HAYDEN RUN WARD
SLOW COOKER KITCHEN CLASS
January 29, 2010
Jennie Dragoo
BASICS
Don’t re-invent the wheel! An instruction manual/recipe book came with
your slow cooker; use it! The manufacturer put a lot of time and money
into developing recipes that will make their slow cooker the star of the
show. If someone upgraded and gave you their older/smaller/no-frills slow
cooker without a manual/recipe book---thank them profusely, then get to
the library and check out one or two crockpot cookbooks out of the
gazillion available! Then, use it!
This is about as low tech as good cooking gets; OFF/ON and HIGH/LOW/WARM,
those are the usual options. If you were fortunate and for a wedding
gift got a programmable, thermometer/probe model, yippee---you still need
to read the book, and you still need to take it out of the box or
cupboard and actually use it. Or, you could give it away to someone
that loves slow cookers who doesn’t think one is enough.
BUDGET
Everyone needs a budget; a budget teaches you how to spend wisely and
save wisely. Even the Queen of England only has so much money to spend.
I’m not saying she has a slow cooker, but if she gets in a pinch for time
or money, then she should get one and use it! How does cooking once and
eating twice sound for your budget? Some people have money and no time,
some people have time and no money---a slow cooker can serve either or
both circumstances.
A slow cooker uses about the same electricity as a 100 watt light bulb.
They can keep your kitchen cooler in the summer, free up the oven or
stovetop on holidays, give you time to enjoy your family, visitors or
guests, make the cheapest meats a tasty (even gourmet) meal or provide
the base for many different meals.
SECRETS
No offense Stephen Covey, but the slow cooker is the best time-management
device on the planet---as long as the LUCKY owner takes it out of the box
or cupboard and actually uses it! If dinner is practically cooking
itself with just a little bit of planning and prep; what are you going to
do with your spare time? Will you read "just one more story" to your
toddler at nap time? Take a nap yourself? Read a fun book? Some say time
is money; I say time is TIME!
TIPS
Don’t peek! Every time you lift the lid, the slow cooker takes 10-20
minutes to recover and return to temperature. That’s why the lids are
glass or clear plastic now! Only lift to stir and only stir when/if the
recipe calls for it.
Put the vegetables on the bottom and then the meat. Vegetables take
longer to cook than meat in stews, roasts and other dishes. Don’t ask me
why---it is probably some technical, scientific, whoop-de-do reason. You
can probably find out why by reading the slow cooker manual, cookbooks,
or the hard way.
Try to keep your vegetables diced or sliced more uniformly for the same
reason. Promptly refrigerate leftovers. Promptly divide into smaller
portions and freeze or refrigerate when cooking large quantities of beans
or meats to use in other recipes. (I cook "big" in the slow cooker
overnight and repackage into smaller portions in the morning.)
Adapt your favorite recipes to slow cooker recipes. This works great for
soups, stews, mashed potatoes, oatmeal or porridge, and casseroles. You
have to reduce the liquid when adapting because moisture doesn’t
evaporate in a slow cooker like a bubbling pot of soup or stew on the
stovetop or a casserole that thickens in the oven. If you "bake" bread,
cheesecakes, regular cakes, etc. in your slow cooker, you’ll need to
absorb the moisture by placing a folded dish towel or two between the lid
and the slow cooker---the books explain the process---I’ve never tried
"baking" in the slow cooker, but you can bet your brownies I will be!
The "BASE RECIPES" times are more exact. The "POSSIBILITIES" are general
so tweak to suit your style and tastes!
SAUCY CHICKEN
BASE: Combine 4 to 6 (frozen or thawed) boneless, skinless chicken
breasts and 1 - 2 cans or jars of *spaghetti sauce in slow cooker and
cook on low for 7 - 8 hours.
