I love making casseroles, but the trouble is, they take hours in the oven, which costs a lot of money in electric. Yet at the same time, you can sometimes end up with tough meat, because it hasn't quite had long enough in the oven.
This is where the slow cooker comes in. This Russell Hobbs cooker has a simple 4 position switch; Off, warm, low, high. They recommend you put it on high to warm up for 20mins which I usually do (although I have on occasion forgotten to, but it didn't seem to affect the outcome) while I prepare the ingredients. I then put all the food into the dishwasher safe pot, and then whizz off to work.
When I crash through the door bleary eyed at 8pm, there's the waft of hot cooked food. Wonderful.
The meat is tenderised with slow cookers far better than you can ever get it with a conventional oven.
This is a very simple, affordable product which every home should have.