Cleaning your crockpot

I hate cleaning my crockpot. If it gets "gunk" built up on it, I am often tempted to just go out and buy a new one. That really isn't a wise use of my money :-), so I have found a couple of options that help me with the caked on nastiness that is often my crockpot.

1--Reynolds Wrap Slow Cooker Liners. These really are amazing. I think many packaged products are a rip-off, often something you could make yourself, or something that has slightly newer/different packaging that makes it seem better but it is not. However, these Slow Cooker Liners are the real deal. You put the plastic liner in your crockpot, cook away, and when you are done you take the liner out and throw it away. All you have to do is wipe the crockpot down. Easy as pie!

2--But suppose you don't have slow cooker liners? Here is my tip for cleaning out icky, sticky, caked on crockpot stuff. Fill the crockpot with lukewarm water, add a dryer sheet and let it sit for a few hours. Science is not my strong point, but something in the dryer sheet helps the food particles to soften and loosen. After a couple of hours of soaking, it should not take much elbow grease to clean out your crockpot.

And since we are all big crockpot fans, we know we need an easy way to keep it clean. It works for me!