my first slow cooker....

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vacuumfreeeke

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Hey guys. I know some of you are into small appliances as well. I just got my first crock pot. I have a mixer, blender, food processor, stick blender, vacuum sealer, mandoline, pressure cooker... lots of fun kitchen gadgets, but never a "crock pot" until now.

I'd like some information about this specific brand if possible. It was made for K-mart, but I wonder what company actually made it. It's not huge, but it's the perfect size for one person. The thing is that the "crock" is actually glass and not stoneware. I think that's weird, maybe not a good thing, but for free I'm not going to complain! My boyfriend's mother said it was just collecting dust so she gave it to me because she already has another one. It also has a detachable cord. I don't understand the point of that, but it's interesting. There is a little bit of rust on it, but it will not change the way it works, and again for free I'm not going to complain. As with anything, I think the older ones work better than the newer ones anyway.

Anyway, in addition to info on this specific model, what's your favorite thing to do in a slow cooker? Any fun recipes?

Thanks :o)

Vacuumfreeeke++8-11-2009-02-38-21.jpg
 
Just so you know, I love crock-pots and cant get of them.
And This is my favorite one, grandma has one just like yours, but it is the 5 quart one and it has 4 black plastic legs on it so it sets higher than yours, I also love the milk glass liner.
I do believe this is from the late 70's maybe early 80's,
I am not sure who made it, but going by the knob and the glass liner I am assuming it to be from hamilton Beach/Scovill
They made one with the same liner under their name as well as the Sears Counter Craft name too.

As for things to make in the crock pot,
here is a list of some of the things I like to cook in mine:
barbequed ham sandwiches
barbequed beef or pork
cabbage rolls
stuffed peppers
beef stew/chili/soups
roast beef with carrots and onions
pork loin and sauerkraut
kielbalsa and sauerkraut
beef tips in gravy
spaghetti sauce
baked potatoes

really the possibilities are endless, not to mention they are great for taking things to a potluck luncheon at work or to keep food warm on a buffet while entertaining
 
Nice! Have fun with it. Here is a cooking guide that came with mine:

Conventional: 15 to 30 minutes
Low: 4.0 to 6.0 hours
High: 1.5 to 2.0 hours

C: 35 to 45 min.
L: 6 to 10 hrs.
H: 3 to 4 hrs.

C: 50 min. to 3 hours
L: 8 to 18 hours
h: 4 to 6 hrs.

Just reduce your liquids TO about a 1/4 cup and MANY recipes are adaptable.

Beware of placing frozen items in the cooker without a liquid "cushion"; the shock in temps may crack the crock/bowl.

Also don't be raising the lid to peek too often; each incident adds 20+/- minutes of cooking time.

:-)
 
I have two slow-cooker cookbooks---there are many out there. But for a quick, inexpensive dip into the slow-cooker recipe pool, just do a Google search for Crock-Pot or slow-cooker recipes. You'll be inundated with them. Have fun with it!

I'm a bit concerned about leaving cookers on all day while I'm at work, so I do the following:

I set a cooling rack on the counter. I set a rimmed baking sheet on it. Then, I set the slow-cooker on the baking sheet and carefully place the power cord so it doesn't touch the cooker in any way.

It's my little insurance policy against spillovers, leaks or overheating.
 
Slow cooker brand

I agree with xraytec in that this slow cooker was made for Kmart Corporation by Hamilton Beach/Scovill some time in the late '70s or early '80s. Hamilton Beach was a division of Scovill Manufacturing Company and headquartered in Washington, North Carolina from the late '60s until just a few years ago. Scovill, which originally began as a brass foundry in 1803, spun off the Hamilton Beach Division in 1986. It's too bad because the Hamilton Beach brand was a solid line of kitchen appliances. They lasted a long time and were made in the United States. Now the brand is shoddy and unreliable so hold on to this appliance until it dies!
 
crock pots are great for parties and get togethers...I have 9 of them, and place all the hot foods to keep them warm thru the entire event.....

same thing at Thankgiving and Xmas dinner.....used to keep foods hot, like gravies, mashed potatos, and veggies

uses are endless...........
 
as I type this...

