Photo by: dirvish
Crock pots always frightened me. As a kid, church coffee hours looked like a crock pot cityscape, each building containing some variety of hot brown easily chewed goo. Between those options and the various marshmallow molds, no wonder I began a dietetic quest for real food! While church food may not have progressed since my Toughskins-wearing days, crock pot cooking certainly has. In fact, crock pots will be referred to in their hipper form–slow cookers–from here on out. (Actually, Crock Pot is the brand name of a slow cooker. Fascinated?! Read more here!)
The upside of slow cookers:
1 – Dinner’s ready when you walk in the door (obviously, hello)
2 – Massive flavor distribution
3 – Ability to use cheaper ingredients because they have longer to cook & tenderize (more beans! but dried!)
4 – Always wondering if the slow cooker started on fire in your kitchen while you’re at work. This keeps our minds fresh and alive!
Still timid and just starting to get my feet “crocked,” here are a few recipe compilations for you to gander:
- Savvy Vegetarian’s Slow Cooker Recipes (the Chickpea Curry is Delish!!)
- Eating Well Magazine’s Slow Cooker Recipes & Tips
- A Year of Slow Cooking: a BLOG! (Author of “Make it Fast, Cook it Slow”… this woman challenged herself to use her crockpot every day in 2008, and blogged about it. Wow!)
Let’s continue this adventure together. Let me know what recipes work, share tips, and I’ll do the same. To Crock Pots!
Delish & Healthy-ish With Jen Reilly, RD 
I too was terrified of slow cookers and we nearly gave away one that we got for a gift. However, I stumbled upon The Indian Slow Cooker book and everything has changed. And I do mean stumble upon, because I only get raw books, and I only browse the Vegan section. This book is 95 percent vegan and the easier, cheapest, most delicious food I can imagine! She uses dried beans, unsoaked, so thereis no prep time. You dump stuff on and push a button. When you return home you think an Indian woman was cooking in your house the entire day. I am blogging about many of the dishes here.
http://www.getskinnygovegan.blogspot.com
Wow! I can’t wait to check out that book, your blog, and add you to my blog roll! Thanks for the comment! – Jen
I’ve been following Stephanie’s blog for longer than I can remember and have had this book pre-ordered for longer than I can remember. 🙂
I have made the Pumpkin Spice Latte, more than one fondue, and the Moroccan Lentil Soup, just to name a few. They were all extremely tasty, and I have been waiting so long for this cookbook to come out so I can browse through the recipes in print rather than online.
Stephanie’s wit and her willingness to try anything are what initially drew me in, and I was concerned that maybe the book wouldn’t replicate her recipes and style completely. However, I am happy to say that everything in the book lives up to my highest expectations. I am now going to order multiple copies to give as Christmas gifts because out of the several slow cooker cookbooks I have, this one outshines them all. It’s honestly the only one you’ll ever need.
Plus, you’ve really gotta try the Lentil Soup. My husband and I love it so much I’ve made it several times and have been waiting on the fall weather to make it again. It’s time! 🙂
Buy this book, and I promise, you really won’t regret it!
Update on March 19, 2010: More recipes to try: Brown Sugar Chicken; Chicken Parmesan; Turkey Breast with Onion, Butter, and White Wine; Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole
Also, I bought 8 additional copies of this book and gave them to friends as gifts. So far, each friend has come back to me and told me how much they love this book. They especially recommend the Chicken Parmesan, the Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole, and the Moroccan Lentil Soup. Happy Cooking!!