These are some great guidelines to help you along in your cooking.

Meats and Poultry

• Buy meat roosts in the sizes and shapes that properly fit your crock-pot, or you will have to find other ways to cut it so that it will fit.
• Use lean meat cuts for low fat meals, or cut away all of the fat before you cook. Also, remove the skin.
• Brown any ground beef, chicken, lamb, or turkey in a pan/ skillet over a medium heat, so that you give the pastas, chilies, and other sauces a nice flavor and color. If you wish to lower the fat content, do it in a non stick pan or use non stock spray. When you have browned the meat, transfer it into the crock-pot.
• Cook meat (chicken, pork, turkey) that is cubed, for about ten hours, but make sure to check up on it after seven hours to see if it is ready.

Vegetables

• Place thick vegetables like carrots and potatoes at the pots bottom, let them stay there under liquid for enough time to keep everything cooked nicely overall. Then put the meat on top of the vegetables, because the meat will cook faster then the vegetables ( it’s true!) Add in any liquid last
• When you are cutting vegetables, cut them evenly for cooking. Smaller sizes are great.
• Stir frozen vegetables during the last half hour of cooking
• Add tender( peas, etc) and highly flavorful ( cauliflower, broccoli, etc) and green ( spinach, etc) vegetables last during the last thirty minutes of cooking.
• Darken onions, and vegetables beforehand, so that you add some color to the dish, and flavor as well. Use the low fat technique mentioned above

Pasta, rice, and grains

• If you want nice and full rice, use the long grain variety.
• Add in the raw rice and barley at the last hour of cooking. You do not want to let the rice cook for hours, because it will be very sticky and sloppy, basically a mess. For another method, you could cook the rice as you would normally on a pot on the stove, and then add it into the meal during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
• The cooking time for brown rice is about twice that of regular rice.
• Use an extra ½ cup of water for ever ½ of grains.
• Add some pasta to your soups in the last few (last 10) minutes of cooking. For any other dish, cook the pasta as you would normally, and then put it in the pot as soon as it is done, right before you are almost ready to serve the dish.

Dried Beans

• All cooking times vary with different bean types and all the different ingredients that are coked with them. Some types, like baby limas take less time to cook than chick-peas and kidney beans. Remember that as the beans grow, they will expand in volume, in fact the volume of the cooked beans will practically double.
• When you are cooking beans like chick peas or kidney beans, make sure to cook it with about three times the volume of water in a regular pot, for ten minutes. Then drain the beans and then add them to the pot with the other ingredients.
• Make sure to soften beans before you add in sweeteners (like brown sugar, honey, and syrup) or acidic foods (like tomatoes) because these will harden the beans as you cook. So, boil the beans for about ten minutes and then lower the heat. Then cover and let the beans simmer until they become nice and tender. Then throw away the water. You may now add it to the rest of the ingredients in the pot.

Cheese, Milk, And Other Dairy Products

• Add in cheese, yogurt, and cream in dishes, soup, and stews right before you are to serve. Then cook it for just enough time to melt the cheese and to warm the ingredients. It is not a good idea to cook dairy products for a long time with the other ingredients, because the dairy will separate and look curdled.
• If you have to cook the cheese with the other ingredients for a lengthy time, use processed cheese instead, because it does much better with heat.
• Add the milk just before you serve the dish, unless it is a dessert, and you have to cook it in for two to three hours, because the milk will curdle if you cook it for two long.
• If you are to cook for a lengthy time, use evaporated milk, because it will last much longer without curdling. It also makes a nice low fat dish.

Fish

• Add in the shellfish, clams, shrimp, and other such things during the last thirty minutes of cooking. If you let it cook with the other ingredients for too long, it will harden.
• Add in small bits of tough fish like salmon in the last thirty minutes of your cooking. Then cook until it is done. If the fish are done, they will easily flake.
• If you are to cook for a long time, do not use light and delicate fish, such as flounder, because it will not hold nicely.

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These are some amazingly helpful tips when it comes to slow cooking your meals!

