Rival Crock Pot - Smart Pot 6-quart 38601 Review

Rival Crock Pot- Smart Pot 6-quart 38601

 I am a huge fan of crock pot cooking as I am a busy mom of 2 and work outside the home.  Crock pot cooking saves me on the days that I need a home cooked meal ready when I get home in the evenings too tired to start from scratch.

I received my first Rival Smart Pot as a gift and I was very excited as it was programable with time and temperature settings.  I had to throw away my first meal that I had made in it as I set it on the 8 hour setting and left for work.. when I returned 8 hours later my roast was burned to a crisp.  Not only was there no dinner, but it took a very long time to clean the charred remains.  I gave it another shot and this time, used it on a weekend and watched it.  To my dismay (but explained the roast debacle above), the food was boiling after only 2 hours on the low-8 hour setting.   I had to turn it to warm and switch back and forth to make sure the food cooked, but didn't burn again.  What a nightmare.  Totally defeats the purpose of slow cooking.

 So, not wanting to give up, I purchased a more "basic" Rival Crock Pot.. the model that only has low, medium, and high temp settings.  I thought perhaps the "fancier" models could be the problem.  No such luck.  Same issues with the "basic" model only I saved about $20 on the price to babysit the crock pot and mess with the temperature settings.

 Please beware of the Rival brands of Crock Pots.. if you are like me and need a crock pot to SLOW cook while you are away, please invest in another make and model.  I promise you will not regret it.