Marinara sauce is simmering in California and my homegrown tomato sauce is simmering in Missouri. Tomorrow it will be a full-fledged lasagna! You're going to love it, the possibilities are endless. Let your creative "juices" simmer.
 
Nine? I know what I want nine of.

(Think million US dollars, you pervs!)

Yogi:

NINE?

Have you read the "HOARDERS" thread? :-)

[Ducks and runs]
 
it's not about hoarding....it's about preparing a meal that I don't have to keep a constant eye on....and a few are back-up's if needed, when you can find them at thrift stores for a few dollars, why not?....beats paying full price...

same goes for several mixers of different styles, a few coffeemakers different sizes depending on the crowd, and several food steamers, not unlike having 6 machines hooked up as daily drivers, I like doing wash, just sometimes I don't want it to take all day!...and I have 2 spare sets as a back-up....

you know your gonna need them, and if you have the storage capability....why not?....just keep them in check, and wrapped in plastic to keep them clean and dust free for the next use, a little effort goes a long way....work smarter not harder.........
 
About 10 years ago, when I still had the commute from hell (into Silicon Valley during the dot com boom), I decided I needed to have something slow cooked waiting for me when I got home. I also love chicken, so I got a big oval crockpot just for sticking a whole chicken plus trimmings into (stuff like carrots, onions, potatoes, herbs and spices). This thread prompted me to excavate it from the rear of the cupboard in the patio kitchen. Yep, it's a gen-u-ine Rival Crockpot(R). I forget how many quarts, but it's more than big enough for a full size fryer chicken. Now that it's out, I'm gonna have to buy a fryer chicken (or thaw one out if I still have a frozen one), and give it a whirl. Oh, and sure enough it's Made in the USA. Very simple controls - Off-Low-High. Good enough, as long as one remembers to switch it to low :-).

It's not bad looking. White, with a pattern of english ivy around the base, and a big heavy oval dark green real ceramic crock, with glass lid. About a year after I got it, the electronic control models started appearing, as well as stainless models. But I decided to stick with the simple and now I don't regret it. It would be nice to have a smaller one, as this thing takes up a lot of counter space when it's out.
 
"...It's a genuine Rival Crock Pot."

Sudsmaster, I have the same Crock Pot as you with the English ivy pattern on the base and the dark green crock, except mine is circular with a five-quart capacity. It works well and was one of the last models made in the United States. Now Sunbeam Corporation owns the Crock Pot brand and all models are made in China. I haven't heard if the quality is as good as Rival since it was the product pioneer of the slow cooker.
 
"It's not about hoarding...."

Yogitunes, I like your response about hoarding because I do the same as you. It's like a treasure hunt to search for new or lightly used vintage kitchen appliances from 30 or 40 years ago. Even though I have a newer blender, toaster, and hand mixer, I've acquired a new, usused Osterizer blender from 1973, a Toastmaster two-slice toaster from 1982, a Montgomery Ward (Sunbeam) hand mixer from 1976, and a Sunbeam electric knife from 1973. All are superior to today's junk and reflect the amazing American quality and ingenuity of yesteryear. They're stored in their original boxes in the cupboard in case one of my newer appliances bites the dust. It's also a way to reflect on where we've been as a country and could regain if we only put our minds to it....
 
I was in Costco this afternoon and saw their modern version of the oval Crockpot - stainless steel with electronic membrane controls. Nice, but I had to wonder, what happens if the power goes out momentarily? Will the crock pot just switch off and not came back to its requested program? With a manual dial it would... Anyway, it said it's six quart and it seems the same size as mine, so I figure my old one is six quart as well.

Now I have to go searching through my file cabinet to see if I can find the owner's manual and cookbook for the old crock pot. I bought a couple of chicken fryers and am planning on slow cooking one tomorrow. The other one will go into the freezer for later. I'm wondering if I add all the ingredients, stick the crock in the fridge overnight, then move it to the heater base in the morning, set it on high for an hour, and then switch it to low before I leave for work, if that will be enough.

Oh, and the pond turtle/koi get the gizzards - liver, kidneys, etc. Well, not the neck. That gets frozen and added to the stock pot later. Although I suppose I could just add that to the slow cooker as well.
 