POSSIBILITIES: 1. Serve as is with a vegetable and salad
2. Serve over cooked spaghetti, top with grated parmesan or chopped
fresh basil
3. Serve with sautéed polenta slices topped with shredded cheddar
cheese
4. Serve with or over cooked rice (stir in a few tablespoons of
butter and cilantro)
5. Serve over sautéed baby eggplant or zucchini
6. Serve over cooked California Mix (frozen bags of cauliflower,
broccoli and carrots)
7. Dice and mix into cooked bowtie pasta with seasoned green beans
on the side
*Or Substitute 2 16 oz. jars of salsa instead:
1. Serve with cornbread and a salad or vegetable
2. Serve with polenta (fancy name for cold, sliced cornmeal
mush) and shredded cheddar cheese
3. Dice and serve over any combination of black beans, corn and
rice on a bed of lettuce
4. Remove from sauce, shred for tacos, burritos or tortilla
wraps---use sauce on the side
5. Dice or shred, sauté in skillet with a little olive oil,
onion, bell pepper & garlic clove, 1 teaspoon cumin, and a cup of
cooked rice. Heat through before serving.
6. Dice/ add 1 can chicken broth, 1 can rinsed and drained black
beans, 1 can drained corn and 1 cup salsa for a Southwestern Soup.
Top with cheese & tortilla chips.
VEGETARIAN BROWN BEANS
BASE: Rinse 2 to 3 cups pinto beans in a colander. Put rinsed beans in
large pan, add ½ to 1 gallon water to cover and soak overnight. Drain
and rinse beans again in a colander. Place rinsed beans in slow cooker.
Fill cooker almost full---about 2 to 3 inches from the top rim. Stir in
one or two packages of dry onion soup mix and one chopped onion. Cook on
low 7 - 8 hours.
POSSIBILITIES: 1. Serve as is with cornbread on the side and garnish
with chopped onions.
2. Add a cup of cooked rice and a jar of salsa for Spicy Bean
Soup.
3. Use as a base for your favorite chili recipe.
4. Add uncooked macaroni the last half hour, cook on high for
20-30 minutes or until done.
5. Add a cup of diced ham and 1 - 2 large diced potatoes the
second time around.
6. Puree the amount your family will eat in one meal for a
cream soup. Garnish with green onion, sour cream, cheddar cheese or
other toppings.
Expand the possibilities by using any kind of bean; navy, white, kidney,
pink, black, etc. If you want to use the beans in dessert recipes, leave
out the onion soup mix. White beans are more like tofu and take on the
personality of what they are paired with. Black or brown beans are great
when making brownies or chocolate desserts---I’m not kidding!
PLAIN CHICKEN BREASTS
BASE: Combine 4 to 5 chicken breasts (thawed or frozen) and ½ to 1 cup
water in slow cooker. Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours. They will look quite
anemic, don’t be alarmed!
POSSIBILITIES: 1. Season with Montreal Steak seasoning. Sear or
pan-fry in a little olive oil in a skillet to brown.
2. Use as a starter for your favorite "slow cooker" white
chili recipe.
3. Use as a starter for slow cooker chicken and rice soup
(carrots, onion, raw rice, broth, chicken)
4. Dice or cube, combine a box of stuffing mix and 1 1/2
cups of the broth. Put mixture into greased crockpot. Top with jar
of chicken gravy, cook on low about 1 - 1/12 hours. You can sneak in
some extra vegetables too!
5. Spread honey mustard on one side, grill lightly, turn and
do the same to the other side.
6. Dice small. Combine one can cream of chicken soup, 1 cup
milk, frozen mixed vegetables in a greased casserole dish. Spread or
drop dollops of prepared Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix on top. Bake according
to muffin temperature, just add 15 minutes to baking time or until
cornbread
is done. Can make this in the crockpot and try the folded towel
trick.
7. Chill/Cube, add celery, chopped pecans, seedless grapes
and Miracle Whip. Serve on lettuce.
8. Shred into bite-sized pieces. Add cream of chicken soup or
chicken gravy, a cup of broth and a few tablespoons of raw oatmeal
(this is the thickener). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook
on high in crockpot about 1 hour. Serve on toasted bun.
9. Cube, place in skillet with some olive oil. Brown slightly.
Add one chopped bell pepper & ½ onion, chopped. Drain can of
pineapple tidbits reserving liquid. Stir 2 tablespoons cornstarch
into liquid. Add pineapple and cornstarch mixture to skillet.
Cook/stir until bubbly. Serve over seasoned or buttered rice.
