Instructions: Trapped in time, the slow cooker remains the most maligned kitchen appliance to come along since the Veg-O-Matic.

Its bland and badly decorated. It has a throw-in-all-the-ingredients quality that many serious cooks shun. and yet, in the curious, time-honored way that hand-cranked can openers have prevailed over the electric variety, the slow cooker - the Crock-Pot - endures. Today, three decades after

It was introduced to convenience-hungry cooks by the Rival Company, the slow cooker is a staple in countless kitchens. Theres a slow cooker in two of every three homes in America, according to trade groups. and in spite of its lack of elan, the slow cooker is the gift that more brides receive - 62 percent - than any other, according to retailers.

Operating on a no-brainer principle, the slow cooker is a stoneware crock set

In a pot with heating coils embedded in the surrounding metal or, sometimes, underneath it. It cooks whatever you put in it at a consistently low heat for a long time - usually six to 10 hours.

Busy singles, working couples and people with children like the idea of an unhurried and unattended dinner thats ready and waiting when they get home.

Slow cookers come in a variety of patterns and in sizes ranging from one to six quarts. The smallest pots are usually used for dips, melted cheese or potpourri, while the largest can handle whole chickens.

Most have a three-position switch: off, low and high. At low heat, food cooks just below the boiling point; at high, it simmers and cooks approximately twice as fast.

A clearer advantage is that slow cooking tenderizes foods, allowing you to use less-costly cuts of meat.

More than money, though, its the time saved that wins over most slow-cooker enthusiasts. Time, and more than satisfactory results.

"I think most people simply cant believe that dishes turn out as well as they do," says Mable Hoffman. "Youre getting good, nourishing food, and convenience."

She should know. Hoffman is a home economist from San Diego who has been singing the Crock-Pots praises for more than 20 years. She even wrote the book on it: "Crockery Cookery" (HP Books, revised in 1985; $14), which has sold more than 5 million copies.

Her recipes range from the mundane (chili con carne, meat loaf) to the tempting, if not trendy (curried island chicken, stuffed honeyed sweet potatoes, apple peanut crumble). and she is quick to defend the Crock-Pot against its critics.

Its a fact that the dishes that made the slow cooker famous - fat-laden stews and pot roasts - just dont appeal to many who watch what they eat. But Hoffman points to the numerous recipes that have been revised over the years - and she advises cooks to simply trim meats well and not add ingredients that are high in fat.

Theres no question that at the end of a long day, its nice to be greeted by an aroma, instead of a lump of frozen food that needs to be defrosted and then cooked before you can sit down to dinner.

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