Kim DeStratisCrock Pots
November 14th 2008 17:51
Almost exactly five years ago I was preparing to be married which included the fun task of registering for gifts. I had never lived alone before and in college when I lived somewhere with a kitchen, I always had roommates; which as everyone who's shared living space knows, means you have hand-me-down and cheap everything. There wasn't a single decent kitchen utensil I owned that hadn't been someone else's before me and I couldn't wait to pick out all the fun and useful things I'd get to use in my new kitchen that was all my own. For the most part we made good decisions, picked quality products and haven't had any problems with the gadgets and appliances we picked. With one exception, the crock pot.
The crock pot was one of the things I was most looking forward to having and using since I have a full time job but also enjoy cooking dinner for us most nights. What an awesome invention, I throw a bunch of food in it in the morning before I leave for work and when I come home, voila! instant dinner. When selecting one to go on my registry I gave little thought to how it would preform figuring they were all more or less alike and just added one to our registry.
What I got, however, was complete junk. I couldn't cook anything for a whole day without coming home to find beef jerky dried to the bottom of the pot. Every drop of water evaporated between the lid and pot while I was at work completely defeating the purpose of the appliance. I tried weighing the lid down, wrapping it in foil and hand towels to try to create a seal, nothing worked. I became so frustrated I insisted I needed a new one with a delay timer so I could turn it on before I left work but it wouldn't actually start cooking until 3 or 4 hours later when I set it to start so the food would be edible when we got home from work. I don't think such a crock pot exists because I've searched for it.
Then a few weekends ago when I was yet again complaining about it my mom said I could have her old one. I was thrilled! I remember as a kid her using it to make goulash or soup and coming home from school smelling dinner and anticipating when my dad would get home so we could eat it. It's probably only 2 1/2 quarts with a brown and orange ceramic base which makes me sure it's been around since the 70's, and a heavy glass lid which keeps the moisture inside the pot and not off into the air.
I've had it for about a week and have already used it once last week and it was heaven, I tossed cubed chicken, still frozen, in with beer, crushed tomatoes, garlic salt and onions. All I had to do was make rice when I got home from work and dinner was done! Every once in a while there is something that reminds me how true it is that "they just don't make 'em like they used to"...
The crock pot was one of the things I was most looking forward to having and using since I have a full time job but also enjoy cooking dinner for us most nights. What an awesome invention, I throw a bunch of food in it in the morning before I leave for work and when I come home, voila! instant dinner. When selecting one to go on my registry I gave little thought to how it would preform figuring they were all more or less alike and just added one to our registry.
What I got, however, was complete junk. I couldn't cook anything for a whole day without coming home to find beef jerky dried to the bottom of the pot. Every drop of water evaporated between the lid and pot while I was at work completely defeating the purpose of the appliance. I tried weighing the lid down, wrapping it in foil and hand towels to try to create a seal, nothing worked. I became so frustrated I insisted I needed a new one with a delay timer so I could turn it on before I left work but it wouldn't actually start cooking until 3 or 4 hours later when I set it to start so the food would be edible when we got home from work. I don't think such a crock pot exists because I've searched for it.
Then a few weekends ago when I was yet again complaining about it my mom said I could have her old one. I was thrilled! I remember as a kid her using it to make goulash or soup and coming home from school smelling dinner and anticipating when my dad would get home so we could eat it. It's probably only 2 1/2 quarts with a brown and orange ceramic base which makes me sure it's been around since the 70's, and a heavy glass lid which keeps the moisture inside the pot and not off into the air.
I've had it for about a week and have already used it once last week and it was heaven, I tossed cubed chicken, still frozen, in with beer, crushed tomatoes, garlic salt and onions. All I had to do was make rice when I got home from work and dinner was done! Every once in a while there is something that reminds me how true it is that "they just don't make 'em like they used to"...
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