This four quart  slow cooker features two settings, high and low, which is more than enough for my needs. If I’m making something overnight, like oatmeal or beans, I put it on low. For daytime use, like when I want to start dinner at 8 am before heading to the market, I put it on high. It’s never failed me yet!

I like the outer cover which is stainless steel. It looks right at home in any but the most rustic of kitchens and is super easy to wipe down. Which is good, because the Rival Crockpot 3040-BC is fairly big, so I have no room in my minimal cupboards. That means it sits out on the counter all the time and gets spattered from mixing batters. It does it’s fair amount of spitting juices, itself, though.

Now, I live in Guatemala, so I have to prepare beans quite often. Being able to do it overnight was a big time saver. I just put the beans on low from about 8 pm and they were quite ready by noon the next day.

Over the past few months, I’ve made a number of tasty meals in the cooker, including Beef Barley Stew and Curried Chicken. The biggest complaint I have is that the lid tends to rattle once the pot heats up. When it’s on high heat, the steam lifts it and it can be a bit noisy, which I find irritating, but probably doesn’t bother most people.

Rival Crockpot 3040-BC Pros

• Super simple to use
• Doesn’t burn easily (there have been a couple of times that I totally left the food too long and nothing happened)
• Clear lid lets you see the food
• Ceramic cooker lifts out of the metal heater for easier cleaning
• Easy to clean stainless steel exterior

Rival Crockpot 3040-BC Cons

• Despite cleaning thoroughly, the ceramic inner pot gets little lines of mold in the pattern of cracks, it’s easily washed off
• It’s bulky and takes up a lot of counter space
• The lid rattles when left on high for more than a couple of hours

Have you had any experiences with the Rival Crockpot 3040-BC? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

And just in case you don’t know any awesome Popsicle recipes, she’s throwing in THIS book, too!

This entire package is worth over $60! To enter, go HERE.

Kitchen Gifts Under $25

1. Microplane Grater/Zester: A zester makes it so much easier to add a little lemon or lime zest to a dish, grate a small amount of Parmesan cheese or anything else you might want to use as a garnish for a dish.

2. OXO Salad Spinner: This sucker makes salads super easy. Just spin your freshly washed lettuce (I like to keep mine in water in the fridge overnight to keep it crisp) and it will come out dry and ready to add to your salad. The knob locks down on this salad spinner so you can store it in the fridge.

3. Mortar and Pestle Set: This is at the top of my personal wish list! With a mortar and pestle you can easily turn herbs and such into a paste that can then be applied to whatever you’re cooking. This is a tool you’ll find yourself using constantly once you have one.

4. Knife Sharpener: Being able to sharpen your own knives means you will always have perfect blades for quickly chopping veggies, slicing meats and paring fruit. A sharpener makes it even easier.

5. Garlic Baker: There is NOTHING so wonderful as a head of roasted garlic. These roasters are very easy, you just soak the clay container, pop the garlic inside and bake.

6. All in One Timer/Thermometer: Everyone needs a kitchen time and a thermometer comes in pretty darn handy, too, so this combination gadget is just perfect.

7. Kamenstein Revolving Spice Rack with 16 Filled Jars: At a reasonable price, this is a great gift to get anyone who loves to cook but has yet to build up their spice collection. The rack is beautiful and the jars contain the most commonly used spices.

8. Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat: Just place this mat into any baking pan and you have an instant non-stick surface without the need to grease the pan!

9. Cooling Rack: It’s vital to have a cooling rack for anything you bake, since it needs to be removed from the pan in order to stop cooking. For cookies, cakes or anything that needs to be up off the counter, a cooling rack is very useful.

10. Digital Scale: You know when you run into those British recipes that call for grams of ingredients instead of cups? Well, with a kitchen scale you can make those recipes! It’s also handy for figuring out portions.

11. Olive Oil Sprayer: Make expensive olive oil last longer by spraying it. You can also spray vegetable oil to grease pans or add oil to a frying pan in limited amounts.

12. Measuring Set: I find that my measuring cups and spoons often go missing and I’m sure I’m not the only one! These handy kitchen utensils make great stocking stuffers for any Gourmet Mama.

13. Pyrex Measuring Cup : For liquid measurements, a measuring cup is pretty essential. With Pyrex, you can even measure boiling liquids!

14. Melamine Mixing Bowls: Brightly colored melamine mixing bowls are perfect for whipping up cakes and cookies or salads. They’re resistant and it’s ok if your kids decide to use them as hats, they’ll stand up to it!

15. Kitchen Tools and Gadgets Set: A woman can never have too many kitchen tools and this set is perfect because it gives you a full array so you’ll be able to cook just about anything with flippers, spatulas, etc.

