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Christmas Gift Ideas: Slow Cookers

Posted by tricia on 11.11.09 | 2 Comments Short Link: http://onceamonthmom.com/?p=4520  Print This Post

Slow cookers are another appliance that we use each and every month in our Once A Month Mom menus. Really, I don’t know how I would survive without mine. And did I mention I am the proud owner of three of them now? I am. And I use ever last one of them.

You really can’t do a Once A Month Mom cooking day without one (or let’s face it two, three or four). However, you don’t necessarily have to personally own more than one, you can always borrow from friends for the day.

At any rate, last month at the Once A Month Mom Tweet-Up Hamilton-Beach sent us one for participants to review. I made a buffalo chicken dip that was served in it so that participants could see some of it’s functionality. In addition, I have taken some additional pictures and video because I love, love, love this slow cooker. And one of it’s best features? It isn’t that expensive! Take a look for yourselves.

Hamilton Beach 6 Quart Set N’ Forget Programmable Slow Cooker

Here is Emily talking about the slow cooker at the event. Turns out she just purchased one for herself and her family:

Key Features:

• 3 choices for easy, automatic, cooking
• Thermometer probe for meat
• Clip-on spoon
• Clip-tight gasket lid
• Easy, automatic cooking
• Full-grip handles
• Power interrupt protection

Participant Reviews:

We asked participants to rate the product based on the following factors: value, ease of use and recommend-ability on a 5 point scale (1 being “hate it”, 5 being “love it”). Here are the averages:

• Value – 4.80
• Ease of Use – 4.70
• Recommend-ability – 4.65
• Overall Rating – 4.72

Where to Get One (Prices listed as of 11/9/09):

• Amazon.com -$48.26 + free shipping
• Bed, Bath & Beyond -$49.99
  • Use U Promise to get 2% rebate on your purchase.
• Target – $52.49
  • Use Mr. Rebates or Ebates to get 4% back on your online purchase

One of my favorite new tricks to speeding up my Once A Month Mom cooking days is to brown the ground beef in the slow cooker over night. This slow cooker is perfect for that! It has a meat thermometer and you can use the probe setting to program the slow cooker to be done when your meat hits a certain temperature. Once it has reached that temperature the slow cooker switches to warm. This means that I can leave my meat over night and not worry about whether I programmed it to cook long enough or too long. It is great!

Disclosure: I was provided with this slow cooker for reviewing during the event. The ratings of the slow cooker are that of the participants of the event, not mine. The written review is my opinion of the slow cooker after having used it in my own kitchen.