I am a big Crock Pot person. I literally have a Crock Pot in every size that they make, and I use all of them....all the time. I don't work traditional hours, and it can be so easy to just stop for fast food on the way home from work. So I try really, really hard to have something homemade, ready to eat, so that I won't do that. And by the way, the last thing I want to do is come home and start cooking at 8:00 at night!

The folks at Delish. com have some suggestions for every person who wants to use their slow cooker, but might not know what works, or what doesn't in it. I can tell you that one of the biggest disasters I had was when I put a whole chicken in, left in on for about 8 hours, and came home to all of the bones disintegrated into the broth. Yep, I had to throw it away, but lesson learned.

Here are the ten foods to never put in your slow cooker, and trust me, they know what they are talking about with these! Happy cooking, y'all.

 

  • Dairy Products - yes, they will curdle
  • Cous Cous - gets mushy and unappetizing. Cook separately and add it after
  • Rice - same thing as cous cous
  • Pasta - mushy, loses shape, and possibly disintegrates. Cook separately and add after
  • Boneless Chicken Breasts - extended cooking makes these tough and chewy
  • Raw Meat - sear these first, because it adds so much more flavor
  • Extra Fat - you can always skim it off, but don't add any extra because it won't cook out
  • Delicate vegetables - the kind that will get super soggy with extended cooking time. Asparagus, eggplant, zucchini
  • Seafood -  Mostly becomes a rubbery mess. And it can also shrink down to less than half the original size.(Think shrimp and crawfish) Ugh.
  • Wine - it won't cook out, so the flavor will be completely over powering

 

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