Hester - The vegan slow cooker: simply set it and go with 160 recipes for intensely flavorful, fuss-free fare fresh from the slow cooker or Instant Pot

I wouldnt be able to eat as many homemade meals without it. Dry beans cook up like a dream in your slow cooker. Its great for making soups and stews in the winter, and it also has its place in a summer kitchen. Most of us still eat hot foods in the summertime, and a slow cooker is a great way to keep your house from heating up. You can even make a pizza in it! The slow cooker also buys us time to focus on other things in our lives. If you work during the day, imagine dinner waiting when you walk in the door.

If you are a stay-at-home parent or a college student, you can still have nice, nutritious meals without having to keep an eye on the stove or the oven. While its true that delicate vegetables need to be added about thirty minutes before serving, thats still less effort than cooking everything from scratch on the stove. Plus, there are solutions or vegetable substitutions that you can use to make the recipes fit into your schedule. Most of the recipes in this book cook from 7 to 9 hours on low. They might be ready before 9 hours, but most of the time the dish will hold for 9 hours. without worrying about dinner. without worrying about dinner.

If youre cooking on the weekend or work from home, you can check to see when the recipes are ready to eat. In most cases, the dish will be all set. One important exception to this is recipes that include dry beans. You can also speed up cooking by using high when low is called for. It cuts the cooking time in half. Other recipes will cook faster, usually between 1/ to 3 hours.

Pasta or grain dishes just cook faster, and they wont hold for 8 hours without becoming mushy. These recipes may not fit into your workday routine, but they are great for days off or evenings when you want to eat later. There are some grains, such as wheat berries, oat groats, and spelt, that can take all day cook. Try using those when faster cooking grains just wont work for you. I like to make some of the 2-hour dishes after work, then go for a walk or do a few chores around the house. The best part is I dont have to be in the kitchen while its cooking.

Most of the recipes in this book can comfortably be made in a 3/ to 5-quart slow cooker. When baking, I prefer to use a 6-quart because cakes and breads that are cooked directly in the crock cook more evenly when they are spread thinner, and they can also fit a loaf pan. If you dont want to own multiple slow cookers, Hamilton Beach has a model called Right Size. It has one crock with a visible line inside to show you if you are filling it up to the 2, 4, or 6-quart line. So, you can cook all the recipes in it!