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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

You can use a crock pot cake tin or an ordinary cake pan or even the crock pot base itself to cook the cake.  I know people who use empty coffee or soup cans.  These are good for fruit cakes and rolls.  I haven't had a bad experience yet so I am either lucky or the crock pot likes baking.

Here are 10 tips for crock pot baking:

1. Preheat the crock pot on high for 10 -1 5 minutes if you are using an ordinary pan.
2. Use several sheets of paper towel on the top of the cake pan and cover with the crock pot lid, except when using the crock pot cake pan.
3. Cook your cakes on the high setting.
4. Don't lift the lid during cooking, only at the end as you let the heat out.
5. Use a rack if you have one in the bottom of the crock pot base and if you haven't one you can use 2 or 3 egg rings as a substitute.  This helps the heat to circulate around the pan for more even cooking.
6. Grease and line the cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
7. Only half fill the cake pan or cut the liner at least an inch above the top of the sides.
8. Use your oval based crock pot for cakes that can be decorated as faces, clocks, footballs etc.
9. Test the cake with a skewer and if cooked let it cook a few minutes before getting turning out.
10. Use prepared cake mixes in the crock pot for an improved taste over conventional cooking.

Enjoy baking in your crock pot especially during the holidays coming up.  This will also save your oven space for other cooking.

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

No items matching your keywords were found.

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.

If you are moving the crock pot such as for a Pot Luck Party then I wouldn't advise  using the cracked crock pot lid at all. The chances are high that the crack will spread or break while moving and others will be using the lid so it's a safety issue.

If you have crock pot with a cracked base then again don't use it.  It's not worth being electrocuted over a meal.  Don't try and mend it either as you aren't guaranteed of a proper seal or the sealer may contaminate the food.

You can find crock pot lid replacements on manufacturers sites, that is, if they are fairly new models, and on eBay.  I think it is a matter of deciding how much you want to spend on replacing your crock pot lid, finding the correct one for your crock pot model, using another lid that fits (easier if it is a round crock pot) or replacing the whole crock pot.

If it is an old crock pot then really think twice but as I own one myself and love it I would try and replace the crock pot lid if I could.

Look for crock pot lids on the eBay auction search on the right--> or go to Crock Pots and Accessories Auction on this site or look at the ones below.

US Auctions Australian Auctions Austrian Auctions Belgian Auctions Canadian Auctions French Auctions German Auctions Indian Auctions Irish Auctions Italian Auctions Dutch Auctions Polish Auctions Spanish Auctions Swiss Auctions UK Auctions

Best Match Time: ending soonest Time: newly listed Price: lowest first Price: highest first Price + Shipping: lowest first Price + Shipping: highest first

Vintage RETRO Rival Crock Pot Slow Cooker - 3 1/2 Quarts - Great RETRO Graphics    US $36.07

West Bend Slo Slow Cooker Clear Dome Glass Server Lid for 4 + 6 Qt Crock NICE!!!    US $14.99

USED VINTAGE RIVAL CROCK POT 3150/1 REMOVABLE SERVER 3 1/2 QTS    US $.99

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.

Looking around, I found that the price of the cookbooks are pretty reasonable with most being between $10-20. It all depends on how big it is, how it is presented such as hard cover or digital version, where you go to buy it and the quality of the contents. There are also sites where you can create, publish and sell your own crock pot cookbook like Lulu.com so that's another good place to investigate if you like writing.

There is a parts and accessories auction here on Crock Pot Meals and if you don't see one you like then go to Amazon.com at last count there was over 188 crock pot cookbooks there.