-Save time in the morning by chopping ingredients the night before and
storing them in the refrigerator.
-Even better you can eliminate chopping all together by buying
vegetables from a salad bar.
-You can adapt most recipes to slow cooking, but remember that liquids
don't boil away. A good rule of thumb is to use about half the liquid
required in a regular recipe.
-If you plan on being gone longer than a recipe needs to cook, plug your
crock pot into an automatic timer and set it accordingly.
-Be careful using milk or dairy products in a crock pot because they
tend to break down during cooking. Non-fat dry milk is a good
substitute.
-Meat loaf is great made in a slow cooker. Make it easy to remove by
shaping it on a square of wax paper or aluminum foil. Place long strips
of double foil underneath and use them to lift out the meatloaf out of
the pot.
-At holiday time, a crock pot is perfect for preparing stuffing,
especially if the oven is full.
-You can even use it to bake. Brownie cake is made by pouring batter
into a straight sided canning jar and "baking" it in a slow cooker.
So the next time you need to have dinner ready fast you might want to
think about cooking it slow.
BROWNIE CAKE
1 cup all-purpose flour 3
tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 beaten egg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon(optional) 1/2 teaspoon
vanilla
1/3 cup butter or margarine 1/4 cut
finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup water
Vanilla ice cream (optional)
Grease two 1-pint straight sided, wide mouth canning jars. Line the
bottom of each with wax paper. In a small bowl stir together flour,
sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon if desired. Set aside. In a medium
pan combine margarine, water, & cocoa powder. Heat and stir until
margarine is melted and mixture is well combined. Remove from heat and
stir in flour mixture. Add buttermilk or sour milk, egg, and vanilla.
Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts.
Pour mixture in to prepared jars. Cover the jars tightly with greased
foil. Place the jars in a 4 to five quart crockery cooker. Cover and
cook on high for 2 3/4 to 3 hours or until cake springs back when
touched, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove jars and
cool for 10 minutes. Unmold cakes and serve warm or cool with ice cream.
ITALIAN STYLE MEATLOAF
1 8oz can pizza sauce 1/2 teaspoon
garlic salt
1 beaten egg 1/4
teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 teaspoon
fennel seed crushed (optional)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper 1&1/2 pounds ground
beef
1/3 cup fine dry seasoned breadcrumbs 1/2 cup shredded
mozzarella cheese
Reserve 1/3 cup pizza sauce, cover and chill. In a medium mixing bowl
combine remaining pizza sauce and egg. Stir in onion, green pepper,
breadcrumbs, garlic salt, pepper, and fennel if desired. Add ground
beef.
criss cross three 18x2 inch foil (atop a sheet of waxed paper). In
center of the foil strips shape a 6-inch round meat loaf. Bringing up
the foil strips , lift and transfer meat and foil to a 4 or 5 quart
crock pot. Press meat away from sides to avoid burning. Cover and cook
on low heat setting for seven to nine hours-or on high for 3&1/2 to
4&1/2 hours. Spread meat with reserved sauce and cheese, recover and
let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Using foil strips carefully lift meat out of
pot and transfer to a serving dish.
CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS AND OLIVES
1/3 cup dried apricots 4 whole
chicken legs (2 lbs total)
1/3 cup drained Nicoise or calamata olives 2 tablespoons each of
drained capers & firmly
2 cloves garlic minced or pressed packed brown
sugar.
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel 1 cup each
orange juice and white wine vinegar
fresh ground pepper 1
tablespoon dried basil
In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker, combine apricots, olives, garlic,
and basil. Rinse chicken and pat dry, arrange on top of apricot
mixture. Sprinkle with capers, sugar, and pepper. Drizzle with juice
and vinegar. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Carefully lift
chicken to a warm serving dish. Using a slotted spoon , lift apricots
and olives from pot and arrange around the chicken. Keep Warm. Skim
fat from cooking liquid, pour the liquid into a small pan. Bring to a
boil over high heat and reduce to 1/2 cup, stirring often. Pour over
chicken, garnish with oranges and parsley.
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