Slow Cooker

[OWC Jamie]

kap wrote:

Also, where can I find easy and simple recipes?

Mine came with a 250 page operators manual.
240 pages were suggestions and slow cook recommendations/variations on meals.

Timer could come in handy if you can't do things like shut lights off or end up with dozens of eggs on the counter because you forgot you just took them out. Or have more than one oven fire a year because you put something in the oven just before going on a 1,000 mile bike ride. Or have better things to do than watch a slow cooker cook.

[the_poochies]

Mrs. Poochie purchased this model for me a few years back and it has been fantastic. I just made a chicken curry dish in the Crock Pot yesterday:

2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces
flour
cooking spray or oil
2 cans whole potatoes
1 10 oz. package of froz. peas (canned peas will work too)
1 10 oz. package of froz. spinach
1 28 oz can of peeled tomatoes
3 yellow onions, finely chopped
salt, pepper, cumin and curry powder to taste
1 or 2 cups basmati rice

Grease frying pan or skillet with oil.
Coat chicken parts in flour and toss them into the hot frying pan until browned.

Toss tomatoes, potatoes and onions in slow cooker. Place chicken on top.

Set slow cooker to "low" and cook for 6 hours. After 5 or 5.5 hours, throw in the peas and spinach. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and curry powder to taste (I like a lot of cumin & curry...2+ tbsps).

Prepare basmati rice according to directions on package. When rice is done, serve the curry over basmati rice with a large spoon. Enjoy with some naan bread on the side!

[Paul F.]

Oh, and that Crockpot Oatmeal recipe;

http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1...msg-311434

Reminds me that I haven't made it in a while... fortunately the winter months are coming up, and it's PERFECT for a winter morning!

[kap]

the_poochies, that recipe is something I would definitely try. Thanks!

Paul F. and billb,
I will check out the one with a built-in timer as I am absent-minded.

[mrbigstuff]

Gutenberg wrote:
The very definition of a slow cooker is that it cooks all day. You can definitely leave it on for eight hours or more on "low."

Cooking with a slow cooker is not as effortless as the manufacturer implies, though. You will want to sear meat, whether red meat or poultry, before putting it in the slow cooker to stew, and that means that you DO have to clean a pan. On the other hand, if you are cooking vegetable stew or vegetable soup, it really is that effortless--chop the veg, throw them in the pot with liquid, turn on the cooker and eat your meal when you get home.

I cannot recall where I read or saw it, but some show/magazine/source tested seared meat versus unseared meat and found absolutely no difference. This is exactly the sort of test that Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen would do, but I don't recall the source of this info.

Still, I do tend to sear meat when I am making stews and I find the dutch oven routine of searing on stovetop and putting in the oven after to be just as good or better than the slow cooker.

[freeradical]

Searing meat is a good idea even if it does not seal in the juices.

- Meat looks better when it has been browned.

- You can use the fond from browned meat as the basis for a sauce.

[kap]

We don't have to be concerned about red meat so much because chicken is about the only meat I eat sometimes while wife dabbles in red meat at times.

[3d]

Are disposable slow cooker liners not ok to use anymore? BPA?
I ask because if they are ok to use, find out what the standard "cheap" liner size is at your local store. And buy the slow cooker accordingly. Those slow cooker pans are a b!tch to clean if your sink is not ginormous