Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

fuel that adventure

Published on October 17, 2014 • Last updated November 24, 2014 by

Making home cooking simple since 1971.

Crock Pot 4.7 litre count down

In America in 1970, someone came up with a clever idea to cook beans: a glazed brown crock liner was encased in a white steel pot and topped with an aluminium lid to make a simple bean cooker. A little redesigning and in January 1971 the Crock-Pot slow cooker hit the American shelves, revolutionizing the way Americans cooked for their families.

In 2003 the Crock-Pot hit the UK market.

Did you know that? I didn’t know that until recently, when Crock-Pot contacted me. Until then I thought Crock-Pot was the US name for slow cooker, I had no idea it was the original electronic slow cooker and that the brand name was synonymous with the product, much like Hoover (I call our Morphy Richards vacuum a hoover even though it isn’t).

Slow cooking has many advantages: it can be healthy, convenient, cost-effective and more economical, using only a fraction of the electricity a traditional cooker does. It’s particularly good for turning cheaper cuts of meat into tender, mouthwatering dishes, and it’s ideal for busy families and working parents. Ingredients get chopped and dropped into the pot and away you go, only to return at the end of a working day with a steaming hot meal all ready for you to devour.

crock potThis particular model that I was sent to try out, the 4.7 litre count down model, has three settings: high heat, low heat and keep warm. It has a count down timer which lets you know exactly when dinner will be ready, but if you are late it automatically switches to the keep warm setting. It’s a medium sized round bowl which will feed a family of five, and with its stylish piano black finish it looks rather swish on the kitchen counter top. The cord detaches for easy storage and both the bowl and lid are dishwasher safe for easy clean up.

Retailing at £50 it can be purchased through many high street retailers including Argos, John Lewis and Tesco or online at Amazon and Lakeland.

Crock Pot Food WarmerAlso in my Crock-Pot parcel was this adorable little Crock-Pot Food Warmer. Designed for desktop dining this miniature food warmer has a 600 ml bowl, heartily serving one for lunch. Pre-cooked leftovers get placed in the bowl which has a secure travel lid, and the bowl fits snugly in the pot with a lid and carry handle.

It takes 2-3  hours to reheat your leftovers and they’re just as good as when they first came out of the slow cooker! Piping hot soup or stew for lunch!

This handy little food warmer retails at £25.

So, after all of this, what did I think of it? I was late in discovering the wonderful world of slow cookers. I bought one two, maybe three years ago, mostly to cook roasts as my oven is terrible and I was fed up with dried up chewy roasts. The one I bought was larger than this Crock-Pot model, and oval in size, and fit a good sized beef roast, lamb leg or whole chicken quite comfortably with plenty of veg, but I honestly prefer this smaller sized circular one instead, especially with its detachable cord (making for easier storage) and smaller size. It’s not as cumbersome on the counter top either.

Shetland beef and ale slow cooker pie

To test out the Crock-Pot I developed a recipe featuring plenty of local (to me) produce: a Shetland beef and ale slow cooker pie (click here for the recipe). Oh my goodness gracious me it was good! Slow cooking retains the natural flavours of the ingredients and lends itself really well to making stews and the like. I made enough for serve four, enough for my husband and I for two meals. The first night we had the pie and the second night we reheated the leftovers in the food warmer with great success. I can see I will using both of these products frequently in my kitchen!

For inspiration and recipes you can find Crock-Pot UK over on Facebook.

crocktober

Crock-Pot has coined October #Crocktober – a month dedicated to all things slow cooked, and they have offered one of my readers the chance to win both a Crock-Pot 4.7 litre count down slow cooker and a Crock-Pot Food Warmer, worth £75!

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to one Crock-Pot 4.7 litre count down slow cooker and one Crock-Pot Food Warmer, both pictured above RRP £75 enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 7 days of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Crock-Pot. The prize is one Crock-Pot 4.7 litre count down slow cooker and one Crock-Pot Food Warmer, both pictured above RRP £75. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries and any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory!

Closing date is midnight on Monday 24 November 2014 (GMT)  and the winner will be announced that day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to be kept up to date on my recipes, occasional craft tutorials, adventure stories and giveaways then please subscribe to my weekly newsletter; it gets sent out every Monday morning if there is new content. Your email address won’t be passed on to anyone, you will never be spammed and you are free to unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked. Make sure you confirm your subscription or you won’t receive the newsletter – if it hasn’t arrived check your junk mail folder.

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was sent a complimentary Crock-Pot and Food Warmer for review. All opinions expressed are our own. This is not a paid post.

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About Elizabeth Atia

Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  11. Fiona Johnson

    Id do a chicken curry as it would be so tender cooked in this with the flavours enriching the meet due ti the ling cooking process!! Hmm yummy x

    Reply

  24. Lesley Bain

    I love bean-based dishes which lend themselves really well to slow cooking. I’d cook bean stews, chilli etc 🙂 x

    Reply

  60. Tobys proud mummy

    I would love to make a traditional warming lancashire hot pot which is stewing beef with winter veg and potatoes in a thick gravy I think the meat would be so lovely and soft . You serve it with a lovely Crust and red cabbage

    Reply

  97. Karen Laing

    At this time of year it would be comfort foods,casseroles a nd hearty stews,it also looks good and it would look great in my kitchen xx

    Reply

  105. Pam Lawrence

    I would make overnight porridge for hubby all through the winter, so I know he would be going out to work warmed from the inside!

    Reply

  146. Sharon M

    Chocolate and Aero Mint bubbles cake. I tried it in my own slow cooker, and it was ok, but I think it would come out better in a crockpot. I like the Shetland ale in the picture, as that’s where I Live 🙂

    Reply

  149. Lynda Checkley

    Desktop crock is a fantastic idea! Working where I do this would be amazing. Og to the net to check it out. Thanks

    Reply

  178. Alison Walker

    I use my old slow cooker all the time – I would love a new one. Anyone tried a full English breakfast cooked overnight? It’s delicious, easy and so nice to wake up to!

    Reply

  201. Chris Elston

    I have a number of things I’d normally cook, but that beef and ale pie looks incredible so I think I’d have to give that a go first.

    Reply

  254. Christina Brown

    Shepherd’s pie! 🙂 and some really tough pieces of meat because they would come out all beautiful and tender!

    Reply

  270. caroline

    I use my current slow cooker to cook a sausage dish with tomato sauce & hidden veggies that goes well with potatoes or even pasta, so guess it would be that 🙂

    Reply

  295. D Willoughby

    Your Morrocan inspired slow roast lamb recipe would be lovely on a dark winter evening. If only I had a slow cooker to try it in….!

    Reply

  303. Charlotte rawlins

    I love slow cooking! Whole chicken, jambalaya, curry, stew, casseroles, hot pot, rice pudding, cakes, bread! They are amazing 🙂

    Reply

  334. Carly Ann

    Slow cooked steak in ale with carrots and mushrooms! I like to finish it off in the oven with a puff party topping. It might not be the most original but it is COMFORT FOOD AT IT’S BEST!

    Reply

  360. Stephanie Dunmore

    I call it mummy’s jumble. It usually consists of baked beans, chopped tomatoes, stock, vegetables and either meat or pasta. Whatever variation I do the children always say it’s their favourite. Empty plates = happy mummy.

    Reply

  406. Lucy

    I would love to own these items please. So many different things, I could cook in it, stews, pulled pork, to name a few. Thank you

    Reply