Since I was very young, I’ve been something of a collector. I figured that if having one of something was good, then having three or four was even better. As a kid, this meant that I had more pens and pencils in my school bag than necessary and felt most comfortable when I had a back-up security blanket.
In my adulthood, this propensity towards duplication has most actively manifested itself in the kitchen. I have at least two dozen wooden spoons and spatulas (when just a handful would really do), three vintage waffle irons (because you never know when one might break) and five slow cookers.
There’s no really good defense for the wooden implements or the waffle irons, but I do have a rationale for the slow cookers. My slow cooker needs often vary and so having different shapes, sizes and eras to choose from give me options.
Dips go in the mini-cooker. When I make overnight oatmeal, the 2 1/2 quart pot is best. If I’m doing a batch of blueberry butter and want really low, slow heat, nothing works better than my vintage, 4 quart, avocado green cooker. I also have kept a basic 6 quart cooker in the rotation for a while for stocks and soups, though I must confess, it has never been my favorite.
Then there’s slow cooker number five. It joined the line-up recently and rocketed to the top of my slow cooker hit parade. It’s the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget model, with a lid that can be locked into a place and a thermometer probe that you can use to test internal temperatures without lifting the lid and releasing the heat. It allows you to set the cook time and temperature (when the time is up, it shifts to a keep warm setting).
This time of year, my slow cookers are in regular rotation for the production of apple and pear butters. I typically go with my vintage cooker, because I know that I can trust it not to burn (older slow cookers have lower set temperatures than the newer models). However, because of its capacity, it ends up yielding just a couple of pints. As you know, most of the time I like a small batch just a little more than the next girl. During the holiday season that changes and I appreciate the option of larger yields for gift giving.
I realize now that I’ve avoided the newer cookers and their higher temperatures because I’ve never worked with one that had an auto shut-off before. I tend to let my fruit butters cook overnight. That was too much time for my brute force, either-on-or-off cooker. But having the option to set it to cook for 5 or 6 hours and then shift to warm has changed everything. I know this technology has been around for a while (my mom had a slow cooker when I was little that did something along these lines), but I’d never before experienced it. I am in love.
My fruit butter yields are higher because the new Hamilton Beach machine has a larger capacity and I’m not running the risk of burning the butter because it shuts off when I ask. I am a happy canner.
Before we get to the apple butter recipe I’ve made three times in the last month in machine, I have to tell you one more reason why I really like it. It’s that “Stay or Go” feature. This slow cooker has a lid fitted with a silicone seal that can be locked into place. That makes it an able traveler, which is terrific for a regular potluck-attender like me.
I used it to transport and serve mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving (sadly, they were the worst mashed potatoes I’ve ever made; both lumpy and gummy at the same time. But the quality of the potatoes wasn’t the cooker’s fault) and it will be pressed into travel service again soon.
The formal recipe I’ve been using for this slow cooker apple butter is after the jump, but here’s the narrative version. You begin by filling your slow cooker to the top with sliced apples (I got about eight pounds into my cooker, but there’s some natural variation here). You add a little water (maybe 1/2 a cup) to help things along and then you let the cooker for for four to six hours on low, until you can mash the apples into sauce.
Then you puree the heck out of the applesauce, until the skins disappear. It works best in my Vitamix, but I’ve also achieved this same effect with an immersion blender and persistence. Then you return the puree to the slow cooker (it will only fill it 2/3 of the way up at this point) and cook on low for another six or so hours with the lid slightly askew for venting purposes, until the sauce has reduced into butter. Stir in sugar, spices, and lemon zest/juice for balance. That’s it! Easy and makes such good holiday presents!
Finally, the giveaway. Hamilton Beach has generously given me eight (yes, that’s eight) of these Set ‘n Forget Slow Cookers to give away to my readers. Here’s how to enter.
- Leave a comment on this post and share your favorite slow cooker use.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
- Giveaway open US residents only.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Hamilton Beach gave me one Set ‘n Forget Slow Cooker for review and photography purposes and they’re providing eight additional units for this giveaway. They did not pay for inclusion on the blog and my opinions remain entirely my own.
Ingredients
- 7-8 pounds apples (any varieties you like)
- 1/2 to 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- zest and juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Slice apples and heap them into a six quart slow cooker.
- Add 1/2 cup water and set to low.
- Cook until apples are tender and can be easily pressed into sauce. On low, this will take 4-6 hours. On high, it should only take 2-3 hours.
- Puree softened apples into a smooth puree (it shouldn't be necessary to peel).
- Return to puree to slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours with the lid set slightly ajar so that it can vent.
- Add 1/2 cup sugar, spices and lemon zest/juice. Taste and add more spices and sugar, if necessary.
- Funnel hot apple butter into prepared jars.
- Apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from canner and let cool on a folded kitchen towel.
Notes
My batch yielded just over 3 pints, but with all things that depend on reduction, yields will vary. I can see this batch ranging from 2 to 4 pints, depending on the water content of the apples and the length that you cook them.
This recipe can be canned in pints, half pints, quarter pints or any other small jar designed for boiling water bath canning. All jars pints or smaller are processed for 15 minutes. Should you want to can it in quarts, increase processing time to 20 minutes.
I like to braise red cabbage with an apple, a bottle of balsamic vinegar, a pack of bacon and some brown sugar
Osso Bucco baby! 😉
Especially in winter, I love to make soups and stews in the slow cooker. It’s wonderful to come home from a long day at work and have a delicious meal waiting.
Meat! An old hen, a pork shoulder, corned beef – all benefit from a night spent in the slow cooker. I add veggies the next day and we eat really well that night.
I love to make soups and stews in my slow cooker. BUT … the first thing I ever canned (just this year) was apple butter and I used a slow cooker — it was (and still is) delicious!
I don’t have a favorite; I’ve never used a slow cooker before… I’ve been making my apple butter in the over and am dying to find a more energy-friendly way!
I don’t have one! I’m not quite sure how given all the other kitchen implements I own, but I certainly need one. I love apple butter so that would be first on my to-make list.
At least once a week, dinner has to be ready when we walk in the door. On those nights, it always comes from a slow cooker.
I love making pulled beef in my slow cooked, just toss in a chuck roast, salt, pepper, and a cup or two of beef broth and let it go for six hours. Serve on crusty sub rolls or in a bowl with bread for dipping. Yummy! I can’t wait to try this recipe.
My favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is yogurt! I make it in half pint jars (using a water bath set-up in the slow cooker). The half pint size is a perfect serving size for me, easy to take to work and it is in a jar! I guess this combines two of my favorite things in the kitchen… a slow cooker and jars! It would be great to use a slow cooker that I could program, especially with my yogurt recipe.
I use mine to make pulled pork
we used to have a small slow cooker years ago, it was lovely to just throw everything in and be able to go out to work or whatever and come home to a yummy dinner with practically no work. it died a long time ago and now i keep finding all these recipes for slow cooker breads and slow cooker butters like this and i would love to try those too!
I love making soup overnight. I wake up to the smell of many meals already made and they are so yummy.
I lvoe making chicken stock, and then chicken soup. It makes the whole house smell so nice and tastes so yummy!!!
It’s a tie between your blueberry butter (yum in yogurt!) and ham roast.
I also am a “collector” of crockpots. I have four. My favorite recent use of one was for a Bourbon Peach Butter. Man, did my house smell good while that was cooking!
pulled pork, oh so good!
I usually use a crock pot for soup so I really need to try other recipes…….I saw a pecan pie in a crock pot recently!
I gave up on slow cookers after 1) a co-worker almost burned down her house with hers, and 2) mine decided low = high. I have missed having one, though, and even if I don’t win, I may splurge and get me one of these Set ‘n Forget models. I just happen to have some apples that need to become apple butter.
I love to do soups and stews in my slow cooker, but I’m also a fan of using it for fruit butters.
I use mine for braised meats – but wow, I love the fruit butter idea. I’ve had several failures because I didn’t have the patience for the stovetop. This would be perfect!
Chili verde! Hands down.
I use my slow cooker for pear butter! When my pear tree was at its peak this season, I was peeling and cutting them up and putting them in the crock pot before bed every night for weeks. Then I would wake up in the morning to puree and spice the pear sauce before leaving for work. I would come home every day and can up that batch of pear butter before peeling and cutting up the next load of pears!
A bigger slow cooker like this one sure would make that job easier! Crossing my fingers!
My favorite slow cooker use is usually red beans and rice.
Corned Beef and Cabbage at St. Patrick’s Day!
Currently I’m only using my slow cooker on weekends for soups and stews. I’m away from the house for about 10 hours and am a little afraid to keep things going that long I would love to be using my slow cooker more. This one would be a GREAT addition and I would LOVE to use it for fruit butters! Thank you for the opportunity!
BBQ pork
There are sooo many things I want to try because the cooker I’ve had was from the dorm years and is way to small. Ooo oh I am so excited!!!
I love using a slow cooker for New England Baked Beans!!
I like to brown boneless country style ribs, throw them in the crockpot with barbecue sauce, bought or homemade and leave them for the day. Shred the meat…ummm, delicious!
Soups and stews! Pinto beans too:) I don’t have a slow cooker right now so this would be a nice gift. I’m dropping hints at the family members for a slow cooker but I don’t know if it’ll take!
I don’t think I’ve used a slow cooker since the first half of the 90s. They were just too bulky an appliance for something that couldn’t seal for travel to potlucks (the use I really wished they’d have) and caused background mental stress to use. Then Michael Ruhlman posted his chicken stock recipe, which is made in a dutch oven heated overnight in a 200F oven, and I started using that for slow cooker-type recipes. But I’ve felt guilty about how energy inefficient that must be.
I love to make red beans and rice in the slow cooker. It’s the same recipe as my mom makes and I always feel homesick for Louisiana when I smell it cooking
Its great for roasts and soups of course.. but this time of year I love using it to make crockpot candy for gifts!
I LOVE to make pulled pork in my crock. There is just something so nice about having something simmering all day
I do love to make apple butter in the slow cooker. But I also love a good pot roast with potatoes & carrots.
Oh, my! Our crocks are used for everything!! One is just for soap making, have made yogurt in them, butters of course, hot dog chili and all manner of soups and stews. The big one even does turkey breasts!
Have so far avoided buying the “fancy” kind with timers and such, but after this post will reconsider that position.
Our slow cooker gets frequent use for soups and stews but I’ve been hesitant to try jam or fruit butter in it. I’ve bookmarked this recipe though, sounds delicious.
I love making savory pork chops in the crockpot. They just fall right off the bone. Delicious.
Roasted Chicken!
Brisket and pulled pork. And I’ve been procrastinating about buying a new one…perfect timing!
Overnight oatmeal with apples / whatever fruit i can find is the BEST to wake up to! Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
Oatmeal or black bean soup
Making chicken and turkey stock in my slow cooker was a revelation (I first learned it from you) and I’ll never go back to the stove. And after reading all the previous comments, I now have a whole bunch of new good ideas to try!
I’m a big fan of soups in a slow cooker – I’m not a big cauliflower fan, but I have a curried cauliflower soup recipe that I really like that goes in a slow cooker. Mine doesn’t have the automatic shutoff, however, and I agree that it’s a game-changer — I’d love to be able to set things in the morning and come home to warm soup!
I did apple butter for the first time this year, and loved it. One of my faves in the ‘pot is porkchops in a mushroom tomato sauce.
Pretty much every week in winter finds me making a black bean chili in the crock pot, but I probably get the best results with Smitten Kitchen’s brisket recipe. Delicious! Thanks for the wonderful giveaway…
I use my slow cooker for bean and veggie soups that can bubble away all day and be ready for the family meal at suppertime, mostly. And it definitely comes into play for apple and pear and peach sauces, too!
I love using our slow cooker for stews, chili, roasts, making chicken stock… It’s just such a wonderful tool to have in the kitchen.
Most recently, I used my slow cooker for mulled cider, and I can highly recommend it!
Chicken or beef stock. I love being able to throw everything in the pot in the morning and coming home to the house smelling wonderful at night.
I love using mine for roasts or hot appetizers!
Wow! I’ve never actually used a slow cooker but I love oatmeal and I really want to make apple butter so this would be amazing!
Eight giveaways! I would love to try one of these babies. I like making apple sauce, tomato sauce and I recently tried your pear butter. I have vowed to use my slow cooker more (say once a week) to help me with the home-cooked, healthy meals.
I actually have NEVER cooked in one before but hear everyone rave about it. I’d love to make some Dominican stews in it if I win!
I have my own apple tree, yet I must admit I’ve never used a slow cooker for apple butter. I don’t know why! I think my favorite recipe involves beef and dried fruit.
Happy Holidays! I use my slow cooker in the traditional way, and just recently been using it to cook down ingredients for canning. Thanks!
I use mine at least once a week to make chicken stock.
I use mine mostly for cooking stock and dried beans
When I had a crockpot I used mine most for beans. We don’t eat that much meat, but I cooked pinto beans just about every week in the winter, along with vegetarian chili and the slow cooker just can’t be beat.
Thanks for a wonderful giveaway.
I love making roasts with lots of onions, carrots and turnips. Its the best to come home to a house that smells so good!
I use mine for all kinds of things (it’s my favorite cooking appliance), but most of the time there is some sort of stock cooking in it. I’d love an auto feature for when I make apple sauce! Because last time I ended up making apple butter. LOL.
my favorite slow cooker recipe is shredded pork
I soak beans overnight in my slow cooker, then turn it on in the morning. By evening, just when I have forgotten, I have a big pot of beans ready for enchiladas.
I absolutely love your cookbook. I use your receipes and my slow cooker all the time after reading your posts on doing the same. I would love to see a cookbook by you on how to use the jars of food we put up.
My favorite slow cooker use currently is brisket. In the past it’s been chili, beef stew, lentil soup… the list goes on and on.
