IN the 1970s a star was born and 40 years later it’s still going strong — the humble Crock-Pot. Mine is a hand-me-down. Nothing flash — no bells and whistles — just a bog-standard slow cooker. Courtesy of my mother, who swears by it and has always pestered me to give it a go.

For months, this little gem of domesticity lived in my kitchen cupboards, tucked away for chillier weather, or when I could be bothered to work out how to use it. At first I underrated its versatility and ability to make my life easier. I thought that using a Crock-Pot was tragically domestic and the height of ‘un-cool’.

This wasn’t helped by my other half professing that he “hates” casseroles and anything distinctly slow-cooker-related. My grumpy response — that using a Crock-Pot would make the after-work rush for food better for the both of us — was greeted with begrudging silence, which I took as a green light.

For a procrastinator like me, it can be a challenge to organise dinner the night before. But, once I gave the slow cooker a go, I found out it’s really not that hard.

I’d underestimated the Crock-Pot, but now I know their worth and have concocted several delicious dinners with as little fuss as I could hope for.

For my first attempt, I made what proved to be a tasty meat and vegetable soup. Such was my dedication that when I got up during the night to use the bathroom I tiptoed to the kitchen to check my meal-in-the-making’s progress.

I think I did pretty well, too. While the recipe received a bit of tweaking and I ignored some parts, it all went smoothly and the dish went down well with buttered toast. Armed with the knowledge that you can chuck your ingredients in, hope for the best and — in my experience — not be disappointed, I decided to try another recipe.

On another night, I arrived home to the scrumptious aroma of devilled sausages, gently cooked to perfection — well, almost.

The sausages were a little brown around the edges, but beneath the layer of chopped tomatoes and onions, you really couldn’t tell the difference.

My fiancé thought it was pretty good too, which is high praise indeed considering it’s a casserole.

As I write this, I am gearing up for the annual Food Show. I’ve never been before and being a bit of a foodie, I am looking forward to filling my stomach with lots of tantalising treats.

I might even get a few ideas for my next slow cooker effort, too.