Sponsored Post: Slow Cooking the Easy Way

What is a slow cooker?

You've probably noticed here at Can I get the Recipe? that we've been featuring a slow cooker recipe as one of our weekly recipes since fall. If you don't own a slow cooker and are unfamiliar with them, they are simply a small electrical appliance that allows you to cook food over a low temperature slowly, up to 10 hours.

The Slow Cooker above is a 4 Quart Slow Cooker by Hamilton Beach currently on sale at:

 Amazon.com for ($24.99 USD) and Amazon.ca ($24.96CDN)

Free shipping for orders over $39

What are the benefits of owning one?

There are many reasons to own a slow cooker. You can turn tough, more economical meats into fall off the bone, melt in your mouth dinners. Slow cookers are versatile and allow many different types of recipes to be cooked in them, including vegetarian meals, seafood dishes, dips, desserts, side dishes and more. Many slow cooker recipes allow you to prep the meal the night before or the morning of, enabling you to come home to a fragrant house with dinner ready to be served. And since slow cookers consist of only one dish, clean up after dinner is a breeze as most slow cooker inserts are dishwasher safe.

But what kind of slow cooker does your family need?

For the family that is away from the house all day, programmable slow cookers are a great option. You just prep the meal, set the timer and leave the house. Current deals we have found online include:

• For US and Canadian Readers, The Stay or Go 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker in Stainless Steel by Hamilton Beach which is regular price $71.95 is on sale for $34.95 USD at CSN Stores.com (Free Shipping to USA or Reasonable Rate Shipping to Canada).
• For US readers, this same Hamilton Beach model is also available on sale at Walmart.com for $29.99 USD (Free shipping to a Walmart near you for pickup or $2.97 shipping to your home.

For those families who want to use their slow cooker for a variety of different dishes including appetizers, soups and desserts, slow cookers also come with different size dishes so you can use the appropriate size dish that the recipe calls for. Current deals we have found for you online include:

• For US readers, The Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel 3-in-1 Slow Cooker with 2-, 4-, and 6-Quart Crocks is available  $63.73 USD (Free shipping) through Amazon.com
• For Canadian and US readers, CSN stores online have the same Hamilton Beach model on sale for $69.95 USD (free shipping).

And finally, for families with small children or 2 -3 adults who would prefer a smaller sized slow cooker to fulfill their cooking needs, we've found these current deals online:

• For our US readers, The 3 1/2 Quart Slow Cooker by Crock Pot is currently available for $32.51 USD at Amazon.com (Free Shipping to the continental USA)
• For our Canadian readers, The Proctor Silex 4 Quart Oval Slow Cooker is a steal at $26.99 CDN at Amazon.ca and $17.99 USD at Amazon.com (Free Shipping with orders over $39.00 CDN)

What's cookin' now?
Once you've got your slow cooker, you're going to need some recipes and that means cookbooks! Here are a few we have featured on Can I get the Recipe? and highly recommend:

1,001 Best Slow Cooker Recipes by Sue Spitler is a no nonsense cookbook that covers a wide variety of recipes for all types of meals, desserts included. We like how the recipes are broken down into well-organized chapters and the book even has two chapters dedicated soley to vegetarian recipes. The recipes we've tried (County Style Ribs, Irish Lamb Stew and Nova Scotia Seafood Chowder) have all turned out delicious and we`ve found that most of the recipes aim to be healthy and lower in fat and calories. As a bonus, every recipe has nutritional information, which is very helpful if you are trying to watch what you eat.

You can find it online at Amazon.com ($13.57 USD), Amazon.ca ($16.26 CDN), or Chapters Indigo ($17.12 /$16.26 CDN for irewards members) or visit your favorite local bookstore.

Slow Cooker Comfort Food: 275 Soul Satisfying Recipes by Judith Finlayson is another favorite of Can I get the Recipe? and has also been featured in our kitchen. We've enjoyed the Chicken 'n' Dumplings as well as the Lamb Tangine with Dates and look forward to trying more. Perhaps we'll give the caramelized apple upside-down spice cake a try. Or maybe we'll go for the comfort of the Beef Bourguignon or the East Meets West Pot Roast. We just haven't  been able to decide yet! But what ever it is we choose to cook next, we know the end result will be fabulous!

You can find it online at Amazon.com ($18.96 USD), Amazon.ca ($15.81 CDN), or Chapters Indigo ($19.76/$18.77 CDN for irewards members) or visit your favorite your local bookstore.

Last but not least, we recently received Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever by Diane Phillips and we just can't wait to dive in and start cooking! This huge book is FILLED with over 400 fabulous recipes that are easy to follow and full of hearty, wholesome and nutritious ingredients. We were graciously given permission in an earlier cookbook feature to share three recipes with our readers: Old Fashioned Mac and Cheese,  Old Fashioned Beef Stew with Veggies, and Chicken Tortilla Soup. We hope you had a chance to try them because here at Can I get the Recipe? we plan on test cooking to our hearts content. As well as the above recipes, others on our list to try include Chicken Braised in Cider with Apple and Bacon, Minestrone with Parmigiano-Reggiano, Barbequed Baby Back Ribs, Seafood Jambalaya, Stuffed Chicken Parmigiana, Mexican Hot Chocolate Lava Cake...the list is endless! Really!

You can find it online at Amazon.com ($27.73 USD), Amazon.ca ($25.64 CDN) or Chapters Indigo ($29.95 /$28.45 CDN for irewards members) or visit your favorite your local bookstore.

From us here at Can I get the Recipe? happy slow cooking!