Crock-Pot - Crockpot 7 qt. Programmable Slow Cooker with Locking Lid and Little Dipper - Mushroom

Great size and great price! Needed this to replace our old one. The Little Dipper pot works great too!

I really like the versatility and convenience of a Crockpot. Easy to cook meals like a roast, ham, chili or sides like green beans are even easier than before, with the new 7 quart Crockpot that offers a digital button format. The settings are: High for 4/6 hrs cooking and Low 8/10 hrs keeping things warm. The buttons are located on the front of the Crockpot and are easy to see and push. Not to be out done by features, but the Crockpot comes in a designer “mushroom” color that blends in with your kitchen. I put in some green beans with real bacon bits to cook for a meal. Of course I had to plan ahead to make sure the green beans would get fully cooked. I digitally selected the high setting for 4 hours on high. I didn’t have to cook all of 4 hours because they were ready ahead of schedule and it worked out great. Warmed up with no mess or fuss, the green beans were tasty especially with the real bacon bits. Once the Crockpot was cooled I pulled out the inner stoneware, and easily cleaned it in the sink. It was not difficult as nothing stuck to the sides or bottom. It is moderately heavy but that is completely in line with the other Crockpot products. The Crockpot inner stoneware pot is also dishwasher safe, or you could use Crockpot liners. The liners fit inside the stoneware pot and the only cleanup is throwing the liner out! What ever way you decide to clean the Crockpot, it will be no fuss and ready for your next meal. A real nice amenity of this particular Crockpot is the easy to do lockable lid (lid is made of tempered glass and is lightweight but plenty sturdy). How many times have you made Crockpot meals, especially during the holidays, and had to transport it to friends/family’s place. I have had to hold the Crockpot lid carefully so the contents would not spill out. Those days are now gone with the new rubber sealing locking lid. A clamp on each side secures the fit and locks the lid into place. Whenever you go to move the Crockpot, always use mitts if not the handles, or wait for it to cool off. Otherwise, touching the outside could cause you to burn your hands or even drop it. Also included with the 7 quart Crockpot is a “Littte Dipper”! It warms and holds 16 oz to almost melting cheese or chocolate, kind of like a fondue but not quite as hot. It is not a cooker but a warmer. It is important not to put in anything that has not been cooked properly. I decided to make some cheese with salsa. I poured a fare amount of salsa added shredded cheese. Wow! It surprised me how quickly it warmed up, but after an hour the salsa and cheese were not melted, rather they were warmed up. When it cooled off for cleaning, I put a warm watered paper towel in the “Little Dipper” and simply wiped it clean. But just remember, the “Little Dipper” is a warming appliance not one that cooks. It is a nice little addition of the same “mushroom” color and takes up very little space. There really wasn’t much downside or negative things to say about this Crockpot. I did think the cord was short. You will need to be near an outlet to plug in the Crockpot. Also keep the Crockpot 6 inches on all sides about 6 inches from the wall or whatever it may be near. The other thing I noticed is that this appliance heats up fast! Move it around to where you want it before you turn it on. Crockpots have been around for years and years and are easy to use. This Crockpot is great because it has the updated features like: locking lid, dishwasher safe inner stoneware, programmable buttons and a “Little Dipper!”

Aluminum base bent upon opening box regardless of large foam square packaging, base doesnt allow settling to bottom electrical connection, rust spots on alum area, seemed to be sitting in warehouse in humidity,unfortunately purchased as 3rd Party merchant on 21 Dec, & didn't open package til Jan, LOST all $$ on this item & CANNOT be returned. BB's AI customer response useless.

PROS: * 7 quart size for parties/guests * Easy to clean * Included food/sauce warmer * Lighter than my old crockpot CONS: * No digital timer * Food/sauce warmer is hand wash only == Usage == The larger size is really great for bigger families or if you’re inviting guests over. Despite its size, it’s not as heavy as I was expecting, which is nice for getting the crockpot in/out of storage. This particular crockpot does NOT included a digital timer, but rather has two time buttons for HIGH temp and two time buttons for LOW temp cooking. I’m fine with this since I can just use my phone’s virtual assistant to set a specific timer, but I certainly would have preferred a digital timer. Just put in your ingredients, set the higher time than needed (and set a timer using your phone or a traditional kitchen timer), and then just go about your day. == Cleaning == I am so happy that both the removable cooking stoneware AND the lid are dishwasher safe! The less items I need to wash by hand ONLY, the better. Unfortunately, the included food/sauce warmer needs to be hand washed, but I’m not that upset due to its small size and that I won’t be using it every time I use the crockpot. == Bottom Line == In my opinion, if you have a kitchen, you should try to have a crockpot. There are so many recipients that are just flat-out BETTER if they’re slow-cooked. This is a simple to use (and super simple to clean) crockpot, and I recommend checking it out.

I really like the capacity and the design of this model. Family size meals are no problem with this crock pot and the locking lid is a great feature. So far we have only used it to make sides, but I can't wait to try a roast. Pros - Solid build quality - Clean, simple design - Large capacity makes slow cooking roast and large batches of dips/sides no problem - Locking lid makes it easy to cook a dish and bring it to share with friends/family. - Oven and dishwasher safe (I prefer to wipe it out by hand, which was very easy). - Has a keep warm setting, which activates automatically after the set cook time. - Matching little dipper is great for sauces and dips (it is also cute) Things to Consider - The controls are easy to use and you really don't need the instructions, but they do limit your options. I wish the heat setting was independent of the timer. High is for the 4-6 hours settings and low is only for the 8-10 hour settings. This makes cooking some dishes on low a pain, because you have to set it to low and then time it to remember to set it to warm/turn it off.