Mmm… apple butter. I use my small slow cooker (I grew up calling it a “crock pot”) most often to cook beans. We also make huge batches of pot roast in the 6 qt. to later turn into beef and mushroom soup. The crock pot came in most handy several years ago at Thanksgiving. The oven was full, every burner covered, and the cornbread dressing still needed to be baked. In desperation, I spooned it into my old crock pot and set it on low. I figured, at least it’ll be hot come meal time. The dressing turned out wonderful; it even browned and crisped up on the sides! Since then, my family does it this way every year.
Puerco pibil! yummmmm…
wow, eight to give away, fabulous! Favorite meal is pot roast, I put the meat in straight from the freezer, a few carrots, add a little broth and comes out great in my slow cooker. Would love to win one of these as mine is quite old now. Due to your recipes I am canning again after almost 40 years and how recipes have changed since then. Canned almost 200 jars and the family is getting most of them for Christmas gifts. Thank you for what you do!
My favorite slow cooker recipe (and pretty much the only thing I use mine for these days- although I’d like that to change) is applesauce.
I haven’t used slow cookers that much but I would love to try more out with them! I have made applesauce in a slow cooker and I like to make soups and stews too!
I have a small slow cooker that has traveled with me to many a hotel room – made a great alternative to endless takeout. Now it sees more sedentary use on busy days as a “load it, set it, and forget it” meal-maker. Unfortunately the one time I tried apple butter in it….there was scorching. It has a couple of hot spots apparently.
My fav way to use my crockpot has always been to cook a potroast. But recently I started trying other meals in it. I’ve also always used it for cooking down fruit into butters, making stock and pasta sauce. I have two different sizes but need more, more, more!
Soup or pot roast… I love coming home after a long day at work to find dinner already done! 🙂
I just dropped mine a few weeks ago in a tragic accident and killed it. Shattered the crock and crushed the base. It was a “pass on” from my brother. I LOVED that old thing! Got me thru months of cooking before my stuff caught up with me when I moved back to Philly a few years ago. Still need to replace it!
I’ve been using my slow cooker a lot lately because it lends well to winter comfort foods.
Also having a 6 month old means I can prep everything during her morning nap. Just made a venison stew that was superb and no sugar applesauce for her first fruit 🙂
My slow cooker rarely leaves the counter! Cooking down fruit butters, simmering sauces, making “fix and forget” dinners, and most often -making soups – are it’s usual tasks.
I find the best use for slow-cookers are making delicious stews when you want all the flavors to really meld together!
oh my dear crock pot…. when do i not use you! Whether its for a heap of german roast or a load of coctail meatballs…. or dip…. or chili…. or soup….. or pulled pork….. ahhh crock pot… you are always there!
Wish I had a favorite recipe but I’ve never splurged on a slow cooker! It’s one of those things I’ve always wanted but managed to talk myself out of buying… But the thought of making butters without scalding my hands with splatter sounds might nice.
My favorite use for the slow cooker is rice pudding. It’s so much easier than standing over a pot stirring for an hour.
I’ve never had a slow cooker, but my sister and brother-in-law use theirs all the time. They work on totally different schedules (one works really early morning to mid afternoon and the other works late morning to early evening), so the slow cooker means they can have dinner cooked and kept warm for whoever is home and ready to eat it.
I’ve never actually had or used a slow-cooker, but it’s totally something that I would love to add to my life (and collection of kitchen
gadgetstools.) I have chili fantasies, of course, but also this overnight oatmeal thing sounds pretty stellar.My mother-in-law gave me this slow cooker as a Christmas gift a few years ago! She said this model was recommended by one of those groups that reviews products. Now I have to keep her supplied with fruit butter using the slow cooker she gave me, haha. It was not the intention of the gift, but it is a win-win situation, I suppose.
I like to make chili for my husband (I can’t eat it) in the slow cooker. It is easy to just add everything and then just forget it until dinner.
I love making soup in mine. It’s so nice to throw things together in the morning, turn it on, and not have to worry about dinner for the rest of the day. I’ve been eyeballing this model as well. My current newer model has started burning things more and more. I’m now to the point of not wanting to use it anymore because I end up throwing away so much burnt food.
My slow cooker has been gathering dust in a closet, but I’m very tempted to give your apple butter recipe a try!
I used my slow cooker every week to make a big batch of chicken or veggie stock. Toss everything in before bed and wake up to all the work done for me!
Oh I love a good slow cooker! My three favorite things to do with it are apple sauce/butter, barbecue brisket/beef, and stock. Ours get so much use during the summer, fall and winter… but alas it is starting to develop issues but I still love it!
I use mine most often for homemade beans or roasts–they end up fork-tender and shreddable. However, my darling husband broke the edge off my crock recently, so I need a new one!
I prefer using my slow cooker to have dinner ready for the short time I have in between classes, all I have to steam a veggie and I’m set!
favorite slow cooker use:
1. any dinner I can put in and have ready when I get home from work
2. recently I made a mushroom and brown rice ‘stew’ in the slow cooker. It was SOOOO yummy. so right now, that’s a fave !
I received my first slow-cooker when I jokingly negotiated it into a contract (best raise I ever got!). I use it extensively during the high-stress times at work to make soups and other such healthier fare to counteract our “grab whatever crud we can get at the corner store” urges. I have always wanted one with a locking lid and gasket, but I’ve been managing with some produce rubber bands and wrapping everything in a towel.
baked potatoes! or should i say slow cooked potatoes.
thanks for sharing!
I have to confess I’ve never had a slow cooker! BUT, I have been making a ton of stock and dried beans lately, and I could see it being super useful. Also during the heat wave this summer I really considered picking one up so I could run it out on the porch 🙂
I use mine for everything! I have 3, and like you, find that I need them all for different things. And really, a fourth would be more than welcome! And I’ve yet to have one with a turn off…mine are all more old school and simple. One of my favorite dishes is Pumpkin Pie Pudding in the crock pot. Or any type of roast or dips, or soups, or rendering lard or pretty much anything you can think of. It is a good day when 3 crock pots are going and jars are being emptied!
Heather
I use my crock pot most for making venison chili, but this summer I used it to render beeswax after harvesting the honey from our hives. I love my crockpot.
My wife an I use slow cooker for everything- to cook the roast before finishing it off in the oven, to cook apple butter, to make chili, soup, stews…
If only I could find a larger one for free……
i love using it to cook a bunch of chicken breasts, shredding them and freezing them in smaller portions for close to instant dinner!
I like to use my tiny little slow cooker overnight to make lunches for the week to take to work.
venison stew.
I always brown a roast and add onions, carrots and potatoes. Then a little water and a packet of Lipton’s French Onion Soup mix, cook on low all day and it makes the best pot roast!
I don’t think anything beats a nice roast chicken. I recently discovered that if you buy the right chicken and treat it as minimally as possible, it’ll actually “roast” (brown) in a slow cooker. What better to come home to after a full day of work?
Ok…now I’m hungry.
Beef stew! I add the veggies about half way through so they don’t turn to mush, but the stew is wonderful.
I had a friend scavenge my slow cooker for me during her thrift store forays. I wanted to find an easier way to make fruit butter and a way to free up burner space so I can make more than two preserved items at once. So, it has been mostly impressed into use making fruit butters though I have made a few attempts to make other things.
I use mine for making soups and roasts. I never considered it for apple butters. What a great idea. I’ve never seen a crock pot that locks and turns off… I definitely endless possibilities for trying new recipes with it’s flexible options.
I usually use mine for cooking meats, but have used it for cooking peach butter as well. My small one is good for dips and even carmel for carmeled apples!
I like making beans, stews and pulled pork in my slow cooker. I have one from the 1980’s that still works. However the 4 qt Rival crockpot I bought less than a year ago cracked the crock during cooking and Rival doesn’t sell replacement crocks for that specific model. They will however sell me a brand neew model. I would prefer to replace it with a model that has replaceable parts. I’ll have to look into the Hamilton Beach ones.
I’ve always associated slow cookers with one of my least favorite meals — roast with carrots and potatoes. Because of that, I’ve never given them much credence in my kitchen life, but this recipe looks like it could turn me around. I love apple butter.
I love to use my slow cooker to make stock overnight or when I’m at work!
I have several slow cookers also, some for food, some for fiber. My favorite use is for dying fiber and yarn. Maybe not what you had in mind, but there it is. Merry Christmas!
My favorite use of the slow cooker is to make carmelized onions. Five pounds of sliced Vidalia onions and 12-14 hours = one delicious batch of Nature’s finest condiment!
My crockpot gets the most use in the fall and winter…beans, pork and sauerkraut, chicken and rice, wassail…at least once a week. The model I have tends to cook on high heat even when it’s set on low and the lid sometimes dances on the crock.
I sure would be thrilled to ‘win’! Thanks for the chance!
Soups are my favorite thing to do in a slow cooker.
my slow cooker is from a yard sale! – I use it to do a whole turkey breast that comes out perfect every time.
I use my slow cooker for everything. Its kind of ridiculous how many things I cook in it. I know my husbands favorite thing I make in it is chili. I really like making chicken breasts in it though. They always come out moist and shred apart easily, which is great for tacos. Yum!
Nothing beats coming home to … really anything in the slow cooker … but I’m partial to pot roast. It’s a really great way to use up any root vegetables that I have lying around also
I love making pulled pork in mine!
Several-Grain Oatmeal! Mostly steel cut oats, but also barley, brown rice, bulgar, flax meal, wheat germ, or cornmeal thrown in too. Delicious served with a spoonful of peanut butter in the morning.
I make a crockpot stroganoff that is awesome – by far my favorite crockpot recipe! I used my crockpot (it has a timer) to make overnight Rum Apple Butter over Thanksgiving and it turned out really well. I was just lamenting that I didn’t have one with a locking lid for traveling purposes so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I win!
Apple & Pear butters. I decided to try apple butter on the stove and lasted 5 minutes before pouring it into my slow cooker. I use my pressure cooker to cook the apples. I can use very little water and it’s fast. Since I put the apples through a chinois, I don’t have to peel or core and the resulting pulp is very dense, much more so than starting with regular apple sauce.
I don’t actually have a slow-cooker other than my dutch oven, which I use mostly for braises and roasts. If I had a slow-cooker though, I would definitely use it for apple butter and probably cooking dried beans.
I cook chickpeas in my slow cooker. They turn out tender, creamy, almost sweet (4 hours on high). I’ll never go back to canned.
I’ve really only JUST started using slow cookers, but I made a beef stew in mine yesterday! I was proud of the chance to set it in the morning, go to work, and come home to its luscious smells! It’s an old (1970s) one that I got at a yard sale, and I have no idea what temperature it is at, ever (hot or warm are the two options!) but I’m enjoying playing with it!
I love making mulled cider in my slow cooker – I just keep refilling it and making more!
I use my crockpot for alot of things. Since we homeschool and can be out of the house at odd times, I just put dinner in the crockpot and I know it will be done whenever we are home to eat it.
I use my slow cooker weekly. I do make apple butter in it as well, but my go to would be stews and roasts. Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
I love to use my slow cooker to make my baked potato soup. So delicious.
I will have to try apple butter, yum! Thanks!
I like to make roast with veggies and barbeque chicken in my slow cooker. It’s one of my favorite kitchen gadgets – set it and forget it!
I have been making Pumpkin and Apple butter in my slow cooker. It makes it so easy and it always turns out great!
I’d have to say that I haven’t used a slow cooker in a long time as the one I use is even too small for my wife and I (about 1 quart, and a gift). If we got one of these slow cookers I would definitely make bbq chicken or beef, apple butter, and other stews.
My current slow cooker obsession is pulled pork. A 2-3lb pork shoulder, can of Dr. Pepper or root beer, and let it go all day. Shred, drain most of the liquid off, then add bbq sauce!
(Also, my husband just broke the lid to my 6qt slow cooker, so this would be AWESOME!)
Pulled pork is my family’s favorite crock pot meal with chicken curry a close second.
I love to bake potatoes in my crock pot. They come out great and don’t heat the house up. Just wrap in foil and bake on high for 2 1/2 hours.
I like to use my slow cooler for roasts. I have been trying to expand my slow cooler usage into soups, dips, and even cocoa.
I’ve saved several recipes for jams, jellies, and butters made in a slow cooker, but haven’t attempted them yet because my current cooker is too small! I was hoping to find a good deal on a bit bigger model this holiday season. Aside from really yummy soups, stews, and all kinds of meats, I think my favorite slow cooker recipe is chocolate lava cake!
Soup, glorious soup. I love having supper ready and waiting for whenever people are actually ready for it.
Oh, I would love to win this as mine died. I loved cooking beans in my crock pot!
I love using my crock pot! My favorite thing to do with it is to make chicken stock overnight for morning canning. 😉
Arroz con pollo! It gets deliciously cooked!
pork and sauerkraut is the most common made dinner in our crock pot
There is nothing better than slow cooking apple or pumpkins better. It makes the whole house smell amazing!! 🙂
I have needed a new crockpot, but wasn’t able to find one that had both the timer and the locking lid. Being gone 14 hours a day at work makes crockpot cooking a must do for me!
What a CRAZY coincidence; I just used my LAST jar of apple butter as a holiday gift and was thinking that I need to make more. LOL. Apple butter is my first favorite use. My second is currently sugared almonds. Great for gifts, holiday snacks and chopped to top a yummy wheel of brie with apple preserves. I would LOVE this slow cooker. I need another 🙂
My favorite is pulled pork…. so easy and delicious 🙂 Also great for keeping spiced cider warm on cold days 🙂
Soups & chilis & sauces. Love coming home to them already done and the house smelling fab!
Because of my very long commute to and from work, I use my slow cooker practically every day. I have been thinking the last few weeks, I really need to get a second one for a side dish or dessert. Slow cookers have saved my life and my new husband of two months gets a hot home cooked meal every night. I leave at 4:45 am and I walk in the door between 6:30 to 7:00 pm. I can’t wait to make the spiced apple butter.
I love to cook soups and stews in my slow cooker, but my favorite thing to use it for is meat for tamale filling. It’s great because I can set it and forget it. It definitely makes things easier!
