[rduell]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Thanks for the great beginner tips!

So... technically, I'm actually cooking less per week crock potting than trying to cook every night eh? Seems that way to me, and it certainly appeals to the lazy in me.

Yes, if you reuse the leftovers later in the week. I love doing that but with 5 kids it's really rare.

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

So, if I were to cook something, do I keep it only on low? When do you ever use medium or high? What happens if I cook longer than 8-10 hours? Would the food get nasty? 8-10 hours is the ideal time frame right? Or should it be longer?

I would use low if you're going to be gone all day; high if you want it done in 4 or so hours. My crockpot doesn't have a medium. It has low, high, and warm. I've found that each one I've had works a bit differently. My old one had to be on high all day in order to cook thoroughly while the new one almost overcooks on low.

It would depend on what you're cooking on how the food would be after being cooked longer than 8-10 hours. If it's a roast it would be really tender. I like to cook a roast and then shred it and use for barbecued sandwiches. The meat is really tender. Most meat in a crock pot will fall right off the bone if cooked all day.

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

Can you stick something inside the crockpot? Like a smaller metal pot? Mine is kind of big. I think I overdid it, but the tiny crockpots they have in the store looked really cheap. I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about here. Besides, it wasn't terribly expensive to me to get a bigger one, and I wanted to be able to "cook" for my kids when they come over to visit. Most of the time though, it's just for myself, and is there a way to just cook one person portion instead by using a smaller metal pot or something like that inside?

I'll stop rambling now.

I wouldn't use another pot inside. I don't think it would cook well.

I love my crockpot and use it on average at least a couple of time a week. Most of them come with a small recipe book. I also have a cookbook just for crockpots called Fix It and Forget It. It has recipes for everything from soups to main dishes to desserts. It has definitely been worth the money.