The Crock-Pot: An Essential Kitchen Appliance
The Crock-Pot: An Essential Kitchen Appliance
by Stephanie Vermeychuk
“What are some good, easy meals that I can make with a minimum of fuss during the week?”
This is one of the questions that I get asked the most frequently. More often than not, my answer to this question involves a crock-pot (or slow cooker). The beauty of the crock-pot lies in the fact that you can put just about any combination of meat, vegetables, and spices in it, turn it on for 6-8 hours, and come home to a delicious meal. In fact, one of the only drawbacks to crock-pot cooking is that the food is not usually pretty enough to be photographed and put on Facebook.
If you are not confident enough in your culinary abilities simply to throw a bunch of ingredients in a crock-pot and turn it on, Paleo Slow Cooking: Gluten Free Recipes Made Simple, by Chrissy Gower, is a book that I strongly recommend you add to your cookbook collection.
In this colorful (and beautifully photographed) book, Gower includes more than just recipes. She also discusses how to select the best slow cooker for your budget and space, and how to get your kids involved in your culinary adventures. And this book has more than just the standard “meat and vegetable” crock-pot recipes; there are also sections devoted to breakfasts and desserts that you can make in your slow cooker.
One aspect of this book that I particularly like is that Gower also includes stove-top cooking instructions for many of the recipes. This is especially useful for many of the breakfast recipes. Another feature that I personally find extremely useful, is that on each of the pages, there is a space to record any changes that you made to the recipe. It is very rare that I actually follow a recipe to the letter, so it’s nice to have a place to write down any alterations that I make, especially if the recipe turns out really well.
Here is a sample recipe from this book. Since I bought the book this fall, I have made this recipe 3 or 4 times, and each time Mike has declared that it is one of the most delicious things he’s ever eaten. I strongly encourage all of you to buy a slow cooker and this book. One of the best feelings ever is coming home from a long day at work to a delicious meal that is ready to eat.
South of the Border Beef Stew
Ingredients:
1 yellow onion (coarsely chopped)
3 garlic cloves
2 cups strained tomatoes (I usually use one 14oz can and 3-4 fresh tomatoes)
½ cup beef broth*
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs dried oregano
¼ tsp cayenne pepper*
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs paprika*
2 tbs freeze dried shallots*
salt & pepper to taste
4 lbs beef stew meat (preferably grass fed)
*The original recipe calls for ⅛ tsp of cayenne pepper, and the paprika and shallots are my own additions. I have made this both with and without the beef broth (depending on whether or not I have some in the house), and it’s fine either way.
Technique:
Put all the ingredients except the meat in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
Place the meat in the slow cooker and add the sauce. Mix well.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
