There’s nothing better after a hard day’s work than coming home to a comforting stew, casserole or soup bubbling away with that delicious home cooked aroma.

Ready meals never live up to expectations, with meagre portions, an imbalance of ingredients and an artificial taste. But if you find that you struggle for time to create home prepared food or you’re just too tired at the end of the day investing in a slow cooker could be the best thing you’ve ever done.

I recently purchased a stainless steel appliance with a ceramic bowl from my local superstore for less than $30 (£20) and I’m amazed at just how easy it is to use and the variety of tasty dinner time treats that can be rustled up.

The slow cooking process works magic on cheap or tough cuts of meat, and flavours from herbs and spices will infuse into potatoes and vegetables beautifully by the time your dish is served, as long as you use enough of them.

You can also experiment with pulses such as pui lentils and pearl barley to create delicious rustic style broths that will warm the heart and remain kind to the waistline. It’s even easy to prepare a tasty tomato based pasta sauce in your slow cooker and all you’ll have to do at dinner time is boil up some spaghetti and grate some Parmesan cheese.

You’ll find that home cooked food is not only tastier and better for you but you’ll also save money by buying fresh ingredients as opposed to ready meals – a great bonus in this financial climate.

Do you love omelets but tend to make a mess when you try to flip them? This omelet cooker/flipper from joieshop.com promises to take this frustration away. When one side of the omelet is done cooking, flip the entire pan over to cook the other side.

I have a similar grill platter that I use all the time to warm tortillas and to saute onions and peppers. Mine is limited to the stovetop, but this platter was made to cook on the stove, in the oven, in the broiler, and on the grill.

Made out of Armetale metal, this grill platter can withstand temperatures up to 1000 degrees. I’ve yet to find a recipe that requires setting a temperature over 525º. Available at cookingtoys.com.

It’s been a little over a decade since I’ve bought anything from Pampered Chef. The reason wasn’t because I was dissatisfied with their products; I still have the original pieces I bought, which have held up very well over the years. One of the pieces I have is the Deep Covered Baker. I’ve used it to cook roasts and deep dish casseroles, such as Macaroni Grill’s Penne Rustica.

I visited Pampered Chef’s website more out of curiosity, to see what new products they’ve added to their line. They still offer the same stoneware, although they have glazed some of it. The Deep Covered Baker was one of the products they decided to glaze. If I didn’t have this already, I’d order it because I like the cranberry color.

I was pleased to find that they offer stainless steel cookware, as well as non-stick. Of course, they’re incredibly overpriced. But that’s Pampered Chef.