Now....we need some recipes in here to get ours in gear....

I know its HOT outside, and we really don't want a hot meal at dinner....but..these are great machines to prepare a whole meal without heating up the kitchen....and a slow savory roast or chicken may be just what the doctor ordered once in a while....

I like to take chicken thighs, toss them with some garlic and onion powder, maybe a dash of paprika, add some cloves or rosemary, cover in spaghetti sauce, throw in an onion, maybe some mushrooms or green beans too.....cook on low for 8 hours...and there you have it.....one pot meal ready when you get home...does it get any easier than that?

What ideas do you guys have?
 
Ah... being a pack rat has its advantages.

I found the little owner's manual for the oval crockpot. Model 3745, to be exact. 4.5 qts (model 3755 is 5.5 quarts). Still big enough for a chicken.

There's a Chicken with 40 Cloves Garlic recipe that seems like it would work pretty well. I may substitute some potatoes for some of the garlic though. Maybe use some zucchini from the garden as well.

Here's the recipe. I have all the fresh herbs in the garden, except for the parsley...

2 sprigs frsh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh sage
1 (4 pound) whole broiler/fryer chicken
2 stalks celery, cuti inot 3 inch pieces
40 cloves garlic, unpeeled

Put 1 sprig each herb into chicken cavity. Place clenery on bottom of crock pot. Put chicken on top of celery. Add garlic, unpeeled, around chicken. Chop reminaing herbs; sprink herbs and pepper over chicken. Cover, cook on low 8 to 10 hours.

Squeeze roasted garlic out of skins onto toasted French bread slices and spread (I'll probably be putting them over rice or potatoes instead).

The chickens I got are more like 5 lbs, so I may have to reduce the other ingredients (or chop off a few appendages) to make it all fit.
 
Yogi,
I know what you mean needing that many crock pots, I only have 8, I will need to get a new one to keep up with you.
And there have been times when I have used 4 pots at the same time to fix different dinners for the week when I had a day off. I have also had parties on several occasions where I used all 8 of my crock pots and still could have used more.

Here is one of my favorite dinners to fix in my crock pot.

Chicken in Wine:
3 lbs of chicken parts(I use boneless skinless breasts)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter or oleo
1 lg onion sliced thinly
1 can sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup sherry(I usually use Burgandy wine)
1 teaspoon italian seasoning

season chicken with salt and pepper, then lightly brown in butter. when browned place in crock pot. Sautee onions until they start to soften, add to crock pot along with mushrooms. Add wine to crock pot. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
I like to serve this over buttered rice or buttered egg noodles, and serve a tossed salad on the side. This is easy and also nice enough to serve to company
 
Well, I came home to a mouth watering aroma in the patio kitchen - which had wafted out to the outer patio.

The result: Chicken was fall-off-the bone tender. Potatoes done just right. Celery? Well, ok if you like soggy veggies, lol.

The garlic was a bit of a disappointment, though. It had overcooked to the point of getting a bit bitter. I've steamed whole garlic cloves before and they are delicious - actually, sweet. This was not quite the same. OK if you like strong overcooked garlic, not my favorite. Steaming them only takes about 10 minutes, after all.

The reason may be that the total cooking time was 10 hours, on low, including about 1 hour of warm-up on high. Next time I'll omit the warm-up on high and just cook it all on low for the 9 hours or so it takes me to leave home for work and get back after an 8.5 hour day. I'll probably also reduce the garlic amount and add in some other good stew veggies, like carrots, turnips, cabbage, or more potatoes and onions.
 
Well, since dinner I've been burping up bad garlic breath ... lol ... I'm coming to the conclusion that this particular slow cooking exercise has mostly inedible results. The aroma was wonderful, however.

Seems to me I recall not being overly impressed with the results 10 years ago, either. Which is why the thing went to the back of the cupboard after a few attempts.

I might try again... maybe in the winter...
 
Thanks for all the info guys! I've made curried chicken and rice, cinnamon apples, and bbqed beef tips so far. I just bought a roast and there are boiled peanuts going as we speak. It will be so much nicer than making them on the stove and having to constantly add water and salt!

