Slow Cooker Recommendations
- Thread starter kim63
- Start date
Alcoholiday
Full Member
I use the following, use it all the time and never had any problems with it 
Click on the link below to see Cookworks Signature Slow Cooker. (cat no. 4236045) £14.99 * on argos.co.uk
Buy Cookworks Signature Slow Cooker. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .
Click on the link below to see Cookworks Signature Slow Cooker. (cat no. 4236045) £14.99 * on argos.co.uk
Buy Cookworks Signature Slow Cooker. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .
There have been loads of threads about this recently so it's well worth doing a search. There are also many recipes for slow cooking in the recipe folder. I also borrowed books from my local library which gave me lots of useful info on buying and using a slow cooker as well as recipe inspiration.
Google and you'll find lots of useful websites:
Slowcooker recipes - The most delicious free slowcooker recipes
Just Slow Cooking (Crockpot) Recipes - 6,120 slow cooking recipes for you to browse.
A Year of Slow Cooking
In terms of what size of cooker you need. Mine is 3.5l and that will happily feed a family of 4 adults with leftovers to freeze. You can get bigger cookers at 6.5l but then you've got to find somewhere to store it and this will be a BIG one. Also they say that to get the best out of the slow cooker it has to be filled a certain amount - this will obviously be more for the larger cooker so would you want to be cooking on that scale every time you use it?
I'd recommend getting one with a variable temperature control - at least a high and low setting and preferably a warm setting. You can get cookers that automatically switch to warm at the end of the cooking period but these are obviously more expensive. I think this would be a really useful function but maybe one for trading up in the future. But for starting out a basic model will do the job - read the reviews on the Argos website and the cheaper models seem to do the job very well. Oh and if you want to do whole chickens etc then you should try and get an oval shaped one rather than round.
Google and you'll find lots of useful websites:
Slowcooker recipes - The most delicious free slowcooker recipes
Just Slow Cooking (Crockpot) Recipes - 6,120 slow cooking recipes for you to browse.
A Year of Slow Cooking
In terms of what size of cooker you need. Mine is 3.5l and that will happily feed a family of 4 adults with leftovers to freeze. You can get bigger cookers at 6.5l but then you've got to find somewhere to store it and this will be a BIG one. Also they say that to get the best out of the slow cooker it has to be filled a certain amount - this will obviously be more for the larger cooker so would you want to be cooking on that scale every time you use it?
I'd recommend getting one with a variable temperature control - at least a high and low setting and preferably a warm setting. You can get cookers that automatically switch to warm at the end of the cooking period but these are obviously more expensive. I think this would be a really useful function but maybe one for trading up in the future. But for starting out a basic model will do the job - read the reviews on the Argos website and the cheaper models seem to do the job very well. Oh and if you want to do whole chickens etc then you should try and get an oval shaped one rather than round.
biggysmalls
Too big to fail
Some good tips there. I got a Morphy Richards one for Christmas (6 litre, I think)...I saw them in ASDA yesterday in their sale for £20. So far I love mine and I'm looking forward to checking out more recipes (Thanks for those links, Circes). One thing I noticed is that yesterday I made a dish with loads of veg and some chicken drumsticks (which I intended giving to the OH as I don't really eat much meat and if I do, I suppose I would eat breast only, like a lot of people I suppose... it's expensive!) Anyway, the dish was just gorgeous and the chicken was so good - the meat just fell off the bone and I ate it up with my veggies...yumm yum. Love my slow cooker already! But yes, as Circes says...along with the rice cooker (also a great buy) and other bits and bobs, storing it all is a challenge. I covered the box it came in in funky paper and just have it on a shelf in the corner of the dining room. Don't think it would fit in any of my cupboards as they are tiny.
Good luck!
Good luck!
I've got a Morphy Richards one and love it. Nothing really sticks in them anyway like it would in a pan i the oven, so wouldn't be worried about non stick. I just put mine in the sink and fill it with hot water and washing up liquid and give it a quick wipe round, rinse, dry and put back. Never needs a scrub.
The one I have is on offer on Amazon at the moment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Rich...6WH1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294494206&sr=8-1
It is big but great for doing whole chickens, gammon joints etc and you can still do smaller meals and just half fill it.
The one I have is on offer on Amazon at the moment. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Morphy-Rich...6WH1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294494206&sr=8-1
It is big but great for doing whole chickens, gammon joints etc and you can still do smaller meals and just half fill it.
kim63
Gold Member
Thanks for the replies everyone. I actually went out to our local cook shop on friday & bought a Cuisineart for £69.....a little bit more than I would have liked to pay but it matches our kitchen decor LOL!!! Its a 6.5L capacity which I wanted as I like to bulk cook & freeze the remainder as DH works long hours & I do shift work. A butternut squash soup (syn free) is happily cooking away now & I've prepared one of Britmums beef dishes to go on in the morning. Im going to have a nose thru some of the treads here now & get some more recepies
Kim
Kim
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