Q: What appliance can make even the laziest, most frugal cooks look like pros?

A: The slow cooker.

I've finally caught on to the concept of the Crock-Pot. What took me so long? Supposedly something like 80% of American households have a slow cooker, but my mom never used one. Maybe it was because my dad has an absolute phobia about wasting electricity; the very notion of an appliance you have to leave on all day would drive him nuts.

But my friends kept raving about their Crock-Pots. I caved in to peer pressure and put “slow cooker” on my Christmas wish list. And so my two brothers-in-law got me a gleaming, stainless steel state-of-the-art All-Clad slow cooker complete with digital display (ah, the perks of marrying into a family whose motto is “buy only the best”).