I love crock pots. I bounce between my two favorites: Pot roast and spiced apple cider.
I have a large (6 kids) family. I try to make sure that, even in our business, we all eat together at night. That means that 2-3 nights a week I use my slow cooker to make sure we have healthy meals that are home cooked.
My new favorite thing to do with my slow cooker is caramelized onions for potato knish, because I hate hate HATE standing at the stove for the usual hour it takes to really, truly caramelize a pot full of onions. I have a few things I want to try after the new year – I have a recipe for licorice that takes an age to cook down I want to experiment with.
Oh please do share your recipe with us 🙂
A simple version of poulet grande mere. Delish!
I love to make chicken enchilada soup and pulled pork! My husband and I were just wishing for a 2nd (or even a 3rd) crock pot so we could do most of the crockpot cooking for the week all at once on Sunday evenings.
I don’t have a slow cooker yet, so I don’t have a favorite slow cooker recipe. But I am excited about the possibilities it offers for roasting meats (char sui pork!) without heating up my huge oven/tiny kitchen.
I love to use mine for stews of all kinds. I have a family of 6 and work as a firefighter/EMT and being able to cook a fast, healthy, and yummy meal is very important to me. I have recently been gathering items to start getting back into canning. Something I haven’t done for a number of years, but love doing. So this would be an awesome addition to my kitchen and family 🙂
Taco Soup and dry beans are my favorite crock pot uses. Also some indian food. The slow cooking makes it super tasty!
My uses go way back….to our wedding in 1974. My uses, right now butters and sauses. I make applesauce, either plain or with cranberries, cinnamon, pears, or other fruits (no burning) . Also, stews and chilis. mmmmmmmm!!! My lid went longgg ago…..Have a smaller lid which works ok.
I made a yummy pear butter this fall…made the house smell great, too!
I love to cook down my tomatoes for sauce in the crockpot-great roated flavor!
Swedish meatballs! YUM!
Hard to pick just one use ! I think I use it the most for keeping stuff warm, but my cheesy chicken and stuffing is awfully good !
You? A collector? I don’t see it 😉
First off, I love that shot of you in the reflection. Made me smile. 🙂
As for my favorite use of a slow cooker… well, despite not eating meat, I do enjoy preparing this pulled brisket recipe that we have for Eric. It always makes our place smell so good.
I have been wanting a slow cooker to make pulled pork but the idea of using them for fruit butter makes me want one even more!
I’ve only ever used a crock pot for soups and stews but would love to try this recipe!
I am a recent convert to slow cookers, use mine mostly for soups and stews, but am now going to try apple butter for sure. And that snazzy cooker would make it so easy!
I use my at least once a week in the winter for soups and stews. My DD will eat anything as long as it’s in soup form so my small crockpot is very well used. Never tried fruit butters due to scorching issues, love the idea of a cooker that turns itself off.
I make the best crock pot mac and cheese! Hmmm, I think I will make some today 🙂
i use three differn’t slow cookers..two are small. and the oval is a large one…i make various dinners in these including desserts…my family’s favorite is apple crisp!
I haven’t had a crockpot in quite some time, but I used to make a lot of stew in mine. I think I need a new one.
I love making chili in my crockpot!
I’ve got a three-mini-pot slow cooker dealie that is perfect for Mexican night….the first crock simmers black beans in a mixture of a tomato sauce, diced onions and chilies, the second pot is for spiced pulled pork, and the third is for a chicken and chorizo mixture. Yum.
Due to my Midwestern roots I use the slow cooker for just about everything, but my favorite would be roast. I cook a lot at once and use the meat for sandwiches, tacos, and pasties.
I make porchetta in my slow cooker, and also apple butter, pot roast, garlic chicken……but mostly porchetta. Thanks for the contest!
Grouse Chalupa!
love to make a whole chicken in mine then
bothz
At least one meal a week is made in the slow cooker during the school year.
I wish I could tell you some amazing recipe that I conscientiously plan and execute, but my ‘go to’ recipe is to throw a hunk of meat in the pot, douse it with some spices, glub in some liquid and let it do it’s thang. My slow cooker is old and basic, so I’m sure if I had this fancy schmancy cooker, I’d be amazing!
My favorite use for crockpots is actually summer cooking so I can avoid heating the house! Making fruit butters would come in close second…
I love my slow cooker in the winter – throw in a pound of stew meat and some type of sauce, seasonings, or spices – and dinner is done for you at the end of a long, cold day!
Oh gosh! What don’t I use my Crock Pot for?? lol! I have made apple butter in my Crock Pot more than once. I love making Coq Au Vin in it. I also just made a huge batch of homemade hot chocolate in my Crock Pot for a party I hosted over the weekend. 🙂
My favorite use is definitely Moroccan Lentil Soup – makes the house smell amazing as it cooks all day.
I love to cook chicken in BBQ sauce overnight. Makes the best sandwiches!
I use it for soups and stews the most, but have also been known to cook a roast in there or even macaroni and cheese. I use my slow cooker about twice a week, so it gets a lot of love, it could sure use a break if I had another one in rotation (I have been drooling over the programmable ones so that I can cook for shorter times while at work, I would make lasagna in it first)
vegetable vindaloo! but this time of year .. mulled spiced cider. My slowcooker is OOOLD (I bought it second hand over 10 years ago, it’s a HB) I could really use a new one!
What is a slow cooker *not* good for! I use it mostly for dinners, so convenient!
Slow Cooker Barbecue Goose Sandwich – I have made it twice and it’s so delicious. We add cheese and gardinere to our sammies. MmMmmmm http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-barbecue-goose-sandwich/
I love slow cookers for soups – no tending on the stove, no worrying they will burn. I’ve been very intrigued by this cooker with it’s sealable lid so I’m excited to have the chance to win one.
I use mine to make queso, fruit butters, creamed corn & simmering cheap cuts of meat to use later over pasta, in tacos, sandwiches, etc.. Mine’s super basic, so a slow cooker with more features would be very appreciated around here.
Thank you for holding the contest, love your blog!
I have been using mine lately for making food for my dogs.
I know what is going into it that way.
my favorite slow cooker use is one i haven’t mastered yet – my mother makes this amazing potato soup recipe that I still haven’t been able to figure out, even though she gave me the general guidelines she uses (there’s no “recipe”).
I’ve never had a slow cooker, but I would love to try them for canning (apple butters, etc.), but also for cooking things like bean soups.
Yum!
I love the ease of making apple butter in the crockpot. Also use for Taco Soup instead of stovetop, so it can cook on low all day and let the flavors blend.
I like to make apple butter and pear butter in my crockpot, I also like to soak my beans in it over night on low when I make chili, but I loaned my crockpot to someone and now it doesn’t work on low.Been hopeing to get one on sale with all the Christmas sales going on.You don’t know how much you use someting til its gone.
This year is the first year I’ve used it for fruit butters and I LOVE it 🙂
I’ve made a LOT of fruit sauce and butter in my slow cookers this year (peach, pear, apple …), but a perennial fave slow-cooker meal is my Spiked BBQ Chicken. Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the crock. If you like things oniony, add a very thinly sliced yellow onion, somewhat separated into rings. Pour a full bottle of your fave BBQ sauce and most of a bottle of hard cider (or beer). Cook on low for 6-8 hours, then shred the chicken into the sauce and let that meld a bit before serving over hamburger buns.
I routinely participate in a potluck where I help feed up to 25 people, so having another of these beauties would be spectacular!
My favorite crock pot recipe is French Onion Soup with Beef and Barley. Sooo good. I love making Apple Butter as well – but I like to add a little Apple Brandy for an extra kick 🙂
I mainly use my slow cooker for less than tender meats but I have also used it to make bread pudding.
I love making chili in my slow cooker, but I have been wrestling with frustration that it sometimes is just too small and feeling bad about wanting another one… So this post made me feel way better about the idea of having more than one. This sounds like a great recipe, thanks for the chance to enter!!
Pot roast comes out so tender and juicy when made in the crock pot. It’s so easy and makes the house smell wonderful on a cold winter’s day.
I have only barely started experimenting with a slow-cooker, but the more I read the more I think there is some real potential here — I like the automatic shut-off feature of this one, makes me more comfortable leaving something cooking all day while I’m at work. Having hot food ready when I come home? Sounds like heaven to me!
I love my slow cooker. It gets a lot of use during the holidays, including cooking the huge batch of meatballs I’ll be cooking this weekend for my family tree trimming party.
One of my favorite things to do in the slow cooker is to make caramelized onions. No stirring!
http://www.mnn.com/food/recipes/blogs/recipe-slow-cooker-caramelized-onions
I think my most type of food in the slow cooker is pot roasts.
I’ve only ever made pulled pork and pot roast in my crockpot. I would love this fancy high-tech one for jams and butters! (confessions of a kitchen gadget mama) 🙂
Spicy pork tacos!
My favorite slow cooker recipe is also Apple Butter! Mine has apple cider vinegar and a little more tang than most!
I have been without a slow cooker for several years since my last one died. I miss it for the times when taking a hot dish on the road. But especially last year when I attempted apple butter for the first time. So tedious on the stove top, remembering that I had it going for hour upon hour. I would love to get another one for those delicious slow braised pot roasts and chilis.
More often than anything else, my slow cooker is filled with steel-cut oats, dried fruit, and a 50/50 blend of water and milk.
I love to make the apple and pear butters- Happy Holidays!
I love making veggie stews with whatever I have on hand.
I use my cooker for slow cooking stuffed cabbage rolls in tomato sauce.
I love making pulled Mexican Chicken for burritos. Also, I just fixed Rabbit Mulligan stew….it was great!
Pulled pork is one of my all-time favorite kind of sandwiches. I would love to be able to cook some in a new slow-cooker!
I loooooove using my slow cooker to make bone broth but this recipe sounds fabulous! Will have to give it a go!
I use mine the most for soups and stews.
they are the best for chili cookoffs! so much fun! good for french onion soup too … makes the whole house smell delicious!
I have a CrockPot that is older than I am – my mother gave it to me a few years ago, and it still works great! I use my slow cooker to make apple butter as gifts for my friends and family! I’ve also found some great vegatarian soups that are nice to have hot and ready when we get home from work or a long bike ride. We’ve also used slow cookers to keep baked potatoes hot for large dinner parties.
I have been waiting to get a slow cooker just to try the stack of recipes…. pulled pork and brisket…. yogurt and paneer…. and apple sauce… and now this apple butter recipe!!
One of the best things about cooking apple butter: The house smells DIVINE! I leave the lid totally off for the second half of the cooking process to speed things up a bit and to maximize the heavenly scent.
I recently made your orange marmalade and used all mandarin oranges (a rare find at the local Sam’s club), which I have not found again by the way.. but it was the BEST orange marmalade ever…. I got rave reviews and had one friend’s spouse licking the jar! Delicious and definitely on my list of homemade treats to give out 🙂
Love the slow-cooker recipe I found for Fig, Bourbon and Vanilla Bean Jam. Will make as much as possible when figs are in season again and this slow-cooker would be perfect.
Happy Holidays!
In the fall, apple butter is my slow cooker obsession, but by this time of year it is all about chili! Would love a new cooker.
I have never used a slow cooker, yep, you heard me right. I have always wanted to have one but it hasn’t ever happened. Even with all the canning and cooking I do for our family of five. I love the idea of making apple butter in it! I made one attempt at apple butter last year and it turned out horribly but that won’t stop me from trying again! With such a large crock pot on hand I would probably keep some stock simmering in it pretty much all the time.
Oh, I like your idea of making the initial applesauce in the slow cooker – I have no idea why this has never occurred to me! I usually procrastinate over making applesauce, simply because making it on the stovetop is annoying, and I need to babysit it so it doesn’t burn.
What my crockpot usually is used for is making roasts and stews/soups. Sadly, I’m dealing with a hairline crack in the crock, so I’ve been babying it along (and making sure to use a liner.
I use my slow cooker for everything. I love to make apple butter in it, and next summer I look forward to trying plum butter. Thanks for a great giveaway!
I tried apple butter in my early housewife days. My husband was hiding in The Middle East and I thought he’d be grateful for the comforting homeyness of apple butter. While it tasted just fine at home, he received a leaking, moldy can of “Oh, no!”. I gave up canning and perfected baking. And mashed potatoes! I’ve recently stepped up and faced canning head on. I’ve had your blog opened almost continuously for the last few weeks! A friend got me to try making pepper jelly and I’ve been hooked. I prize my Church Lady cookbooks but I feel a little more confident having your more “modern” presence to guide me. I’ve made a few of your recipes and they’re easy and perfect. Reading your post on Apple Butter has inspired me to try again, today. Wish me luck! Before I’m off, I’d like to pick your brain about bananas. I found a recipe called “Monkey Banana Jam” that my daughter (my own monkey) adores. We call it Stella Banana Jam. It’s similar to a butter but easier, I think. I make it in small batches for the fridge but would lo to put more away in the pantry but instinctively feel like it wouldn’t keep. The bananas are so brown when they go in, I feel like I’m courting disaster. Or food poisoning.
I don’t have a favorite slow cooker recipe because I don’t own a slow cooker YET. (Hint hint). But I sure do want one!
When I used to have one, I used it mainly for preserves. It was brilliant and I miss it, because now when I make jams and jellies my stovetop gets splattered with molten hot fruit.
I have several slow cookers as well, all different sizes. I would love to add to my collection! I use mine at least twice a week because I can put supper on before work and come home to a ready meal.
I slow cook BBQ brisket in mine!
Soups and stews. Nothing better than split pea soup with a ham bone in the slow cooker. My current slow cooker is the basic on – off – low – high option, so I can really only use it on weekends. I’ve wanted a programmable one so I can set it to cook dinner while I’m at work and come home to a delicious soup or stew on cold winter months. 🙂
Other favorite recipes: cream of chicken soup; beef or pork stew; sausage-barley-kale soup (OMG this one is the BEST EVER and can be made vegan).
