Slow cookers - are they worth buying?

[Budcat]

I am having baby number 2 in 10 days and am wondering how I am going to manage to cook 2 dinners at 5.00 and 8.00 every night with a four year old and a small baby to look after (dh does not get home until around 8.00) . Am wondering if a slow cooker will help, particularly when I go back to work. Any advice much appreciated!

i have just bought one today in sale at argos - hoping it is going to tranform me life lol!

I love my slow cooker and it also saves money as you can buy cheaper cuts of meat. Tend to use it for things like stew and brisket. You should be able to pick one up from tesco's for less than £20 and then search the net for recipies.

I have a similar situation. The kids eat at 4.30 ish and then hubby and I eat after they have gone to bed as he is home later. I haven't used my slow cooker as much as I would like but I will be when I get my act together. I would buy a decent book at the same time though as the ones they come with have limited recipes in my experience.

I use mine about twice a week in the winter. You can prepare a casserole the night before and set it cooking in a morning, and it's brill because turned to low will keep stuff warm for your second sitting nicely.

Also remember that you can do not only casseroles but also bolognese/chilli/curry/soup etc etc.

It's much cheaper too than running an oven for 2 to 3 hours to make a casserole.

yes, slow cookers are brilliant for that. I love being able to prepare a meal when I have the time and then eat it whenever and if someone's late home then there's is still OK. You might not want to use it all the time, but it will help on the days you do.

I got a book from the library a while ago explaining even how to do sponge cake and creme caramel in a slow cooker!

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