A crock for all seasons: year-round uses for your slow cooker

Falling leaves and sweater weather signal it's time to dig out the slow cooker. While the slow cooker excels at rich stews and soups in the cooler months, it's also great to use year-round for easy weeknight meals. We've gathered some of The Splendid Table's favorite slow cooker recipes and tips to help you make the most of your slow cooker.

Ultimate Cheater Pulled Pork

"In short, you drop a pork butt into the slow cooker, add dry rub and bottled smoke, close the cover, go away for a while, pull or chop the meat and pile it on a bun, add sauce, get out the pickles, open a beer. BOOM! That's barbecue, baby. Can you feel it? That's Ultimate Cheater Pulled Pork." --Mindy Merrell and R.B. Quinn

Louise's Favorite Bone Broth or Vegetable Broth

"Bone broth is a wonderful way to nourish and heal your digestive tract and energize your body; it provides an easily digestible source of vitamins, minerals, and protein. If you’re vegetarian, you can leave out the bones and meat scraps and create a healing vegetable elixir to sip during the day." --Louise Hay

Overnight Braised Beans

"Given 15 minutes for prep, a slow cooker, some dried beans, garlic, onions and whatever seasoning moves you, you can launch a bean stew or this Quick and Spicy Bean Soup. Take off to bed and wake up with a couple of days of good eating ready to go. " --Lynne Rossetto Kasper

Nine meat-free ideas for using your slow cooker

The Kitchn's Faith Durand shares vegetarian-friendly recipes for Slow Cooker Enchiladas (pictured), Curried Vegetable and Chickpea Stew, and even baked potatoes.

Beef Short Rib Stew

"This dish simply speaks to us—a recipe that uses traditional Korean flavors but with a preparation that is wholly American." --Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard

Salmon with Spiced Red Lentils and Bacon

"Fish is easily overcooked, which makes it a strong candidate for slow cooking and an easy night's work for the cook--unless of course you complicate matters by throwing something tricky into the mix. I love a culinary dare." --Andrew Schloss

Glazed Carrots with Green Olives

"Here winter carrots, cut into thick strips, are slow-cooked in their own moisture until swollen, succulent, and flavorful. The vivid taste of the carrots, the aroma of the olives, and the pungency of the thyme make this a great accompaniment to meat or poultry." --Paula Wolfert

Spiced Spinach Dal with Coconut Milk

"In southern India, dal is soupy and served over rice; in northern India, dal is a thicker consistency for scooping up with roti, the traditional Indian wheat flatbread. You can vary the amount of water in this recipe in accordance with whether you want a proper soup or a more stewlike consistency." --Lynn Alley

Butter-Poached Shrimp with Grits

"If you haven’t had grits in a while, make these, and you’ll ask yourself why they aren’t part of your pantry and cooking routine. They require at least the 30 minutes of cooking called for in this recipe, but can be cooked longer; in fact, they’re best cooked over very, very low heat for hours and hours so that they fully hydrate. The grits can also be cooked all day in a slow cooker, if you have one." --Michael Ruhlman

Rice Pudding

"For many of us, rice pudding evokes comfort as well as indulgence. This version is creamy and nostalgic and takes very little work. Traditionally, rice pudding is made on the stovetop and requires constant stirring, but if you prepare it in a slow cooker you can leave it unattended. It cooks for 4 hours and will fill your kitchen with the wonderful smells of cinnamon and spice." --Ilona Oppenheim

Clementine Kalamata Pudding in Rosemary Caramel

"This new-age take on an old-world dessert is completely my fault. I made it up, tested it to the nth degree and stand behind its unashamed sweet and savory idiosyncrasies." --Andrew Schloss

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