Well, This Ain't Good -- Exploding Crockpots!!!

Can you imagine lifting your crockpot lid to check your food and it explodes?!? Apparently, it is happening.

One woman reported she had to be treated in the hospital when 'a piece of glass flew into her eye' -another reported being 'punctured while cleaning up'. Crock Pot, Hamilton Beach, Calphalon, Sensio, and CE North America were all the slow cooker manufacturers identified by consumers on the the Consumer Product Safety Commissions website - SaferProducts.gov.


Watch this news video

A sampling of comments on other sites:

   "I had the same problem but the slow cooker was cleaned and sitting out waiting for me to put it away. My wife and I heard a pop and found the lid shattered"

   " My lid also exploded. I had just removed the ceramic insert, placed it on my table on a hot pad, removed my ham, replaced the lid and all of a sudden glass shards from the the entire edge/rim became air borne. The ham was ruined. I am not sure which specific product is mine, it held a 7 lbs ham just perfectly"

   "I bought my crock pot less than a year ago. I have used it several times with no problem until the lid exploded in my face. I placed allt my ingredents into my crock pot, took off the lid 15 minutes later to give it a stir and the lid exploded in my face and all over my kitchen. I called Rival and I was told that this has happened before but the problem was taken care of. I asked several times to speak to someone that could explain to me why this has happened and how exactly it "WAS CORRECTED" I never spoke to anyone but they are sending me a lovely new crock pot. No thanks! I'm just a little scared at this point." 
 
My personal thought is:

I won't be running my crock pot or its lid through the dish washer, even if it does say diswasher safe .... just in case.

Stuffed Peppers

1 or 2 Large Bell Peppers (each half is 1 serving)
1 lb ground turkey (browned)
1  can black beans
1/4 cup chopped purple or red onion
1/2 chopped tomato
4 to 6 stalks asparagus, chopped
1/2 packet taco seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese
Sour Cream

Cut and deseed the pepper. Mix all the ingredients except for the cheese and the sour cream in a bowl.

Spoon the mixture into the pepper halves and place into the crockpot. Cook on low for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.

Sprinkle a little of both cheeses over the top just before taking the peppers out. Serve a with spoonful of sour cream.

Be careful not to overcook. The peppers become mushy (as mine did). The flavor was good but I should have taken them out sooner. The texture would have been better with a little crunch left in the peppers.

Alternative Method: In a bowl, mix all ingredients except for the cheese and sour cream. Microwave on high for a minute or two, until asparagus and onion are tender. Spoon mixture into peppers.

Place stuffed peppers into a microwave safe dish and cover. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until peppers are done to your liking. Sprinkle with cheese as soon as removed from microwave.

I like these spicy so I used some jalepeno slices also. Hot sauce or red pepper flakes work well too.