Slow cookers enable hands-free cooking by combining ingredients and a small amount of liquid, then cooking slowly until meats and vegetables are tender. Preparing ingredients the evening before and refrigerating them in the slow cooker insert saves morning time. Allow the chilled insert to come up toward room temperature on the counter before placing it on the cooker to reduce ramp-up delay. Never preheat an empty slow cooker; start with both cold insert and cold dish so they warm together. Assemble frozen 'dump' bags of protein, vegetables, and liquids for emergencies, then defrost them overnight and pour contents into the dish before cooking.
Simply dump your ingredients into the pot in the morning with a dash of liquid - such as broth or water, - switch on your appliance, and come back to a tender, bubbling stew at the end of the day. Better yet, if you have a busy morning up ahead, you can get your slow cooker meals up and running even faster with one time-saving tactic: preparing the ingredients the evening before and refrigerating them inside the slow cooker dish itself.
To do this, simply place it on the counter first thing in the morning to take the chill off while you get on with breakfast. Although there's no harm in putting your dish onto the heating element of your appliance directly from the fridge, it will affect the ramp-up time of your cooker - which means you'll need a slightly lengthier overall cook time to account for the cold start.
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