I am a huge fan of the slow cooker. It's not for everyone, but for me, I love being able to assemble a slow-cooker meal in the morning (when I have time) and know that it will be hot and delicious by dinner (when time is in short commodity). I've gotten pretty good at spotting recipes with slow-cooker potential over the years. Here's my best advice.

Q: I'm on the hunt for a slow cooker. I've never owned or used one before, but love the thought of coming home to a warm meal that's ready to eat. I don't have a lot of counter or storage space in my apartment and am mostly cooking for two. Any suggestions?

Sent by Vanessa

Oven space is always at a premium in the hours (and even the days) leading up to a big dinner like Thanksgiving. So here's a crazy idea: why not make make your dinner rolls in the slow cooker? More

New parents always appreciate the gift of homemade meals, but here's an idea for a gift that keeps on giving: a collection of your best slow cooker recipes and a new slow cooker, if you know your friends don't have one. More

Q: I'm wondering what features to look for when buying a slow cooker and which brands are better. I have a family of four, so I'm looking for a machine that can feed the lot of us (maybe with the occasional leftovers). Thank you!

Sent by Heather

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After last week's slow cooker roundup, we thought it was high time to revisit this lemon garlic chicken, one of our all-time most popular recipes. This is a classic "dump it and forget it" dish: just rub the chicken with seasoning, add some lemon juice and chicken broth, and set the timer. The result is the most tender chicken you've ever tasted with just the right amount of lemon-garlic flavor in every bite. More

Q: After seeing your recipe for Slow-Cooker Beef Shanks, I've been thinking about buying a slow cooker. I have some questions, though.

Since the slow cooker uses electricity over such extended time (4 to 6 hours), do you know if using the oven or a slow cooker is more energy-efficient, or costly? Could I use the oven instead of the cooker? Would it have the same taste?

Sent by Angela More

Feeling ultra-crafty? Put your skills to the test by making your own precision-controlled yogurt maker using your slow cooker, spare electronics parts, and a little piece of open source software. No kidding. More

Winter is here, and the holidays are coming, and we want comfort food to feed a crowd. Best way to do that? The slow cooker!! Here are 10 recipes from our archives for easy, delicious, cold-weather food. Most of these recipes will handily feed a dinner crowd, or give you leftovers to freeze. And most use the most frugal cuts of meat, so they form the holy menu trinity of cheap, easy, and yummy. More

Want something spicy, hearty, and — above all — easy for dinner this week? Whip out your slow cooker and make this 5-ingredient (OK, 7, if you include salt and pepper!) green curry pork! It takes 15 minutes to set up, and will give you such tender, rich, and spicy pork curry. More