Reddit reviews Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker | Stainless Steel (SCV700SS)
We found 8 Reddit comments about Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker | Stainless Steel (SCV700SS). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Spacious 7 quart manual slow cooker serves 9+ people or fits a 7 pounds; RoastSet cooking time to high and get a hot meal in no time or set it on low and tonight’s dinner can cook while you’re at workKeep food at an ideal serving temperature for as long as you need to with the convenient warm settingOne pot cooking means there are less dishes to clean, plus the lid and removable stoneware are dishwasher safeAll Crock Pot Slow Cooker removable stone inserts (without lid) may be used safely in the microwave and the oven set up to 400°F; If you own another slow cooker brand, please refer to your owner’s manual for specific crockery cooking medium tolerances
Get a manual slow cooker for your first, they will last forever. Don't overspend.
Here is one for $16
Cheap tips...
Rice Cooker, Slow cooker, Food Processor, Blender.
Zojirushi Rice Cookers are consistent and long lasting - I had one of these for 12 years, and it always got the job done right. When I moved in with my wife, she had a rice cooker that was old, but still worked (another Zojirushi). We recently splurged and got a really high end one. It's AMAZING, 10-15 minute perfectly cooked rice.
Cuckoo CRP-HV0667F IH Pressure Rice Cooker - For reference.
Anyways...
Get the simplest cheapest crock-pot - Less things to go wrong when it's as simple as this.
Get a cheap food processor
Get a decent blender - Don't go too cheap on blenders, you really get what you pay for in a quality blender. Blenders and mixers are the two things KitchenAid does best.
Now... The reason why I said get cheap stuff? Because you said you know nothing about cooking, and you might destroy a nice piece of equipment in your ignorance. It's bound to happen. Since you are going to be living on your own, if family gives you free stuff, don't feel bad about getting rid of it if the equipment sucks. They didn't want it anyways. Good tools? And you'll do a good job.
Watch this for other equipment...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-av6cz9upO0 - Gordon Ramsay may be a celebrity, but his kitchen knowledge is definitely high-end.
Personally don't skimp on the saucepans, frying pan, and the knife (honestly for 99% of jobs you just want a really good chef's knife, other than a pairing knife can do most everything). They will make your life easier if you have quality equipment. I disagree with him about the cutting board for 2 reasons (10 years in restaurants in the past here)... One, you are a beginner and might ruin a wood board. Two, wood boards can accumulate bacteria from meats if not taken care of properly. I advise this one...
OXO Grips Utility Cutting Board
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHRXUeVsAQQ - Great video showing you some good techniques in cooking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJy1ajvMU1k - Another video along the same vein, great techniques for cooking.
As others have said Budgetbytes is great.
Raw beans and raw rice are always going to be significantly cheaper than buying pre-made/pre-cooked. Use a slow cooker to cook beans overnight. Use google for a recipe.
Chicken skin-on, bone-in is always going to be significantly cheaper than not. Breast is usually drier/tougher but lower calorie per oz. Thighs are juicier/softer, but higher calorie per oz. Remove the skin if you want to be more calorie efficient. Keep the skin on for flavor. Personally? I always leave skin on, remove the bone (but use it for cooking to extract the flavors), and I always use a chicken thigh. Personal preference. A cool tip is to remove the skin, coat in olive oil, and fry by itself. Try that out, see if you like it. Fry till like crispy bacon. If you don't use the skin in cooking, you can use it like this as a snack later.
Seasoning things is really important. Don't over-season, less is more. Because you can always add more seasoning later. When I make chicken, I always put a pinch of salt on each side, grind some pepper (use a pepper grinder, it's always superior to that pre-ground pepper crap), slap that into it. Olive oil, don't skimp out on this either. Get stuff actually from Italy, larger bottles are usually a better deal. Chicken with salt, pepper, olive oil is simple and tasty.
Get some kinda meal prep containers...
https://www.amazon.com/Freshware-15-Pack-Compartment-Bento-Lunch/dp/B01IIINCRS - These should work great. I like having a separation point in the container.
Some simple recipes I like...
http://luckypeach.com/recipes/miso-claypot-chicken-no-claypot/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=slow+cooker - Anything here.
https://www.budgetbytes.com/?s=easy - Again, using the search function at budgetbytes is huge.
One thing that helps is to develop your palate. If you will be doing okay for money, the occasional outing to a restaurant to try something new can be really beneficial. When you eat food out, imagine what possible technique they could have used to achieve a certain texture or taste.
I'm just rambling, but hopefully this will help a little.
No, they're electric. here is a pretty good sized one on Amazon for $25. You can cook absolutely anything in there with very little effort.
Just some ideas from someone who finished college not too long ago (All gifts from Amazon).
Consider a 7 or 8 quart - because: I often get brisket or pork shoulder (pork butt) from Costco. I have a 6 quart and trying to stuff a 6-7 pound piece of meat into the 6 quart is difficult. With a 7 or 8 quart it would be easier.
 
The above crock pots are manual. I've had my manual crockpot for 10+years. I'm sure the programmatic's are nice and have some cool features. With manual I think less moving parts, less chance of breakage, easily fixed if it broke. The other benefit to the manual is if you get into the latest cooking fashion: 'sous-vide', you can use your manual crock pot for it, you can't use a programmatic.
 
For sous-vide you would adapt your crock pot with something like this:
 
What's Sous-Vide?
Dumb crock pot, its nothing fancy but gets the job done.
Color C-41 and E-6 are actually pretty easy when you get over the film sweats. The biggest problem to solve is how to get the chems to temperature and keep them there. Before I upgraded my system I used a crockpot and a home brewing temp controller.
Temp Control
Crockpot
Set the temp controller plug your crockpot into that and fill with water. The temp controller will turn the pot on and off to keep the chems with a degree or so.
I have a basic 6 qt and usually only fill it part way. I think I paid around $10. But Amazon Warehouse has them for $16 like new right now.