About a month ago, my friend and business partner (on RadiantLit.com and FictionAddict.com) saw an announcement that Crock-Pot would be releasing a brand new slow cooker. She tuned into the live webcast online and was immediately entranced.
She called me and to me all about this Crock-Pot that was different than any of its predecessors. This one, she said to me, could be programmed. I have one that allowed what I guess is an “old-fashioned” Crock-Pot. The kind where you turn the dial to HIGH, LOW, or WARM … and that’s it. But this one has a clock and shiny buttons and lots of choices on the front. What really grabbed Lori’s attention was when they said “You can program when you want to eat dinner and it will be done.” I’ll admit, I was hooked once she told me that as well.
Now I am nearly giddy with excitement to be able to share our review of the Crock-Pot My Time Slow Cooker!
Lori: When I got it, I was immediately surprised at how pretty it was. (Hey, I know – but seriously this is a pretty slow cooker!) I took it out of the box and loved the design instantly. Shiny stainless steel on the outside reflected the kitchen (yes I had to clean off some of the counters when I took pictures!) and it really does look beautiful sitting on my counter. 
The design also shows tremendous insight. This is the first Crock-Pot I’ve ever owned that has a switch in the center of the heating base. This is to be sure that the slow cooker will not turn on without the stoneware in it. I love that! Though it hasn’t happened often, on occasion we have had a kid turn on the pot without the stoneware in it yet – or forget to turn off the manual switch at the end. This design feature will help eliminate that issue. I also love the tilted handle on the lid. It seems more secure than previous slow cookers I’ve owned and with the tilt that’s built in, it allows you to more easily open the lid with the steam escaping away from you. The control pad on the front is clear, easy to figure out and even has a backlight.
Now when I opened the box, I did have a minor (really minor) sort of issue that I might be able to help you avoid. There was a sticker on the front next to the control pad that pointed to the bottom of the cooker. It said to remove tab before using.
I flipped it over and saw a little plastic tab sticking out of a panel – similar to what you might see in a toy department. I tugged on it and it came out – but it was pretty tough. Nothing happened. (I admit it – I was waiting for lights or buzzers or something.) But nothing at all happened on the cooker. I said something to my hubby (who was, ironically, in the other room reading the manual. How did that happen? *I* was the one pressing ahead and *he* was reading the instructions??) He told me then that you have to use a screwdriver and open the plate before pulling that tab. I’d pulled it without removing the plate. It wasn’t a big deal. He got a screwdriver, pulled the plate, resettled the battery and the lights and clock started blinking on the front – just waiting for us to set them appropriately. All was good.
Jill: My favorite part of the My Time Slow Cooker is that you can run it two ways: Manual or Smart Cook (programmable). Like I said, I am used to just turning the dial and having it either ON or OFF. This Crock Pot allows me to still do that nearly the same way. There’s no dial, of course, but you can simply push buttons to choose HIGH, LOW or WARM. OR, I can use all the bells and whistles and program it for my meal.
Lori: The programmable side is a little more complex but it’s still relatively simple to figure out. If you want to use the Smart Cook feature, you need to be sure that the clock is set to the proper time. (You just press the hour and minute buttons until you get to the right time.) Once that’s done, you choose what you’re going to make from the control pad on the front. You can choose from beef, pork/lamb, poultry, seafood, and chili/stew. Then the final step is to program in what time you’d like to eat dinner in the ‘ready at’ area on the control pad. That’s it. The Crock-Pot literally takes it from there.
When programming the My Time Slow Cooker, one thing I noticed is that the time i the Smart Cook programming will not go below six hours. If you’re using this Smart Cook function, you won’t be able to do ‘short’ recipes or anything that doesn’t need all day to cook. (Dips, desserts, etc.) It simply will not go less than that. If you want to do a recipe that won’t take that full six hours, you’ll need to use the manual function and choose the heat accordingly.
My first recipe that I made in the Crock-Pot was chili and it really didn’t need the full six hours. I wanted to use the program function though, so I chose the stew setting. At about four hours in, it was bubbling decently and obviously done, so we ate early. Again, I should reiterate that I knew it wouldn’t take a full six hours, so this didn’t worry me.
Jill: The first meal my family tried out in our new Crock-Pot was Swedish Meatballs. The first thing I noticed was how HUGE this Crock-Pot is compared to my old one. A family meal of meatballs filled my old Crock-Pot to the brim, but in this one it looked like there was barely any food in the pot. J However, it cooked them perfectly and there was more than enough for the family for dinner that night. The beauty of a big pot is that now extended family gatherings (which we usually host) will be so much easier – I’ll be able to use just this one Crock-Pot instead of pulling out two!
Lori: To wrap things up, there are some things I’ve learned that I would caution people to put in their notes for this model. I already mentioned above that it doesn’t ‘program cook’ under 6 hours. It also doesn’t program over twelve hours. This is for safety’s sake. I know it’s tempting to think about putting everything in the cooker the night before to have it ready for dinner the next day. If you’re putting it all in there later – like 10 or 11 o’clock at night and you’re good with it staying on “warm” for several hours after it’s done, that might work for you.
Oh and one other thing – there IS a battery in this Crock-Pot. However it does NOT keep the cooker going in case of electrical outage. When I first saw the battery cover, I exclaimed to my husband that perfection had been achieved and it was about time someone added a battery to the Crock-Pot. He informed me very quickly though that the battery was not intended to take over and keep it cooking – merely to keep the time in the clock set appropriately. If the electricity goes out, you’ll still have to deal with that fallout the same way you would with previous slow cookers.
Jill: We learned this first-hand this week. Our power went out several times and each time I had to not only reset every clock in the house (ok, MOST of the clocks in the house), but I also had to turn the Crock-Pot back on and reprogram it. I finally ended up just cook on Manual because I got tired of fussing with it each time the power went out. I wish Lori’s “Crock-Pot Perfection” really had been achieved – or that the Crock-Pot could somehow miraculously reset itself when it experienced a power outage, but maybe that will happen in the next model. Thankfully, I work at home and so I was here to reset it each time. However, if you’re away from home and the power goes out … well, you’ll have a cold, raw meal when you arrive home. 
So what’s our verdict? We LOVE this Crock-Pot!
The positives firmly outweigh any negatives. The Crock-Pot My Time Slow Cooker is advanced in what it offers and yet simple enough that it won’t take you hours to learn how to program and use it. It cooks and warms just like it claims and it really will have your food ready when you tell it to … as long as the power doesn’t go out.
Note: We received the Crock-Pot My Time Slow Cooker as a sample in order to write a review. We have not been paid by Crock-Pot to do so and we have not promised to give a positive review.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Jill Hart‘s entrepreneurial career began in her teens when she spent a summer working with her father who ran his own business. When he put her in charge of a Coke machine and allowed her to keep the profits, she saw the benefits of being her own boss. She is the founder of Christian Work at Home Ministries and the co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom. Jill has articles published in In Touch Magazine, P31 Woman magazine and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family, as well as across the web on sites like DrLaura.com. She speaks to audiences around the country about faith and business topics. Learn more about Jill at JillHart.com and connect with her on “http://www.facebook.com/SpeakerJillHart” “FB Jill Hart” and “http://twitter.com/cwahm.”
Lori Twichell is the owner of Beyond the Buzz Marketing, Jill Hart’s partner at both CWAHM radio and Radiant Lit. Visit her websites at www.beyondthebuzzmarketing.com and www.radiantlit.com.