16. Cookie Scoop: This handy little tool will let you quickly scoop and drop the right amount of cookie dough every time. No more scraping the spoon with your finger, since this scoop comes with a mechanism to do that for you.

17. Pre-Seasoned Skillet: You can never have too many skillets and this cast iron, pre-seasoned skillet is perfect for anything you want to whip up on the stove or even in the oven.

18. Multi Flex LED Book Lights: This handy little light isn’t just good in the kitchen, it will be useful everywhere. The task light allows for brighter lighting on specific areas, so if you need to read a recipe or just see what your fingers are doing, this is a great way to ensure plenty of light.

19. Flavored Oil Set: Flavored oils can be made at home, but they take time and many people just don’t have that. Gifting a set of flavored oils lets the cook in your life experiment with them and come up with some sizzling new recipes.

20. Creme Brulee Set: A set of ramekins in a tray that you can half fill with water makes it super easy to cook puddings, flan and a number of other things. While they are referred to as creme brulee sets, you can use them for a wide variety of recipes.

21. Bamboo Steamer Set: When it comes to things like bamboo steamers or other specialty items, most women won’t spend even a few dollars to get it . . . they stick with the basics instead. So this is the perfect time to spoil that special cook in your life and get her something special and useful.

22. Pasta Machine: Homemade pasta is something particularly special, so a pasta press makes the entire process far easier. You’ll be able to easily turn out even and very thing sheets of pasta dough, all you need to do is cut it.

23. Magnetic Knife Storage Bar: Forget the wooden blocks, this magnetic bar makes it super easy to store knives within easy reach.

24. Stainless Mixing Bowl: A set of stainless metal bowls has so many uses. You can use them as mixing bowls, to hold ingredients, salads or even to store food in. Trust me, you can’t go wrong with this gift.

25. Gourmet Finishing Salt: There’s nothing like a little gourmet salt to really make a dish pop and any Gourmet Mama would love to receive this set of three finishing salts.

Kitchen Gifts Under $50

26. Wooden Serving Bowls: What could be more gorgeous than nuts or a salad or even fruit, served up in wooden serving bowls? This set is ideal for anyone with a sense of style in the kitchen.

27. Wooden Cutting Board: A wooden cutting board is perfect for chopping vegetables. It looks cool enough to hang on the wall or leave out on the counter.

28. 14-Piece Knife Set with Block: Knives are vital to have and while a set of 14 for under $50 isn’t going to be chef class, they will still be very welcome!

29. Aged Balsamic Vinegar: Often, we don’t purchase expensive ingredients ourselves because we don’t want to waste the money. However, as a gift, this aged balsamic vinegar is perfect and will give your favorite cook something to experiment with.

30. Mandoline: A mandoline lets you slice very rapidly and thinner than you could with a knife. With this tool, you can make vegetable chips and such in no time.

31. Smoked Salmon 3 Pack: Smoked salmon is a great delicacy and with a three pack you can try all sorts of flavor combinations. This makes a great kitchen gift, because your favorite cook will be able to whip up some pretty tasty appetizers with it.

32.Cupcake Bib Aprons: Aprons are always a great gift, but it’s a good idea to get something snazzy. This very cool cupcake bib apron actually comes in kid sizes, too, so it’s the perfect duo gift for mother and daughter.

33. Food Dehydrator: For the Gourmet Mama with just about everything, a food dehydrator is a great way to expand her recipe list. Imagine sundried tomatoes, fruit leathers and dried veggies for soups!

34. Slow Cooker: Everyone needs a slow cooker. They make life so much easier and with a good slow cooker, you can easily have dinner on the table without spending much time at all on cooking.

35. Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker: Here on Gourmet Mama, we feature a lot of great homemade ice cream recipes, but without an ice cream maker (totally affordable!) you won’t be able to make them. This is a good gift for the Gourmet Mama who already has tons of gadgets and tools.

36. 8-Inch Chef’s Knife: A chef’s knife is always handy and a good, solid one is worth it’s weight in gold.

37. Hand Blender: This is a very handy blender that you can use to mix drinks, batter and anything else in a pot, cup or bowl. Very handy for soups!

38. Black Truffle Salt: Truffle salt is far cheaper than actual truffles, but lets the cook get a hint of the delicacy in cooking. It’s a good gift if you aren’t a millionaire and want to offer some gourmet ingredients.

39. Dried Mushroom Sampler: Give the gift of gourmet this year with some tasty mushrooms. A sampler set of dried mushrooms will let that special person try various dishes with different flavors that they might never try on their own.

Kitchen Gifts Under $100

40. Cast-Iron Wok: A wok lets you do stir fry super fast and easily . . . it’s an essential that entirely too few kitchens have.

