Wish Me Luck!

Is a crock pot the same as a pressure cooker? I'm unsure there is a difference, and so I'm sure you've deduced I am a lousy/novice 'cook'. . I have made roasted veggies in a pressure cooker before and they've turned out good! Of course I slather ketchup on just about everything I cook, so it kind of masks the taste anyway. Ha ha. I hope your dish turns out good! What can really go wrong with rice, broccoli and carrots? Sounds good to me!

Hi Carolbee. Bet your dinner turns out great cook stuff in the crock pot. I use the crock pot all the time always turns out just great. And it is a lot easier to cook in the crock pot. Best advice I can give you for the spices if you never put in more then a 1/4 teaspoon of any spice it won't be too much. I don't use too much salt my husband has a problem with his blood pressure so salt isn't a good thing to use with him. Me on the other hand love the taste of salt and it don't affect me at all thank God! But I only salt my food after it is on my plate. Good luck with your pot luck dinner! It is a good thing to try new things. I like to bake my meats in the oven with different kinds of dressings on them they turn out great!

you know what? we got one for a wedding present (this october will be our 25th wedding anniversary) and we never used it however, my co-worker loves hers (she has been married for 3 years! i may to use it some day lol! hope you will tell us how it worked out!

I love using the crock pot. Sometimes in the morning before I leave for work I'll stick in part of a pork loin and potatoes and carrots.....when I get home its almost done and I can have a decent meal without alot of hassel. I don't like messing up my kitchen just for me....and it's a more nutricious meal. Good luck...hope it turns out wonderful!

Wishing you luck!!! You'll be just fine!!! Only one suggestion...be careful with the salt!!! My rule of thumb is to follow the recipe exactly for the first try & then play with it to mold it to my liking on the subsequent tries!!! Oops, just thought of a second suggestion...careful with the liquids as they tend to grow while cooking. You will think you don't have enough liquid & add more. The next thing you know, the liquid will be running out of the pot. So, I repeat, follow the exact recipe the first time & play with it later. Now, I don't even use a recipe; I choose a meat of choice a soup flavor of choice & then I start tossing in veggies, mushrooms, onions to taste. I love okra, so I often add a hand full or two of okra because I like the flavor & it also works as a thickening agent. I add pasta one time, rice the next & potatoes the next. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised as to how good a meal you come up with!!! I remember my first one. I cooked nothing but crockpot meals for the next 2 weeks because it was soooo freakin convenient to have my meals pre-prepared!!!. Then I made none for a long time as I had crockpot overload!!! One last suggestion...they sell crockpot liners at Walmart & grocery stores. They aren't very expensive, but are well worth it when it comes time to clean up!!! They are soooo good if you don't break it with the spoon that you can just lift & toss followed by a quick swipe of the dish cloth. Anyway...GOOD LUCK!!!

I’ve always had good luck with doing crock pot meals Carolbee. I like to boil chicken and then take it off the bone and put it in the crock pot with a bottle of barbecue sauce. I let it cook down a good bit and then have it on hamburger buns. I do the same with pork… I bake a pork roast and then pull it and bbq it in the crock pot. Yummy!

Older than dirt?! I think not!

We've never had a total disaster from the crock - the only problem is that the roomie is a "bit" too generous with hot (black pepper, ginger) for my liking. Tho yesterday she made a pot of soup that had too much celery for my taste too - I really don't like celery...

You'll do ok. I love the crock pot I can put the beans and some ham hocks and set it on low and it is just right for supper that night. Or a Pork Butt makes a great meal cut up some veggies and add a cup and half of broth, cook on low for about 8 hours.

How did it turn out? I've had some disasters too usually involving the meal being nothing but over cooked mush and maybe even burnt to the sides. You figure out in time what works well for you. I will say some recipes though you require you to home a portion of the day as many things cook at different rates. Like you said you put in rice, well if you have instant rice that will be done before the rest so you'd need to use long grain instead.

Well, I have to say that the combination of chicken, broccoli and carrots in the crock pot sounds like something that I would really like to eat. One of my favorite things about using the crockpot is that I can just throw the ingredients together and turn it on and then I really don't have to worry about our meal too much except for feeding the family. I've been lucky because I've never had a bad experience with my crockpot.

I dont know what crockpot is but I know that feeling ..you want to make something and are not sure if you will succeed..worse...it is to be cooked for somebody else..and worst..it turns out to be rotten and the other person eats it silently..yuck..I've not yet replaced salt with sugar but if a dish turns out to be bad it feels pretty much the same. :)

I have never made one of them either in my life. Just reading the hints above has made me feel more educated before I go and try it. I will try to remember all the helpful tips. Sorry if I can't help you more, but I can offer you some encouragement and also say that if you first don't succeed, try try again. I'm sure you will make a great recipe with it though. How did it turn out? What did you make?

I have never made a crockpot meal in my life but I definitely want to try it some day. Your crockpot meal of chichken, broccoli with carrots and rice seems and sounds like a nice combination and tasty meal.

Good Luck! I've never made a crockpot meal either, but I think it can be pretty easy if not a bit of a 'waiting game'. I hate to wait, but I know meals from the crockpot come out delicious! There's even cakes and stuff that can be made in a crockpot, the recipes are endless.

Hahaha, I don't even know what is a crock pot Reading the above comments and trying to figure what is a crock pot and how to cook with it. Sound very interesting. I guess it is something like slow cooker make from claypot. Am I right or wrong? In Malaysia (mostly Chinese) we will use slow cooker to boil soup, make dessert/sweet paste, porridge, rice with meat etc. We will put all the ingredients in and put on slow, we can let it overnight or we can always on in the morning and by the time evening, it is ready for dinner. The meat will be tender and fragrant too!