New Crock-Pot Casserole Crock is Turning Heads

Crock-Pot has introduced a new Crock-Pot that is turning heads – their new Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker.  What’s unique about this Crock-Pot Casserole Crock is that it’s a rectangular shape – the size of a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish!  Wow, such a novel idea, yet one that makes great sense!  Can you imagine being able to make your lasagna, potato dishes, and favorite casseroles in a rectangular dish rather than a deep bowled Crock-Pot?

Just look at it, isn’t beautiful?

New Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker

And the new Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker is so versatile, you can

1. Cook casseroles – including potatoes, chicken, pork, meat, veggies
2. Transport it – it comes with a secure clip-on lid to transfer well when transporting your dish to another location
3. Transfer it to the oven – want a finishing baked touch?  Transfer the removable stoneware dish to your oven
4. Serve from it – the dish looks beautiful and your food is now ready to serve
5. Warm it – dinner is ready but you’re not?  No problem, just change the setting to Warm

It’s amazing how the shape of the Crock-Pot can open so many more possibilities for meals.  I love my other Crock-Pots, but whenever use them, any dish I make often turns out looking like a stew.  Now my Crock-Pot meals can look like masterpieces.

I used the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock twice this week and was very pleased.  The first dish I made was a Hash-brown Hamburger Casserole with Veggies and Cheese Recipe I found on Pinterest.  To try out the oven-safe 9″ x 13″ stoneware casserole dish, I baked the dish in the oven for 45 minutes.

Afterwards I placed it in the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock cradle to and selected Warm.  This worked out great, dinner was ready and waiting for us.  My husband and son were at football practice so when they came home an hour later, we were all ready to eat.

The second dish I made was my Mom’s famous Au Gratin Potatoes.  These have been a hit in our family since I can remember.  I worried that the potatoes might not cook enough but after 4-5 hours of cooking on High, they were perfect.  Au Gratin potatoes are made with layering potatoes, onions, peppers (optional), and ham in the casserole dish, then pouring a cream sauce over them.  The cream sauce is made with sour cream, cream of mushroom (or cream of chicken), chunky salsa, and cheese.

I cut up the potatoes and threw all the ingredients together at 1:30 pm and turned the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock on High.  Later in the day I picked up the kids and we went to a Health and Wellness fair and did a little shopping.  No worries about rushing home, dinner was ready.  We all finally sat down to eat at 6:30 pm.  The potatoes came out fabulously, full of flavor and they were tender, not mushy.  The sauce was a little more watery than usual, due to the steaming process instead of baking process, but the flavor was still there.  We all had seconds!

OK, now that I had so much success with the first two dishes, I was ready to try my gluten-free lasagna in the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock.  I have never tried lasagna in the Crock-Pot before, mainly because I feared it would look like lasagna stew.

Instead of looking online to find a Crock-Pot lasagna recipe, my husband and I decided to go with what we knew.  My husband loves making lasagna and was happy that we would not have to cook the noodles first.  First he sautéed the onions, garlic, and meat together.  Then, after spraying the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock with Pam,  our daughter helped us layer the rice lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, sauce, and mozzarella cheese along with the hamburger meat.

Our creation looked beautiful – so colorful.  I was bummed that I put the cilantro on top BEFORE cooking.  I meant to do it afterwards so it would still be fresh and green.  Usually, when putting cilantro in the oven it turns brownish.  No worries, I thought I would just garnish the lasagna with fresh cilantro after the slow cooking was done.

Well, after just 3 1/2 hours cooking on high, our lasagna was already done.  I poked a fork through the noodles and they were tender.  I removed the casserole crock from the slower cooker base and put it in an oven for 10 minutes to get a little bit of crunch and browning.

Here’s how it turned out.  We couldn’t wait to eat it!  To my surprise, the cilantro still kept its green color, the lasagna looked amazing.  We served it to our Bible Study group and they loved it.  In fact, one of our guests said they were going out this week to buy their own Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker!  She said she’s made Crock-Pot lasagna before, but it never looked this good.  And it tasted great too.
Here’s a close-up of Crock-Pot’s Cook & Carry locking system.  The lid locks to the slow cooker container and with its rubber sealed lid, you need not worry about spills in the car, even with sudden turns or stopping.  Take your dish out of the slow cooker container to cool the container first before carrying.

Features:

• Cook & Carry locking lid system for easy transport
• Removable 9″x 13 ” oven-safe stoneware
• 3.5 Qt. capacity
• Manual low, high and warm settings
• Cord Wrap – to easily wrap the cord when not in use
• Wide handles for easy portability
• Dishwasher-safe stoneware and lid
• Lid has a rubber gasket around the bottom to minimize splattering
• Food looks like a casserole dish at the end…not a stew!

Pros:

• Works great for casseroles
• Keeps kitchen cooler since you don’t need to heat the oven
• Keeps oven more open for other dishes when preparing Holiday meals
• Heats the food evenly
• The rubber seal on the lid keeps all the heat inside the Crock-Pot
• No worries about spilling your casserole when transporting in the car
• Looks nice – great as a serving dish

Cons:

• Stoneware is a bit heavy and cumbersome to clean in the sink
• Does not have a timer and automatic setting to shift to warm after the casserole finished its time
• Cord is only 1 1/2 feet, a bit short
• There is no light indicator showing you that it is on

The Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker is reasonably priced at $34.68 at Walmart plus shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

I am very happy with the Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker.  I have renewed a little more interest in cooking and I am excited about trying some of my old recipes in this new way.  It is just so much more visually appealing seeing food in a casserole dish rather than a deep-bowled Crock-Pot and I love the fact that I can transfer the crock to the oven for some last minute browning.

Think of all the dishes you can make, mac-n-cheese, spaghetti, chicken and rice, ribs (soak them in water), breakfast casseroles (ready in the morning!), I’ve even read online that you can make cakes in it!   There are so many possibilities, I’m looking forward to experimenting.  And with school and sports starting up, I’m looking forward to coming home to a great smelling house with dinner made and waiting for us in our Crock-Pot Casserole Crock Slow Cooker.