My crock pot met a sad end tonight.

fuzzy_dogs_mom

sl2crmeg

I found these liners in the plastic bags aisle at the grocery store that you can use and then just throw away. Reynolds makes them, I think. Has anyone tried them?

Yes!  I love them.  I can't believe I had a roast and a bottle of barbeque sauce in a crock pot and I didn't have to so much as wipe out the inside of the pot. Usually I have to let it soak for awhile then scrub it out. The only problem is that they only come about 4 to a box.

Joyce

Thanks Joyce! I've been meaning to give those a try and keep forgetting to buy them. I have the large oval pot, so I assume it'll work? I use my crockpot all the time and love everything about it except scrubbing it out.

I just thought I'd mention that I cooked some chicken thighs in there recently with just a bottle of good BBQ sauce poured over them and they were awesome. A couple weeks later, I decided to try it with boneless chicken breasts and I kid you not, they were so dried out, we couldn't even eat them .  That's the first failure I've had with my crockpot and I've been using one for many years. I guess there just isn't enough fat in the breasts to keep them moist when cooked for that long.

sheltiemom

what the heck would it be called in FRENCH ?

I'd call it "une mijoteuse" or "une mijoteuse électrique".

I've been eyeing crockpots for several years but those things are big and I do not know where I'd put it when not in use. I've seen one that I am really tempted to buy because it has three pots of different sizes that go on the same base.

Nobody says you have to keep cooking stuff in the kitchen! Put it under your bed,in the laundry room, on a shelf in the living room (put silk flowers in it when you're not using it)...you get the idea!

Here are two "souper" easy recipes that are yuummmmmy:

1.

Round steak, cut into serving size pieces (I have used other cheap cuts of meat for this with equally good results)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet onion soup mix

1/4 c water

Put the meat in the Crock Pot.  Mix the other items together in a bowl and dump over the meat, coating all pieces thoroughly.  Put lid on and turn on LOW.  Walk away.  Come back six hours later to drrrrrroooolingly good dinner! Make rice, pasta or mashed potatoes for the gravy and add a veggie and tossed salad.

2. 

Cut up about 2lbs beef (chuck roast works well for this)

Slice up 1 Cup mushrooms

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet onion soup mix

1/2 C dry red wine (I use cheap burgundy for this) 

Place meat and mushrooms in Crock Pot.  Mix other ingredients together and pour over meat, tossing to coat all pieces.  Turn on LOW and walk away.  WE usually make brown rice to go with this along with broccoli and a salad. Yuuummmy!

Merci beaucoup !  :)

Lorib, those recipes sound great.  Thanks. I don't actually know one cut of meat from another - and I really don't care - so that's why a crock pot works so well for me. I got one for DS #1 because he said he could use one.  I think it was in the neighborhood of about $40 at Wal-Mart (a 6 qt. Rival) and when the cooking time is over it automatically switches to "keep warm."

Joyce

 I keep a box in the RV since we like to crockpot in the RV in the winter and it is so darn difficult to clean big pots in such a small kitchen sink.  Like Joyce said, they actually work great... but it is sad they only come with 4 per box. 

FWIW- I really like a lot of the reynold products. The "reynolds release" is fantastic foil with no sticking... even to gooey cheese lifts off and I NEVER cook a turkey that isn't in a reynolds bag. It decreases the bake time by 1/3 or more and they always come out super moist and have less mess. 

Thank you all for mourning the loss of Crocky 1. Tonight we'll welcome Crocky 2 with a roast and some baked potatoes :)