All week we’ve been talking about crock pots and about how football season started in my house and how that means little league times three for me. That’s because I have three boys playing little league football this year and a daughter who swims on a swim team. That means every weekday night we are at four different practices at four different places but the times all overlap. I decided that I need to find a good answer to making dinner even though I won’t be home. Otherwise we will end up eating lots of fast food, sandwiches, cereal and hot dogs! Yuck! The need for good healthy but quick dinners made me think I need to start using my crock pot, or slow cooker, again. As we’ve been talking about this I’ve been thinking that it might be time to replace one of my crock pots. It just doesn’t seem to be heating up and cooking food very well. Because I might be crock pot shopping soon, I decided I better start thinking about crock pot buying tips.

When you set out to buy a crock pot there are so many things to consider – basic crock pot buying tips are good to keep in mind. If you ignore these tips, crazy things happen. You may end up owning the cutest purple crock pot that looks fun and adorable. But that fun and adorable purple crock pot won’t cook your food well and you’ll be sad and disappointed. (Reason I need to buy a new crock pot in paragraph #1.) I learned the hard way that all crock pots are not created equal. Here are a few of the crock pot buying tips to keep in mind when you go shopping for your next crock pot.

Manual vs Programmable
This seems like a pretty basic option – but sometimes it can be tricky! If I had listened to this important one of the crock pot buying tips I wouldn’t have my purple crock pot disaster. Manual is pretty easy to figure out – the crock pot has a few basic settings and you have to adjust it and turn it off or on when you want. Programmable is much more complicated. Pay attention to how many different setting it has. Look for features like timers and keep warm settings. Some programmable crock pots will come with probes to help get foods to the correct temperatures. Just because it says it is programmable does not mean there are all of the settings and features you want.

Removable Crock
This one would be a deal breaker for me but I see crock pots with non-removable liners all of the time. I need to be able to wash the crock and really scrub it. If you can’t put the whole thing in the sink, there is no way it will work for me.

Where’s the Lid?
When it comes to crock pots, all lids are not created equal. Once again, if I had listened to this important one of the crock pot buying tips I wouldn’t have my purple crock pot disaster. Lids are either attached or unattached. Attached lids may be held in place with a strap or lock. Some lids are actually permanently attached or attached so strangely that they are too hard to remove. Check the lid before you buy your crockpot.

Size and Shape Matter
Crock pots come in lots of shapes and sizes. Pay attention to the size – a too small or too big crockpot will cause problems with uneven cooking and incorrect cooking times. If you want to fit roasts, hams or chickens or other odd shaped foods into the crock pot, get the appropriate shape. Ovals might work better for some larger items.

Do you have crock pot buying tips that aren’t listed here? Let us know – we love to hear from you!