Get all of the facts first before you buy your first crock pot. We like choice don’t we, and with crock pots there are plenty to choose from. Know what is the best crock pot for you and your family.

Take into account the following features when choosing your new crock pot:

Brand
The most popular brand is Rival and has the largest selection.  Another popular brand is Hamilton Beach which also has a good selection but there are dozens of brand names out there all trying to convince you they are the best.  Look around and check out the ranges and be familiar with the prices so you get the best crock pot at the best price.

Types
There are simple types of slow cookers that have 2 or 3 settings (high, low, off) and others are smart pot digital crock pots.  With these digital ones you can set the time you want to start cooking, keep warm, or turn off.

There are crock pots in one piece with non removable bowls.  You can also get two pieces with the bowl being able to be taken out to serve the food at the table, to clean, or store the cooked food in the refrigerator. Removable bowls have the advantage with large crock pots that they can be removed easier as they can be heavy.

Sizes
How big is your family and what do you want to cook in it?  You may only need a small crock pot for two or are you cooking for six and need a larger size?  The most popular sizes are 3-4 quarts for small families to a 6-7 quart for large families.

Shapes
Another thing to consider is the shape.  There are two shapes being round and oval.  Round is good for soups and stews and oval is good for cooking larger meats like whole chicken.

Lids
Lids should fit well and the domed ones are the best as they trap the heat and allow it to drip down back into the pot. You can also get a lid which clamps to seal so that it can’t spill when carrying.

Rival was the first crock pot and has the best selection and you probably cant go wrong with them. You can buy them at Department stores or easier still you can shop online at AMAZON.COM .  Buying a new crock should be enjoyable so go have some fun.

I fell in love with reading on the Kindle so I have made my crock pot recipes available in the Kindle format.  Kindles are becoming so popular now being the biggest eReading platform in the world.  Amazon are the number 1 seller online in the world and really they do it so well. They sold over 1 million kindles over the Christmas season.

I have published 6 books so far with 5 of them being crock pot recipes.  They are just little books but packed with great recipes.  I am giving away 5 copies of my kindle format book  15 Mexican Style Crock Pot Recipes to the first 5 people who reply to this post.  All I ask is that you do a quick review of the book on its Amazon page.  If you don't like Mexican food then you can could choose another one of the titles if you wish.

This is an opportunity to get free crock pot recipes to your Kindle, Kindle for PC or a Kindle Reading Ap for your Smartphone or iPad.

If you would like to participate in this giveaway then just click on the 'Leave your Comment' and make sure you put your correct email address so I can send it to you.  I will give you the link to the Amazon page where you can leave an honest review of the book.

OH here is a link to my Author's page -> Amazon Author - Pauline Harding to see all the titles.

I was given a new crock pot by my friend - please see the pic to the left.  To find a toy crock pot must mean that they are considered an ordinary part of the kitchen.

It only has an off-and-on button so it is a basic model    I wonder if you can get a programmable one?  It already has food in it and must be the vegetarian model.  It's fortunate that I like carrots, broccoli and zucchini.

Note though the words on the front though of  'smart home' and I suppose that says it all.  All smart homes should have a crock pot.  The switch does work and the little vegetables move up and down when the switch is on the 'on' position.

My friend has a good sense of humor and I am thankful that I have such a friend.  This is just a bit of fun and life and cooking should be fun.

Most people know that crock pots are an excellent choice for cooking easy and healthy recipes. But did you know that your slow cooker can also be used for a variety of projects besides making edibles?

Your crock pot can be used as an air freshener. It takes only three ingredients: baking soda, essential oil and water, in a slow cooker on the low setting without the lid, and your house will smell noticeably fresher in just a few hours.

Candles are easy to make in the crock pot , and this project makes good use of leftover candles that don’t light anymore. With your slow cooker and old candle wax, heat-proof glass containers and wicks, you can have brand new candles in just a few hours.

Slow cookers make easy and fun Christmas ornaments. First, make a flour and salt-based dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. After baking for a few hours in the crock pot, the ornaments are ready to paint and hang on the tree. This technique can also be used to make beads for stringing.

