I made apple butter and canned it- great! I love to make soups in it- easy as can be. There are an incredible amount of recipes for crockpots, and I've heard there are some that have a meat browning setting also. My favorite feature is the autoshift to a warming level. I put my crockpot on the glass stovetop or a corningware mat to avoid a countertop fire. I don't think I'd trust a regular hot pad or potato bag.