It seems nobody has the time to cook anymore.

By cook, I don’t mean heating up one of those meals in a bag. Nor do I mean microwaving a TV dinner. And no, picking up a premade pizza and sticking it under the broiler doesn’t count either.

“Cooking” entails a meal, usually hot, made from scratch (or at least partially from scratch). Not something that comes out of a to-go box. Not anything that says “just heat and eat!” on the package.

But, in a world that isn’t always nine-to-five, who really has the time to slave over a hot stove for an hour? And, after a long, draining day at work, who has the energy?

There are several solutions. You could just pick up Chinese food or pizza on the way home and call it good. You could hire a personal chef. Or not. Or you could just buy a Crock-Pot.

Owning a Crock-Pot is like having your own personal chef. All you have to do is throw everything in the pot, turn it on, and forget about it. The Crock-Pot does the cooking for you. Plus, it cooks so slowly, you can leave it on all day and have a hot meal ready when you get home from work.

“I think the main benefit is you can have dinner on the table when you get home,” said Lou Pappas, who wrote “Extra-Special Crockery Pot Recipes” in 1974. “It’s all ready for you and it smells wonderful.”

Pappas wrote the book in the heyday of the Crock-Pot, which was introduced by Rival in 1971 and replicated by many companies thereafter. In the ’80s, crockery pot cooking fell out of favor, but it has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years. Pappas revised the book and Rival updated its original design updated its original design.

“It has been (gaining popularity) since the early ’90s because people are so busy and they see the convenience of it,” said Lori Baker, a home economist with Rival.

The new crockery cookers are programmable, with touch-pad controls on the front rather than a temperature dial. Some have a divided pot inside, so you can cook two things at once. But the concept is the same: a removable earthenware bowl placed inside a steel or plastic housing with heating coils wrapped from top to bottom. The coils heat the crockery evenly and at low temperatures to slow cook the food inside.

With slow cooking, even the toughest cuts of meat turn out succulent and tender. It also allows the spices and flavors to mingle longer in foods such as chili and stews.

“Roasts turn out very tender and soups and stews turn out great,” Baker said.

Diana Rattray, a Presque Isle native who now lives in Mississippi and runs a Southern cooking forum for About.com, said meats with a higher fat content tend to fare better in the Crock-Pot.

“Pork chops on the bone fall apart,” Rattray said. “Nice, thick pork chops cooked for six or seven hours are really good.”

When she started her cooking forum on the Internet, Rattray found that most of the people who wrote in for advice wanted to know more about crockery pot cooking.

“People just love the Crock-Pot recipes,” Rattray said. “It was just the most popular thing.”

While most people associate Crock-Pot cooking with such comfort foods as roasts, pork barbecue and baked beans, cookbook author Pappas takes a lighter approach.

“Often today I would substitute ground turkey for ground chuck because a lot of people I know are into the lighter style of cooking with less fat,” she said.

Pappas worked as a food editor for the Peninsula Times Tribune in Palo Alto, Calif., and as a home economist for Sunset magazine for 13 years. In the early ’70s, she was raising a family and working and used a Crock-Pot frequently, but had a hard time finding recipes that appealed to her.

“I was inspired to do the book because I looked in the recipe booklets of the crock-pot manufacturers and I was appalled by the recipes,” Pappas said. “I thought I could do something much more interesting and delicious than that.”

She combined all fresh ingredients to come up with such dishes as Moroccan Meatball Soup and Greek-Style Meat Sauce. Throughout the book, she draws from her own Swedish-German background and her husband’s Greek background to create recipes with an international flair.

“I have blended all these cuisines into my style of cooking,” Pappas said. “The recipes are very much global with wonderful, fresh ingredients. I think food tastes much more honest and delicious when you work with fresh ingredients.”

Whether you prefer thick stews or light soups, there are plenty of cookbooks and Web forums full of Crock-Pot recipes and tips (see sidebar). And they’re so easy and quick to assemble, even the busiest people can find the time to put them together. It may even be faster than stopping to pick up a pizza.

Moroccan Meatball Soup

From “Extra-Special Crockery Pot Recipes” by Lou Siebert Pappas.

