Flowerlady, My crockpot says "Rival Crockpot - Stoneware slow cooker" on the front of it. It is, I think a 4quart cooker. I've had it for around 15 years and have used it so much that the stoneware finish is wearing off. It takes 6-7 hours on high to cook a frozen roast (5-6 LB). On low it takes 9-10 hours to cook the same. I'm probably not much help since mine is so old. I see them at thrift shops all the time when I go to the city. Maybe you could find an older one like you had before at one of those reuse shops or thrift stores. Good Luck

MeMo

PS. I left a post over at the gallery on your potting area post. I had some questions. Could you stop by there when you have a minute? Thanks!

Mine's a newer Rival 6 quart smart-cook. It has 4 settings and a warm feature. I can't compare it to another, since my mother never used one. I like the way it cooks and a friend turned me on to the plastic slow cooker bags. They keep the pot clean. After a while, I got a little nervous about cancer and heated plastic in direct contact with my food. I switched to lining just the bottom of the cooker with foil to keep the food from sticking to the hot spots. If you don't like the way yours cooks, I like the option of finding one at a thrift shop or on e-bay/craigslist/freecycle.

Good luck
Squirrel Girl

Flowerlady You're right. They don't make them like they used to. But that's the way it all is. Try finding a car made out of real metal!

Happy Easter Flowerlady!! I have several crockpots. We do lots of picnics and large family gatherings often so I use multiples. My all time fav tho is one I got a Menards last Christmas, it has an old fashioned bean pot look...the crock is darn brown and bean shaped. It is a Rival Versaware. They still have them I believe tho no longer at the promotional price. I think they are 40 dollars or so now. But if it broke, I would replace it in a heartbeat. I think I paid 30 for it tho when they first began promoting it. It is also a roaster, and it comes with a roasting rack to raise your meat up for roasting. It has high low and warm settings also. I think it is good quality myself, but we all like diff things, so don't know if you might also. The crock is removable. I found it on Amazon also, the link is below, but I think it is cheaper at Menards if they are still carrying it.

http://www.amazon.com/Rival-SC7500-VersaWare-CrockPot-Stainless/dp/B0001NXTP4

Here is a link that might be useful: crocks

Here is a video on the next model up to mine...it is programable and 1 quart larger I believe. Mine is 5 quart, this video is for the digital 6 quart model. I also bought my daughter one like mine because I liked it so much, and she loves hers equally as much as I do.

No specific brand/model recommendations, but you say the crock lifts out. Can you try putting some crumpled-up aluminum foil underneath so it doesn't cook so hot? I line the bottom of my non-self-cleaning oven with the heavy-duty stuff, no problems in close proximity to the heating element.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5zHTfyHScs

Would help if I really posted the video wouldn't it :)

My DH gave me an All-Clad slow cooker a few years ago. It's a large oval with a removable insert and glass lid. It's easy to program and I like the way it cooks. However, since it was a gift, I didn't do any comparison shopping or research on less expensive types.

Cameron

I have a big oval crockpot too. My Dh bought it for me a couple of years ago, and he is also the only one to use it. LOL! Maybe I will cook something in it today. Thanks for the reminder.

Sierra

I've read that the manufacturers have increased the cooking temperature of slow cookers because of concerns that the food might not be hot enough long enough to really kill bacteria. I don't know if there ever really were any problems of that sort but you know how leery they are about lawsuits.

I have 3 crock pots and use them all the time.Have you all cooked any of the frozen crock pot dinners?I love the pot roast and the chicken and dumplings-well,I like them all.I also cook cornbeef and cabbage,beans.well almost every thing.I like that you can add a small amt. of water,put on the lid and forget it for hrs.I used to put a frozen roast,carrots,onions and potatoes in one every sunday morning before church.Cooked it on hi.When we got home,I had to make the cornbread and what ever else we were having and that was Sunday dinner.Can't get any easier than that.
moonphase
go to freecycle.com in your area.I see them posted alot ,among so many other good things.There were 2 bread maker machines offer last week end.
moonphase

Chintzier, I had to look it up.

I have a Rival, several years old. It cooks fine, when I think about using it. (Out of sight, out of mind.) What I had to do was take a permanent marker and label it OFF, L, H after I misread the teensy letters once and my meal failed to cook when I turned it to what I thought was LOW.

The chintzy thing about mine is the plastic lid. If I ever get to one of those big kitchenware stores again, I'm buying a glass one.

I had no idea they make frozen dinners for the crockpot. I live far from the real world.
Nell

The old ones were heavier and thicker and held in the heat better, so slow-cooking was possible.
When the manufacturers went to cheaper materials to cut their production costs (so they could make more money), they had to raise the cooking temperatures in the new light-weight models because they did not hold in the heat well enough for slow-cooking all day.
It was not for the consumer's benefit that they changed them.
The old ones were real crock pots, nothing fancy, but WERE better quality SLOW cookers.

My mother loved them and my sister. I never did.

~sweetannie4u

Sweetannie, I suspect you are right. Unfortunately. What a shame that quality and efficiency so often lose out to greed.