Well I use a rice cooker and I love the slow cooker. You can do a lot of good meals in those if you know what kind of time to leave your food in em. It's hassle free. Usually they are good because if you're a student and got a few classes, you can dump your food in one and usually it's ready after classes. It takes some getting used to as far as cooking time, but I can cook almost anything in one of those. Usually toss the meat in there with some herbs and potatoes, onions, garlic or whatever you want. If you like to cook you can easily get creative :P