Hot, Healthy, Easy Dinners With Just 10 Minutes Prep – This $19 Crock-Pot Is a Total Game Changer
I prep ingredients in just 10 minutes on my lunch break, and cook on ‘high’ for a fabulous dinner ready in time for hungry mouths at 6pm
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Cucina
Whether you’re passionate about hosting exquisite dinners, experimenting with culinary trends, or perfecting your kitchen's design with timeless elegance and innovative functionality, this newsletter is here to inspire
As a disabled, busy working mom, anything that puts hot, nutritious meals on the table for my family with minimal effort, standing, and cooking is a big winner.
That’s why my trusty Crock-Pot slow cooker, now just $19 at Target, is in constant use and lives permanently on my kitchen countertop. It’s space I am happy to sacrifice in my compact kitchen, and now with the gorgeous vintage green Ponderosa Green available, you don’t even have to hide this kitchen asset out of view.
Why I Love My Crock-Pot Slow Cooker
I can’t think of a more useful kitchen appliance that’s as easy to operate as a Crock-Pot slow cooker. Chuck your ingredients in, add liquid, put the lid on, and cook on low or high. Once ready, switch to 'warm' and enjoy at your leisure. Pictured: Ponderosa Green.
My husband and I both work full-time from home, with my hours being 9-5.30, and my partner working in blasts right up to 9 pm and over the weekend. As I am disabled and struggle to stand up without pain or injury, my Crock-Pot slow cooker, also available at Amazon, and my two best Ninja air fryers are our mealtime saviours.
My Crock-Pot was kindly gifted to me by my mother-in-law, who has had her own for decades. And it’s been in constant use ever since.
I love that the heavy ceramic pot cooks everything so evenly and far more quickly than my old non-stick coated slow cooker bowl, which, I’ll be honest, went in the trash very soon after the Crock-Pot arrived, as the former simply couldn’t compete.
The quality of the Crock-Pot ceramic and sturdy but useful glass lid, as well as solid, simple tech, is what will see yours last for decades.
A quick note: the Crock-Pot model on sale above isn’t the exact model I own (mine’s an older stainless-steel version and a bit bigger at 7.5qt), but the dials, functionality, brand, ceramic inner pot, and glass lid are all the same – this one just comes in a trendy retro green. I’ve used mine for over five years, and it’s been an absolute workhorse, which really speaks to the quality of Crock-Pot slow cookers.
How Easy It Is to Use
The 4.5qt Crock-Pot slow cooker on offer at Target right now, pictured, turns otherwise long-winded cooking sessions into a 10-minute prep and cook activity.
My husband or I will prep ingredients either after we’ve been to the grocery store and freeze in batches for the slow cooker (fully defrost the mix the night before), or the day of cooking from fresh.
It’s as simple as grabbing a recipe online, or a good slow-cooker meals book such as the Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbook, available from Amazon, cutting your ingredients to size, adding them to the pot with liquid and herbs and spices, and turning it on.
I’ve found that even if I fill it to the top of it’s 7.5 quart capacity (the Target one is 4.5), the ‘high’ setting will have my meal ready in around four hours. The low needs around six hours to cook meat through thoroughly.
I usually add root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots from the start, and softer vegetables such as green beans around 60-90 minutes before I want to serve up the meal to preserve its structure.
It only needs one stir midway through cooking, so it’s just about the easiest, low-effort way to cook nutritious hot meals at home, and I will never be without mine, truly.
I usually add aromatics such as saffron just before I am about to serve up, as slow-cooking it can make the scent disappear or dull. I also add more herbs and seasoning, such as cinnamon and lemon juice, at the end, to taste before I serve.
How Easy It Is to Clean
The Crock-Pot ceramic bowl is heavy, but can be hand-washed.
I tend to decant my leftovers into my Silicone Souper Cubes, available at Amazon, and immediately wash the Crock-Pot bowl. It’s a two-minute cleaning job. Otherwise, you can put both the ceramic bowl and the glass lid in the dishwasher.
