatoes or a little tomato sauce, salt & pepper. Cook on low. Add frozen peas towards the end. It becomes tortellini with mushrooms and peas in a blush sauce (or cream sauce if you omit the tomatoes). Not too heavy, but great for a luncheon buffet. |
Dego Diva
Citizen
Username: Fmingione
Post Number: 619
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 4:29 pm: | |
Hmmm, ok, I'm getting interested. I like the sound of those books you mentioned Meandtheboys. And yeah, I'll do a google search for recipes too. Never thought of being able to do a pasta dish in it VIG!
Sounds like I have some research to do! |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 2671
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 5:50 pm: | |
Crock pots seem to be best for "comfort food" ... if it gets better and better with reheating, that's the kind. Although many items in that category do contain meat, I think that pasta & cheese dishes as well as stew-ish vegetable dishes would also work. I rarely use recipes and when I do, I rarely follow them that closely ... it almost always comes out good anyway.
One hint - If the recipe contains sour cream, add that in toward the end rather than including it for the entire time.
Another hint - Onion soup mix is a great basis for many crock pot concoctions. I always keep a supply of it on hand. I expect that other soup mixes would also be good, but that's the one I usually use. (I guess I'm in a rut.) |
CLK
Supporter
Username: Clkelley
Post Number: 1507
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 - 6:32 pm: | |
I don't use onion soup mix, but I do use dried onion flakes. Not for any food snobs out there, but I think they add a nice taste to a lot of stuff - very different from fresh onion, a lot mellower and sweeter.
(they're also good in meatloaf, for you non-vegetarians. Mom's Secret Ingredient.) |
papayagirl
Citizen
Username: Papayagirl
Post Number: 442
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 2:46 pm: | |
I have the Fix It and Forget It Lightly cookbook from Costco. It's a good book, but i get the sense that it's a compliation of recipes that different people sent in, with no one testing them out. I made one recipe for beef barley soup that called for something like 2 cups of barley, which would've easily swelled up and filled the entire pot had i put that much in.
Here's a good page i bookmarked long ago with some crockpot tips. Apparently if you remove the cover to see how it's doing, you lose 20 minutes of cooking time.
http://www.jsonline.com/entree/cooking/apr02/31929.asp
And here are our two sure-fire crockpot recipes. Both are super-easy.
Crockpot French Dip
4 lb rump roast
2 cans beef broth
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 can of beer
Trim the fat from the meat and brown it in a little olive oil. Then dump it in the crockpot with the other ingredients and cook it on low for 7-8 hours. A half hour before serving, remove the meat, slice it up, and return it to the crockpot.
Serve it on rolls with sauteed onions and provolone. Dip the sandwiches in the juice as you eat.
--
Kalua Pig in a Slow Cooker
This one supposedly tastes just like pig from a luau. (Having never attended one, i just take everyone's word for it.)
6 lb pork butt/shoulder roast
1 Tbsp liquid smoke
1½ Tbsp Hawaiian sea salt
Pierce the pork all over with a carving fork, and then slather on the salt and liquid smoke. Cook on low for 16-20 hours, turning once half way through. Remove the meat when it's done, shred it. Keep it separate. When the juice has cooled, skim the fat from the top and put the shredded meat back in. Serve on hard rolls with bbq sauce on the side.
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Brett
Citizen
Username: Bmalibashksa
Post Number: 1966
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 8:58 am: | |
Best Crock pot Recipe ever.
Fill ½ way with water
Add Lavender Bath oil
Add two wash clothes
Turn on low, plug in near couch.
Once warm, use wash cloths to massage significant others feet.
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Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 1812
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 9:04 am: | |
Oooh Brett, I do love the way you think. That Bridezilla sure is on lucky girl! |
Meandtheboys
Citizen
Username: Meandtheboys
Post Number: 1826
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 10:22 pm: | |
Used the crock pot for the first time today. Made Autumn Tuscany Chicken with butternut squash, raisins, green pepper, cumin and cinnamon, and other yummy ingredients. It was so nice to come home in the early afternoon, after going pumpkin picking with the kids, and having the house smell like something yummy cooking for dinner. And it was great not having to think about what to put together for dinner at the end of the day, at the end of a busy weekend and a busy week.
Going to use this thing as often as possible! |
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