Should I buy a crock pot?

I don't eat meat/poultry/seafood. Can a crock pot help prepare vegetable meals? My meal prep time is oh so limited - work, exercise, dedicated dog care always come first. It would be nice to come home to a pot of soup. All I'd have to do is bring home a baguette and butter to go with it. I have access to wonderful ingredients and I'm a good scullery maid. What do you think?

a Whole Foods Market Customer
  • 2381 views
  • 10 Comments

10 Comments

sexyLAMBCHOPx October 17, 2011
Absoultely, IMHO, a great investment to delicious soups, stews and "stoups" So versitle and coming home to the aroma is priceless!
 
inpatskitchen October 17, 2011
I have a crock pot but don't use it much...I do find that it comes in handy in keeping foods like mashed potatoes warm when preparing a big family dinner
 
drbabs October 17, 2011
Martha Rose Shulman posted some great-sounding vegetarian recipes in the NY Times this weekend:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/hearty-one-dish-vegetarian-meals/?ref=health
 
Earth M. October 17, 2011
A crock pot will enable you to prepare dishes overnight over a low temperature with little risk of burning. There are also crock pots available with two smaller crocks in one unit (with separate controls) which means you could prepare two separate dishes at the same time.
 
wssmom October 16, 2011
Sorry abut the double post I got the chocolate error page after the first one!
 
wssmom October 16, 2011
The coolest thing about a crockpot/slow cooker is that it won't turn veggies into mush after 6-8 hours!They totally retain their form, and I recommend you buy one immediately!
 
wssmom October 16, 2011
The coolest thing about a crockpot/slow cooker is that it will cook veggies for 6-8 hours without them dissolving into mush!! I totally recommend investing in one!
 
susan G. October 16, 2011
There are several cookbooks for vegetarian cooking with a crockpot.
 
JessicaBakes October 16, 2011
I LOVE my crock pot for beans and vegetable soups. If you work during the day or run errands, it's amazing
 
drbabs October 16, 2011
Speaking as someone who doesn't have a crockpot, I think if you're willing to put cook soup ingredients together in the evening, refrigerate them overnight, and reheat the next day, you can certainly have soup without a crockpot. (You'd just have to warm it up on the stove. And isn't soup better the next day anyway?) But that's just my opinion--I know there are those who swear by crockpots.
 
Recommended by Food52