I’ve tried apple butters, but again, my current slow cooker just isn’t up to the task. It has hot spots as well, making it difficult to leave fruit butters unattended. I would LOVE to have a new one so I can start doing some!! 🙂
I know it is not cooking per-se but my favorite use for a slow cooker is gluwein (mulled wine) for the adults and wassail (muller cider) for the kiddos. It has come to be an expected treat by my guests during the fall/winter holidays and some have even given it a go in their own homes.
Slow cooking a dark Mole, letting the chicken soak up all those flavors, is my favorite use : )
I make chili in my crock pot almost weekly.
May favorite use for my slow cooker is baked beans. It’s been awhile since I made apple butter so I think this is a hint to do it again.
i only have 5 crock pots but i would love one like this, i am a vegan so i love cooking pinto beans in mine
I LOVED using my slow cookers this summer for apple sauce. I cleaned, core and sliced them, then pulverized them in my vitamix. After that I cooked them in the slow cooker until it was applesauce. The little bits if peeling “disappeared” as the applesauce cooked. Then, I canned the applesauce, and we are loving it this winter!
I use my slow cooker all the time to cook dried beans. I also use it for stews and soups sometimes.
I love to make Buffalo Chicken dip in it and use it for potlucks. Mine is very old (got it as a recent college grad for a birthday gift–almost cried because it made me feel old at 23!) and bit small (4 qt.). After 19 years, I’m ready for an upgrade!
My favorite slow cooker use is suppers. I’m a pet sitter so I often times work late hours when cooking for an hour at 8:30 p.m. isn’t exactly feasible. So I tend to throw food into the slow cooker before I leave that morning and the husband and I have yummy, warm food ready when we get home!
We need a new slow cooker badly ours is starting to show it’s age with what look to be fine cracks. We love to cook green chili pork, roast chicken, roast turkey breast. I would love a slow cooker that was a little more high tech to try out an apple butter recipe. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love the Hamilton slow cooker! I use it all time. It’s great for holiday get togethers when not everything can go in your over at once!
Pulled pork loin is always a hit and makes my life easy. I experiment with different seasonings such as garlic, teryaki, mexican, onion but plain ol’ pork is also tasty. Thanks for offering the giveaway!
Thanks for this post! I love using my slow cooker to make yogurt. Comes out great every time!!!
My slow cooker is one of my favorite gadgets, but I would love one of these fancy versions (mine is uber-basic). My favorite use for it these days is slow-cooker lentil soup with bacon. I can finally make good lentil soup (somehow, this eluded me for years), and I love the ease of throwing things into the pot and coming home to delicious dinner.
The pear butter from your book. It’s absolutely delicious. I made about 16 batches this fall.
Like you, I have a mini-slow cooker for dips – and, even better, nacho cheese sauce! I love to bring it out for football watching and my kids love it, too. I like to make pulled chicken in my larger slow cooker, but have also been “burnt” by the too-high heat. If not watched closely enough, the chicken gets very dry and the BBQ sauce changes consistency. An auto-warming feature is a huge improvement to the technology!
I use my crock pots for everything! I do have to admit that I tried making apple butter in a crock pot for the very first time a couple of months ago…and I was instantly impressed. I’ve made apple butter the old fashioned way, stirring a big copper kettle for 8-14 hours….and being able to have the same flavor after only 30-45 mins of work was amazing. It is now the only way I ever want to make apple butter again!
I have a no-frills slow cooker that does a great job on apple butter in the fall. I have also used it (oh, pretty much every week) to cook dinner. Nothing better than throwing in some simple ingredients like a port shoulder, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano and ignoring it all day. When dinner comes, just shred the pork and tell the gang you have been slaving over carnitas all day. Low effort, huge reward. Yup, that’s pretty much always the story with the slow cooker.
I love to put a roast for Sunday dinner in on Saturday night and let it cook all night. Then leave it on warm until we are ready to eat. As a mom of five it saves me a lot of time. Unfortunately mine met with an untimely demise a few months ago. Lol, but I love slow cookers!
I love using my slow cooker for pot roast. It comes out perfect every time.
I love using my slow cooker to make stock out of veg scraps and leftover bones. Delicious and so easy.
Pear butter!!
Beef stew! Beef stew!
pea soup!
I love to cook a roast in a slow cooker, would love this fancy one! Thanks for the giveaway!
Wow, using a slow cooker for fruit butter sounds like such a great idea! I always just stand there over the stove stirring away, hoping it won’t burn when I have to leave the room. I’ve had my crockpot since the days I was living alone…when it’s small size made sense. Now that I’m cooking for two and making larger batches, it rarely comes out of the cabinet. Having a larger one would be great!
I did apple butter in my crock for the first time this year, I would have loved to have the auto shut off feature! I think that I would use a crock pot more if I had one with a timer and travel-ready lid. Typically, I use my crock for good ol’ pot roast and root veggies.
I LOVE using my slow cookers (I have 2) for so many things. Roasts, ribs, stews, soups.. etc. I haven’t been able to use them for any of my canning recipies because, unfortunately, they burn. Each of the two slow cookers in my kitchen have the same OFF/ON dial. I’m not comfortable leaving anything in them over night as the two times I’ve tried this, my concotions came out burned. Also, the handles have completely broken off of both of them. This is likely due to the constant moving I did when I was younger. Now that I own a home with a nice big kitchen that meets my canning needs, I would LOVE one of these slow cookers!
I love to use the slow cooker for Sunday lunches. Usually Roast. Just put it in and it is ready after church! No lines at the restaurants!
slow cooked pork for baked burritos
Slow Cooker Ketchup…………………4 versions and counting!!
My standard crockpot usage is for roast, but I’ve had several things I’ve wanted to try, mainly cooking bread in it. That amazed me! I’ve never done apple butter, but with a larger crockpot, maybe I could try!
I love a slow cooker for making tomato paste, too – very similar to apple butter, but a different sort of wonderful smell in the house.
Holy moly, 8!? Awesome 🙂 Anyway, I love making slow cooker apple sauce. So much easier than stirring away at the stove. My kids gobble it up.
I have a variety of slow cookers too – from the little dip ones, a 1 qt that I take traveling, a vintage 4qt where low is really low (but the insert is non-removable on mine), and a 5qt. I recently added a 6qt model to my “collection” and I’m still kicking myself for not getting the one w/ the latching lid since that’s the one that is most likely going to travel w/ something in it! After some spectacular sloshes, I started transporting the stuff in qt canning jars and dumping it back in once I was where I was going.
Slow-cookers separate lard marvelously. Chop, toss, and you’re done. Perfect!
I love using my slow cooker homemade soups – slow simmered all day and ready for dinner when I get home from work.
I have a slow cooker obsession. At times I have had multiple cookers going in my kitchen. My favorite thing to do is make beans in them. beans, broth, veggies, and perfect pot of beans is waiting for when I get home.
my very favorite thing to use my slow cooker for is peach butter, followed closely by chicken and dumplings!!!
I love using my slow cooker for some short rib chili! Keeps it at the perfect temp all day
Hi Marisa! Thanks for hosting this very generous giveaway! I too, have several older crockpots and love the way they cook! I had the cheaper HB model but it seemed to scorch everything on one side! I didn’t think I’d ever want a new crock pot again, but after reading this, I do! My favorite thing to cook in the crockpot is frozen chicken breasts. You don’t even have to add water! They cook in about three hours or so on high, just in time for dinner! Blessings from Bama!
I’m just learning my way with the slow cooker and my favorite thing that I’ve made so far is white chicken Chili.
I’ve never actually owned a slow-cooker, so don’t really have a recipe, but I’d love to try one for making jams.
I use my slow cooker for a TON of things. Making rice, making yogurt, and making roasts are the top three though.
Big ‘ole lentil or bean vegetarian stews,yummm….
I love making soups and stews in our crock pot – especially lentil and bean-based ones where low and slow does such wonders for the texture and flavor. But they are super handy for fruit butters too. I did a lovely spiced plum butter a couple years ago when we had a bumper crop and it was wonderful!
Could not survive life without my slow cookers – have three. Use for meats.soups,dips,keeping foods warm for serving when not enough room in my oven. Is there anyone that does not own a slow cooker ? Never can have to many. Just used all for Thanksgiving !
I love to use my crockpot for apple butter. The crockpot I use is almost 14 years old and is a lovely blue & white floral pattern (do you hear the sarcasm?), but we have a special bond because she was a wedding gift, so I will love her until she stops. I’ve tried newer models, but they all seem to get to hot and burn the butter. My other fave in the crockpot is a whole chicken. I love to roast the bird and then when finished, pull all of the meat off and throw the bones back in the crockpot with water and let cook for another 24 hours and make stock. So yummy, especially in the winter. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours! Vicki
I love, love to make fruit butters in my crockpot. The only issue is the temp thing. I too have an on/off cooker and need to watch it like a hawk. I’m another person who is slow to change to “new fangled” things lol! I would love to have one of these to try it out. I have been perusing Thrift stores for the older crockpots that cook at lower temps so that I could just kind of let the butter cook itself…..
oh, this is right down my line! My job is all about slow cookers! I made apple butter in mine this summer and it got GREAT. I started with applesauce because I wasn’t sure I could puree the skins into oblivion.
Just last night, I tried making lasagna in my slow cooker. I was dubious. I don’t consider lasagna an easy dish. I used uncooked noodles and it got fabulous! We were all raving and since I carefully noted what I did as I went along, I’m going to write a blog post about it.
ANyway, my favorite slow cooker use is to make stock because I like to simmer the stuff for several days per my Amish butcher’s method. So slow cookers are ideal. I already have 2 cookers and I would love another! Thanks for the opportunity to win.
I LOVE my slow cooker but it is about 15 years old and looking pretty rough. lol My family loves my chili and Sante Fe soup made in it when I’m working.
I love my crock pot, I use it as often as I can which is not often enough! My favorite meal to make in my crockpot would be pot roast followed up by crock pot lasagna. thank you for this opportunity!!
Still haven’t tried using the crock pot for apple butter.. I just made 1 huge batch in a pan instead. the next meal I have planned for my slow cooker is chile verde– I have gotten so lazy that I just use a jar of green salsa poured over a pork shoulder and don’t bother with individual ingredients anymore.
I have a chicken recipe that I like to cook in the slow cooker. I would like to use a slow cooker more and this might just do the trick.
I love making chili in my slow cooker on cold fall and winter days. Pop it in, go to work, have a delicious and filling meal when you get home. I also bought my 1970’s slow cooker at a yard sale for 3 dollars, and it works perfectly! Nothing like a little recycling!
Mmmmm apple butter, pumpkin butter (to be frozen), pulled pork so many wonderful recipes to be used with a slow cooker. For the new cook or one that has been cooking for years a slow cooker is a must have : )
I’ve never gotten into using a slow cooker other than for the occasional apple cider or keep a soup warm at a get together. This beauty might make me change my mind!
Slow cooker Pork Butt! I need to win!
I don’t have a slow cooker, so I don’t have a fave use, but I really want one for slow cooking meats.
Favorite slow cooker use is to make pulled pork or carnitas.
Slowcookers–an item that every kitchen should have ; ) I use them for just about everything. But my favorite use is for making nutritious bone broths (in go meat bones, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, cloves, seaweed, fennel and special herbs) which I cook for a day or two, then strain. The broth is amazing and so yummy–ready to use in soups, grain dishes or lovingly warmed in mug for my grandchildren when they’re down with a cold.
Made peach butter once. Turned out great.
I typically use it for easy dinners! BBQ Pulled pork sandwiches being my favorite! I wasn’t aware you could make apple butter worthy of canning in one! I can (pressure and water bath) so this recipe is perfect, and I look forward to trying your recipe!
I have a very, very old slow cooker (gift from Grandma) that I use most often for making bone broths. I love it but have been thinking recently about getting a newer model to compliment my kitchen activities. Something I started doing with mine (thanks to Pinterest) lately is fill it with water, rosemary sprigs, lemon slices and a splash of vanilla. The house smells great!
I love slow cooked meats or stews or meatballs in the slow cooker! Apple butter, also, is amazing.
I’ve never used a slow coocker, but I saw a recipe for making chai in them which looked divine!
fruit butters, and dinner when I’m just too busy to think!
I don’t have a slow cooker – but, that apple butter looks delicious!
My favorite use for slow cookers is Saturday Stew – doesn’t matter what kind. We just throw it in, go do our thing, and come home to a cozy warm meal. <3
Had no idea I could make apple butter in a slow cooker, Now I really have no excuse not to make it.
Yay! I lost my cooker at a potluck last year. Need a new one 🙂
Standard chili gets most of my slow-cooking attention, though I’ve wanted to create a recipe for slow cooker cookies… Maybe I’ll try it some day.
My favorite slow cooker use that I just discovered this year is for overnight oatmeal. 1 cup steel cut oats, 3 cups water, dried fruit, a pinch of salt, and maybe a tbsp of sugar (depending on the fruit), set it overnight (using a smaller slow cooker crock as a double boiler works best, less chance for scorching and easier clean up). We love having a hot breakfast ready, especially my husband who works outside year round. I also love how creamy the oatmeal comes out after the long slow cook.
My favorite use is to make beef brisket with carrots, onions, and parsnips. I serve it over a bed of creamy grits. My husband loves it!
I broke the ceramic insert for my slow cooker last month! 🙁 I had to wait another month for Hamilton Beach to restock that part, and now I’m impatiently waiting for it to be delivered. Just prior to the breakage I had been making some delicious salted caramel apple butter for Christmas gifts.
I love to make a pot of beans in my slow cooker!
I’m most fond of soups in my slow cooker. My son just asked me for the slow cooker apple butter recipe that my mother had so I’m planning on making some for Christmas giving with the recipe card. Love your blog!!!
