I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, and every now and then while browsing the site I would see a bunch of photos of delicious looking slow cooker (some Americans call them CrockPots) meals. You can cook anything from beef, to fish, to mac and cheese, or even brownies in a slow cooker. Some of the photographs made me drool (I could look at photos of slow cooked barbecued ribs for days!) while others were, honestly, gross (why would anyone want to eat slow cooked broccoli??).
But what appealed to me most of all about slow cookers was how they seemed perfectly designed for Lazy Adults™ like me. The thought that I could put something in the slow cooker, take a nap, watch TV, or even go to work, and return to a perfectly cooked meal was beyond enticing. So when I was walking through Shoprite one day and I saw they actually stocked slow cookers, I made a rare impulse purchase and got one.
I’ve had my slow cooker for a few months now, and admittedly I haven’t been too adventurous in terms of the meals I’ve cooked, but so far I more than love it. It’s really the perfect lazy person’s home appliance. It’s a bit of an investment financially but it definitely pays itself off in terms of time saved and ease of use. If you take your own lunches to work like I do sometimes, it can also really help you meal prep in advance. My slow cooker has a huge basin, so I can make enough food in it to last for almost a whole week of lunches or dinners.
I’m not sure what the exact price of a slow cooker is now since I’ve had mine for a while, but mine was GHS 150 from Shoprite. I’m sure you can also get one at Game, or any other store that sells kitchen appliances.
Because of how easy the slow cooker is to use–you literally just dump all your ingredients in, close the lid and turn it on–you don’t even really have to use a precise recipe (I’m a big fan of freestyling while cooking). As long as you allocate your ingredients proportionally, your meal will likely turn out wonderfully!
I’ve made some really delicious barbecued pork and ribs in my slow cooker, and I even know someone who’s managed to perfect recipes for both making jollof and beans stew in a slow cooker! If you’re interested but not sure where to start, just google “slow cooker recipes” and I guarantee you’ll have more results than you even know what to do with.
Here are some of my favourite recipes, and a couple I’m dying to try:
Mongolian Beef – I made this just this past weekend!
Barbecue Ribs (also works with pork shoulder/pork chops)
