Crock Pots What's Old Is New Again

Anyone around during the 1970s remembers crock pots. The new working woman had to hold down a job as well as feed her family and didn't have all day to spend in the kitchen. The idea of having dinner ready when she walked in the door after work was very appealing. No more "mom, I'm hungry, when is dinner doing to be ready?" from her kids.

Millions of American families bought crock pots after they were introduced in 1971. An early slow cooker cookbook, "Crockery Cookery", was a best-seller. In June 1975, it took over the No. 1 spot on the best-seller list from the famous 1970s classic, "The Joy of Sex".

But microwave ovens, another new kitchen appliance introduced to the mass market in the 1970s, became more popular than the crock pot. Convenience foods designed for the microwave lined the shelves of the grocery stores, and a lot of the crock pots went into the storage closet.

In the 21st century, slower cookers have made a comeback. No frozen dinner can match the taste (or aroma) of a homemade meal cooked all day in a crock pot. And consumers are turning away from processed foods with ingredients they can't even identify, looking for more nutrition in their daily meals.

A crock pot is still very convenient for men and women who like to cook, but who have to go out to work every day. A simple pot roast -- no chopping or measuring needed -- can be thrown together in a few minutes on your way out the door. Here's how to do it:

Buy a pot roast or other cut of beef (the cheaper cuts work the best), a box of already chopped mushrooms, a small bag of baby carrots, some fingerling or other small potatoes (this is the only ingredient that might need to be rinsed, if you can't find ready-washed) and canned or frozen pearl onions, and throw them all in the pot. Add your favorite herbs, garlic power or dried garlic, black pepper and a little salt, plus a good splash of water, broth or red wine, and you meal is ready to go.

Cook it on low, and it will be done when you're home from work; cook it on high, and it will be done in about four or five hours, depending on the size of the roast.

You can cook other more elaborate meals in a crock pot too, exploring cuisines from all over the world. Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Chowder sounds good, or how about Asian Scented Chicken in a Pot, or Chicken in Mole Poblano Sauce? Look for recipes that appeal to you by searching for "slow cooker recipe" on the Internet.

Another big advantage to crock pots is that they use only pennies a day in electricity costs. Cooking a roast in your conventional oven can be expensive. The makers of the original "Crock-Pot" (did you know "Crock-Pot", with the capital letters and the hyphen, is a trademark?) say their product uses only 75 watts on low power and 150 watts on high power. On a hot summer's day, a slow cooker has another big advantage: it won't make the kitchen as warm as an oven will.