My favorite use is for soups or stew but I have just now started experimenting with other uses! I picked up an older slowcooker at a thriftshop…and use that one in my art studio to melt wax for my wax resist projects…while not food…it is very fun! 🙂
I am going to try hot cocoa in mine at Christmas…The more I use mine the more I realize I want one or two in every size!!! What a great time saver/tool in the kitchen!!!
I like using my slowcooker to make bbq pulled pork or carnitas whenever we want that all day in the oven tenderness but we have to work that day. It’s a real convenience.
I love a good slow cooker! It’s funny, but a few years ago I thought I hated them until I had my second child and could not for the life of me get food on the table while he was a colicky infant. That’s when I developed a deep and abiding love for it and vowed to learn to use it better. Two and a half years later, I use it almost every day in the winter and lament its loss in the summer. I use it for as much as possible, so I’m not sure I have a favorite. My slow cooker has been well-loved and no longer has handles, though the screws from the missing handles can be heard swimming around inside the casing, nor does it have any of its labels to tell you which button is what. Thank goodness I know them by heart! I would love a new one!
Too many to list, but last night I made a gingersnap pot roast that was pretty fantastic.
I use my slow cooker to cook casseroles and soups all day so that at dinner time, we just scoop and eat.
Grew up in Denmark not knowing anything about slow cookers. Now I am married to a wonderful American man and found the joy slow cookers. Our favorite meal changes as I try new recipes. Right now it is Hawaiian pulled pork. Also did not know about apple butter growing up but I love it and it most likely will be my next Adventure in the world of slow cookers. Ps I now have a US Residency 😉
I use my slow cooker all the time. It’s a cheap, cheap model but so dependable. The settings on this new one are awesome. One of the cool things I’ve done in mine is to make baked potatoes for on-the-go. You can bake them and then take them, keeping them warm. Another good idea for a potluck!
I love slow cookers! I use mine mostly for soups, chili, and roast. The apple butter sounds great!
Beans!!
Yay! I love to use my slow cookers for tons and tons of stuff, it really varies. I make awesome chip dip and it goes right in my crock pot. Pot roast, which is mainly shredded to make shredded beef for sandwiches, fajitas, or enchiladas. And finally, chocolate lava cake was made in a slow, which is the BEST! Thanks for the giveaway!
I, too, have several slow cookers to choose from for various purposes – I have one that I use that’s larger for cooking a larger cut of meat like a brisket or pork shoulder and the other I use for chilis and soups.
When it comes to slow cookers, I’m very nostalgic over my mom’s beef stew. However, I think my favorite slow cooked thing is now chili. Yum.
My fave thing in the slow cooker is a sweet potatoes and applesauce recipe I have. It’s so gooood!
I like big batches of hot drinks in my slow cooker, especially mulled cider and hot chocolate. It’s easy to add little bits of this and that (espresso, Irish cream, et cetera) when you make a big batch.
I use crockpots all of the time. I am a rep for Wildtree and do a lot of inhome parties to sample our yummy organic herb and spice blends (and more) I use my smaller crockpot to prepare and serve warm dips. I used my larger crock t make boozy buttery applebutter this week. The problem is my large crockpot has a hot spot and a tendency to burn 🙁 I am in need of a new crockpot badly!
I love to use my slow cooker to make tomato sauce overnight, or even over the working day! Throw some tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and spices in there and voila’! Tomato sauce! I hope I win!
My slow cooker was a wedding present 30 years ago! I am a pork and sauerkraut girl, yum!
I love putting a roast, with vegetables, in before I leave in the morning and coming home to dinner ready-to-serve. Plus, single pot dinners are always appreciated.
My favorite slow cooker use is any recipe that will have dinner ready for me when I get home from work! I most often use my slow cooker for chili. I’ve recently been enjoying chicken breasts with peach salsa that I canned over the summer–great over rice or noodles and sooo easy to throw together. I made my first ever batch of apple butter in mine this fall and it turned out really well!
We use our slow cooker almost entirely for chili. Although I found a tortilla soup recipe recently that I think will get put in the rotation. Thanks for giving me some more ideas about things to do with the slow cooker!
I make a kick-ass chocolate chili that everyone loves, makes the house small sooo good and the secret is that it’s made in a 1960’s era slow cooker. Harvest gold, if you can imagine.
My worry is that it will die one day and this Hamilton Beach slow cooker looks amazing. If I win the slow cooker I will share my recipe…hint hint
Sadly, I am sans large capacity slow cooker at the moment since the glass lid for mine broke and can’t be replaced. I miss it terribly and asked for a new one for Christmas but don’t think I’m getting it! My favorite use is anything for dinner that I can start before work and is ready to go when I get home!
My all time favorite use for the slow cooker is to make homemade stock. Throw in the meats, veggies, seasonings,. put the lid on and forget it!
i like how they tenderize inexpensive cuts of meat!
I have yet to have a favorite slow cooker use! I have owned one, but gave it away to my daughter before I used it. Now that I can like a fiend I need one!
I love my slow cookers. I have an old standard and a newer auto shut off and I live by them both.
i use it for stew and almost everything just found a recipe for bread in a crock pot
I love Apple Butter! My favorite slow cooker use is for shredded beef sandwiches. So, so easy and the slow cooker does all the work!
I have just started canning again. Helped my Grandmother when I was little. I have made apple butter this fall and pumpkin butter. I think my poor old crock pot is slowly dying! Would love to have one like this one! Merry Christmas!
I love to throw in a tough roast and at dinner time have a tender, delicious piece of meat!
I love crock pot “Italian Pot Roast” and “Beans n Bacon”.
My favorite is a tie between boneless beef shortribs and the low fat, decadent concoction my friends and I refer to as “awesome dip”
Lately my favorite use has been to make steel cut oatmeal overnight and have it hot and ready for the kids and I on a cold morning 🙂
I love to make pulled pork in the slow cooker!
Dr Pepper pulled pork. So easy and no turning!
My favorite slow cooker recipe is actually apple butter. Forty or fifty pounds of apples gets us through the year.
My favorite slow cooker use is for my Triple Ginger Pear Butter recipe, which I make every year with the glut of pears from my mom’s tree. I would never make it through pear season without a slow cooker! I often borrow my neighbor’s cooker as well so I can cook two batches at once.
My favorite use of the slow cooker this fall was for pumpkin butter. I almost always do apple butter but wanted to try something new this year. It’s amazing! I’ve been giving it away left and right, and eating it myself. I’ve gotten lots of positive feedback!
I love my slow cooker especially on the days that I am homeschooling, my boys have music class, my daughter gets home and we have to eat and leave for religious school.
My favorite recipe is a creamy chicken stew recipe with chicken thighs and vegetables. I use coconut milk for the “creamy” part since my kids are dairy intolerant. So yummy and filling. Comfort food at its best.
I only have one slow cooker and I use it mostly for pulled pork or shredded beef. I love the features you listed for this one and should give me better opportunities to do other things.
I love the convenience of slow cookers, you can use less expensive cuts of meat and it will transform it into a juicy, delicious meal. Plus living in central Florida and using your slow cooker makes for a cooler kitchen, especially on those hot summer days and you want a good baked potato to go with the meal your hubby has on the grill, they make awesome mac and cheese for any occasion too!
Awesome giveaway… I could use a new slow cooker… I use mine frequently especially during the winter months for stews, soups, and stuff. But my all time favorite is my beef pot roast… super yummy… slow cooked for 2 days and melt in your mouth tender
I like using the slow cooker to leave oatmeal cooking overnight for breakfast in the morning. Along with my coffee-maker-on-a-timer, it’s a perfect way to wake up in the winter.
My favorite use is currently using it for cooking whole chickens. They come out tender, juice, fall off the bone delicious! Over the summer, a favorite use for it was cooking down tomatoes into a delicious tomato jam. Sweet, spicy and with a slight smokey flavor from that long cooking time!
my crock pot burns everything, so I could really use a new one. It’s good for applesauce, and I made a batch of apple butter in it this fall, it was delicious.
I love making granola in my slow cooker.
I love apple butter & actually borrowed my moms crock pot this fall to make a bunch – yes, I’m odd I don’t have a crock pot at the time & could really use one & would really love to get one!
Soups. But yogurt too.
I’ve never had a slow cooker before so I’m sure I don’t know the extent of its uses, but I’m excited to find out! I’d definitely like to use it to make pulled pork.
I love just throwing together a quick soup when I’m crazy busy!
It’s the lazy way to make chicken stock! I love it.
I absolutely love to make chilis and stews in my slow cooker. I received it as a wedding gift nearly 12 years ago and it’s on it’s last legs, but has truly served my family well.
Love your apple butter recipe. Thanks for sharing!
In our slowcooker, I make a spicy pork, sweet potato and carrot stew that has oodles of cumin and smells the house up somethin’ good!
My current favorite use for the slow cooker is meatballs in red sauce. However, with this lovely style of slowcooker, I’m pretty sure it would be the spiced apple butter (Grandchild #2 *adores* his spiced plum jam or apple butter, & wants to know why his full jars are getting less 😉
That has to be the most beautiful slow cooker I have ever seen
You SO read my mind! Apple butter is by far my favorite use of a crock pot, followed by making chicken stock. 🙂 I love the set it and forget it setting!
Apple Butter! Apple Butter!!! And more APPLE BUTTER!!! My family LOVES it and I can’t make enough. I’d love to have a kitchen helper so I could make more!
We use our slow cooker all the time for soups, and recently I started making batches of baby food in there! The little crockpot we got for our wedding, we have outgrown now that our family is bigger, we’re in the market for one that holds a bit more! Can’t wait to try this apple butter recipe with all the apples in our neighbor’s tree 🙂
your pear butter is one of my holiday gifts this year. I’d love to try a batch of butter in a new slow cooker!
Ham and beans is a “crock pot” item at my house!!
A roast or turkey breast are the 2 favorites around here.
My slow cooker got lots of use this past summer making fruit butters (thanks to all your recipes here and in your book!). Now my husband has taken it over with his stews and soups. We had a family reunion in WA in October where we turned 320 lbs. of apples in a big copper kettle into 135 quarts of apple butter! yum! Thanks for the opportunity to win one of these-would be nice to have the timer feature & secured lid!
Beef stew is a favorite along with making the beef and broth for french dips and philly cheese steaks. Really I love that I can just put my ingredients in and walk away to do other chores. We have a small size that is specifically for holiday dips, via my brother’s instructions. He only wants chilli cheese dip in that one.
We use our existing slow cooker for some of those weeknight meals…nothing like kids to force you to find a use for one. I really need to try this recipe or one for Pumpkin Butter!
This looks like a great crock pot. My favorite use for mine is to cook chicken so that I can get up on Sunday morning and make dumplings without having to wait hours for the chicken to be ready. I like mine cooked until it is falling off the bone. My second favorite thing is my Apple Butter…I make it all the time…love the stuff..Thanks so much for the chance to win a new crock pot..Merry Christmas!
Although my favorite is still the tried-and-true soups, I’ve bought one of the small multi-pots slow cookers for hors ‘douvres and it works great for parties where you have several hot dips. But I’ve eyed this one for a long time now….
I had a quite old, used, off-brand crockpot that I bought off craigslist so I could use it for EVERYTHING throughout the winter but unfortunately the thing cooked hot/cold/uneven depending on the day and so was unreliable. Sometimes it got so hot that I feared for a house-fire if I left it unattended. The ONLY thing that worked was apple butter and I had to stir that periodically. So away went the crockpot and along with it, my fantasies of having a perfect meal ready when I got home. But your post has renewed my interest! My favorite thing to use my crockpot for (by default since its the only thing that worked!) was apple butter! : )
I use th cr
Non-conventional slow cooker use: My most recent experiment is to use the insert to raise and bake bread. This adapted no-knead recipe based on Jim Lahey’s NYT no-knead recipe hailed by Mark Bittman. Makes for an excellent crust. I turn the insert over to carve out an oval of parchment for the bottom. It really is a snap.
Brrrrisket! Perfect for busy days and cold nights.
I would say my favorite use is either for overnight oatmeal *or* for this pot roast recipe I have from a friend of mine that is out of this world! Thank you for the giveaway!
What an awesome giveaway! I love to use my crockpot for soups, roasts and casseroles, but in the wintertime I just put the crock on top of the woodstove & let it do the work! Good luck to all 🙂
I like making a stew in mine. I take my meat and brown it and then fry my onions and celery when translucent I then deglaze and and to crock pot. Add my own home canned veggies juice and all let cook for a few hrs then add my spuds and cook the rest of the day, just before serving I add a mix of cornstarch and water and let cook for about 30 min and serve
I use my slow cooker for so many things but I think my favorite is plain old pot roast with veggies. It’s a comfort food thing.
I love using my crock pot for chuck roast, and apple butter! Thank you!
I use our slow cooker for an easy camping trip/traveling lasagna. I assemble it and then plug it in to the outlet in our truck (back seat floor area) Once we arrive at our destination, it’s ready to eat an then we set up camp.
My favorite use would have to be for barbecued pulled pork.
Perhaps… I have a problem (I admit it – I do) as I frequently need a dozen wooden spoons (all though I lean toward bamboo now – but same thing only better – right? But, ANYWAY – Oh mother of all crockpots – LOVE it!
I have actually never had one. Had many many crock pots, but they aren’t as temp regulated to cook really nummy things in! I so want one!
My favorite recipe as of lately for a slow cooker would be BBQ Beef Brisket Chili- heavenly and perfect for cold Oregon rain! (and attempts at snow!)
I use my slow cooker very little but my daughter & daughter in-law are teaching me how yummy the recipes can be! And the things I can do with that extra time are endless 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful giveaway…Happy Christmas!
My favorite slow cooker use is making soups and stews on cold winter days. I love the way it smells as it cooks all day and how it’s ready to serve as soon as we’re ready to eat.
I’ve been looking at this very model! My slow cooker has finally given up the ghost – it only cooks on high. We are regularly eat overnight oatmeal and overnight Cola cooked pork. Mmmm, tasty.
