Slow cookers

So, I'm trying to mix it up in terms of what we are having for dinner, and incorporate more vegetables (we do a side of them every night, but I'd love to add more).  And given that the weather is cooling down, a slow cooker seems like a good idea for cosy comfort food and what not.

So...how many of you out there have them?  Any models you recommend?  I see a wide variety of prices, anywhere between £20 to £99, and haven't owned one before so wouldn't really know where to begin in terms of what brand is good vs. what isn't. 

And any particular recipes you like?

I don't have one, but it's on my to-buy list, so I'll be curious to see what people recommend.

I love my slow cooker Breville MM14 4.3L...it has the 'auto switch' function which makes it really nice! It was about £40 (I think, my husband got it as a present for me because I LOVE to cook!). I also like mine very much because the insert comes out for easy storage of leftovers & to clean it as well.

My particular model has been discontinued but here's the model that replaced it: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4231473/Trail/searchtext%3EBREVILLE+SLOW+COOKER.htm

I love my slow cooker! Do you have a big family or a small one? Because it's just DB and I, I absolutely love the small slow cooker I got from amazon, this is not the same but similar -

It's small but produces more than enough food, I really like doing pulled pork in it, and ribs, ribs come out amazingly tender.
Also stilton broccoli soup and chicken chorizo stew. I just through in any old thing to be honest

Just the boyfriend and I!  And we are pretty good about not ordering in a ton or getting ready meals, but we both work a bunch so coming home to something that essentially ready is very appealing.    I don't mind doing the prep work the night before or anything like that, and I'm dying to mix it up when it comes to our meals, since we eat the same things pretty often (given the speed at which we can prepare them!).    The weekends I might take a little more time with food, but dinner on the week nights depends on how quickly either of us can get it on the table.  And I gotta say, I'm getting tired of salmon.

Thanks for all the tips! 

We have one but it's just the one my BF had when I moved in so I couldn't even tell you the brand or anything. But I love doing stews in it - bung a bunch of veggies, barley, meat, broth, and herbs in, turn it on, and at the end of the day we have yummy yummy yummy food.  I've never worried about over-cooking anything either - as long as there's liquid and you leave the lid on, it should be fine.

As for making enough for two, we deliberably make lots of food and then store it in our freezer in double-serving sized containers.

We've had this Morphy Richards model for three years now and love it - it gets more use than our food processor! We use it mostly for pulled pork and making stock after a roast (soooo easy - tip in the carcass, any leftover veg and gravy, fill with water, and you've got ace stock the next morning!).

You really want to make sure the bowl part of any one you buy removes for washing! Our does and it means we can soak it and clean it without worrying about the electrics.

You really want to make sure the bowl part of any one you buy removes for washing! Our does and it means we can soak it and clean it without worrying about the electrics.

That's a good tip it makes it so much handier if you can stick the bowl in the sink like with ours It would be a total nightmare to clean out otherwise.

I have one and I do love it, I don't use it all the time, but when I do get it out, I tend to use it for a week straight. I also make lots of food in it, so I can always freeze something.

My opinion is they are all the same (bar the computery bits) but I say get a bigger one if you have room, this way you can make extras!

My MiL had one exactly like Squirrellypoo, and I liked it a lot.  I didn't realise it, but she expected me to take it when I left.  I ended up getting a cheapy one from Sainsbury's (it was branded the same as their low fat range of food "Be good to yourself").  It looks like the Morphy Richards one, but has different settings.  I make pretty much everything I can in mine.  It's great in the summer because it doesn't heat up the kitchen.  It's great in the winter for hearty food. 

I am considering looking into something like this:



Over on MSE, people rave about theirs.  Anyone have one?

I've got one here that I use, it's a Rival Crock-Pot brand.  It's a 4-quart, and it's got the ceramic pot that lifts out of the heating pan, so it can be put in the fridge, or the oven, or on the table.  It's only got 3 settings- warm, low and high- but it's never really occurred to me that I'd need others.

My fiance does not have one, so we've added one to our Amazon UK wedding list.  It's also a CrockPot brand, and they all look identical to the Rival models sold in the US.  I picked out one that's like the one my mom has, because it's a little bit bigger than what I've got: .

I don't use mine super-often now, mostly because it's just me, but in the past I've used it quite a bit for stews, chili, chicken & dumplings, etc.  I've also started doing pot roast in them.  I just brown the roast on the stove top first, to sear it, then I pour a can of Golden Mushroom soup over the top and let it go all day on low.  Very tasty, and it works with beef or pork roast.  Since I don't think they have Golden Mushroom soup over there, I managed to find a copy-cat recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/campbells-golden-mushroom-soup-substitute-412096.