Slow cooker AKA crock pot

[Guest guest]

I am looking for some guidance to slow cooker cooking.

 

Currently I steam my food, but it would be change to occasionally bake.

If I buy a slow cooker it will have just two settings High and low. Can

a slow cooker be used to bake vegetables in 3 hours? The literature I

have seen refers to a cooking time of 8 hours. I eat my main meal at

mid-day and so only have 3 to 4 hours cooking time.

 

Robin

[Guest guest]

There is some general information on slow cooker settings and cooking

times here: http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blcrocktips.htm

(sorry, it does refer to meat in the article). It does indicate

vegetables (with liquid) can be cooked on LOW in two to four hours. I'm

sure it varies considerably depending on the vegetable(s) and other

ingredients in your recipe -- veggies that cook more quickly on your

stove will cook more quickly in your slow cooker, too.

 

On the other hand, I have very successfully used a regular lamp timer

(the kind used to turn your lamps on and off when you're away) to power

my slow cooker on when I couldn't be there (or when I wanted it to start

when I was asleep, as for steel cut oats for breakfast). So you could

use recipes with longer cook times if you prepare everything before you

go to bed and have it come on while you were still sleeping. Of course

several models of slow cookers come with timers already so you could

look for one of those when you're shopping.

 

I love my slow cookers -- they are especially useful for cooking dry

beans, which I cook in large batches over night and then freeze in

smaller portions.

 

Debbie

 

Robin wrote:

> I eat my main meal at mid-day and so only have 3 to 4 hours cooking time.