My favorite use for a slow cooker is to prepare a whole chicken. I set it on low for 8-10 hours, and the meat just falls off the bone! I usually shred it up and add rice to the broth to make chicken and rice soup – perfect for cold weather days!
I have this old baby blue slow cooker with geese on it! I got it as a christmas gift from my (ex) sister-in-law in 1983. It still works. It has 3 settings, high, low and off.
My daughter got married in 2010, she got a few “crock pots”, one is a set, a big one with a baby one. They are fancy looking, stainless steel and black with more settings.
even the lowest setting is not as low as the low on the old baby blue one. I haven’t tried the baby one yet. I was thinking it would be great for a hot dip for the holidays this weekend though…..Apple butter is a great use for my crock pot, soup and chili for those long days of ski patrolling when I am worn out and cold when I get home. Mmmmm! I might have to put something in it this weekend, the ski hill opens Saturday!
What I don’t love to do in a slow cooker! Mostly dinners and entertaining. I grew up in a slow-cooking household. My mother would break out her armada of slow cookers for the “Souper Bowl” party, and make several different kinds of soup before the Big Game.
I love the temperature probe idea on this one. My chickens are always “fall-off-the-bone tender”, which is a polite way of saying “overdone”.
I love to use my crock pot to make shredded meat. Pulled pork, italian beef, and BBQ chicken are all on a pretty stead rotation around here in the winter.
I use my crockpot for soups, stews and roasts regularly in addition to my fruit butters that I make and can. Currently I have a cheapy model that doesn’t regulate the temp very well so one like this would be a very welcome addition/upgrade in my kitchen!
i use my slow cooker alot..making sauerkraut and pork and love soups in it
Everything! But my favorite is savory beef and gravy to serve over rice or noodles or mashed potatoes. I can start it with frozen stewing meat, add a package of dry onion soup mix, a can of mushroom soup and a can of mushroom. Let it cook until meat is tender. Stir once or twice to mix. Yummy!!
Cornbeef and cabbage or chili
I use my slow cooker at least once a week. So choosing a favorite recipe is hard, but it’s so great for the busy nights after a long commute to come home to dinner already made. We frequently have shredded meat (everything from beef to chicken) on sandwhiches or with rice and veggies.
My favorite, and easiest, slow cooker recipe is one a friend gave me. It’s basically lime juice, tequila, cilantro, and a pork loin. It makes the most amazingly delicious pork for tacos.
I use it most often for bean recipes, but I have made pear/apple butter in mine as well.
I love my crockpot for soups and stews, those great Winter time comfort foods. A couple of batches of Apple butter in the Fall is also a wonderful delight. I actually use a very tiny crock pot when I make my jewelry as well. It holds the pickle to clean my metals or warms the Patina solution.
I am with you on having different crockpots for different things. I host a good many parties for my grand kids and hot dips are a favorite for everyone. But since I am answering this question today I would have to say Crockpot Hot Chocolate is my favorite today!! Happy Holidays
I love it for making soup. We make a big batch of soup and then eat on it for the rest of the week + we have plenty for guests. We live in a college town and college students will usually gladly take even homemade leftovers over cafeteria food.
My favorite slow cooker use is making fruit butters, especially peach butter. But I do love some oatmeal cooked overnight. One of the best things to wake up to in the morning!
My slow cooker’s on the counter at least twice a week, so it’s tough to pick ONE, favorite use. I have to go with chicken fajitas; the meat comes out SO TENDER and delicious.
My favorite is pot roast, as I don’t make it very often and it seems so fancy when it’s done!
The thing I use my slow cooker for the most would have to be a rotation of family dinners – chicken cacciatore, tomato beef stew, or a pork roast. I love when the carrots and potatoes cook in all of the good meat juices. Thanks for the apple butter recipe – I’ve done applesauces and spiced apples, but not the butter yet.
I use mine most frequently to make pulled pork. But after making apple butter for the first time this year im looking forward to trying that next year. Happy Holidays! !
I have an old basic slow cooker with 2 settings and no fancy settings, I have been looking to upgrade! I love making apple sauce and spaghetti sauce in my current model.
I oftentimes use mine for a great artichoke and red pepper dip. I have never used it for jams or butters, but I am loving the idea of that right now.
I love cooking whole chickens on a bed of potatoes and onions and carrots. For my family of 7, it is only enough for one meal, but I’ve always wanted to make soup by just adding water to the leftover, alas there are never leftovers.
Soup! It is so nice to come home to a house that smells like heaven in this weather!
I would use it to make jars of this recipe to give a gifts. And to make making dinner easier.
With six little ones (well, I guess two or three aren’t so little anymore) at least one crockpot is a must.
We love anything made in the crockpot: Orange chicken, Spicy chili, Italian style pot roast, my super easy pot roast (one large roast plus one bottle of Greek Vinaigrette dressing. Works great for chicken breasts too!). I recently made a Bean and Corn Chili for a church potluck. We have a small church and this was an evening service with even fewer people, so I thought I would have leftovers. Not a chance!
A second crockpot would be great! Especially since my kids seem intent to keep growing. 🙂
Love mine for shredded chicken for burritos. But because the lid doesn’t hook down I have to put something heavy on top so my meals don’t get dried out.
The best use is keeping mashed potatoes warm. Technically, I don’t make mashed potatoes, since they always turn out wrong. I love my potato ricer and it never fails to make great “mashed” potatoes.
Navy bean soup with ham hocks gets the most rotation with my slow cooker. My cooker is pretty basic. I’d LOVE a new one.
I LOVE using my slow cooker for so many of my gluten-free goodies. Our family favorite dinner is BBQ pork nachos. I cook the pork with rootbeer…yes rootbeer! I add mexican spices, salt and pepper, let it cook all day. Then I drain the liquid, shred the meat and add our favorite gluten-free BBQ sauces. Believe it or not, we put it over cornchips with blackbeans, cheese, avocado and onions. My kids LOVE them! I really wish I had new crockpot, since my current one is over 16 years old and has a cracked handle (hint-hint)!
I love using my crock pot for all kinds of things from stews to meatballs and sauce. But I have to say my most favorite thing lately is potato soup. It is so easy and so yummy!!
Filling the house with the smell of elk stew. I’ll have to try the butters and the oatmeal.
I love to make Chicken and dumplings in mine. My kids love it!
I use my slow cooker for whole chicken, chicken horderves and meatballs.
There is nothing better than my italian chicken breasts… so yummy and simple. Not with sauce, but with a rub of spices and olive oil, set into a small amount of chicken stock. To die for!
Use mine mostly for roasts and stews. But I’m ready to start trying the different fruit butters (should eliminate the consistancy issues with pectin and jams).
Apple butter and pear butter!
I love making chili and applesauce in a slow cooker.
My vintage crock pot doesn’t see much action, maybe a pound of beans or chicken stock once in a while. Would love to do more!
I love to make pot roast in the slow cooker!
I’ve never cooked in a slow cooker. I have several friends that do and they love it. I would love to give it a try some time. I think I could be a convert.
I love making pulled pork!
My favorite thing from the slow-cooker is veggie chili!
My favorite use for the slow cooker is to fix lentils, which I rarely make any other way. With one vegetarian int he family, its wonderful to make something so delicious that makes the whole family happy!
I love enchilada soup in the slow cooker!
I love slow cookers for soups and stew type dinners, but am trying to learn more uses for them. I am intrigued with using them with preserving.
Favorite slow cooker use is ham! My dad cures and smokes it to perfection, and then I cook it in until it literally falls apart, my favorite!
I’ve really yet to use my slow cookers for anything but pulled pork! It’s an older, basic model that doesn’t shut off on its own, so I worry about electrical issues when I’m not home to keep an eye on everything.
When my sons were babies, the slow cooker was used by our sitters to warm breast milk. Now I like to use it to make stock. It is amazing what 24 hours on low does – SO much better than when I make it on the stove.
Is it wrong that my favorite use is dinner? I don’t have a timer on mine to “set and forget” so I cook food all day long. Roast beef and gravy is the family favorite. Then I make beef stew with the leftovers. MmmmMmmmGood.
Slow-cooked collard greens, from stem to leaf, using leftover pickle brine and garlic for seasoning, with pre-sauteed onions added late. Some bits of smoked turkey or summer sausage? Lovely. Blackeyed peas and ham, a close second; stews, for third.
I’ve stepped back from using my slow cooker in its usual role as peach butter enabler, because I needed to perfect my jam canning techniques. Freezing the butter was good for its time, but now I like the way the light glows through jam jars….
I use my slow cooker for veggie chili and other soups/stews that I want to absorb flavor all day.
Throw a hunk of pork butt in the slow cooker with a little onion and water – it makes for perfect pulled pork sandwhiches.
I made pear butter in mine this past autumn and it turned out great. I let it simmer all day and it was so much easier than being at the stove all day long. I’m not real happy with my current crock pot so this Set and Forget model would be a good change.
I used my slow cooker to make applesauce, and it is amazing. I also use it for pumpkin butter. But there’s nothing like steel cut oats that have been simmering all night long. Mmmmm! My current crock pot has cracks in the handle and the knob has long since broken off. Could really use a new one!
I love to make chicken for tacos or burritos in the slow cooker. However, I also love to make caramel dip for apples in the slow cooker too…dinner and dessert!
I have always loved my slow cookers (I have a small one for dips and a large round and large oval). One of my favorite things to make was always a Cuban Black Bean Soup recipe. And then last year I started canning – so NOW my favorite use is to cook down the different fruit butters before canning them!
I tend to make a ton of bean soups or stews in my slow cooker. Chili most recently.
Love my slow cookers for a lot of reasons, but my favorite thing to use them for is roast beef. Followed very closely by chili, and homemade vegetable soup. My mom says that I am the only one who can get it to taste like my gram’s did.
I love a slow cooker for one of our family favorite meals using great Alaskan Wild Caught Salmon – we layer the salmon (fresh if possible but frozen works also) filets with onion slices and canned tomatoes (home is best) with lots of black pepper. Cook until it flakes and serve over hot steamed rice – sometimes we add corn off the cob at meal time too.
Thank you for the giveaway opportunity!
I was gifted a large slow cooker several years ago and love to make meals with it on my telecommute days. I’ll sneak in time to do the prep work during a break or while I’m listening to a conference call, and am happy to have a freshly prepared, hot meal at the end of the day. My slow cooker doesn’t have an automatic keep warm feature like this one, so I’ve never made fruit butters or cooked a meal while away at the office. I’d love to gain that feature!
I love the opportunity to win one and in this day and time where money is at a primium it would be nice to have something like this. I would do as many meals as I can find in it. I think soups are the best idea. Thank you even if I don’t win.
I’m still using the slow cooker I got as a wedding present — almost 22 years ago!
The best thing I make in it is a whole chicken and a crock of chicken stock–YUM!
I just made pear butter in it, too. Can eat that with a spoon.
For me it is less a favorite use and just rediscovering the slow cooker. We tried a recipie a while back on a whim and from there fell in love with the simplicity.
I love using mine for chilis–it makes them so flavorful and thick! I’ve been meaning to use it for brisket as well.
Oh my goodness! That slow cooker would be awesome for when I pressure can beans!
I absolutely love to make stew in my crock pot. Oh and then there is applesauce that is awsome in the crock pot. mmmmmmm
Soups.. from Chinese Jook (rice porridge) to Butternut Squash soup. My favorite breakfast is soup, so I can set it up and have the perfect meal waiting for me when I wake up.
My non-veghead friend makes a great chicken in her slow cooker. She lines the bottom with root veggies and puts the chicken on top. Turns it on before she goes to work and there is magic in the pot when she arrives home…
I’d love to say my favorite recipe is some kind of fancy thing, but honestly- it’s chilli and baked potatoes. We make chili for dinner one night, and then the next day I wrap potatoes in foil and cook them all day. We eat leftover chili on the potatoes. In fact, that’s what we’re having tonight for dinner. We probably do this at least twice a month.
I’m also a huge fan of shredded salsa or BBQ chicken. Throw in chicken with salsa or bbq sauce. Simmer, shred right before you’re ready to eat with two forks, most of the liquid is absorbed by the shredding. Makes great sandwiches/tacos/quesadillas that are super easy.
I’ve also made and entire turkey breast in their before and it came out divine!
My fave slow cooker use is fruit butter and chicken & dumplings.
My favorite recipe is called All Day Saucy Apples and I love it particularly because of the wonderful smells that fill the house, but I think I’m switching to your Apple Butter recipe since it’s cooking right now and smells heavenly and canned, it will last til next apple season!
We love to make stew and chicken stock in our slow cooker. I also use it for apple butter and apple sauce.
I don’t have a favorite use, since I’ve never owned one, but I know *exactly* what I’d make first: pulled pork!!
I love making chili in my slow cooker.
I try to use my slow cooker at least once a week. We do everything from soups to Roast’s and Breakfast to Desert. This year I plan on doing a slow cooker meal at least once per day. For either dinner or breakfast. Super Easy for meal with a large family.
I love making Chili in my slow cooker…but the one I have is too small.
Wow! Eight cookers to give away, very generous of HB. I have a Southwestern beef and corn soup that is great in the slow cooker. Love that I can throw it together in the morning, come home and stir up a little cornbread dumpling mixture to throw on the top, cook a little longer and dinner is MADE!
I have a 1970’s vintage slow-cooker that’s only 4 quarts, so it’s really too small for big batches of soup. But, several years ago I discovered a recipe for apple butter, similar to yours, that uses the slow cooker. I gave it a try, was pleased with the results and have now relegated my small slow-cooker to apple butter duty. I’d love a bigger one to make big batches of soup and stews!
Just this year discovered how awesome slow cookers are- for cooking dried beans, apple butter, pear butter, making roasts. mmmm….
My most frequent use for the slow cooker is to cook a chicken, or chicken pieces, during the day, eat it for dinner, and cook the carcass overnight to make stock. But my favorite slow cooker treat, even if I only make it once a year, is your recipe for peach butter.
I use my slow cooker for loads of things-soups and stews, chicken tacos, even rice pudding.