The secret to this recipe is “gingerroot, to give it a spark,” Pappas says.

1/3 cup lentils, with water to cover

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3/4 cup tomato sauce

1 teaspoon grated gingerroot, or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

dash seasoned pepper

11/2 quart homemade or canned low-fat beef or chicken broth

meatballs (recipe follows)

1 large tomato, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

For meatballs:

1 pound ground lamb

1/3 cup homemade or canned low-fat beef or chicken broth

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

flour for rolling meatballs

Mix ingredients together and form into 3/4-inch balls. Roll in flour and add to soup as directed.

For soup:

Place lentils with water to cover in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil; simmer for 45 minutes, or until almost tender. Drain. In a large skillet, saute onion, carrot and celery in oil until glazed. Transfer to the crockery pot. Add cooked lentils, tomato sauce, ginger, salt, cumin, pepper and broth. Cover and cook on low (200 F) for 4 hours, or on high (300 F) for 2 hours. Prepare meatballs while lentils are cooking in crockery pot. When lentils are done, drop meatballs into simmering soup. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Add tomato and cilantro and serve steaming hot.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Bristol Publishing Enterprises.

Chicken and Orange Sauce

From “Extra-Special Crockery Pot Recipes” by Lou Siebert Pappas.

1 broiler-fryer chicken, 3-31/2 pounds, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 green onion, chopped

1 cup homemade or canned low-fat chicken broth

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

1/4 cup currant jelly

1 orange, peeled and cut into segments, for garnish

1 bunch watercress for garnish (optional)

Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. In a large skillet, brown chicken in oil. Add carrot and onion and saute until glazed. Transfer chicken and vegetables to the crockery pot. Pour broth into skillet and stir to loosen browned bits. Pour over chicken and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low (200 F) for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from crockery pot and keep warm. Strain juices into a saucepan. Skim fat, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 cup. Add orange juice concentrate and currant jelly. Heat until blended. Spoon some of the sauce over chicken. Garnish with orange segments and watercress sprigs. Pass remaining sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Bristol Publishing Enterprises.

Greek-Style Meat Sauce

From “Extra-Special Crockery Pot Recipes” by Lou Siebert Pappas.

Pappas said this sauce was “a godsend” when she was raising her four children because of its versatility. She recommends using the sauce in various dishes, including spaghetti, moussaka, as a sauce for tacos or ladled inside avocado halves. The mixed pickling spices give the sauce a kick.

2 pounds ground turkey or lean ground beef

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 medium onions, finely chopped

4 cans (6 ounces each) tomato paste

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon mixed pickling spices

1 cup dry red wine

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large skillet, brown meat in oil until it loses its pink color. Transfer to the crockery pot. In the same skillet, saute onions until glazed and transfer to crockery pot. Add tomato paste, garlic, pickling spices (placed in a tea ball or tied in a cheesecloth bag), wine, salt and pepper. Cover. Cook on low (200 F) for 8 hours. Stir once or twice. Cool slightly. Serve hot or ladle into freezer containers.

Makes 3 quarts.

Recipe reprinted with permission of Bristol Publishing Enterprises.

Asian-Spiced Chicken and Beans

1/2 cup dry-packaged navy beans or 1 can (15 ounces) navy beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup dry-packaged red beans or 1 can (15 ounces) red beans, rinsed and drained

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 large carrots, diagonally sliced

2-3 teaspoons minced garlic

2-3 teaspoons minced gingerroot of 1-2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 can (141/2 ounces) reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2-3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

4 cups cooked rice

Sliced green onions and tops, as garnish

Chopped peanuts, as garnish

Cover combined beans with 2 inches water in large saucepan and heat until boiling; let boil, uncovered, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Drain and rinse.

Place beans, chicken, carrots, garlic, ginger and 11/4 cups chicken broth in crockery pot; stir well. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender, 5 1/2 to 6 hours.

Turn crockery cooker to high. Stir in combined cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth; stir in crushed red pepper. Cover and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in soy sauce. Serve over rice. Sprinkle with green onions and peanuts.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: any canned or dry-packaged bean variety can be substituted for the navy and red beans.

Recipe courtesy of the Bean Education and Awareness Network.