The glass is etched a bit so each time I make something, it stains, but I don't care. It was free and works great so I'm happy with it. I do think a regular stoneware would hold the heat in better than the milk glass (which is tapered and gets smaller at the bottom... odd shape and also no handles so hard to grip).

I'm having fun though!

:o)
 
Visited Target this evening and reviewed all the small appliances (and they are stocking a 1.5 cu ft top loading Haier washing machine, too!).

What caught my eye was a Hamilton Beach digital crockpot, with a temperature probe. You can tell it what temp you want the meat to get to, and then it will switch automatically over to warm once that temp is reached. Seems to me this would be perfect for slow cooking a whole chicken... especially if one can't be around to shut the thing off after six hours or so.

However I wasn't real impressed with the quality on the other digital crockpots there (albeit Rival brand). So I'm not sure how durable the HB unit would be.
 
Hi Yogi. I am with you. I have three crock pots. The latest one is the Kitchenaid 7 1/2 quart model. It is really great! It has an autocook, which if you are in a hurry, starts out fast and then switches to low.

Check the Kitchenaid out, lots of nice features, also the All Clad one.

I also have 6 pressure cookers, coffee pots, a couple of buffet warmers too. Way too many appliances and gadgets to mention here. lol
 
Quick Recipe

Take a boneless pork roast (tenderloin) place in crock pot, add 1 bottle of Jack Daniels barbecue sauce (or any brand for that matter) add a little more water, (rinse the bottle) cover and cook for 8 hours. Then shred the pork and put back in the pot. Serve with soft rolls. Great pulled pork sandwiches.
 
I'm surprised he hasn't mentioned it!

Steve, actually, the last crockpot thread, Luigi included the recipe, but I don't think he remembered where it came form.
 
Well, I caved today and got the 6 qt electronic stainless Crockpot at Costco. It comes with the "Little Dipper", which I could do without, but what the heck. The main thing is it has a timer: 4 and 6 hours on high, and 8 and 10 hours on low, and then it switches automatically to warm. I'm gonna try another chicken tomorrow - not the ghastly 40 cloves of garlic one, but more like traditional potatoes, onions, and carrots. Will probably throw in some sage, rosemary, etc from the garden as well, in the cavity, and maybe a bit of minced garlic.

If it's not much better than the older crockpot, I'll take it back and try one of the fancier ones - with greater timing selection - maybe even the HB with a temp probe at Target.
 
I have my mom's 6 qt. Sears crock pot from the early 1970s (that is as far back as I can remember, it might be older) and it works great. In the mid-1990s I bought a new Hamilton-Beach crock pot (looks identical to the Sears pot but with a different color and pattern on the outside). Customer service had to replace it twice: one of the heating elements broke - 2 times! The third one is still working, but I haven't bought a new one since. I just don't trust modern craftsmanship. If I need another, I'll find an older unit.
 
Well, I unpacked the new 6 qt Crock-Pot and filled it up with a 4.5 lb chicken and veggies this morning. I was a bit surprised - the capacity doesn't seem to be that much more than my old 4.5 qt unit. That's in large part because the lid on the new one is relatively flat, whereas the lid on the old one is highly domed. The high dome allows one to put more veggies under the chicken and still not have the chicken touch the lid. But there is more room on the sides of the crock so that's where I wound up putting the extra veggies.

The recipe is my own, a modification of the old crock pot's booklet recipe. I'm calling it Southwest Chicken... or something like that. Stuffed the inside of the chicken with about six minced hot serrano peppers from the garden, along with sprigs of sage, cilantro, oregano, and sweet marjoram. The veggie mix under and around the chicken included sliced young red potatoes, sliced sweet red onion, six sliced garlic cloves, and a handful of sliced carrots. The slices are more like bite size chunks. After all that was added, on top I put some chunks of fresh beefsteak tomatoes. I figure the acid of the tomatoes will help the potatoes from discoloring and add some bacteriostatic effect while everything is warming up.

I set the control for 8 hours on low.

Here's a shot of the Crockpot Bobload:

sudsmaster++8-22-2009-12-34-23.jpg
 

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