The #1 dish that gets made in my slow cooker that gets the most praise is my pulled pork. I have co-workers that bug me about when I am bringing in the next batch. 😉
I’m a big fan of apple butter, though. I’m going to try this one out! 😀
We’ve never owned a slow-cooker before- but I imagine that making soups, stews and chili in it would be great!
It’s terrible to say – I don’t know yet! I’ve never owned a slow cooker, but I admit I’d love to prep recipes and have dinner hot when I get home from work. My twin uses her for some fabulous hot breakfast meals, I think that would be divine!
I never had a slow cooker until a couple of years ago when I got two at a thrift store for a Christmas party. It’s the perfect way to steam and keep tamales warm. (A Mexican and So Cal Christmas tradition.)
I use mine for anytime I need to make a large meal to take to a pot luck. I also use it for the occasional fill-in-the-blank fruit butter.
I have made yogurt in my slow cooker, but that is a little on the messy side for me. I often use it to make chicken stock. I put the chicken and the veg in when I go to bed, and I wake up to delicious chicken stock!!!
My favorite thing to make in the slow cooker is chicken. It always comes out moist. I have a bad habit of drying it out when I cook it in the pan!
I’ve never tried apple butter before but it looks delicious 🙂 My favorite use for my slow cooker is pot roast.
For canning, I love pear butter in my slow cooker. As for other things, soups, stews, fish— love coming home from a long workday to a ready dinner!
Vegan sweet potato chili! I don’t know what I’d do without a slow cooker.
Plum butter. Also chili. Thanks for the chance to win.
We don’t have one yet, but if we did, this recipe would be the first to try!
I love my crock pot/slow cooker for SO many things! Favorites are pulled pork, chili, Apple/Pear Butter & Blueberry Butter. Oh…and cheesecake 🙂
I love using the crockpot for Cafe Rio style pork. It smells so good and then dinner is ready!
I love to use my slow cooker for overnight steel cut oats. Such a great breakfast to wake up to!
Ohmyword, what a fine lookin’ slow cooker! I really like making refried (not really fried) beans in mine. And cooking down sauces.
I use mine mostly for cooking while I’m a work. There is nothing better than knowing that dinner is already done when you finish up a long day at work.
I too have about five different slow cookers (dipper for potpourri, 1 quart, 3 quart, 5 quart, 6 quart, 7 quart, and 18 quart). I LOVE LOVE LOVE them and use them all the time for everything from apple and peach butter to spaghetti sauce to chili, soups and stews. They are so versatile! My favorite is using them to make caramelized onions. 😀
My favorite slow cooker recipe right now is a ziti and sausage recipe from America’s Test Kitchen slow cooker cookbook. Their taco meat recipe is also good.
I’m making chicken and corn chowder in my slow cooker as I type!
I love to make Refried Beans. I slow cook the pinto beans overnight with chicken stock/ Bacon (or a ham hock)/Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce. Then I blend them and freeze for the month. An easy go to that isn’t the canned variety from the store.
oh my gosh! i dont have a recipe to share, i dont have a slow cooker, would love love love to have one tho. i am new to slow cookers and canning and all this stuff i am finding online bur super excited to get started!
I love to use the slow cooker to make tough cuts of meat tender—stew meat, brisket etc.
i love making carnitas in the slow cooker. long slow braise in orange juice and water which eventually cooks down and then it gets to render in its own fat. yum!
I love to use my crockpot most for the traditional pot roast with potatoes and carrots.
Beef stew and chili
My slow cooker got lost in the last move. Or maybe it was the move before that. Anyway, my favorite thing to make is beef barley soup. The beef gets so tender and just seems to retain a richer flavor. But I would be happy to try apple and pear butter in it.
I love using a slow cooker for serving hot mulled wine at holiday parties. Slow-cooked blueberry jam with berries from my friend’s farm is also great.
I actaully have never owned a slow cooker, but have always wanted one. I would definitely use it for my beans – soups and stews -, as well to make anything and everything apple!
I cook so many things in my slow cooker: soup, stew, roasts, etc. but my favorite use is to make overnight steel cut oatmeal with nuts & apples & spices. Yummmmmm.
I make corned beef from scratch every year for st Patrick’s day. I set up a couple of slow cookers and feed all of my friends corned beef and soda bread throughout the day. And Guinness of course.
I use my slow cooker to turn inexpensive pork shoulder into tender and delicious shredded pork for tacos, a ragout, sandwiches, anything!
I use my old slow cooker mostly for bone broth. Hot cider over the holidays is also very nice. The fruit butter idea is awesome! In other automatic canning news, a friend of mine has a bread machine which he uses for jam-making. Works great!
I use mine for apple butter, too, but I also love it for making chicken stock and pot roast.
I love cooking roasts in the crockpot! Coming home to the smell of a juicy, tender roast makes dinner time PERFECT!!!
I use my slow cooker for the best turkey legs EVER! I brush molasses and sprinkle garlic on each leg…then wrap individually in foil. Place them in a “bare” slow cooker – no liquids required…using the low setting! The legs cook up beautifully by the time you are home from a hard days work and your kids will love them as mine do!!! ENJOY!
I love using a slow cooker for almost any meat or roast chicken. Spaghetti sauce works well too!
Sadly I no longer have a slow cooker…if I had one I would use it for stew and now apple butter!
I love making mulled cider in mine. It’s ancient though and I would love to try one of these! TY!!!
My personal favorite slow cooked foods are a chicken stew recipe I made up and chili. Yeah! This looks delish too.
Oh my. I keep trying to read everyone’s entries to get good ideas, and everytime I come back to the computer there are another 100!
I have a very basic slow cooker, metal shell, ceramic inset. High and Low. I use mainly for the winter months and making hot apple cider. It came with a mini pot tucked inside that I use for bean dip. I bought one for my son that has timers and stuff on it. That seems more usable. I would love to trade that one out for this one which sounds to have more bells and whistles.
I like to use mine to make a indian spiced chicken thigh dish.
I use my slow cookers the most for roasts and stews, but you can do just about anything with it! Mine is 20 years old this year, I sure would love to have one like this!!
I used my slow cooker last year to make rosemary apple butter. This was by far the best use of the machine. I bought a bushel of apples from a farm stand still open when visiting my sister for Thanksgiving. I peeled, sliced, and cooked them, then put it all in the blender in batches. I then cooked it down in the slow cooker for two days until it looked like it had the consistency I wanted. The smell in the house those two days was amazing, and my family loved the fresh taste of the apple butter with a hint of rosemary.
I use my slow cooker all the time! Having two would be wonderful! I mostly cook beans (kidney, pinto, navy, and garbanzos). I also like using a slow cooker for making yogurt.
I love to prepare a roast chicken in my slow cooker. Thanks!
My number one use for slow cookers would have to be tougher cut roasts…makes them tender every single time !
I love to put Chicken Tortilla Soup in the crock pot. I use my crock pot all the time. I do apple butter, desserts (the chocolate pudding one), roasts, beans, and soups but by favorite is the Chicken Tortilla Soup. On a cold day it just taste even better. I would love to have two so I could do a main dish and a dessert.
My newest favorite crockpot recipe is Honey Chicken. It’s just plan ol’ delicious. Thanks for the apple butter recipe and a wonderful chance at a new crockpot. Happy Holidays!
I think my favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is BBQ chicken thighs – just slice up an onion, pile a bunch of boneless skinless thighs on top, then pour a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce on top and cook until the chicken’s falling apart. Seriously, crazy delicious and great for sandwiches or over rice!
I use my slow cooker for braises of meat or chicken. I love it because you can pretty much forget about it and still have a wonderful meal afterwards.
I make all my fruit butters in my slow cooker. I also like to use it to make chili and the occasional roast.
I’ve only really gotten into cooking with mine this year, since I originally bought it to make mulled wine. The overnight oatmeal you mention sounds delicious though, I’m going to have to look that up!
I like to use mine for pot roasts or chili. Throw it all in in the morning and by dinner the house smells fantastic and all the meat is just absolutely falling apart. Yum!
My favorite use for a slow cooker is soup; but I know it does work great for apple butter! I currently have 5 slow cookers also, but the largest is only 4 quarts; I’d love a larger one with a locking lid.
My favorite thing to do in the slow cooker is beef stew! So yummy!!!
Pork roast.
I mostly use my slow cooker to make roasts. Have never tried to make fuit butters, I will hav to try that soon.
Definitely overnight steel cut oats. I can’t live without oats during the fall and winter, and a slow-cooker makes it easier on hectic mornings.
It is hard to narrow down to 1 favorite, but guess I would have to say spiced pork that is shredded and turned into burritos. YUM! Think I will put that on the menu this weekend.
I’ve never used one! But I’d love to ;-). I do love a good beef stew.
we love to use ours for applesauce!
I have never had a slow cooker and would love one. I can think of stocks, jams, etc to make, and maybe even kefir or yoghurt.
Love the old time favorite of Pot roast.
I usually use mine for dinners (throwing a big pork loin roast in my slow cooker in the morning with some random stuff makes for some good eating when I get home) but my latest favorite use is to make wassail!
I’ve never used a slow cooker, but I love the idea of using one for apple butter!
Use mine most for apple and pear butter. Found an old green one at Goodwill that I use but would love to have a new one with all the bells and whistles’s. Love the idea of the locking lid.
Pulled Pork or Chili, either way I love slow cookers!
Any kind of stew. I could live on meaty, hearty, potato-y, vegetable-y stews.
This is my favorite slow cooker use! I love making butters, especially apple and pumpkin. I’ve never made pear butter but this slow cooker would be a great reason to start!
I have never had a slow cooker and have been thinking of getting one but am reluctant to purchase since my life seems to be complete without it. But everytime I see slow cooker fruit butter recipes, I get a pang of jealousy…
I have 2 crockpots, both crockpot brand. The 4 qt round one I love…it’s cooks all my beans and oatmeal. The 6qt large one is HORRENDOUS. It overcooks everything!!!
I love to cook chicken in my old and slow, slow cooker. The newer ones with the higher “low” temperature are not convenient — you can’t leave them on all day while you’re at work. This one with the timer feature seems ideal!
I do not have a slow cooker but would love one.
I love using my slow cooker for beans & lentils – I almost never use cans of either, because a slow cooker batch tastes better and meets my legume needs for an entire week! 🙂
I use mine for beef stew or pork roasts.
My favorite slow cooker use is a big ole chuck roast with potatoes….yum!
I use mine for beef stew, chili and beef roasts mostly.
I needed to cook up some black beans one time when it was late and I really wanted to go to bed, so I decided to put them in the crockpot on low and figured they’d be done in the morning. Worked great.
I’d love to learn to use it for other things too.
Any kind of meat and vegetables–I enjoy the smell all day and it’s such an easy way to get dinner on the table.
I love to make applesauce and pearsauce in mine. Any kind of chili, one pot dinner or soups are great too! I find uses for all 3 of my slow cookers.
I like to use a slow cooker for meals mostly. I have yet to use any for any canned goods.
I don’t have one so I don’t know yet 🙂
Two cookers, one vintage 7 qt. ( whole chickens) and one newer and programmable 3.1/2 qt. ( steel cut oatmeal or any hot cereal)
I’ve only used a slow-cooker when I was in grad school and had a tiny one-person slow-cooker. I think I remember making a pasta and spinach dish that was pretty gross but somewhat healthy and edible/filling. My MIL makes a lot of really good soup in her slow cooker though — I think I’d have to get her to share some of her recipes if I got this one.
my favorite use for my slow cooker is a good, hearty chicken broth! I let it go for a couple of days to extract every nutrient out of the bones! 🙂
My favorite thing to make in a slow cooker is roasted chicken. I LOVE roast chicken but don’t have time after work to do it in the oven before dinner. Instead it gets to cook away all day and my house smells amazing when I get home!
In addition to more common soups and stews, I like to attempt not-typically-slow-cooked meals in the slow cooker, like falafels. The family favorite is a hot fudge cake. There’s always room in my heart for another slow cooker even if there isn’t much room in my kitchen 🙂
My favorite thing to cook is pot roast.
My favorite use is cooking a cheaper cut of beef for a good 8 hours and by dinner time it practically melts in my mouth!
If I had a slow cooker I would slow cook beans, as well as experiment w/fruit butters and jams. Thanks for the chance to win one!
I love putting a pot roast in and letting the cooker work it’s magic!
I have several little slow cookers that we use for fondue every Christmas. From cheese, to Thai peanut sauce to chocolate and vanilla custard fondues, I love keeping them warm with my slow cookers!
I’ve been looking at the new slow cookers – thinking about getting one. I’d love to win this one! I make apple butter in mine too but my favorite use is for barbecue sandwiches: beef, pork or chicken. It’s the easiest way to cook a very easy fast supper or something to take on picnics/potlucks.
My favorite slow cooker use is making Pot Roast. I love the fact that I can put the meat in the pot, leave the house and come home to a fully cooked meal. Make a little gravy and eat. Yum, yum, yum.
I think I currently own three slow cookers… small, medium and large. I would love one of the programmable ones!
My favorite things (I had to pick two) to make in the slow cooker are Beef Stew and Applesauce. And, either coming home when it’s dark and cold out, or waking up on a dark morning and having those wonderful, delicious aromas all through the house… that’s the best!
So… question. I’m cooking the purée for 6 hours before I put in the spices and sugar?
I have used mine mostly for things like pot roast or a roast pork, but I’d sure love to try this apple butter recipe of yours! I also need a larger capacity cooker than I have.
Good Ol Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup for me, it reminds me of home.
I love making barbecue short ribs in mine. My grandpa didn’t use a slow cooker to make his, but when the smell fills my house it’s like I’m in my grandparents’ kitchen again.
So far I have only made soup/stews, but fruit butter is the next adventure for sure!
Pork barbecue is our favorite but any lesser cut of beef always comes out wonderful. This holiday I have been making tortilla chicken soup and always a hit. A necessary cooking tool.