• At the end of your cooking, adjust the seasonings. There are some spices that become much more flavorful with longer cooking (such as pepper), however there are others that become diluted and not as powerful (such as basil). There is a good rule that you should follow, add in ground spices and tender herbs at the end and whole spices at the beginning. Before you serve, taste your dish and see if it needs seasoning adjustment!
• For a nice visual touch, garnish your dishes. It will add color and life to your dishes, becomes oftentimes lengthy cooking will give a duller color. You can use several different things for garnish like : crumbled bacon, tomatoes, sour cream, yogurt, ground nutmeg, paprika, lemon wedges, orange wedges, parsley sprigs, cilantro sprigs, cheese, ground nuts, and much more!
• When cooking soups, use smaller amounts of liquid. Before you serve the soup, add more liquid to thin it, by adding broth, water, milk, etc. Then cover it and cook on a high for about thirty minutes.
• You may give your cooking a nice jump start by heating the crock pot on high beforehand
• Try to avoid the temptation of peeking into the crock pot, because the more you lift up the lid, the longer it will take to cook. Try to remove the lid only during the last thirty minutes of your cooking.
• To make the best of your time, have the ingredients ready ahead of time.
• Fill the crock pots to about ¾ of the way full, and make sure to follow the manufactures guide
• If you live at a higher altitude, increase the cooking times as needed.

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When it comes to crockery pots, there are two typical shapes, the round and the rectangular. There are several sizes that range from smaller to larger.

So what makes up the pot? Well at the core of each pot is a ceramic bowl that is surrounded by a metal sheaf. This surrounds the electric heating coils. On the other hand, the rectangular shaped pots have a removable metal bowl sitting on a multi purpose base; this surrounds the heating element that has a temperature dial. Both types have a close fitting glass or plastic lid.

There are several discounts and seasoning savings that you may buy at major stores. It is best to buy one with a removable bowl, even if it is a bit more costly. That way, you can easily clan the crock-pot. You can also put the bowl in the fridge to store meals, and then return it to the crock-pot to reheat. There are ceramic and metal bowls that are available, the ceramic ones can be micro –waved, but the metal ones are broiler safe and stove top safe. That way, you can sauté the ingredients before you put it into the crock-pot, for added flavor.

But the magic of the crock-pot is that cooks can easily put in the ingredients and go off to do as they please. For meats that are cooking for hours on end, a simple stir every now and then will eliminate the possibility of sticking. What more could you ask for? A tasty and tender meal, with no slaving away at the kitchen needed.

The cool thing about these pots is that you are able to do some experimenting, and switch the recipes around to be creative; you will be amazed at what you can do! Experiment with the different bowls and types of pots too!

Expect a large variety of cooking times, and remember that all pots are not the same. The differences between pots can slow down or speed up your cooking by hours. There are many different factors that can affect cooking times however, like how cold the food is at the start, how often the lid is removed, how full the pot is, and how thick the ingredients are. So plan on adjusting some of the recipes and/or lowering or increasing the heat. If you play around, you can do great things!

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The crockery pot is an energy efficient tool that many people use. If you set it on low, it will draw very little energy. In fact, it will draw even less energy than a 100 watt light bulb. This is why many choose to use the crockery pot, because it conserves energy. You can simmer a meal for many hours (were talking as long as 12 hours) and the kitchen will not overheat! It’s amazing! The crackpot is also easily stored and is not heavy or gratuitous.

There are several reasons why you would want to slow cook, if you simmer meat all day long, it will become much softer and tenderer than if you were to cook it quickly. The flavor also intensifies in vegetables and meats. You can also relax more when using a crock-pot, because you won’t have to worry about burning or spoiling your meal, because the temperature will be set low.

However, do not gape too much at these long times I was mentioning. Most meals are cooked in less than thirty minutes in a crock-pot. And more importantly all you have to do is get everything together and toss it into the crock pot, turn it on and you are good to go. Imagine that, toss a few things into the crockery and a few hours later you have a meal! And larger crock pot mean large servings too!

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