Slower Cooker Advice Please

Lynplatinum

Hiya

Have earned monies from my club book (by letting others order from it etc) which I will loose if I dont use. Have been thinking for some time of a slow cooker and two are on offer - a Swan with ceramic inside and a Crock Pot one with stoneware inside. Dishwasher safe etc doesnt matter as I dont have a dishwasher (well - me

I am on my own - what do others use theirs for and would they recomend that or another device??
Many thanks for any help offered

PS thanks to those who advised re washing machine - am delighted with my choice tho I cannot yet comment on how energy consumption is affected. TC

Dustyblinds

Hi, I had a crockpot one for years and never had a problem with it, when I needed a new one I went for a ceramic and haven't found any real difference cooking wise, but cleaning the ceramics is a breeze. Not sure if this will make a difference once it has 'aged' but I'm happy with it.
Good luck with whatever one you decide on, I love the slow cooker.

joedenise

I think either would be good. If you're worried about the cleaning of the pot you can now buy slow cooker liners. Aldi sell them but our local one doesn't have any at the moment but don't know if it's a case of them not doing them any more.

Denise

Dustyblinds

joedenise wrote: »

I think either would be good. If you're worried about the cleaning of the pot you can now buy slow cooker liners. Aldi sell them but our local one doesn't have any at the moment but don't know if it's a case of them not doing them any more.

Denise

I never knew you could get these joedenise, thank you, will have to check my local Aldi next week.

ariarnia

Whichever you go for - have a look at the lid.

I've picked up a crockpot one to replace my basic one - purely because I put the pot in the oven to heat through with something else that was in there anyway... and the handle on the lid melted.

New one is a ceramic lid with a ceramic knob on top.

In my slow cooker I make a basic mince base (we aren't a fan of soups and I can't figure skimming stock without destroying the kitchen).

The mince is eaten as is (mince and potatoes), but also turned into cottage pie, pie filling, enchilada, Bolognese, chilli, lasagne, stew.

So I make a batch (2 litres) then freeze in tubs until I want to make one of the above.

Don't tell - OH think's it's just mince, onion and gravy.

It's really lentils, TVP, oats, grated carrot, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, plus any other veg I can grate - and a tiny (half pack) of mince.

Does 8 meals

joedenise

ariarnia wrote: »

Whichever you go for - have a look at the lid.

I've picked up a crockpot one to replace my basic one - purely because I put the pot in the oven to heat through with something else that was in there anyway... and the handle on the lid melted.

New one is a ceramic lid with a ceramic knob on top.

In my slow cooker I make a basic mince base (we aren't a fan of soups and I can't figure skimming stock without destroying the kitchen).

The mince is eaten as is (mince and potatoes), but also turned into cottage pie, pie filling, enchilada, Bolognese, chilli, lasagne, stew.

So I make a batch (2 litres) then freeze in tubs until I want to make one of the above.

Don't tell - OH think's it's just mince, onion and gravy.

It's really lentils, TVP, oats, grated carrot, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, plus any other veg I can grate - and a tiny (half pack) of mince.

Does 8 meals

That's what I'm planning on doing in the next week or so but fortunately I don't have to grate the veg as DH is happy to eat almost any veg, although I shall probably grate quite a bit of it just so it doesn't look too veg heavy!!!

Denise

joedenise

Dustyblinds wrote: »

I never knew you could get these joedenise, thank you, will have to check my local Aldi next week.

I've also been told they're available at Dunelm & Wilkinsons although I haven't actually checked myself.

Denise

[Deleted User]

I would say either of those would be fine I have two slow cookers a smaller one which was my DDs and her family 'grew' out of and a larger oval one which I bought in Sainsbobs about 10 years ago The smaller one does fine for making a meal for myself and my friend when she comes to visit.(usually have a little left over for a portion for the freezer) The big one is ideal for doing a whole chicken or a large batch of stew/mince etc .

I use it for cooking a large rice pud overnight as well.The chook I will turn on just before I go to bed and in the morning the kitchen is warm and smelling gorgeous and the food is falling off the bones.Once I have got it out I strip the chicken off and chuck the bones back in for another half an hour then strain the whole lot into a large jug.Once cold the fat is skimmed off the the remaining jelly stock makes smashing base for soups etc,also freezes well for a later day.

Its amazing just how much meat falls off the chook this way and absolutely nothing is wasted apart from the very last lot of bones.Makes a great neck of lamb casserole as well.In fact apart from my Remoska I think my slow cooker is the best gadget in my kitchen Its cheap to run and once the food is prepared you can swith it on and forget about it.Great for large vats of veggie soups as well.

Re the knobs on the lids my plastic one cracked with age I think and I replaced it with a wooden one bought from a hardware shop, easy to do as the lid has an ordinary screw hole in the middle and its just a case of unscrewing the old knob and replacing it with a new one cost me about 50p I think about 5 years ago ( I do the same with saucepan lids if I can)
As for liners well when my pot is empty I just fill with hot water and some detergent powder and leave to steep for half an hour the same as will greasy roasting pans/dishes and the residue just comes of very easily.Bit of 'free' elbow grease and its never been a problem.I too have a perfectly capable pair of hands for washing up :):)

joedenise

Great post JackieO. Agree with everything you say.

I only mentioned the liners as thought they might appeal to some, even though not MSE. I haven't personally used them but was told about them recently. Like you it isn't a problem to wash them up.

Denise

honeythewitch

I would choose whichever slowcooker doesn't have a glass lid. It seems that you lose more heat through glass.

ariba10

honeythewitch wrote: »

It seems that you lose more heat through glass.

That is a new one to me!