You can dye yarn or fabric in your crock pot using just hot water, vinegar and dye. Be sure to rinse the dyed fabric or yarn in clear water thoroughly to ensure colorfastness.  Amazon has this great book on Fast, Fun & Easy Fabric Dyeing check it out for more detailed but easy instructions on dyeing.

Everyone loves play dough, and it is simple to make in a slow cooker. With a few ingredients such as flour, corn starch, salt and water, you can have a fresh new batch of  Play Dough in under two hours.

If haven't got a crock pot in your kitchen then NOW is the time to do something about it.

Just a quick note to tell you I have just added a new page that lists an eBay Auction for new, vintage and unusual crock pots as well as parts, accessories and cookbooks. This auction will change so keep checking for what you are looking for.  If you are looking for some rare accessories then you might have to wait awhile.

If you haven't found that lid, recipe book or crock pot cake pan then this is the place to look.

Check it out - click on the link at the top right hand corner of the site or click on this link -> Crock Pots and Parts Auction

You can also get a free Crock Pot Vegetarian Cookbook by signing up to my newsletter...Click on the eBook cover and I will send it right to you.

Just a quick note to all my readers that I am running behind schedule with my Cake and Dessert Recipe Ebook.

A few family problems, health issues and just plain trying to fit everything in at present has made me do a spin out.  I hope to have the eBook finished soon.

I have a great Vegetarian eBook though I can give you now.  Just click on the eBook cover and leave your email address.

I am back on track now and feeling better....now back to work.

Update: Still working on the new eBook and have decided only to give it to those receiving my Newsletter so join now.

Finding crock pot recipes should not be difficult if you are searching online as the internet is so big.  That's what I thought when I was previously looking for quality recipes.  What I found though was a lot of information I had to sort through to find a good recipe or one that was at a standard  that I was looking for.    I like to use items you find in your pantry and avoid if possible using canned goods.  This was a bit of a hit and miss process I found though.

I started to adapt my own standard recipes to crock pot recipes and only looked at quality sites if I had to.  This worked for awhile but then I needed more, and got inspiration from my mother's recipes as well.  Slow cooker recipe eBooks also were not at a very good standard generally as I am sure most of the recipes were not tested and tried.  Printed cookbooks were superior by a long way.

I decided to set up this blog to give you quality, tested crock pot recipes and ideas and I am now in the process of writing my own eBook on cake and dessert crock pot recipes.  I found these recipes the hardest to find online so I decided to write this eBook.  I should be finished the book in the next month.

I have decided to give it away to my readers who are on my email list so if you haven't grabbed the soup recipe eBook featured to the right then do that soon.  You then will be on the list and you will be one of the first people to get the eBook when I release it.  It will only be available for my readers on that list.

I will keep you informed on the release date as it gets closer. Here's to more crock pot meals.

If you are looking for recipes today then go to my CROCK POT RECIPES here on the blog.

There has been many a time when I wanted to bake a cake but I already had the main meal cooking in the oven.  The solution was to use the crock pot and cook the cake in that so that's what I did.  It is really a mini oven and bakes most cakes very well.  Fruit cakes and self topped/iced cakes cook very well in the crock pot.  I am amazed at how well the cakes rise in the crock pot.

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I was recently asked by Anita from a comment on Crock Pot Replacement Parts post whether they could use their crock pot if it had a crack in the lid.  I thought the subject was too important to just answer quickly so I am doing it here now.

The quick answer is yes to the crock pot lid for the short term or as an emergency measure only.  If the crack doesn't go all the way across the lid then what you cold do until you receive a replacement one is to use foil to line the lid on the underside which will also give it a seal so no steam or heat can escape.  Also, if the lid does break you have protection for the food you have just cooked.

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Are you looking for the best crock pot cookbooks? There are several places online and then there are stores where you can buy the right one for you.  A crock pot cook book may have many things other then recipes that will help you with cooking and other matters that have to do with preparing and storing your crock pot meals.

Amazon Books have a variety of crock pot recipe books ranging from just a few dollars.   E-bay also has a range of crock pot cook books that are both new and used. You will nearly always find what you want on the internet.

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