A slow cooker for your fast-paced life.

This time of year, I hear that much of the country suffers from a season called "winter." Here in Houston, we bundle up when the temperature drops below 70, so I feel your pain. To get through these cold, dark days, consider adding a slow cooker to your kitchen appliance stash.

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The Hamilton Beach 3-in-1 comes with--wait for it--three separate crocks in 2-, 4-, and 6-quart sizes. Why would you want such a thing? Allow me to explain.

We're a family of six here at our house, and four of those are kids under 10, so the 4-quart size is usually perfect for dinner for all of us. But sometimes the kids eat out with friends, or we're making a curry they won't touch, or something else happens that means we can manage just fine with 2 quarts. And when we do want to feed the whole brood plus guests--or to make extra portions to freeze, 6 quarts is a big crock that meets our needs quite well.

Sure, you could buy two slow cookers, but then you'd have to make room for two separate appliances. With this one, you can nest all the crocks inside a single base for easy storage. And a single lid fits all three crocks for ease of use.

Never used a slow cooker before? Think every dish will come out mushy? Think again. Check your local library for slow cooker recipe books. You'll find you can make everything--from soup and appetizers to dessert- in this versatile appliance.