Slow Cooker in a Bag

[Bluto]

Found this on line and thought I'd share.
West Bend makes this small 5qt oblong slow cooker and the base doubles as a griddle, so it serves a double duty. Another cool thing about this cooker is that it comes with an insulated carry bag with strap handles.
My reason for wanting the carry bag is that it will keep the cooker from getting damaged, if I decide to store it in the back of the truck, when traveling.
It is UL listed and is a no frills unit with a simple thermostat dial and must be unplugged to shut the cooker off. Nothing fancy, but now my search is over a travel cooker.
The West Bend part number is 84915.
I just received mine yesterday from Amazon.

[vswingfield]

I had one of those years ago. Worked very well.

Didn't come with the bag back then, though.

[rickandsandi]

We use this Thermos Cook & Carry. It is one of the best Pot Luck things we have. You use the stainless steel pot w/lid to stove top cook your meal. Once finished the whole thing goes into the insulator sleeve. The carrying handle seconds as a lock to keep it well closed. Keeps your meal hot for hours. Not sure why but it looks like they stopped making them. Very cool and worthwhile if you find one.

[zlee]

You can still get them, but it's a little more difficult than walking into a store. I got my cooker from an Amazon dealer. I ordered the inner pots from a UK distributor, Mr. D.. I haven't tried it in the Bambino yet, but I did experiment with a turkey stoup and chicken and dumplings. (The dumplings are best done back on the stovetop, I discovered.)

It's not just for keeping things warm, though. You can cook things in them. Most things take about 15 minutes on the stovetop to heat everything through to boiling, then it all goes into the cooker. The cooker then conserves and keeps the heat around the food, where it finishes cooking it. It'll stay hot for about 7-8 hours. (The concept is the same as the old hay ovens.) It's great for anything that needs a long cooking time that would otherwise take up a lot of propane or whatever to cook, like pot roasts and other meats or sauces and chilis.

[fr8tshaker]

Bluto,

The WestBend is a great slow cooker. The heat settings are adjustable. The metal pot is lighter than the stoneware crocks and unbreakable.

The cooking pot can also go straight from fridge to heating element which enables you to put the food together the night before if you desire.

Another plus is the cooking pot and lid are oven safe so can be used in your conventional oven. Also, the pot can be placed on the burner for browning before slow cooking and to make gravy from the meat drippings after removing the slow cooked meat.

I think you will be happy with your choice the more you use it.

Happy Trails,
shaker

[Bluto]

Thanks Shaker.
I tried it out yesterday, and I like it!
It seems this thing is made for camping.

[fr8tshaker]

You are most welcome.

BTW- the West bend site has a lot of additional recipes for the model you purchased. Just go to recipes and click slow cooker on the drop down menu. Might get some additional ideas and a feel for the cooking times at the different settings.

'shaker

[Bluto]

Good idea!
I'll check it out.

[vswingfield]

One thing I liked about that slow cooker was that you could bake a whole chicken in it. One won't fit in the round ones.

[Bluto]

Vaughan,
Never thought of that but, your right, it's a perfect shape for cooking a whole chicken. It will definately change the way I have been eating while traveling and camping.