Your grandmother may not be the most “with the times” person you know, but when it comes to her kitchen, ain’t nobody tellin’ her how to run the show. You best bet that your grandma is using a slow cooker in that heavenly place she calls her kitchen, and here’s why you should too.
1. They make it look like you can cook meat
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Whether you’re making pulled pork, pork tenderloin, ribs, or just some chicken, it’s pretty damn hard to mess up using a slow cooker. It comes out tender and perfect every time, and makes you look like you actually have your sh*t together in the kitchen.
2. They let you be both lazy and productive
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If you’re like me, by the time you get home after class and whatnot, you’re really not in the mood to cook. Typically, I end up just throwing together something small that is probably not large enough to be anyone’s dinner. Luckily, I can throw some chicken and a little sauce in a slow cooker in the morning, and not only do you have food ready to eat when you get home, but your house also smells lovely.
3. They’re super easy to clean
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After you’ve eaten your delicious food, you only have one thing to clean, and since foods you cook in a slow cooker are cooked in a sauce, nothing really sticks to the sides or bottom of it. You can just throw it in the dishwasher if you’re not about that hand washing life. Plus, since everything is contained in one unit, you keep the rest of your kitchen clean.
4. You can make a ton of different kinds of meals
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You can cook typical things like soups, stews, baked potatoes, chicken wings, oatmeal, eggplant parmesan, and dips, but you can also make atypical things like apple butter, brownies, hot chocolate, oatmeal, cupcakes, and french toast. You can pretty much cook or bake anything you set your mind to.
5. They’re super easy to use
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It only has one button. Just put your food in, put on the lid, then select which level you want to cook on. Typically slow cookers have four levels, and you can set the timer for how long you want your food to cook.
6. They’re relatively cheap
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You can get a name-brand four-quart slow cooker for around $20, which is a great size for single use, but is also capable of cooking for a large group.
7. It leaves room for leftovers
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No matter what you cook, you can make a little extra to save and eat throughout the week. All week, you can put the leftovers over rice with veggies, in tacos, sandwiches, over a salad, or you can just eat it straight up.
8. They’re dorm friendly
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While there are a lot of appliances that you can’t have in a dorm, a slow cooker isn’t one of them (not at the University of Alabama, at least). Since they have an auto shut-off feature, your RA won’t get mad at you.
If you don’t feel like dropping the $19.99 to get yourself one of these, just mention them to your grandma in passing. If she’s your typical granny, she’ll very likely send a care package containing one in less than a week.