Hamilton Beach 4 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker with Flexible Easy Programming, 5 Cooking Times, Dishwasher-Safe Crock & Lid, Silver (33443)

Cooking for two can be a challenge. I gave away our seven quart slow cooker because I didn't think I'd ever use it. I borrowed my daughter's slow cooker to make mulled cider for a Christmas party and broke it.😫 I bought her a new one but really wanted a smaller sized one for my husband and me. I did a search for smaller slow cookers and found this one. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles as some do but I have a pressure cooker that does and it is kind of a pain in the neck to use. So simple sounded good! I also got a cook book of recipes for cooking for two. We have made so many great meals! The book is' "Slow Cooking for Two" , by Callisto Publishing. We have found that this slow cooker must have have a bit higher temperature than required in the recipes because they cook in about two hours less time than the instruction say. We use a fast read thermometer to test for doneness to prevent over or under cooking.

I use the slow cooker quite frequently and have had no problems. Heats and cooks as expected.

Bought for my brother that never had one. Easy to use and he loves it!

One of my favorite purchases ever!!!!!! I am extremely happy with this. I have been making super, delicious, easy meals while at work, the laundromat or napping. NAPPING!!!!I specifically chose this pot because 1) it has a ceramic cooking vessel instead of aluminum or other metals (which may leach into food and cause ill health) 2) It has a TIMER! It switches itself to WARM after the time is up, so theoretically your food will not scald. I used to have an old school crock pot which had no timer, and I was always stressing out about getting home from work on time to unplug it. Often my food ended up soggy even if I DID get home on time. This eliminates my stress.Also it is easy to clean!This one, so far I have made 4 dishes and all of them were amazing.I am new to crock pot cooking, so I can't compare, but I think this model might cook a little hot. I have made a few stews on the LOW setting and they were phenomenal. The one stew I made on high was also delicious, but some of the meat came out a wee bit tough . . . honestly, I am just being a bit picky here, it was still super delicious. But I wanted to share that experience and recommend that if you have time to hang around the house and check your food before the cooking cycle is up, you might find that you can reduce your cook times with this model. I might simply use the low setting whenever possible.If you are new to crock pot cooking like me, you might like to know that chicken dishes can turn out delicious without you having to take the extra step to brown anything. That means that the only time it takes to cook the meal is the time it takes to dice an onion and open a few cans. (obviously fresh ingredients are healthier than canned, but if I am having a ridiculously hectic week, I would rather eat a few canned tomatoes in my home-cooked stew than order greasy takeout.)If you need a new cooker, I highly recommend this one

It was delivered today.I needed an automatic shut off or auto warm so it doesn’t over cook. First time using it just minutes after delivery, so far so good.Nice size, easy to use.Will only update review if it burns my food. Testing it for two hours longer than recipe time.If it does burn, it won’t be the fault of the unit, but I have a feeling it won’t which will add one more star to this five star review.

Just what I needed!

I generally don’t write reviews but decided to write one, hoping it’ll help someone. I owned a Cuisinart 3.5 qt since 2017 and loved it. Then it started shutting down after a few hours by itself and I didn’t want to take any chances with an electric appliance so I discarded it into recycling. Got the Toastmaster (it looked snazzy and had a lid seal and all). Well it looked pretty but didn’t cook my lentils even after 8 hours (my old cuisinart needed only 4-6 hours total on high plus low. Ok, so the Toastmaster was a bust and went back and I got the same model I previously had of the Cuisinart 3.5 Qt. Its black ceramic insert felt lighter than the one I had before but I was hopeful. This brand has/ had a good reputation always and I have other of their appliances too. Same fail- it didn’t cook the lentils even after all the hours. I was very disappointed. I wish I hadn’t thrown my old cuisinart. So I did some more research and asked chat gpt and checked everywhere besides Amazon. Finally I decided to give the old but true brand Hamilton Beach, 4 Qt a try. Viola! It works, it works, it works. The wet same lentils that didn’t cook in the Toastmaster or in the Cuisinart - now cooked in 3-4 hours in the Hamilton Beach. Its pot is heavy enough and it lets me pick the number of hours etc. I’m so happy because a slow cooker is a constant appliance used in my home. Hope this helps someone.

Ordered this to fit a slightly larger roast that was too large for our 3 quart GE slow cooker. Maybe the GE model is larger than is noted on the front??? I measured and poured 4 quarts of water into the GE unit we already have and found that it is indeed it is a 4 quart slow cooker, meaning there is nothing wrong with this one but I am sending it back as it turns out I already have a 4 quart slow cooker and do not need two.