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"  One of the major perks of using a slow cooker is that it makes preparing meals extremely user-friendly. But to get your recipes just right it helps to know a few tricks and tips. Read on for pointers about how to safely slow cook your way to a delicious meal.   Set It and Forget It    A slow cooker, which is designed for safety, doesn&amp;#039;t generate enough heat to be dangerous in your kitchen, explains Beth Hensperger, author of Not Your Mother&amp;#039;s Slow Cooker Cookbook. But she recommends using the lowest setting anytime you plan to leave the house or cook overnight. (While a cooker doesn&amp;#039;t need constant tending, high should be used only when you&amp;#039;re home.)   Fill It Two-Thirds Full   While the dish cooks, the ingredients expand\u2014so if you overfill, the liquid could spill over onto the electrical parts and ruin the machine, says Hensperger.   Take a Peek    If you&amp;#039;re a beginner, take off the lid occasionally to monitor the dish and get a feel for the cooking process, Hensperger suggests. Keep in mind, though, that each time you lift the lid, steam and heat escape, so you&amp;#039;ll need to tack on 15 minutes to the cooking time. Comfortable cooks should peer through the glass lid; if it&amp;#039;s coated with condensation, shake it and the droplets will clear.   Improvise    To use your 6- quart cooker for desserts or appetizers, &amp;quot;insert an ovensafe dish into the stoneware to create a smaller cooking vessel,&amp;quot; says Stephanie O&amp;#039;Dea, author of More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: 200 Brand-New Budget-Friendly Slow-Cooker Recipes. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips/tips/a5503/slow-cooker-tips-from-the-pros-115411/>