Rachel Rappaport - The Big Book of Slow Cooker Recipes: More Than 700 Slow Cooker Recipes for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Dessert

Slow cookers can be used to make main dishes, one-pot meals, side dishes, even desserts. Most recipes call for a few minutes of prep time and zero hands-on time during the actual cooking. For a small amount of effort in the morning, you can come home to a hot meal after a full workday. The recipes with shorter cooking times are perfect for those instances when space and time are limited when youre running errands, throwing a party, or trying to fit in a meal during the holidays.

The long cooking times associated with most slow cooker recipes mean that cheaper, leaner cuts of meat come out just as tender as a $30 well-marbled steak. You can turn affordable root vegetables into mouthwatering soups, stews, and side dishes with minimal effort. You can also make pantry staples such as homemade stocks, barbecue sauce, pasta sauces, and even granola for mere pennies in the slow cooker.

While slow cookers are closely associated with wintertime stews, soups, and roasts, they are wonderful to use year-round. Since they do not heat the house the way oven or stovetop cooking does, slow cookers are perfect for warm weather, too. In-season fruits and vegetables at the peak of their flavor and nutritional value make excellent additions to slow cooker dishes.

It is quite easy to make healthy food in the slow cooker. Very little oil or fat is needed because keeping ingredients from sticking to the cooker is not an issue. Since liquids do not evaporate in the slow cooker, very lean meats will not dry out or overcook the way they might on the stovetop or grill, leaving them amazingly tender. Additionally, using lean meats ensures that your chili, soup, or roast wont be unappetizingly greasy.

Whole grains like oatmeal, wheat berries, barley, rice, and corn are all well suited to use in the slow cooker. A variety of dishes incorporate nuts and seeds, a wonderful way to introduce healthy fats and fiber into your diet. High-fiber fruits, vegetables, and legumes are at the center of most slow cooker meals.

Slow cookers have come a long way from their avocado-green, one-size-fits-all days. Now theyre available in several sizes and with many modern features. The small 112- to 2-quart slow cooker is perfect for smaller families and couples. The 4-quart cooker, the most popular size, is capable of making meals that serve four to six people. The largest models are 67 quarts and can feed a crowd of eight or more. Hamilton Beach manufactures a three-in-one slow cooker that comes with a set of 2-, 4-, and 6-quart ceramic inserts that can be used one at a time in the same base, eliminating the need to own multiple slow cookers.