Good - Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes

Copyright 2017 by Good Books, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Good Books, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Good Books books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications.

For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Good Books, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or . Good Books is an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.goodbooks.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover design by Jane Shepard Cover photos by Bonnie Matthews Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-301-1 Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-302-8 Printed in China Table of Contents Foreword Sometimes it can be difficult to find a new recipe you know will turn out the way its described. Thats where Fix-It and Forget-It cookbooks shine! Each recipe in this book has been made by a home cook, just like you, over and over again and shared on family tables with love and compliments in return.

The recipes are then shared with us, and our team of recipe testers make them in their kitchens to ensure that everything turns out as described before it is selected. This means every recipe in this book is a winner! Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Revised & Updated contains over 700 recipes, with something for everyones taste buds Are you new to slow cooking? If so, you now have an entire arsenal of tried and true recipes to help make your first slow cooking experience a delightful and successful one. Youll also find tips in many of the recipes from our home cooks and from those who have tested the recipes. Theyll give you advice and encouragement as you venture into these new recipes. Not new to slow cooking? We welcome you too and have many recipes for you to enjoy as well. Theres one thing I know, and its that one can never have enough recipes or cookbooks.

Your new favorite recipe is just a page or two away. My wish for you is to feel the love and care that has gone into each recipe. May you carry on the tradition of sharing as you serve these recipes to others. Remember to make notes in your cookbook so as you pass this book on to one of your loved ones, you too can share your tips and advice on these wonderful recipes. May these recipes bring you much enjoyment and many happy memories! Happy slow cooking! And please visit us at Fix-ItAndForget-It.com for more great recipes, cookbook deals, and slow cooker tips! Hope Comerford Welcome to Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Revised & Updated! First, a word in honor of slow cookers Slow cookers are those ordinary workhorses that make the routine possible. Theyre quiet and unassuming.

They need little attention once youve gotten to know the particular model (or models) you own. They help you do what you mean to do keep your food-spending in line; feed your household more nutritionally than if you relied on take-out or packaged meals; buoy up your effort to sit down daily around the table with the people you love. Make this cookbook your own Most of the recipes in this collection are flexible and forgiving. Youll notice that most of them offer a range of cooking times; many of the recipes suggest optional ingredients. You will also find series of recipes throughout the book that are similar. Yet these recipes differ enough from each other so that you can select the one with the ingredients which you like best, or the ingredients which you already have in your pantry.

Make this book your own. Take notes in it. Note the cooking time that worked for you. Star the recipe you liked. If you added or subtracted ingredients, write them in the neighboring column. Flip to the Index and put a big dot next to a recipe you especially liked.

Then you can spot it at a glance when youre looking for cooking inspiration. (Directions may vary for the ebook edition.) This is a community The tips spread among the recipes give you the kind of advice and encouragement your mother or good-cook-neighbor or favorite aunt might offer if s/he were cooking with you. When you cook from this book, youre in the company of cooks everywhere who do their best to bring delicious, satisfying food to their families and friends. May the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, Revised & Updated help make your meal preparations less harried and your dinners more satisfying! Asian-Style Country Ribs () Tips for Using Your Slow Cooker: A Friendly Year-Round Appliance 1. What to buy A good standard size for a household of four is a 4-quart slow cooker. If you often cook for more, or you like to prepare sizable roasts, turkey breasts, or chicken legs and thighs, youll want a 6-quart cooker.

For parties or buffets, a 1- to 2-quart size works well for dips and snacks. Cookers which allow you to program On, the length of the cooking time, and Off, are convenient. If your model doesnt include that feature, you might want to get a digital appliance timer, which gives you that option. Make sure the timer is adequate for the electrical flow that your cooker demands. A baking insert, a cooking rack, a temperature probe, and an insulated carrying tote are all useful additions offered with some models. 2. 2.

Get to know your slow cooker Some newer slow cookers cook at a very high temperature. You can check the temperature of your slow cooker this way: Place 2 quarts of water in your slow cooker. Cover. Heat on Low 8 hours. Lift the lid. Immediately check the water temp with an accurate thermometer.

The temperature of the water should be 185F. If the temperature is higher, foods may overcook and you should reduce the overall cooking time. If the temperature is lower, your foods will probably not reach a safe temperature quickly enough, and the cooker should be discarded. 3. Maximizing what a slow cooker does best Slow cookers tend to work best when theyre full. You many need to increase the cooking time if youve exceeded that amount, or reduce it if youve put in less than that.

Cut the hard veggies going into your cooker into chunks of about equal size. In other words, make your potato and carrot pieces about the same size. Then theyll be done cooking at nearly the same time. Softer veggies, like bell peppers and zucchini, cook faster, so they dont need to be cut as small. But again, keep them similar in size to each other so they finish together. Because raw vegetables are notoriously tough customers in a slow cooker, layer them over the bottom and around the sides of the cooker, as much as possible.

That puts them in more direct contact with the heat. There are consequences to lifting the lid on your slow cooker while its cooking. To compensate for the lost heat, you should plan to add 15-20 minutes of cooking time for each time the lid was lifted off. On the other hand, moisture gathers in a slow cooker as it works. To allow that to cook off, or to thicken the cooking juices, take the lid off during the last half hour of cooking time. Use only the amount of liquid called for in a recipe.