Two words: slow cooker. Why spend hours standing, boiling and stirring when you can throw bowlfuls of food into one pot, go to class and come home to a gourmet meal? Here are 5 recipe-ridden reasons why a slow cooker is all you need as the weather gets chillier. 

1. Pulled Pork: You’re just 2 ingredients and a few effortless hours away from a Southern classic. Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce to a giant slab of pork and watch the magic happen (how-to here.)

2. Overnight Oatmeal: No time to cook breakfast? No problem. Throw some oats, milk, butter and whatever fix-ins–chocolate chips, nuts, dried fruit–into your crockpot before bed, get those ever-coveted 8 hours of sleep and wake up bright-eyed to a pot of fresh, hot, hearty oatmeal (how-to here.)

slow cooker

Photo by Becky Hughes

3. Mac and Cheese: Pasta, cheese… need I say more? Sure, Easy Mac is a quick-fix for late nights in Bobst, but for true cheesy goodness, see what your good friend the Crock-Pot has to offer (how-to here.)

slow cooker

Photo by Becky Hughes

4. Chocolate Nutella Bread Pudding: If you weren’t drooling at the sound of that alone, consider re-evaluating your priorities (how-to here.)

slow cooker

Photo by Becky Hughes

5. Soup: The possibilities for soup in the slow cooker are endless. Pick a seasonal favorite–pumpkins, squash or potato bases would be perfect for these cheek-biting temps–and toss your ingredients in then enjoy soup for days. (how-to’s here, here and here.)

slow cooker

Photo by Becky Hughes