[SkinnyDogMom]

I won't use mine when I'm gone either. My best friend dated a firefighter for a long time. He went through my house and unplugged everything that has a heating element except the range. I used to leave all sorts of things plugged in...hair dryer, iron, toaster, coffee pot, etc. They have off switches??? He asked me, how much did you pay for that ____? How much do you think went into the safety mechanisms? How many house fires have I been to that could have been prevented by just unplugging these devices?
He made a convert out of me. Nothing with a heating element stays plugged in anymore. DH sometimes leaves the coffee pot plugged in but I unplug it when I find it that way.

[bukirouge]

Thank you all for the great tips. I'm excited to put them to immediate use!

[scoobie74]

With summer coming, I am going to start using mine a lot more. I have a couple of recipe books just for this. I am excited to try some of the recipes. It will be so much easier getting the food put in it the night before after my son goes to bed and then start it the next morning.

[Sandi]

I really like mine too. We do the chicken breasts, salsa and refried beans for tacos

[SuchAPrettyFace]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

I'm an idiot, too, I guess I prefer to put the stuff in the pot in the evening, cook it overnight (while I'm home to hear if the smoke alarm goes off!), then turn it off in the morning. Then I just turn it on long enough to heat it up when I get home, or we just scoop some out and microwave it since it's already cooked.

Make that another idiot, this ^^^ is what I do.

I don't know that I've ever successfully used bouillion cubes in the slow cooker. I've used onion soup mix in the past with success.

Carrots on bottom
Boneless beef roast on top of them
Cut up potatoes on top of that
Sprinkle 1 envelope of soup mix on potatoes.

Put on lid & cook 8 hours or overnight. Can do this with chicken, too.


Also I have a friend who makes low sodium BBQ sauces & I usually make boneless beef short ribs in the s/c with a mixture of his sauces. Makes the whole house smell great & I have lunches for quite a few days.

[GirlyGirlSebas]

Seawave made an awesome point. Our ovens...even our stovetops...put out a lot of heat and make the air conditioner work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature. Using crockpots, outdoor grills and electric skillets can help save some mullah on the electric bill during the hotter months.

I do use my crockpot to make steelcut oatmeal for the week. Its so much easier than cooking it on the stove top.

[SuchAPrettyFace]

Originally Posted by GirlyGirlSebas

Seawave made an awesome point. Our ovens...even our stovetops...put out a lot of heat and make the air conditioner work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature. Using crockpots, outdoor grills and electric skillets can help save some mullah on the electric bill during the hotter months.

I do use my crockpot to make steelcut oatmeal for the week. Its so much easier than cooking it on the stove top.

Ooooh. Do you have a recipe?