This is my go to appliance, as a busy mom that works full time it's a lifesaver. I can throw everything in it in the morning before I leave for work and by the time we get home in the evening we have a hot meal waiting. No fast food, no waiting in line for a table...we can take our time and gather around our own table and spend quality time as a family. Additionally, clean up is a breeze. We just throw everything in the dishwasher. It's even easier if you plan ahead and freeze your crockpot meals. This appliance is the best one in my kitchen! I actually have five different ones in varying sizes. I also give them as gifts whenever I can, weddings, Christmas, birthdays. I love my crockpot. You will not go wrong with a crockpot. I know that I'm at least a third generation crockpot consumer... Grandma had one, mom had one, I have 5, and my kids each have one. You could say we are a family of crockpot lovers! Time to Heat Gets warm quickly and maintains a constant level of heat. This appliance heats evenly and cooks evenly. There are never any undercooked or overlooked foods. Cooking Performance Everything comes out perfectly cooked and the flavors meld together making everything delicious. Ease of Cleaning Wipe the outside and put the crock and lid in the dishwasher....easy peasy. Ease of Use So easy a caveman or even a man can do it! We actually use multiple crockpots during the holidays to cook our side dishes and to keep them warm so we always get a hot hearty meal. Design Love that everything is digital and automatic. This appliance fits perfectly on the counter. It has a permanent home on the counter next to the stove. Durability These things last forever; I've got one older than my kids that are in their 20s.

ToniMorin

USA

I decided to try the Rival Crock-Pot 5-Quart Countdown Slow Cooker, when my old slow cooker bit the dust. In the past, I have always preferred a slow cooker with manual controls rather than an electronic panel, but, so far, I have no complaints. I was also skeptical of the countdown feature, but, so far it has worked perfectly.

gazellle

Knob Noster, MO

this crock pot is a great tool for the kitchen. i like to cook everything from soup to desserts in mine. when i use it to make roast the meat is always tender. i also like how when it is on the warming temp the food doesnt continue to cook it just stays warm until it is ready to eat

MaryGuynn

USA

I love cooking in a slow cooker and have been doing so for many, many years.  I always hated that I couldn't adjust the time or temperature while I was at work and had to leave it on only one setting all day long.  I've used the crock pt many times to cook meals while I'm at work and time it to switch to warm before my food is overcooked.  This makes weekday meals so much less of a challenge when I can come home to a fully cooked and delicious meal.  The lid has a tendency to develop condensation under the handle that is hard to clean and the crock itself has gotten some "wear" that doesn't make it look clean even when I know it is scrubbe down.  I would never switch to a non-programmable crock pot after using this one.  The convenience is second to none.  I've never used the insert that came with the crock pot and I'm not sure that I ever will.  Overall I would recommend this to my friends.

rerunreview

Lexington, KY

For my wedding, I got a small round Crock Pot with cow spots on it. The crock was removable, and it just had the plastic round dial with the settings "hi," "low," and "auto shift." I never used auto shift because what it did was not in the owner's manual. That thing was great, but too small. Some years later, I decided to get a bigger slow cooker. I went with the 6.5 qt and the Crock Pot brand since I had such good luck with the little one. I got the Countdown Slow Cooker. This one has settings for high, low, and keep warm. It also has a timer that can go from 30 min to 20 hours (that seems like a while). It shifts from high or low to keep warm when the timer is up. It also has the removable diswasher safe crock and lid. So, I got all the bells and whistles available at the time. Here's what I use on it: "Low." The "Low" setting is really hot! It's as hot as the "High" setting on the old one. "Keep Warm" is useless unless you need it to keep warm for hours and hours on end. If you cook your food on Low and then shut the crock pot off entirely, it still stays warm for a good 2 1/2 hours on its own. The stainless steel outer part gets pretty hot to the touch, too. I guess the timer could be OK. It's just that since this slow cooker gets so hot, it often has the meal cooked faster than you thought it would, so you need to check it. Since I usually cook meat in there, it's a different time based on weight, so it's hard to guess the right time on the timer. Usually, opening the lid on a slow cooker is not advised, because it can take 15 min for the internal temperature to get back up. You have to check with this one, but since it's so hot it doesn't usually affect the cooking of the food. The crock is dishwasher safe, but too big for most dishwashers. That's OK with me. I like the bigger size. The stainless steel outer part is all gray and dull now and it stains easily. I like the Crock Pot product, but I wasted money on all the cool features that I will never use. A plastic dial with two settings would have been fine. I give it a below average rating for all the useless settings and the fact that low is not low. It isn't a slow cooker anymore. It's a moderately fast cooker.

