Sanders - Easy-freeze slow cooker cookbook: 100 freeze-ahead, cook-themselves meals for every slow cooker

Easy-Freeze SLOW COOKER COOKBOOK Freeze-Ahead, Cook-Themselves Meals
for Every Slow Cooker ELLA SANDERS The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. SLOW COOKERS ARE ONE OF THE BEST INVENTIONS FOR SAVING time and money in the kitchen: Tough cuts of meat, which are often less expensive, become deliciously tender when cooked for hours at a lower temperature. As sauces simmer, flavors fuse in a way they just cant in the oven.

And you can come home after a long day to a complete hot-and-ready meal. But preparing that meal before you leave in the morning can be a real headache. Thats where the Easy-Freeze Slow Cooker Cookbook comes in. This cookbook contains 100 simple and delicious recipes that you can make in advanceoften in under 10 minutesand then just thaw and pour into your slow cooker before moving on to more important things. Some of the recipes, like Turkey Chili and Hearty Beef Lasagna, are full and filling meals. Others, like Honey Garlic Chicken and Boneless Barbecue Ribs, let you get the main dish out of the way while making space for the sides.

Side dishes like Balsamic Brussels Sprouts with Bacon keep the oven clear for baking. Recipes like Fajita Chicken and Sloppy Joes prove that you dont have to save your slow cooker for cold winter nights. In fact, why not use it to make Red Velvet Cupcakes for your childs classroom? All of these recipes are designed to be prepared and frozen so theyre ready when you are. But they also make great dump dinnersfollow the recipe but skip the freezer bag, dumping everything into the slow cooker the day you want to have it. With two ways to make the most of these recipes, youll never run out of ideas or time. Take back your busy days by letting your slow cooker do the work for you!

Youll want to have a few things on hand when preparing and cooking your freezer meals: Good quality 1-gallon freezer bags with white labels Black permanent marker Cooking spray Meat thermometer Slow cooker liners (optional) Read over these tips and tricks before you get started so you can make the most of your meals: Label your freezer bag with the name of the recipe, the date you prepared it, and the cooking time.

You can also include specific serving day ingredients and directions so that you dont have to reach for the recipe after youve prepped. If a piece of meat doesnt fit in a 1-gallon freezer bag, cut it into two or three pieces. Make sure all ingredients are cool before adding them to a freezer bag. (You dont want to melt the plastic!) You can use already frozen meats, vegetables, and fruits to save time and money. Slow cooking allows all the flavors to marry, so dont worry too much about ingredient placement in the freezer bag.

Chicken thighs are generally more forgiving, and some say more flavorful, than chicken breasts. Chicken thighs are generally more forgiving, and some say more flavorful, than chicken breasts.

If youre using chicken breasts, check for doneness a little earlier than the recipe calls for. Searing beef or pork roasts isnt necessary, but it caramelizes the outside of the meat and creates a deeper, more complex flavor. Some recipes call for an ingredient or two that are saved for serving day because they cook at a different rate than the others. Usually they are ingredients youre likely to have on hand anyway. And when theyre not, you might be fine without them if you want to dump and go.

Most of these recipes are based on using a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, though many can still work in smaller or larger appliances. (Slow cookers work best when two-thirds full.) Different slow cooker brands and sizes can affect cook times, so check on your recipes periodically when youre starting out to get a sense of how your slow cooker works. Most of the recipes call for cooking on low. If youre short on time, set your slow cooker to high and cook for half the time indicated for cooking on low. If your food is starting to look a little too damp (especially desserts), place a paper towel between the lid and the slow cooker to catch the extra moisture, or wedge a wooden spoon under the lid to release the moisture. Lightly spray your slow cooker with cooking spray before adding any ingredients to keep ingredients from sticking. (Spray the liner with cooking spray, just like you would the insert, to ensure that nothing sticks.) Potatoes dont do as well as other vegetables in the freezer, so youll need to blanch them before freezing them to ensure they retain their color, texture, and flavor in the slow cooker. (Spray the liner with cooking spray, just like you would the insert, to ensure that nothing sticks.) Potatoes dont do as well as other vegetables in the freezer, so youll need to blanch them before freezing them to ensure they retain their color, texture, and flavor in the slow cooker.

Come back to this section any time you see potatoes in a recipe. 1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil, using at least 1 gallon per pound of potatoes, and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water. Boil the potatoes in batches to avoid overcrowding them. 2 While the water comes to a boil, fill a large bowl with ice and water. 3 Once the water is boiling, thoroughly rinse the potatoes and cut them per your recipe. 4 Add the potatoes to the boiling water and let them cook for 34 minutes. (You dont want to cook the potatoes completely because theyll fall apart while slow cooking.) 5 Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to the ice water and let them stay there for an equal amount of time. 6 Allow the potatoes to dry completely before adding them to your freezer bag.