Used my slow cooker for the first time

I'm in a de-acquisition phase. There's so much (good) STUFF in my brain at the moment (thank you, MBA) that I don't seem to be able to cope with excess STUFF in my apartment. I'm looking at you, clutter. I didn't have too much to begin with, but I have been fairly methodically going through things with the William Morris quote in mind:

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.

This slow-cooker was originally given to me by a friend who was moving back to the US from Bury St Edmunds with her husband. She is now divorced, has moved to and from Africa, and has a kid. I have also divorced and moved. And it had not ever been used. Um, not earning your cupboard space, Ms. Slow Cooker.

The ex-husband had been afraid that the slow cooker would (a) produce icky food and (b) burn the house down. So there's that.

I was slightly afraid that the slow cooker might burn the house down, having not been used for in excess of 5 years (ahem).

I gave it a thorough cleaning, as it had spent a fair few years in our garage, and settled in for a rainy afternoon of Studying While Also Supervising The Slow Cooker.

I am pleased to report that my apartment is still standing, the slow cooker did NOT blow up or set itself on fire, and the resulting dinner was extremely delicious.

Beautiful? No. Useful? YES!

I read Smitten Kitchen's post about Gourmet's Oven Braised Beef, and decided to try it in the slow-cooker. It wasn't particularly brown but it WAS exceedingly delicious. I went with 4 hours on high, and the meat was very tender. I think next time I might brown the outside in a pan first, or run it on low for a bit longer.

I'm not even sure if it counts as a recipe, as it can be described in about 20 seconds and only has 3 ingredients. The most labour-intensive part was dividing the garlic head into cloves. You don't even peel them!

Serves 6. Or one Kate, for 6 nights (4 of which are currently in the freezer).