pitcherday

Ames, IA

I take out a frozen meat, thaw, add a few ingredients, and set the timer. I can set the timer for the day, and when it finishes cooking, it will change to the Warming setting. The outside gets hot, and the inside rarely comes clean when it is washed in the dishwasher unless it is soaked and rinsed first. But, if I handwash it, it gets clean every time!! Very easily!! I love the removable insert too.

JMFalk

College Station, TX

I have one of these and I love it. My favorite thing to do with it is make homemade chili. I love chili and homemade seems to taste so much better than that canned junk. I just put my diced tomatoes, my ground beef, beans if I am in the mood for them, and my spices. It is so easy and it tastes so much better than the store bought stuff. My family loves my homemade chili that I make in my Crock Pot slow cooker. I have a request from my kids at least once a week for it. I also love cooking pot roast in it. It is so simple. Just put your meat and your carrots and potatoes in it and turn it on and in a couple hours you have a pot roast that just peels apart and is so delicious. I love this thing. It makes cooking so easy.

jmmann

Ohio City, OH

Without a doubt, the **Crock-Pot Smart Pot** is one of the best slow cooking models I have had the previledge to use.  Mine came by way of a friend some years ago and has never failed to impress me.  I have managed to make a number of stews with it and have yet to ***over do*** the meal.  I usually place the vegetables in to simmer and slow cook while I prepare the meat.  To start with, I like to rub the meat down with a mixture of salt, black pepper, a touch of garlic powder and accent seasoning salt such as Lawry's (which adds a few more flavors my kitchen doesn't support.  I then inject some worcestershire (such as French's) and butter mix for flavor and moisture.  I usually braize the meat on a grill first to sear in the juices as much as possible.  While on medium heat, I sear the first side about 20 minutes and the second side gets 15 minutes giving it a dark to golden brown coloring.  I then slice the meat into about 1 inch cubes or smaller to allow flavor of the vegetables to cook in.  From this point, I drain the fluid from the vegetables (keep this for later), remove the vegetables and layer in meat then vegetables then meat etc. until the container is near full.  Then take the vegetable juice (I told you to save it) and fill to within about one inch from the top.  Place on Low at eight hours, cover and wait.  The Smart Pot will continue to create moisture, so keep an eye on it when you first try this.  This creates a soft moist stew that can then be seasoned to taste.  Well worth it!

LRL74

Canyon, TX

We got the crockpot as a wedding gift and it's been a lifesaver! After my pregnancies when I was too exhausted to stand in the kitchen and cook dinner I'd throw something in the crockpot in the morning and let it cook all day long. It was nice coming home to the smell of something good cooking! Now that we went from an apartment with just the two of us to a house with two kids, a dog and a cat, things can get pretty busy. Thankfully I can still make something good for my family and still have time to do the laundry and clean without having a messy kitchen to contend with. I have never burned anything in the crockpot and it's an easy cleanup. The glass dish comes out of the metal heating container and you can easily clean the dish and the glass lid. Dry and put it back together and you're done! I would recomend this to anyone who is busy, doesn't like to cook but likes homemade meals, or someone who just doesn't feel like cooking.

vjw85

Liberty, PA

This crock pot is great.  I had an older crock pot & the thing I did not like about it was the ceramic pot was not removable.  The oblong shape allows you to put more food into it & yet see how things are cooking thru the glass lid.  The round crock pots may be deeper, but I like the oblong shape better.  The different times allows you to choose an all day slow cooking for eight hours, or for half the time it could be ready in four hours.  The hinge feature allows you to have the lid on & lock it into place or remove it with a press of a button.  The removeable pot allows for easy cleaning.  They even make bags for liners which makes for even easier cleaning.  It even fits the oblong shape too!  This product has worked well for our family & we use it often.  The only thing that I find hard to deal with is the size & being able to store it.  It is bulky for my counter top & have to leave space for it in my cabinet/pantry.

Mamas2boys

Mannford, OK