Every Day Is Slow Cooker Time!

Updated with even more recipes! We often think of slow cookers for hearty winter soups and stews and then put our pot in the cupboard once the weather turns. I think that when the weather gets hot, slow cookers can be your best friend. Come explore these fabulous slow cooker recipes with me.

 What Do I Love About the Slow Cooker?

• Dump the food in and leave it! You put in your recipe and go. No pot stirring, no burned pans. It’s perfect.
• It doesn’t heat the kitchen. On those hot summer days you can still give a hearty meal to your family without making the house unbearable. Pair that with a salad and you’re set.
• It’s versatile. If you’ve got the time, you can cook anything in it – even eggs.
• The slow cooker will let you take the pantry staples like beans and rice and make something special out of them.

• The process of slow cooking enhances flavor and tenderness of inexpensive meat cuts.
• You can put frozen meat and/or meals in a crock pot without waiting for the food to defrost.
• You can cook big batches of your family’s favorite meals. That means leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
• And ALL that means BIG SAVINGS for your grocery budget.

The crock pot was invented by Irving Naxon, and was called the Naxon Beanery. He was inspired to find a way to create a heating element that surrounded the pot in the same way that an oven would have. Mr Naxon retired in 1971 and sold his business to Rival Manufacturing. They streamlined the design, renamed it the Crock Pot, and the rest is American culinary history. Read the story, written by his daughter, Lenore, here.

Now a days, we call it a slow cooker but no matter what you call it – pot or cooker  – it still does wonders in the kitchen.

What Kind of Slow Cooker Should You Get?

Slow cookers come in all shapes and sizes. I even have several of them at home. One (probably 25 years old by now) is used for hot process soap making. I don’t cook food in it anymore. Another pot is used for smaller batches of beans or mac n cheese and my largest cooker is a seven quart programmable model. The inside pot is removable from the heating element, which makes cleanup easy.

Having a programmable pot isn’t really necessary. If you have a simple on/off model, just plug it into a lighting timer so it will turn off while you are away from home.

If you are new to slow cooking you can even start with a used model from the thrift store until you get the hang of it. Just make sure you verify it works before you take it home.

Here’s a link to the Slow Cookers at Amazon page with all kinds of models to check out.

1216 Slow Cooker Recipes!

Here are 30 slow cooker collections from bloggers across the internet. I challenge you to find the perfect crock pot creation within these 1216 individual recipes. Put your fantastic kitchen appliance, the slow cooker to work!

Eat at Home Cooks – 100 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes

The Thriftiness Miss – 45 Summer Slow Cooker Recipes

Tailor Made Momma – 16 Incredible Crock Pot Recipes

Mitten Full of Savings – 15 Crock Pot Dip Recipes

Crock Pot Ladies – 30 Super Bowl Sunday Crock Pot Recipes

My Natural Family – 20 Breakfast Crock Pot Recipes

Crock Pot Ladies – 54 Crock Pot Ground Beef Recipes

Shape – 9 Healthy Crock Pot Recipes You Need to Try

Trippin With Tara – 30 Slow Cooker Recipes

The Frugal Girls – 15 Recipes in the Free Family Circle Slow Cooker Cookbook

Utah Today’s Mama – 26 Meatless Slow Cooker Recipes

Homemaking Hacks – 25 Slow Cooker Recipes with 3 Ingredients

Grocery Shop for Free – 32 Slow Cooker Recipes

Chef In Training – 50 Slow Cooker Recipes

Le Creme de la Crumb – 60 Slow Cooker Recipes

Six Sisters Stuff – 25 More Slow Cooker Recipes

Divine Health From the Inside Out – 125 Gluten Free Slow Cooker Recipes 

All You – 46 Slow Cooker Family Meals

Rubies and Radishes – 30 Whole Food Friendly Slow Cooker Recipes

The Country Chic Cottage – 60 Slow Cooker Recipe Ideas

Spoonful – 20 Low Fat Slow Cooker Recipes

Oh My Veggies – 50 Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes

The Lemon Bowl – 30 Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Mom On Time Out – 70 Slow Cooker Recipes

Classy Clutter – 101 Slow Cooker Recipes

Graciously Saved – 12 Easy Paleo(ish) Crock Pot Meals

KitchMe – 21 Must Try Chicken Crock Pot Recipes

BuzzFeed – 24 Dump Dinners You Can Make In A Crock Pot

Julie’s Eats & Treats – 25+ Crock Pot Breakfast Recipes

My Natural Family – The 50 Best Clean Eating Crock Pot Recipes

I hope you enjoy this slow cooker recipe collection. Please head on over to my new Pinterest board – Slow Cooker Recipes for even more slow cooker ideas. If you come up with any other collections I need to add to this list, please share a link in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by – do just one more thing to be prepared in the kitchen!