leeneia... ideally, it should heat to 205F to 210F and never to 212F. A slow cooker is supposed to "maintain" such a temperature to avoid any boiling - IDEALLY. Of course, it depends what is in the cooker. Right now, I have bubbles in the liquid but it is not bubbling and it's 2:45h now, on high.

Q.... no doubt that convenience is a major factor. Given your ages, it's safe to assume high blood prssure is not a consideration. As well, I have noted that the offerings by M&M have a lower salt content than the stuff in big grocery chains. If yer gonna buy yer frozen prepared food, M&M delivers the best quality, at least around here. Mum used to shop there a lot until I bought the house next door to her about ten years ago and started cooking almost every lunch and supper she eats. I don't need to cook fruit and cereal for her breakfast.

Exception - Sal's Pizza once in a while. Sal's I can hit with a sling shot from where I live and it's deeeeelicious and unbelievably cheap... all fresh ingrediants and I can by U-Bake but I'd rather support the business and buy it cooked. I buy U-Bake Vito's (local family business) lasagna BUT I gotta buy it at Costco on accounta over half of the last 6 lasagnas I bought directly from Vito's had hardly any sauce! Costco requires that each lasagna made for them has EACH ingrediant weighed and if they get any complaints about quality... the axe. Sad but true.