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Put your slow cooker in charge so you can come home to the welcome aroma of a hot, satisfying meal.
Instead of scrambling to get dinner on the table after a busy day, you can relax, knowing a thick,
hearty stew or richly-flavored entrée awaits you.
Slow cooker recipes are convenient, flexible, and flavorful. Low temperatures are forgiving
so if you get home later than expected, you won't find an overcooked meal. Long cooking time brings
out great flavor, giving you both a tender and aromatic meal. All of this goodness for a few minutes
of simple preparation in the morning!
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Hints and How-To's:
for Slow Cooker Recipes
- Root vegetables, like carrots and parsnips, take longer to cook so cut them into small pieces of similar size (about one-inch thick) and place toward the bottom of your slow cooker.
- To save time, clean and chop ingredients the night before, and store in plastic food bags in the refrigerator.
- Never place frozen meats directly into the slow cooker. If necessary, thaw frozen meat the day before putting into your slow cooker.
- Slow cookers will cook meat so tender that it falls away from the bone. If you're using meat on the bone, be sure to check for small bones and remove them.
- When making slow cooker chicken recipes, dark meat is preferable. It tends to become more tender than breast meat.
- Closely follow the directions for your slow cooker recipes. Do not add additional liquid, and always place ingredients in the slow cooker in the order specified in the recipe.
- Spray the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Another solution is to use a plastic slow cooker liner. These liners are available in the paper products section of most supermarkets. Using either of these solutions will not affect flavor, but will speed up the cleaning!
- Soak the slow cooker's hot insert in hot water immediately after the food has been removed. Using cold water may cause the insert to crack or break. Refer to your appliance manual for additional information.
- Slow cookers like to be left alone. Once you've set the temperature, do no disturb unless you need to add ingredients. Slow cooker recipes usually do not require stirring or checking. In fact, lifting the lid lets great flavor and heat escape which can add 15 to 20 more minutes cooking time.
- The flavor of ground herbs and spices tends to dissipate over long cooking times, so it's best to add them toward the end. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired before serving.
- Need your meal sooner than you thought? Just turn up the heat from Low to High. This will reduce cooking time by one half since every hour on High counts as two on Low.
- Need your meal to wait for awhile? No problem. Foods on the Low setting can cook for an extra hour or so without over cooking. Some newer slow cookers even offer a "Hold" setting.
Conversion Chart for Slow Cooker Recipes
Adapt conventional soup, stew or chili recipes to become slow cooker recipes with this handy time/temperature guide.
| Conventional Recipe |
Low (200°) |
High (300°) |
| 15-20 min |
4-6 hours |
1½-2 hours |
| 35-45 min |
8-10 hours |
3-4 hours |
| 50 min-3 hours |
8-18 hours |
4-6 hours |
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