My slow cooker came in handy when my kids were little and I was home all day and exhausted and bored and crazy. I’d have a burst of energy in the morning chopping stuff and putting it in the slow cooker so when dinner time came I didn’t have to do anything else but serve it up. I haven’t used mine now in a long time because I’m relatively normal again, have the brain space and physical energy to think up and make dinners in the afternoon. TLDR - they have their place. But things tend to get mushy and over watery in them but I didn’t really care back in the day. Easier to mush up for baby mouths.

I WILL FIGHT YOU. No, I won’t. They’re okay for some things. I have one of those five-in-one deals that sears the meat before you cook it, that helps a lot. Have you ever seen those Slow Cooker Central cookbooks? The woman who runs that uses her slow cooker for everything - breakfast, lunch, dinner - and has multiple slow cookers on the go all the time. Lunacy.

oh yeh, i totally get their efficacy for baby/toddler food - i mean who cares what baby food tastes or looks like - babies certainly don’t! even for a cheap and cheerful midweek meal when you simply can’t be arsed - i get that. But it’s more the people i see ((on other fora etc) extolling the virtues of them and it’s like the only method they use to cook - i’ve just never had a great meal from one - mediocre at best ((either cooked by yours truly, or someone else).

I’m ambivalent - except I hate the space it takes up when I have pots and pans that can achieve a similar (better?) outcome in the oven. I do like feeling all efficient and putting something on early in the morning and feeling all smug the rest of the day while it cooks itself.

It’s this Women’s Weekly one: https://www.womensweeklyfood.com.au/recipes/beef-casserole-with-cheesy-herb-dumplings-15203

Correct, they are shit. I don’t understand these people who prep everything in the morning, then put it all in the slow cooker. It’s just such a joyless existence.

slow cookers are shit