Hope Comerford - Fix-It and Forget-It Sweet Savory Slow Cooker Recipes: 48 Appetizers, Soups Stews, Main Meals, and Desserts

Copyright 2020 by Good Books, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. Photos by Bonnie Matthews 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 Daniel Brount
Cover photo by Bonnie Matthews Print ISBN: 978-1-68099-582-4
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68099-630-2 Printed in China Table of Contents Welcome to Fix-It and Forget-It Sweet & Savory Slow Cooker Recipes Are you looking for a tasty weeknight meal you can put together without a lot of fuss, or a sweet treat to surprise your loved ones with? A fun snack for the big game, or a special dessert to bring to a gathering? With this book, a slow cooker, and some easy-to-find ingredients, youll be all set. From crowd-pleasing appetizers to comforting soups and stews, family-friendly dinners to celebration-worthy desserts, youll be amazed at all that you and your slow cooker can do.

Collected from some of the best home cooks across the country, these recipes are easy to follow and yield results that will impress you and your loved ones. Good cooking doesnt have to be complicated or require you to spend hours in the kitchen. Whether youre making savory snacks, a family dinner, or sweet treats, you may find with these recipes that sometimes simple is best. Choosing a Slow Cooker Not all slow cookers are created equal or work equally as well for everyone! What size slow cooker is best for your household? Heres a quick guide:

Disadvantages: They take up more storage room. They dont fit as neatly into a dishwasher. If your crock isnt full, you may burn your food. Small slow cooker advantages/disadvantages: Advantages: Theyre great for lots of appetizers, for serving hot drinks, for baking cakes straight in the crock, and for dorm rooms or apartments. Great option for making recipes of smaller quantities. Disadvantages: Food in smaller quantities tends to cook more quickly than larger amounts.

So keep an eye on it. Chances are, you wont have many leftovers. So, if you like to have leftovers, a smaller slow cooker may not be a good option for you. If you can, have at least two slow cookers; one around 3 to 4 quarts and one 6 quarts or larger. A third would be a huge bonus (and a great advantage to your cooking repertoire!). The advantage of having at least a couple is you can make a larger variety of recipes.

Also, you can make at least two or three dishes at once for a whole meal. Manual vs. Programmable If you are gone for only six to eight hours a day, a manual slow cooker might be just fine for you. If you are gone for more than eight hours during the day, I would highly recommend purchasing a programmable slow cooker that will switch to warm when the cook time you set is up. It will allow you to cook a wider variety of recipes. Some allow you to set the time in increments of 15 or 30 minutes and some go by 4, 6, 8, or 10 hours.

Get to Know Your Slow Cooker Plan a little time to get acquainted with your slow cooker. Each slow cooker has its own personalityjust like your oven (and your car). Plus, many new slow cookers cook hotter and faster than earlier models. With all of the concern for food safety, the slow cooker manufacturers have amped up their settings so that High, Low, and Warm are all higher temperatures than in the older models. That means they cook hotterand therefore, fasterthan the first slow cookers. The beauty of these little machines is that theyre supposed to cook low and slow.

We count on that when we flip the switch in the morning before we leave the house for ten hours or so. So, because none of us knows what kind of temperament our slow cooker has until we try it out, nor how hot it cooksdont assume anything. Save yourself a disappointment and make the first recipe in your new slow cooker on a day when youre at home. Cook it for the shortest amount of time the recipe calls for. Then, check the food to see if its done. Or if you start smelling food that seems to be finished, turn off the cooker and rescue your food.

Also, all slow cookers seem to have a hot spot, which is of great importance to know, especially when baking with your slow cooker. This spot may tend to burn food in that area if youre not careful. If youre baking directly in your slow cooker, I recommend covering the hot spot with some foil. Take Notes Dont be afraid to make notes in your cookbook. Its yours! Chances are, it will eventually get passed down to someone in your family and they will love and appreciate all of your musings. Take note of which slow cooker you used and exactly how long it took to cook the recipe.

The next time you make it, you wont need to try to remember. Apply what you learned to the next recipes you make in your cooker. If another recipe says it needs to cook 79 hours, and youve discovered your slow cooker cooks on the faster side, cook that recipe for 66 hours and then check it. You can always cook a recipe longerbut you cant reverse things if its overdone. Get Creative If you know your morning is going to be hectic, prepare everything the night before, take it out of the fridge when you first get up in the morning so the crock warms up to room temperature, then plug it in and turn it on as youre leaving the house. If you want to make something that has a short cook time and youre going to be gone longer than that, cook it the night before and refrigerate it for the next day.

Warm it up when you get home. Or, cook those recipes on the weekend when you know youll be home and eat them later in the week.