4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chickenanne]

I need your expert advice....

I really fancy getting a slow-cooker... love the thought of coming home to stew and chilli and the like. BUT.... are they safe to leave all day when no-one is in the house? Will I come back to a burnt-out-shell rather than a lovely beef stew?

And... any recommendations as to which one is best to get? Hints /tips etc for choosing one?

 

Thankyou!

[AnnieP]

I quite fancy one too, but cannot bring myself to trust an appliance left on all day.

[jess]

Hi there, we are avid slow cooker users in my house. We all work full time and leave them on all day. They don't get that hot (hence the slow) and are very safe in my opinion. We have been using them for years and years.

 

I just bought one from Morrisons I think it was lovely and cheap. I can't recommend them enough! Remember they are manufactured to be on for very long periods of time. If you are cautious you could always leave yours on over night?

 

Sorry I went on a bit but I love slow cookers!

[Angels4]

I use our slow cooker ALL the time without incident. IMO nothing better then coming home at the end of a loooooooooooooong cold day to a hot cooked meal ready to go, and the way the house smells YUM!!

[Looney]

I also worried about leaving it on all day....but I was given an old one by OH's Granny so didn't know whether to trust it or not.

 

Currently have my eye on a Tefal rice cooker / slow cooker, might accidently go and buy one

[Yorkshire Pudding]

I'm on my second one, only got rid of the first because our family had grown and it was too small.

 

I leave it on all day quite safely and as Mark says, coming home to a hot meal and the house smelling of dinner is fantastic after a day at work.

 

Mine has the 'crock pot' type of inner that can go on the heat or in the oven for starting off the cooking and it's excellent. It makes cheap cuts of meat tender and fantastic gravy, also good for rice pudding!

[lisa33]

I love getting home in the winter to the smell of a lovely stew that has been in the slow cooker all day.

[chickenanne]

Ooooh, goody! I'm buying one!!!!! I guess anything electrical can cause a fire, I was just thinking that maybe i was going to buy it would be "do not leave unattended" or whatever...I know, am daft.

[Egluntyne]

You can make lovely bolognese sauce, stews and soup in a slow cooker.

 

I use mine quite a bit in the winter.

 

PS Makes fab Rice Puddin' too.

[Chicken Licken]

I love my slow cooker - Mine came from an elderly relative and has got to be 20 years old - still going strong though. You bung it all in in the morning before work and come home to a warm tasty meal in the evening - my favourites include sausage casserole, chicken casserole and hugarian goulash - oooh yummy. I absolutely recommend a slow cooker for winter evenings

[Chickvic]

I wondered about leaving it on all day too, but you leave your fridge and freezer plugged in and turned on all day. I bought a Morphy Richards from Asda and it's fantastic!

[Angels4]

Mine has the 'crock pot' type of inner that can go on the heat or in the oven for starting off the cooking and it's excellent. It makes cheap cuts of meat tender and fantastic gravy, also good for rice pudding!

I LOVE rice pudding Never made it in the crock pot though. Please tell me more.

[redhotchick]

If you are nervous start by experimenting one Saturday, or any day when you are around. Put it on in the morning and you can monitor it through the day.

It's not recommended to take the lid off though.

There's quite a bit of slow cooker recipe chat in the "All Things Nice" section.

[jackiepoppies]

 

Well I was going to put my twopennyworth in as well, but someone turned up on my doorstep and by the time I got back here, everyone had said all I was going to say

 

The only thing I would add is that buy the biggest one you can so then you can make enough to put some in the freezer

 

You will wonder why you never had one before

 

Jackiex

[Christian]

You could always plug it into one of those circuit breakers things if you were worried about being out all day.

 

 

I have never owned a slow cooker, but reading this thread is making me reconsider......

[jess]

This is definitely the official slow cooker appreciation thread

[redfrock]

Currently have my eye on a Tefal rice cooker / slow cooker, might accidently go and buy one

 

Hi Lorna

 

I own one of these. They are a bit on the large size . I joke that it reminds me of a small Henry Hoover! I actually ended up buying a proper slow cooker as well, as the Tefal one that you are talking about doesn't have a low/high heat setting, and many recipes state that you need to use one or the other. You also probably couldn;t fit a whole chicken or lamb leg in it - if that is something you were planning on doing, and the steamer dish is actually quite tiny and probably wouldn't do enough veg for 2. The rice does come out well though. I think it is a lot of money for what it does. You could probably pick up a good rice cooker from Argos and a decent slow cooker for the same price as just the Tefal job, and that would enable you to prepare a complete meal! Mine now sits at the back of a cupboard in the utility room, unless I am cooking curry (and therefore rice) for 6. Meanwhile my MR slow cooker lives on the work top in kitchen thoughout Autumn and Winter and is used a huge amount.

 

hope that helps ....