Editors - Betty Crockers Easy Slow Cooker Dinners: Delicious Dinners the Whole Family Will Love

Dinners Ready! Are you looking for a simple way to make a delicious, homemade meal, but dont have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen? Then try using a slow cooker! Preparing dinner in a slow cooker is easyand convenientbecause the meal youre making requires little to no attention while it cooks. Put the ingredients into the slow cooker, then cover and let them simmer while you are working, running errands, doing your favorite volunteer activity or relaxing with family and friends. No matter how you spend your day, a hearty, good-for-you meal will be ready and waiting for you to enjoy. This slow, steady cooking method fits into every lifestyle. Small families and individuals can enjoy the benefits of slow cooking since you can make enough to enjoy planned-overs on another day. And nothing is quite as welcoming as the rich aroma of a home-cooked meal as it wafts through the house.

So discover the comfort and ease of slow cooking for yourself. Slow Cooker Essentials Know Your Slow Cooker Although using a slow cooker is pretty simple, boning up on the basics is a good idea so youll be familiar with what your slow cooker offers. Two types of slow cookers are available: the continuous slow cooker and the intermittent slow cooker. Both are designed to ensure even cooking with an automatic control. They range in size from a 1- to 6-quart capacity. We have included a range of appropriate size cookers at the top of each recipe.

In a continuous slow cooker , the food cooks continuously at a very low wattage. The heating coils are in the outer metal shell. The coils become hot and stay on constantly to heat the crockery liner. This type of cooker has two or three fixed settings: low (about 200), high (about 300) and in some newer models, auto, which shifts from high to low automatically. The ceramic liner may be fixed or removable. Removable liners offer easy cleanup.

The intermittent slow cooker has a heating element in the base on which the cooking container stands. The heat cycles on and off (like an oven) to maintain a constant temperature. The cookers have a dial with numbers or temperatures. Be sure to follow the use-and-care book that comes with the cooker to determine what settings to use. Often, the lowest setting/temperature is only for keeping foods warm, not for cooking. Using Your Slow Cooker What Temperature Is Best? Most slow cookers have low and high control settings.

At the low heat setting, the food temperature remains just below the boiling point. At the high heat setting, liquid gently bubbles and cooks approximately twice as fast as on low heat. It is always best to use the heat setting that a recipe recommends, but sometimes you prefer a shorter cook time. To shorten cook time, use the following as your guide: 1 hour on high is equal to 2 to 2 12 hours of cooking on low. So if you dont have 8 to 10 hours for your dinner to cook on the low heat setting, use high instead, and it should be ready to eat in 4 to 5 hours. Keep the Lid On! A slow cooker thats opened doesnt cook, so dont peek! Removing the lid allows heat to escape and adds 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time each time you peek.

Keep the cover on unless a recipe tells you to remove it, and be sure to check for doneness just at the minimum cook time. How Full? For best results, a slow cooker should be between one-half and three-fourths full of food. This helps to ensure that the liquid will not cook away during the long hours of cooking. It also helps keep the food moist and tender. Finishing Cook Time Youll see that some recipes have a Finishing Cook Time included. This is necessary when a slow cooker recipe isnt completely self-sufficient and a few minutes of additional cooking is required.

Weve brought this to your attention to let you know that someone will have to be around for those additional 15 to 30 minutes of cooking. Tips for Slow Cooker Success Little tips and tricks often make a recipe come out just right! From a picture-perfect appearance to the fork-tender meat and delicious vegetables, these success tips help ensure each slow-cooked meal comes with a healthy dose of praise. Vegetable Smarts Root vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, take longer to cook, so cut these vegetables into small pieces or thinly slice them and place in the bottom of the slow cooker for best results. Thaw frozen vegetables or rinse them with warm water to separate before placing them in the slow cooker. Adding frozen vegetables will lower the internal temperature, and the dish will take longer to cook. Cut vegetables when you have the time, wrap them separately and refrigerate, then place them in the slow cooker the next morning.

Cut the Fat Remove the skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats to reduce fat and calories in the finished dish. Skim off excess fat from pot roasts, meaty soups or stews with a slice of bread or with a spoon before serving. Seasoning Savvy Use dried leaf herbs instead of ground because they keep more flavor during the long cooking time. Another way to ensure sufficient flavor is to stir in fresh herbs during the last hour of cooking. Always taste before serving to see whether additional seasoning is needed. Ground red pepper (cayenne) and red pepper sauce tend to strengthen and become bitter during long slow cooking.

Use small amounts and taste during the last hour of cooking and decide whether more seasoning is needed. Full of Flavor Concentrate the flavor of juices in the slow cooker by removing the lid and cooking on the high heat setting during the last 20 to 30 minutes. Create a more pronounced flavor in soups and stews by substituting broth for the water or adding bouillon cubes with the water. Dairy Dos and Donts Dairy products, such as milk, sour cream and cheese, break down during long cooking times, and result in a curdled sauce. Instead of using fresh milk, try canned condensed soups, nonfat dry milk powder or canned evaporated milk for a smooth, creamy sauce. For best results, add cream, sour cream or cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking time or just before serving to prevent them from breaking down.

Safety Check For food-safety reasons, keep this checklist in mind as you use your slow cooker. Thaw meat and poultry in the refrigerator or in a microwave oven following the manufacturers directions. Do not thaw at room temperature. Cook and drain all ground meat before adding it to the slow cooker. However, meat should not be browned, refrigerated and added to the slow cooker at a later time. Browned meat is not cooked thoroughly and bacteria can survive.

Staph bacteria can continue to grow and will not be killed during cooking, even when the meat is completely cooked thoroughly. Brown meat just before adding to the slow cooker if browning is necessary. We recommend not cooking whole poultry, such as chicken, turkey and Rock Cornish hens, in a slow cooker. It takes too long for a safe cooking temperature to reach the bone. Always remove leftovers from the slow cooker and refrigerate or freeze them as soon as you are finished eating. Cooked food shouldnt stand at room temperature longer than 1 hour.

If you want to serve a refrigerated make-ahead dish or leftovers in a slow cooker, that is fine. Just make sure to reheat the food on top of the stove or in the microwave instead of in the slow cooker. Then put it in a preheated slow cooker to keep hot and to serve. The temperature in the middle of the food being cooked must reach 140 within 1 12 hours and remain at or above 140 for at least 30 minutes at the setting used. For this reason, do not use frozen ingredients, and do not assemble recipes and then refrigerate ahead of time. (But it is okay to cut and measure the ingredients and refrigerate separately ahead of time.