Slow Cookers

[SaraInCT]

I have one of these sitting in my closet, only used once. I want to try it this weekend for cooking a pot roast. Anyone have any idea of how long I have to cook a 3-5 lb roast? Also, there are multiple temp. settings. How do I know if I want to cook on low or high, or somewhere in the middle. Please excuse my stupidity, I don't cook often. Thanks!

[SirOliversMom]

I put in a bit of water and whatever spices you prefer and then turn it on low for 6 hours to 8 hours.

I've never really timed it, I just toss the roast in the cooker in the morning before I go to work and then serve it up at dinnertime.

[LUVMYGUNNER]

You should have a pamplet that comes with that, it will tell you what to do. I think mine I cook on high for a small amount of time then I put it on med.

[Ruthi]

I put onions and baby carrots on the bottom, add a little water,put seasoned meat in and decide when we are going to eat.8 to 10 hours on low,6 to 8 on medium,or 4 to 6 on high. Pot roast really tastes good this way. Once you see how easy it is you can get crock pot meals in the freezer section at the grocery. We take turns at work cooking for the crowd that way.HTH

[Soonerdogs]

Good luck with your roast. Sounds like the above directions will do the trick. Believe me, it's easy enough even my husband figured out he could do it.:D

[FourOrchards]

I have one of the old slowcookers with only two temps. I usually put roast on bottom...sprinkle with a packet of lipton onion soup mix (dry) cut up carrots, potatoes and onions. Add a 1/2 cup water and set it on low. Cook all day until you are ready to eat. Good luck! :hug2:

You'll have to let us know how it turns out!:D

[SaraInCT]

So, is it safe to leave it on while I'm not at home?

[kpm_tex]

Yep.. I have a flat surface stove top so I usually set mine on there just in the off chance something bubbles out... though nothing ever has.

[LUVMYGUNNER]

I leave mine on when I go to work. I put onions, celery, little red potatoes, carrots and green beans in mine. i season the roast before hand and just add a little water.

[SaraInCT]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Hopefully this one works out. Last time I attempted to make one I was taking it off the stove, stepped backwards (onto Chili), he yelped, I dropped the entire roast, pot and all, onto the floor, and Chili went to town. I mean he was covered in meat and tomatoes (I made an Italian version that time) and gobbling up all he could manage as quick as possible. I've never seen him eat so quickly. At one point he looked up at me, his little face covered in tomato sauce, and I just had to laugh. Needless to say, he went immediately into the bathtub for a good scrubbing. It's hard to say that I wasted a potroast because I got such a good laugh out of the experience it was all worth it. I mean, he was swimming in it!

[Izzyinatizzy]

I cook my roasts the exact same way that Melissa, aka FourOrchards cooks hers. If it wasn't for the fact that I can turn it on and leave it while I'm working, we wouldn't get to eat real food most of the time! I usually leave mine on high, and then get Jamie to turn it on low when he gets home at 4:00. So far, I've never managed to burn ANYTHING that I've cooked in the crock pot, which is unusual for me, I can burn water trying to boil it! As a general rule, the longer you leave your meat in the crock pot, the tenderer it gets, as long as there is enough moisture in there. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

-Ali

[Suzanne R]

I leave mine on when I go to work. I put onions, celery, little red potatoes, carrots and green beans in mine. i season the roast before hand and just add a little water.

Me, too! I "crock it" probably 2-3 times a week or we'd never have decent meals! Instead of water as mentioned above, I add perhaps 1/2 cup of red cooking wine - yummmm! I've never had mine go dry, and I've never burned anything - and now that you can get crockpot liners, you barely have to wipe them out too! They are WONDERFUL!! And it's SOOOOOO easy - and soooooo tender and delicious! I also do a "rotisserie chicken" in my crockpot; tastes better than one on a real rotisserie! (As for time/temp, I normally just have mine on low all day.)

[Lambygyrl]

Suzanne,
can you tell us how you make that, please?! DH would LOVE it. :D

[oscarforevermom]

Suzanne,
can you tell us how you make that, please?! DH would LOVE it. :D

I'll second that!! Sounds wonderful. Please do step by step for us that are just starting out. :thanx:

[baileylover]

Hi I am actually making a pot roast today for dinner in the crock. I put my red potatos or regular potatos, carrots, celery, green pepper, and onion on the bottom. Then I put the Roast on top and I usually put some garlic and onion on the top just to give the meat some flavor. Then I put some salt and pepper over all of it and add about a cup of water. I put it on low and when I get home around 3:30 it is done and I turn it on warm. Hope this helps!

[Suzanne R]

I'll second that!! Sounds wonderful. Please do step by step for us that are just starting out. :thanx:

OK - I'll try to explain. I use a whole chicken (next time I'll try quarters and see if it works). Clean it, season it inside and out as you wish (I often use cajun seasoning in/on mine; lemon-pepper is good, too). I use a 5-quart crockpot for this project, but a 3-quart will probably work for a small chicken.

Roll aluminum foil into balls about 2-3 inches around; I make 4 balls - enough so the chicken can be supported on them and will not drop down onto the "floor" of the crockpot. Place the chicken on top of the foil balls, spray chicken with a little olive oil or pam or butter substitute and slow cook that puppy for about 8 hours on low. (I put the breast portion on the bottom, so the juices drip down onto the breast area and keep it moist - if you put the breast side on top, it will be drier.) Tastes just as good, if not better, than a rotisserie chicken. And with the crockpot liners, no mess! Have fun - and enjoy. Sometimes I cook a few potatoes with it, too, but usually we have salad and a green vegetable and perhaps cottage cheese. Yummmmmmmmmmmm!