We are a family of four including two boys with very hearty appetites. We are at a stage in our lives where everything seems just a little more hectic and quite a bit more expensive.

I had read plenty about slow-cookers on money saving, parenting and cooking websites and checked out the reviews on Argos and was overwhelmed by the level of positivity around these little machines.
Here was an appliance that would be economical, time saving and healthy for my family... I decided to give it a try.

As a family of four, we were recommended to buy a 4-5 litre capacity slow cooker, however I wanted a cooker that could accommodate a mountain of food for the purpose of batch cooking and freezing leftovers so I started to look for the largest I could find.

I stumbled upon the 6.5-litre Breville VTP06 Slow Cooker in my local Sainsburys store and to my delight it was labelled as being half price, meaning that I paid a paltry £28. A bargain considering I was willing to pay far more.

The machine itself looks great, just be sure that you have enough room on your kitchen counter top as it was larger than I thought it would be. The appliance consists of a chrome coloured outer shell which has the temperature dial on the front and a crock pot which sits inside the casing.

There are three settings:

* High- For cooking a little more quickly. We use it for the first hour to get the machine to a good temperature quickly.
* Low- Suitable for all day cooking and tougher meats such as beef.
* Keep Warm- Keeps the food at the right temperature until serving.

What I was most impressed with was that the food can be prepared in the morning then left all day to slow cook. This means that dinner is ready as you walk in the door.

Also, the slow cooker is very economical as it uses less energy than an oven and allows you to cook cheaper cuts of meat. Cleaning is simple. Just wait for the crock pot to cool down then take it out and wash.

Recipes we have had great success with include: Roast Chicken, Beef Stew, Chicken Casserole, Whole Leg of Lamb and spare ribs.

Our all-time-favourite was the lamb which we simply sealed before putting in the slow cooker, added a little water and topped with plenty of salt, pepper and mint. Eight hours later our lamb was ready and simply falling off the bone.

I have read on slow cooking websites that it is possible to make puddings in this device and I can't wait to try out rice pudding.

Overall I would say that I am delighted with my purchase. The slow cooker is used at least once a week and we haven't had a meal we've disliked yet. I am sure that if others try it they will be converted too.