IT'S GOOD TO COME HOME TO A HOME COOKED MEAL
Written: Jun 16 '07
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Pros: cooks evenly, is attractive and easy to use and clean
Cons: no cons
The Bottom Line: Large enough to hold a large sized roast or chicken. Cooks evenly. Ceramic pot is attractive enough to be used as serving dish.
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| Donnie013's Full Review: West Bend 84356 6-Quart Slow Cooker |
I needed a new slow cooker - desperately. You see, as we spend so much on the water, cooking is the last thing I want to do when we get home. While my husband washes down the boat, I bring in the gear and the cooler - which then must be cleaned out and washed. Supper? Who has time to cook?
Yes, I do have a smaller slow cooker, but sometimes my small appliance just isn’t big enough. In order to cook a larger item, I wanted a larger appliance.
Wal*Mart had just what I was looking for.
I purchased the WEST BEND 6-QT CROCKERY COOKER.
After using this appliance several times, I feel it’s the perfect size for the roasts I love to make so much. In fact, I stopped putting them in the oven and use only my crockery cooker.
The settings:
Hi - for faster cooking
Lo - for when you know you’ll be out of the house a while
Keep Warm - for those parties when you need to keep your dishes from getting cold.
Here’s the breakdown:
According to the booklet (and me because I’ve done this), when you’re cooking your beef stew, if you’re only going to be away a short while, you’d want to place the temperature on high to cook your food for no more than 6 hours (and no less than 5).
If you’re like me and spend countless hours away (like when I’m on the boat fishing), I set my temperature to low so the cooking process will take between 8 and 10 hours.
When I make my meatballs and sauce for my parties, after cooking the food for 5-1/2 hours, I turn the temperature dial to “Keep Warm” so my guests will never have cold meatballs.
The booklet:
The directions and recipes are right in the booklet that comes with the crockery cooker.
How it works:
By setting your temperature, the slow cooking distributes an even amount of heat to the removable ceramic pot. The higher the temperature, the longer the heating element will maintain the heat before cooling. (The heating element must cool periodically. If it didn’t, the heat could possibly rise to dangerous levels.)
Serving:
The ceramic pot is removable so you can place it on your “hot plate” that you have already positioned on your table. Remember this dish will be hot so you do not want to place it directly on your table.
The pot is attractive enough to be used in this way.
The lid:
The lid is clear glass to enable you to watch your food as you cook it (should you be home - like I’m not) and it also serves to keep your food warm during serving.
The shape:
In order to accommodate those larger roasts, the shape is oval.
How it cleans:
The glass lid and the ceramic pot fit nicely inside the dishwasher and clean perfectly. Of course, should any food get stuck on the sides, you’d want to hand wash it first to be sure you get all the stuck-on food off. But, yes, the pot and lid are dishwasher safe.
Keep in mind that the lid will get hot as your food cooks so if you need to stir your food at any time, please use a potholder to remove the lid.
What kind of utensils can you use:
The booklet tells you to use non-metal utensils. The reason is that your pot is made of ceramic and metal tools might scratch the surface.
According to the booklet, you need only a 120 volt line to use the WEST BEND CROCKERY COOKER. As I said, I don’t need to use my oven as often, now.
Yes, there are precautions.
Never try using your ceramic pot on top of your range. It WILL crack.
Foods will NOT cook on the “Keep Warm” setting.
Allow the entire unit to cool before cleaning.
Look, I don’t need to write down all these precautions. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know enough to be careful and once you read the booklet, you’re good to go!
All I can say is that I absolutely LOVE my WEST BEND CROCKERY COOKER. Now I can have a good home cooked hot meal after a long day of fishing in Charlotte Harbor.
Here’s my favorite beef stew recipe:
2 lbs stew meat
4 large potatoes peeled and quartered.
1 cup diced celery *
1 can corn
1 can string beans
1 can carrots
3 ginger snaps
2 tbls Worchestershire sauce
2 beef bullion cubes
1 cup water
½ cup of flour sprinkled on top of meat
2 med. Sized onions - peeled and sliced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground pepper
1 can beef gravy
Place everything EXCEPT corn, string beans, carrots and gingersnaps in crockpot - in no particular order.
*if you don’t have celery, use 1 tsp of sage.
About 45 minutes before you’re ready to eat, add the corn, string beans, carrots and gingersnaps and gently mix occasionally to be sure the gingersnaps dissolve.
Serve and enjoy!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 34
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Epinions.com ID:
Donnie013
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Margaret Brennan
Location: Punta Gorda Isles, FL
Reviews written: 455
Trusted by: 288 members
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