Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (7 page)

CORNBREAD

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and stir in the milk, egg, and butter. Coat your removable stoneware with cooking spray, and pour in the batter. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

HONEY CAKE

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart round slow cooker. Coat the inside of your removable stoneware with cooking spray, or grease with butter, then flour (I used a bit of gluten-free baking mix). In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, and then add the wet. Mix on high speed with a handheld or stand mixer for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into your prepared stoneware. Cover the cooker, but vent with a chopstick or the end of a wooden spoon. Cook on high for 2 hours, then check. When the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the crock, uncover and continue to cook on high, checking
every 20 minutes. The cake will be moist, but a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.

The Verdict

This is delicious, but I burned it. It was cooking perfectly and had begun to pull from the sides, but I made the mistake of leaving to take the kids to swim lessons, and came home 45 minutes later to a horrible burning smell. The top and middle were okay, but the bottom and edges were not. Learn from my mistake, and don’t wander off near the end of baking time.

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Spray the inside of your removable stoneware with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix with a handheld or stand mixer until a batter forms. Scrape the batter into the slow cooker. Cover with the lid, but prop open with a chopstick to release steam, or you’ll end up with soggy brownies. Cook on high for 2 to 4 hours, or until the edges have browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. My brownies looked finished at 2 hours, but I pushed it to 2¾ hours to see if the center would brown. It won’t. Don’t try.

PERFECT GLUTEN-FREE BREAD

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker and a 9×5×3-inch metal or glass loaf pan, or a 4-quart slow cooker, sprayed with cooking spray. Prepare the dough according to the instructions on the box for the oven method. Put the dough into the prepared loaf pan, or shape into a round ball directly into prepared 4-quart stoneware. Cover, but prop the lid ajar with a chopstick or wooden spoon. Cook on high for 2 to 5 hours. My loaves take about 3¾ hours. Remove from pan, and let cool before slicing.

The Verdict

If you aren’t gluten-free, this might not mean as much to you as it does to me. When you go gluten-free, you miss bread—a lot. I’ve spent too much time and money trying to make gluten-free bread that doesn’t stink, and I’m so pleased to have found the answer. The humidity of the slow cooker creates a perfect environment for the dough to rise slowly and bake evenly. If you are not gluten-free, you can bake frozen or homemade bread dough in the crock with similar results.

POUND CAKE

serves
12

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker, or a large slow cooker with an oven-safe dish or 9×5×3-inch metal or glass loaf pan. Pour melted butter into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a handheld or stand mixer until the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the batter into a greased 1- to 2-quart crock, or similar-sized oven-safe dish or pan.

Cover the cooker, but prop the lid open with a chopstick or wooden spoon, and cook on high for 2 to 4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

The Verdict

I ate all of this. Every last crumb. I have no idea what came over me, but I just kept “evening out” the edges until it was all gone. I really shouldn’t make this unless we’re having company—it’s just way too good.

I
would not be able to entertain easily for holiday meals or dinner parties without my slow cookers. Or at least I would not be able to entertain without completely losing my mind. I love being able to line up two or three slow cookers on the countertop while Adam attends to the main course in the oven or outside on the barbecue. Having the side dishes taken care of allows me to visit with guests, rather than fussing in the kitchen.

ACORN SQUASH

serves
2

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Cut the squash in quarters, and scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp. Put ½ tablespoon butter and ½ tablespoon brown sugar into each quarter. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon cinnamon onto each brown sugar pile. Add a small pinch of salt to each quarter. Place the squash into your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, or on high for about 2 hours. The squash is finished when it is fork-tender and peels away from the skin easily.

BAKED POTATOES

10
to
12
baked potatoes

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker (10 to 12 potatoes should fit in a 6-quart cooker). Wash potatoes well, and dry. Use a fork to prick the skin of each potato. Wrap each individually in aluminum foil. Put the foil-wrapped potatoes into your stoneware. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for about 10 hours, or on high for about 6. The potatoes are done when a knife inserts easily and the potato pulp is fluffy.

The Verdict

Prior to this challenge, I didn’t know how to bake potatoes in a slow cooker, and was completely blown away at the simplicity and how incredible the potatoes tasted. They tasted more “potatoey” somehow, and were a huge hit. If you prefer to cook without aluminum foil, note that potato skin will be slightly more moist. I was able to fit 11 potatoes in a 6-quart oval slow cooker.

BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH CHILI, CUMIN, AND LIME

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Scrub the potatoes with a vegetable brush under cold running water. Pat dry. Use a fork to prick the skin of each potato. In a small bowl, combine the dry spices and salt. Lay out a length of foil large enough to wrap 1 sweet potato. Put the potato in the middle of it, and rub one fourth of the spice mixture on the potato skin (it’s okay if some falls off). Wrap the foil all around the potato. Repeat for each of your potatoes. Put them all into the slow cooker and cover. Do not add water. Cook on high for 6 to 8 hours. The potatoes are done when a knife inserts easily and the potato flesh is fluffy. Squeeze lime juice on each before serving.

BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and dry mustard. Toss the broccoli in the mixture. Dump everything into your slow cooker. Cover with 1 cup shredded cheese. Add the milk and broth. Top with Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook on low for about 4 to 6 hours, or on high for 2 to 4 hours. The casserole is done when the broccoli reaches the desired tenderness and begins to brown a bit around the edges.

The Verdict

My kids loved this, they just
loved
it. They both ate 3 little plastic bowls for dinner and had more the next day for lunch.