Crockpot Question

*SheHasMyHeart*

I would love to cook some things in the crockpot for dinner but I am gone for 12-13 hours a day.  I leave at 6 in the morning and do not get home until 5:30.  Most recipes and things that I find to cook reccommend cooking 8 hrs on low.  Therefore I have not made anything for fear of cooking it too death.  What do you recommend and do you have any recipes that will work for me?

exhausted_bride

Does it have a timer? Ours turns off but stays warm. You could test it out on one of your days off. If I was worried about overcooking I would figure out how much extra water I had to add, it soaks it right up and keeps everything moist.

userdeleted

There are some crockpots that have a "warming" option. You set the timer for cooking, and when it's done it just stays warm enough to keep the food hot. You may want to try that out

msabol2077

I usually just cook chicken (breasts or whole chicken) with some type of gravy, meatballs, or chilli in there. I usually cook the sides seperate never in there.  I am not gone for that long tho. Why don't you just try it on low and if it is to well done then don't do it again. Its worth a shot.

houndbaby

My crock pot has a time you set for cooking, then it switches to keep warm when the timer goes off

jwiatrek

I too am gone 12-13 hours a day. I have a crockpot that turns to warm after the meal is done cooking (according to the time I set).  I works awesome for Roast!!  I get a roast with decent marbling, a packet of Lipton onion soup mix, carrots, onion, seasonings (salt, pepper, season salt, garlic powder), 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and about a half can of water.  I set it to cook for 8 hours and it is GREAT when I get home.  Absolutely delicious!!!  It is also nice to walk in to a house that smells like a home cooked meal.  Very fast.  I have done chicken breasts that same way, but I would probably set them to cook for only about 5 hours.

 Also, I haven't seen them, but I have heard that there are timers that you plug into the outlet and if you found that you could probably set any crockpot to start cooking when you wanted to, maybe around 10:00am or so.

 

LoriFalce

The 8 hours is really the minimum. I've never had issues cooking longer than that.

When I put a roast or chicken in the crockpot, I often do it right after dinner, and we have it for lunch the next day, so it's there for, oh, 16-plus hours. Tender and delicious.

KamiSuzanne

If you do something like a roast or pulled pork I think it would be fine if you left it in that long, just add a little bit of water or coke  or BBQ sauce