Have you ever wished you could come home after a long day to a hot meal that is ready to serve? Don’t you love it when your house smells good when you walk through the door hungry? If so, you know it’s difficult because life is demanding and time is always a limited resource. What to do? Many people have found success by using slow cooker meals. There are a few things you should know before you buy.
If you’re looking for a slow cooker, the best method to ensure you end up with a new gem that lets you cook the meals you love is by looking for these things:
- Make sure yours has variable temperature settings. If it doesn’t, you’ll likely have poor results. Nobody likes overcooked “insert your favorite meal here.” (Overnight omelets, oatmeal, lasagna, yogurt, stews, chili, pulled pork, taco meat, you name it!)
- Ensure your cooker has the capacity to feed your family, do weekly/ monthly meal prep, or even make freezer meals.
- Any good slow cooker should have redundant safety systems to let you set it and forget it because your time is valuable.
While not necessary, some great bonus features of a fabulous slow cooker are a heat probe to monitor the temperature, locking lid, and timer. Lastly, there are literally hundreds of different options out there, pick one with a color that matches your vision for your cooking space.
Now that you are up to speed on slow cooker selection, you’re ready to leave for the day without worrying what’s for dinner. Simply add ingredients on the way out of the door and come home to your meal ready to serve.
-Janine
Tip: Many slow cooker recipes can be made in advance and frozen in batches. Share your favorite slow cooking recipes and hacks.
