18 December 2007


After almost two years without a crockpot, I finally got a new one! The one I registered for when we got married was a little cheap deal that basically started disintegrating on me in our third year of marriage. The little plastic feet kept slowly chipping away, the casing that housed the dial started cracking and then oozing some strange blue substance, then finally the whole dial just fell out of the machine! I didn't bother moving it back to St. Louis; it got trashed.

Some very generous members of our congregation gave us a housewarming gift and then a Christmas gift and it was the perfect amount with which to purchase this really nice crockpot (yes, I know "Crockpot" is a trademarked term for the Rival brand, but it's so much easier to say and type than "slow cooker," so that's what I use.)

It is the Hamilton Beach Set 'n Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker, model 33966. Check it out on
Amazon.com.

It comes with a temperature probe. If you are cooking meat, you stick the probe in the meat (there is a hole for it in the lid) and tell the crockpot what temperature you want the meat to be when done. When it reaches the desired temperature, the unit will automatically switch to the "warm" setting from whatever you had it on to cook. So no more overcooked, mushy meats!

You can program it to cook on "high" for a certain number of hours then switch to "low." It's completely programmable. Neat! You can also use it just like the traditional crockpots by simply setting it on high, low, or warm.

I've only made one dish in it so far,
Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup, but I love it already. Even though I am home most days, I think I will use it a lot simply because it's so easy and hassle free. And it means spending less time on my feet which is becoming more taxing the bigger this baby gets!

I really like the oval shape of this appliance, too. I was able to lay flat three chicken breasts without them touching each other. That means things will cook more evenly. And on an aesthetic note, it is very sleek looking with the black and stainless steel. So shiny and pretty!
Thank you so much, Virgil and Carol!

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