One way to prepare a homemade meal without the hassle is a slow cooker, which allows beginner and expert chefs alike to cook filling, flavorful meals at home with minimal prep and clean up.

Truth: You can cook a lot of stove-top stews or oven-braises in a slow cooker. But before you go to work, school, the gym, sleep, or whatever else you’d like to do for 8 hours, there are a few ...