My favorite is a thick layer of sliced onions on the bottom, a pork roast on top of it, and some spices ( I like Tony’s salt-free seasoning) shaken all over the top. Let it cook all day and when you get home, you have a roast that has completely fallen off the bone because it’s so tender. Skim the excess oil/fat from the top and mix it together after shredding the meat. The juices make a wonderfully flavored “gravy” to serve over top of mashed potatoes…I think I’m going to have to make this soon, I made myself hungry just typing, and it’s been too long since we had this, I think!
I rarely use my slow cookers – I always found that slowly braised hunks of meat did best in this particular appliance but since we are not a meat eating family they had been neglected for quite a while. Until I discovered your blog and the slow cooker fruit butter recipes. I have also made ketchup using the same lid off method. I have a new appreciation for my old appliances.
I have an old hand-me-down crockpot I use for everything from beans to soup to pot roast.I hsve never tried jellies. Would like to, though!
I love using my slowcooker for potroasts and stews.
I don’t own a slow cooker and have never used one; would love to try making fruit butters some day.
I love my slow cooker…This year I used it for my first apple and pumpkin butter, and its amazing! Tomorrow I am making slow cooker chocolate candies to give away for christmas…I am hoping to be able to get another slow cooker soon, i often find myself needing one bigger than the one I have!
I like to use it to bake potatoes in the summer. It’s so nice to not have the hot oven (on) on a hot summer day. Sometimes I use the slow cooker outside.
I love to make pulled pork in a slow cooker. Or, acually anyting that I can start in the morning and then have dinner ready at night. I’ve never tried fruit butters but they sure sound good!
chillis and soups, no doubt. but i might use it for apple butter!!
My slow cooker has always been for pot roast and occasionally chili. I also have an older “low-high-off” type. 😉 I’ve always wanted to try some of the newer ones. I’ll definitely be making apple butter if I win!!
It’s unanimous…apple sauce!
I’ve never used a slow cooker. I was about to buy one for my husband for Christmas but changed my mind at the last minute. We don’t eat meat so I wasn’t sure how useful it would be for us, but this post has given me lots of ideas and makes me think that I do need one for my kitchen.
Making fruit butters is the ONLY way I use our slow cooker. I should branch out, but just haven’t yet. I use my roommate’s slow cooker, and have now broken it twice (my fault the first time, not the second), and need to replace it again. Gah!
My favorite thing to make in a slow-cooker is chili! I also use the overnight method for fruit butters but would love to try this Set n Forget model!
I don’t have a slow cooker anymore. I’d like one, though. I’d use it for New England type corn beef meals with lots of root vegetables and I’d use it to cook more apples from our small orchard–applesauce, apple catsup, apple chutney.
BBQ Meatballs in the slow cooker. The whole house smells like heaven when they are cooking. I even take them to work in the crockpot. They are always a hit. Slow cooking improves the flavor.
I have an itty-bitty slow-cooker that makes just 2 servings, and I use it constantly for small meals-for-one. I have a big old one that I use for making stock or cooking big batches of stuff for potlucks- my slow-cooker enchiladas are what’s requested most often!
Have not tried this recipe yet… But, I love all the step by step photos you post on your blog! It makes it so easy to get it done! My mouth is already watering just thinking about this… Just need the slow cooker! 😉 Happy Holidays Marisa!
I use my slowcooker for so many things! I bake in it, One pot dishes, ham, Mac ‘n’ Cheese. I have never used it for canning but I am sure going to try it now!!! Oh And I use it for mashed potaoes all the time!
Braised meats. Slow cookers are great at turning cheap tough cuts of meat into tastyness. Also, I have a tiny cooker that’s great at making just enough steel cut oats for me and my husband.
I use my slow cooker mostly for soups, but I have made apple butter in it a few times and it worked perfectly!
Red Beans and Rice, or Baked Beans are my favorite ways to use a slow cooker.
I like to make apple, pear butter as well in my slow cooker. In addition, I also like to make yogurt in my big one. it’s an easy, overnight thing, just right for my busy life. (I have to confess, I have 3–a big one, a medium and a small one) : )
I love to make cheater pulled pork, soups, and veggie chili!
I use my slow cooker all the time. Most recently, made applesauce. Tonight, there’s white chili cooking away. Couldn’t live without it!
I have the older model (minus the timer function) of that slow cooker and I love it! Great for taking hot/splashy things to pitch-ins! The only thing I wish mine had was a timer function. 😉
Fruit butters in the crockpot have been game changing for me!
i’ve actually never used a slow cooker so i don’t yet have a favorite use, but i would love to experiment with fruit butters and other fun recipes.
I cook apples in mine before I run them through the food mill. I have very little waste. The applesauce or applebutter is very thick when I am done making it.
Roasts are my absolute favorite things to make in a slow cooker, but I’ve been thinking of branching out a bit.
Big fan of pulled pork in the crock pot. Or curries.
Our family loves stew….
I like using a crock pot for pot roast (chuck roast, pork shoulder, brisket, …)
Oh, man, favorite slow cooker use… That one’s way too hard! I can’t just pick one!!! My slow cooker is the most often used kitchen appliance I have! From apple or pear butter (thanks for posting about this by the way) to roast to soup or stew to cakes, cobblers, and casseroles, I am constantly using my slow cooker. It has a permanent place on the kitchen counter. Narrowing it down to 1 slow cooker recipe, I’d have to say my favorite use for it is ribs. As an apartment dweller and a renter of “bbq free” places, a slow cooker is a god-send for making ribs. Ribs cooked in the slow cooker are tender and fall off the bone moist. A little sauce and a few minutes in the oven to glaze it and you have yourself some awesome ribs!
Love mine for doing huge batches of black beans which I then divide into 2c portions and freeze – a can of beans as easy as 2 minutes in the microwave! Also super great for roast chicken. Nothing beats coming home to a hot meal – especially when I comine it with my programmable bread maker!
I love using the crockpot to have effortless lunch done when I come back home from college. A little prep at night and, voilá! Teh magic is done!
Baked beans with lots of brown sugar!
My favorite use is for chili and hot cornbread!
I use my slow mostly for dips. But that is because only my little one works. I keep meaning to get a new one, but I always seem to forget.
I do not yet own a slow-cooker, but I hear all kinds of marvelous things about them! I think I’d be most excited for soups/stews, but fruit butter sounds really awesome, too! 😀
MMM-m-m-m………..I love to slow cook the basic pot roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots.
Have Crockpot will Travel! We love going to potlucks, and bringing goodies in to work to share in the crockpot, and I think this set up would be the best for travel! Thanks!
I love my slow cooker for making soup, stewed chicken, stuffed peppers and pot roast.
My favorite thing to make is Char Siu Pork from Cooking Light. I just made apple butter though and that turned out great!
Ham and beans! I also love it for taking foods into work. We have done everything from chili to brats. I have even used it to keep jalapeno poppers hot at work!
Since reading your book making butters has shot to the top of the list! But besides something that will live in a can, definitely anything chicken related.
i use my slow cooker for applesauce but my slow cookers lid is cracked and no longer seals in the juices so i ahve to keep an eye on anything it.
love to slow cook a large pork butt for many uses. soup tamales barbecue casseroles
love to slow cook pumpkin butter and keep my glog warm.
I love to do up a big batch of chili in my crockpot!
My slow cooker is a God send since I work fulltime. Without it our week night meals consist oh things like hotdogs.
pumpkin butter
I’ve never used a slow cooker but I would really, really like one so I won’t need to stay up until the wee hours of the morning slowly cooking my fruit butters on the stove top.
Cooking my ham or doing stuffed peppers. Actually, I use my crock pot for all sorts of things: potatoes, chili, stews, beans, roasts, bread pudding, etc.
Cooking down apple butter and spaghetti sauce for canning, but not together! Yuck!
I love using the slow cooker for making slow-cooked fall apart meat dishes like pot roast and pulled pork.
My favorite use at this time of year is to have two soups: veggie and meat-based, a loaf of fresh baked bread, salad and a houseful of friends. In summertime, it would be to cook down my tomato sauce. 🙂
It’s hard to choose just one favorite use for a crock pot, but it would have to be for making apple butter. No stirring, no burning, just good eating.
The thing I use my slow cooker for most often is reducing stock to near demi glace. But since returning to work full-time, my husband and I have been checking out some of these new models for making week night dinners a little easier.
Still kind of new to slow cooking, but have made several batches of butters this year – apple and peach were both delicious!
I love my slow cooker and use it a lot. Favorites are soups, stews and roasts, whole chicken or turkey breast.
my favorite slow cooker use is still the classic oatmeal application–I love waking up to warm oatmeal!
Pot roasts! Or lentil stew. Or chicken broth (from the bones of a rotisserie chicken and some vegetables).
Like you I have multiple slow cookers, including an older avocado one I got at an estate sale, and I use them for different items. But my big one (not a nice Hamilton one like yours) cooks too hot and I have to watch it carefully.
This being said, my absolute favorite recipes for it are split pea soup (with an Otto’s ham hock, of course ;)) and chicken cacciatore, which I happen to be making tomorrow.
I had to chuckle about how many crock pots you have. I only have 3 but my husband just doesn’t understand why I need so many. Fortunately I have plenty of storage space. One of my go to recipes for a pot luck is crock pot creamy hashbrowns. I use the biggest crockpot that I have and I always go home with no leftovers.
I like making pulled pork in mine, but I have to admit I’m a fan of chicken breasts cooked in it as as well. You just dump them in, frozen and all. I wish I could remember which blog I got it from, because it makes the best cooked chicken for enchiladas, etc.
I am obsessed with pot roast made in the slow cooker! Best dinner ever!
My favorite use is to trek goodies to work for my co-workers to enjoy. Tomorrow for lunch…sausage, peppers and onions.
Cooking beans is my favorite for a slow cooker. I have to admit, a lot of slow cooker recipes almost seem like more work (timing) that they are supposed to. But bean—oo and shredded pork!—are both awesome. “Set it and forget it”-style.
i love slow cookers i use my little round one all the time. this size would be nice when the kids come with the 8 grand kids ty for this give away what a great item
I enjoy using my slow cookers for making soups I can start and forget. Of course they make keeping food warm at parties easy as well.
Cholent cooked Friday night through Saturday afternoon…
Use slow cooker to make beans.
Soup soup soup! I love to throw in the ingredients in the morning, and come home from work to find a hot flavorful meal ready to eat.
My favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is bread pudding with challah bread, lots of cream and fruit jam mixed in. Super yummy!
Smothered steak (round steak in mushroom soup). Man, that gravy is good! 🙂
Bone broth!
I make refried beans in my slow cooker every Thursday, more or less religiously. And I could really use a new slow cooker as my crock is cracked, and that’s not a euphemism!
I mostly use my slow cooker for roasting whole chickens. I always have a freezer full of home raised chickens but never room in the fridge to thaw one. So they go in the slow cooker right from the freezer and they’re fully cooked in about 6 hours. Mine’s pretty basic, just high and low temp settings so I won’t try any apple butter until I win! or buy an upgrade.
Hands down, steel cut oatmeal! I set everything up before I go to bed and there’s a delicious hot breakfast waiting when my hubby gets up EARLY in the morning. Then he flips our current 4 qt to “warm” and it’s at perfect temp for the kids and I to eat a couple hours later.
I use my slow cooker to make spaghetti sauce and taco soup. I’d love to have one with a timer, it seems like my other TNT recipes get dried out or overcooked in my current cooker.
My favorite use is exactly or what its designed to do- start dinner in the morning and come home to an already prepared meal.
Love my silly little $4.00 four-quart generic white crockpot, bought at Black Friday sale four years ago! (Lots of “fours” in that sentence!)
Pot roast with carrots and potatoes is the favorite crock pot meal in our house. There’s nothing better than walking into the house after a long hard day and the aroma of the meal greets you at the door. It’s hot and ready to eat after a quick thickening to the gravy. Yum!
Just started playing with Mexican recipes…I love slow cooker fajitas.
Wow, what a generous giveaway! That locking feature is brilliant. My favorite use of my crockpot is a stew/soup of veges, chicken and broth or V8 juice–just turn it on in the morning and dinner’s ready in the evening.
I like making apple sauce in mine. Might have to try the apple butter recipe.
I enjoy making chicken and dumplings.
My favorite use for the slow cooker is caramelized onions! I can make a big batch and use some and freeze some. Beats standing at the stove stirring them, and I can set the SC outside if I don’t want the onion smell in the house.
I use it weekly to make a big batch of pinto beans/refried beans–but I have the same problem you describe here: for many of my veggie-only recipes, all day–even on “low”–is too high. I need one that can go to “warm” more quickly. I’ll have to look for this model!
my grandmother’s brisket…always comes out perfect and is so easy in a slow cooker.
We use it for everything from warm winter soups to chilli to main dish meals. A working woman’s lifesaver!
Ooo. It has been 34 years since I owned a slow cooker. I think I wore my old harvest gold number right straight out. What a marvel, for a working mom! Stews. Pot roasts. Moroccan Chicken. Applesauce. Every now and then, I find myself poking around, looking for the slow cooker. But, it’s gone. I know it’s gone. No time like the present, though…
Quick chili and for smelling up the house!
Definitely chili. Our current favorite is a posole style with pork. Would love to try the stay and go!
I use mine for fruit butter, thanks to you, and chili. I’ve successfully used my mini-cooker for tapioca pudding.
I like to make overnight cinnamon and spice oatmeal in mine!
Gumbo, chili, pulled pork!
I just made a lovely balsamic roast beef in the slow cooker tonight. It was delish!
Pulled pork is my favorite use of the crockpot for savory dishes. Tender and delicious for sandwiches, tacos or over rice. The (semi-)sweet favorite use is apple butter.
Wow! This is so exciting! The slow cooker of my xmas list dreams! 😉
I also really like to use it for apple butter….that is definitely my favorite, so I love this post! I would like to be able to branch out and try some new things like meats and stews!