41. Pizza Baker/Stone: Homemade pizza is something really special and this pizza stone makes it very easy to turn out high quality pizzas on a regular basis, just like the pros!

42. Panini Pan with Press: Love paninis? Make it easier for the cook of your life to whip them up with this cool panini pan that comes with a press to make sure those suckers are properly prepared.

43. Wooden Butcher’s Block: A butcher block differs from the average cutting board in size. These blocks are solid, often over an inch thick, and beautifully made out of a hardwood, like maple.

Luxury Kitchen Gifts

44. Wood Top Natural Kitchen Cart with Breakfast Bar: There’s never enough space in a kitchen, particuarly when you’re talking counter space, so a little extra is always welcome. This beautiful wood kitchen cart is the perfect gift for anyone who loves being in the kitchen.

45. Cuisinart Multiclad Pro Stainless-Steel 12-Piece Cookware Set: No one can have too many pots and this cookware set is absolutely gorgeous! Stainless steel is perfect for cooking pretty much anything and looks great while you’re doing it. No discoloration or chips to worry about.

46. Grill and Waffle Baker: Waffles are one of those specialty items that can only be made with special equipment. This handy waffle baker also works as a grill.

47. KitchenAid Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixers: The ultimate Christmas gift for any kitchen fiend. This mixer is seriously sturdy and will stand up to plenty of use, plus it looks great on the counter.

48. Pressure Cooker/Canner: This heavy duty pressure cooker holds up to 30 quarts, but you can always opt for smaller versions. For the woman who is interested in canning or making her own jams and jellies, this is a lifesaver. It also speeds up cooking of just about everything, from chicken to beans.

49. Oil-Less Infrared Turkey Fryer: For the Gourmet Mama who hosts family turkey dinners, this “fryer” is ideal. It uses infrared rays to cook the turkey without any added fat!

50. 8-Piece Knife Set with Block: Sometimes you need really good knives. This set comes with its own wood block, but the quality of the knives is impressive. Any cook would be happy to have these knives handy.

51. White Spring Truffles: Truffles are really the height of gourmet for most people and what better way to say how much you think of someone than to give them some actual truffles to cook with?

52. Tagine: If you like to prepare more traditional ethnic meals, a tagine is a good thing to have on hand. The tapered shape allows for slow cooking in the meat’s own juices.

First, you will need an ice cream maker. There are a few different options for these, here are three that you might like. Click on the photo to learn more about each.

Ice Cream Kick Ball

Cuisine Art Classic Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker

KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment

The basic recipe is extremely simple. All you need are the following ingredients:

2 c. cold heavy cream
1 c. cold whole milk
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tblsp. vanilla extract

Stir ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the instructions. That’s it! You will have delicious, homemade ice cream in no time.

If you are interested in making something a little more exotic to cool you off this summer, then check out my Squidoo lens on unique homemade ice cream recipes.

Professional chefs know that a substandard knife can destroy a meal. That`s why if you have ever watched Top Chef, everyone brings their own set of knives . . . they want to be sure that they have the best quality possible and they know that their own knives are properly cared for.

It`s worth making an investment in some good knives. You`ll notice the difference immediately and everything in your kitchen will go smoother. Trust me on this. Cheap knives lose their edge quickly, the handles come apart and they warp . . . all things that will mess you up as you try to cook.

What to Look for in a Quality Knife

Knowing what makes a good knife will serve you well in your quest for better kitchen equipment. Here`s what you want in a good kitchen knife.

Handle: Look for a handle that is solid and check that the blade runs right through to the end of the handle. This means it will stay together and last practically forever.

Forged: You want stainless steel, of course, but the majority of knives are simply stamped out of a sheet of metal, making them weak and prone to dullness. Find a forged knife and you`ll have a quality piece of metal.

Balance: A well-balanced knife will be easy to use, a simple rocking motion and it will slice cleanly through just about anything. You can test the balance by holding the knife with two fingers at the point where the blade meets the handle. If it isn`t balanced, look for another knife.

High Carbon Stainless Steel: High carbon steel is perfect for knives because it holds an edge far longer than any other type. However, it does tend to rust, so if you want an easy maintenance knife, look for high carbon stainless steel.

Which Knife?

There are endless types of knives on the market. However, if you`re following the guidelines above, chances are you won’t be able to afford too many!

If you can only invest in one knife, choose a Chef’s Knife
. This is an all-purpose blade that is 6-10″ long and can be used for just about anything.

Once you have the basic knife, you might also want to invest in a knife sharpener to keep your blades nice and sharp.

Other knives to add to your collection over time include a paring/utility knife and a bread knife.