Now that you’ve started using your crock pot slow cooker regularly,
you’re probably wondering how you can adapt your traditional recipes to
use in a crock pot. The ease of preparing a meal with a slow cooker has
literally changed the lives of busy families. With the help of their
slow cookers, families are eating healthier and consuming less greasy
fast-food.
Here are some hints for adapting your favorite traditional recipes for crock pot cooking.
1.) Add vegetables like peas and broccoli to your recipe in the last 15
– 60 minutes. If you’re using frozen vegetables, remember to add them
to your crock pot recipe during the last 30 minutes.
2.) Make sure to soak your dried beans so that they are completely
softened before adding them to your recipe. If your recipe includes
tomatoes, salt, or sugar, then your beans should definitely be soaked
before cooking.
3.) If your recipe calls for pasta, any kind of seafood, milk or other
dairy products, then only add them during the last 60 minutes of
cooking, and cook pasta to just a bit tender before adding them to the
cooker. Condensed cream soups are good alternatives to dairy products
because they can withstand longer cooking times.
4.) When cooking a recipe with rice, add an extra ¼ cup liquid for every ¼ cup of rice.
5.) Always remember to reduce the liquid in your recipe by ½ when you’re using a traditional recipe in your crock pot.
6.) A good idea for cooking stews and soups that call for vegetables is
to put the veggies on the bottom and sides of the slow cooker and then
place your meat on top.
Traditional Recipe to Slow Cooker Use:
15-30min traditional = 1.5–2hrs High or 4-6hrs Low in Crock pot
35-45min traditional = 3-4hrs High or 6-10hrs Low in Crock pot
50min-3hrs traditional = 4-6hrs High or 8-18hrs Low in Crock pot
If you’re like most families, your slow cooker supplies lots of food
per meal, so you’ll very likely have leftovers. Always remember to
never reheat your leftovers in the crock pot. One of the additional
rewards of slow cooking is the ability to make lots of food and freeze
for future meals. Happy slow cooking!