I use a damp microfiber cloth, available in bulk at Target, with a bit of dish soap on it to wipe the exterior of the slow cooker’s housing. Don’t clean inside as the elements need to stay dry, and there shouldn’t be any mess there anyway.
Dry thoroughly before storing away. Or, if like me, you use it all the time, keep it on your kitchen counter for easy access and use.
What You Can Cook in Your Ceramic Crock-Pot Slow Cooker
It might be simpler to tell you what you can’t cook in it: Frozen meat. For safety, fully defrost the meal before cooking. It’s also not suitable for foods that you want to be crispy, dairy such as yoghurt or cream (add before serving as a garnish otherwise it will curdle during a slow cook), and fish, which will more likely disintegrate during the cooking process.
Before my slow cooker, I spent hours frying, sauteing, and cooking my family’s Persian lamb, chicken and beef stew recipes on the stove. Now, I even skip the browning on the stove (I have found that the taste really doesn’t differ that much, so why make that extra effort?) and chuck it all in my Crock-Pot raw.
Having my Crock-Pot slow cooker has transformed family meal times and saved my husband and me hours of cooking. We now enjoy Iranian food multiple times a week (it used to take 3-6 hours of arduous steps to prepare otherwise) and recipes from all over the world, including pulled pork, chicken fajita mixes, curries, soups, and Italian dishes such as bolognese, with total ease.
With its 4.5-quart capacity, the Crock-Pot, available at Target for just $19 (it’s usually $29.99), is perfectly sized for feeding five people or more, small family meals, batch cooking and base meal prep. For instance, I cook a tomato-based sauce in a large batch, and convert portions to traditional bolognese, chilli, Iranian recipes such as Loobia polo (lamb and green bean stew), or Persian macaroni (the Iranian take on bolognese).
As a disabled mom, having an easy-to-use and reliable slow cooker has opened up my kitchen to me once again. You can also make dense, moist cakes, as well as bread, brownies, cobblers and other items you'd typically bake in an oven.
Best of all, you don’t have to hide it away as it’s cute enough to keep on an open shelf or your countertop.
Hebe Hatton, Head of Interiors for Homes & Gardens, adds, ‘For anything to be out on display in my kitchen, it has to look nice. My kettle lives in a cabinet, and only the chic-looking cookbooks are on the side. So when it comes to bulky appliances that don't easily store away, they need to earn their place on the side by looking aesthetic.
‘This Crock-Pot is one I would proudly leave on the counter if I needed it, the jewel teal green is on trend for 2026, and a simple way to add a nice pop of color to your space.’
What to Shop
All prices were correct at the time of publication.
Usually available in four lovely colors, this compact, colorful, and quality Crock-Pot will become your kitchen’s most-used small appliance. Cook on high or low, and once your meal is ready, switch the dial to 'warm' to eat when you're ready without overcooking.
This is the actual Crock-Pot slow cooker I have, and it’s fabulous. For everyday meals, it’s usually about a quarter full, which is enough to feed four people. At half full, it’s enough for six people; at full capacity, it gives me around 10-12 portions.
Up your slow-cooker game by investing in one with added functionality. Rated our best slow cooker by our trained chefs, this clever appliance allows you to select the type of food, and it automatically determines cooking time. It has 10 settings for versatility, and the bowl and lid are dishwasher-safe.
You need just five ingredients and a slow cooker to get started on your easy-cooking journey. My husband used this book to begin with to slow-cook with confidence, as he was not much of a home cook. Now, he freestyles and delivers delicious meals weekly.
Forget freezing your nutritious batch cooks in plastic food bins that leach BPAs and other toxic chemicals into your food. Freeze in portions in this silicone mold, which is dishwasher safe and also can be used in the oven (without the lid).
If you’re transferring batch cooks or portions of food from your slow cooker to a silicone bag for the fridge or freezer, use this handy rack to hold your bag open and pour in food without mess on the outside.
Next, discover how having one of the best non-toxic air fryers can expand your easy cooking repertoire with fast, crispy, versatile dinners with minimal or no oil.
