Tip: Clean Kitchen Appliances with less Elbow Grease

I love cooking with my crock pot. It's a great option for a not-so-busy morning - There's something relaxing about "set it and forget it!" I thought I would share my recipe on Janie Girl today when I realized a common problem. I try to keep clean surfaces, but the grime that appears on my small appliances is a challenge. Tons of scrubbing and experimenting with different cleaners... Does anyone else have this issue? My crock pot never looks as clean as the day we brought it home. Yuck!

I put so much effort in scrubbing, but achieve so little. Then I realized one small detail: this baked on crud was cemented on by heat during the baking process. So what if I cleaned with heat instead of blood, sweat and tears?

Turn it on!

Either after serving dinner or before the next - while the crock pot is warm but not too hot - use basic dish soap and water to scrub your appliance surface. I like to use my padded cloth scrubby because the pot can get super hot if it's on high and scold. Be cautious! Only clean when the crock pot is first warming up or cooling down. 

That's it! Do you have cleaning tips for the kitchen?