Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (25 page)

TURKEY CUTLETS IN MANGO SALSA

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Peel and cut the fruit in large dice. Mother Nature certainly had a sense of humor when she developed mangoes—those things are ridiculously hard to cut. In a mixing bowl, combine the canned tomatoes and chiles with the diced fruit, water, and dried onion flakes. Lay the pieces of turkey in the bottom of your slow cooker, slightly staggered so they don’t stick together. Pour your newly made salsa on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 4 to 5. Serve with rice and salad. This salsa tastes wonderful over pork chops, too.

WHOLE ENTIRE CHICKEN

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Pull the skin off the chicken. This could be considered optional, but skin grosses me out, and I wouldn’t be able to eat the chicken if there was skin on it. Salt and pepper the bird, inside and out. Put the chicken into the slow cooker, breast-side down. Pour on the salad dressing. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours. The chicken will be quite tender, and will fall off the bones.

The Verdict

I make this chicken to use in other recipes. There isn’t quite enough flavor to eat it on its own; we usually dip it into barbecue sauce. I freeze the meat to use in soups, casseroles, or for sandwiches, and save the carcass for homemade broth.

A
lthough many of the soup and bean recipes I’ve shared can be made vegetarian, the following dishes can be considered main courses, without an ounce of flesh. Don’t be scared to try tofu in the slow cooker; it holds up much better than you would think, especially when pan-fried a bit before it is added to the pot.

EGGPLANT “PARMESAN” WITH FETA

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Pour 1 cup of the jarred pasta sauce into the bottom of the stoneware. Wash the eggplant and slice into ½-inch-thick pieces; no need to peel. Combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and set aside. Use a pastry brush to paint both sides of each eggplant slice with olive oil. Dredge each slice in the bread crumb mixture. Stagger-stack the eggplant pieces in your stoneware on top of the pasta sauce. Pour the rest of the pasta sauce on top. Add the crumbled feta. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, or high for 3 to 4 hours. This doesn’t take very long to cook. Serve with your favorite pasta.

The Verdict

Although I call this eggplant “Parmesan,” there isn’t actually any Parmesan cheese at all—unless you sprinkle some on the top before eating. I have also omitted the layers of mozzarella and opted for feta, which instantly lightens the dish and creates a fun, tart flavor. I really like eggplant. A lot of people (like the three others in my house) don’t like it, but I could eat it every day.

GINGER TERIYAKI TOFU

serves
2
to
3

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 2-quart slow cooker. Drain and press the tofu to release any extra moisture. Cut the tofu into 1-inch pieces, and shake in a plastic bag with the cornstarch. Pan-fry the coated tofu in some butter or olive oil until it’s golden on all sides. Put into the stoneware. Add the onion, spices, and sauces. Toss the tofu in the mixture to coat thoroughly. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. Serve with brown rice and steamed or roasted vegetables.

HONEY AND ORANGE TOFU

serves
2
to
3

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Drain the tofu well, and chop into bite-size chunks. Shake with the cornstarch in a plastic ziplock bag until coated. Pan-fry on the stove in butter until the tofu is a golden color and the outside begins to crisp. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, and honey. Put the tofu into the stoneware, and pour over the sauce. Top with the fresh broccoli florets. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 5 hours. Serve with brown rice or quinoa.

The Verdict

This is a phenomenal sauce that makes anything taste good. If you are scared to try tofu, this is a good beginner recipe. And since tofu is so good for you, it’s totally okay to have a pint of Ben & Jerry’s for dessert.

INDIAN SPINACH AND TOFU

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Drain tofu by squeezing it between some paper towels or a clean dish cloth to get as much of the liquid out as you can. Cut into 1-inch cubes and toss with cornstarch in a plastic ziplock bag. Fry in butter until golden brown. While the tofu is browning, place the drained spinach into your stoneware insert. Add the onion, garlic, garbanzo beans, ginger, salt, and spices. Stir in the ½ cup of water. Add the tofu to the top of the spinach. Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours; it won’t take very long to cook. Serve over white rice, and scoop up with naan, pitas, or corn tortilla wedges.

RATATOUILLE

serves
12

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Chop all the vegetables in bite-size chunks. I didn’t peel anything, but you can if you’d like. Layer the vegetables in the slow cooker, and cover with seasonings, tomatoes, oil, and water. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Your meal is done when the vegetables reach the desired tenderness and the flavors have mingled. The vegetables will create more liquid on their own, but the finished result isn’t overly soupy.

The Verdict

I liked this more than I thought I would. Ratatouille is a traditional French vegetable stew made with vegetables which are growing in the summer garden. This ratatouille was made with vegetables from the neighborhood supermarket. This stew does not have rats in it, nor did little rats come out of the woodwork to sit on my shoulder while I was chopping vegetables. My children were sorely disappointed.

STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

serves
2

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart oval slow cooker. With a paring knife, carefully cut the stems off the mushrooms. Chop the stems, and put them in a mixing bowl. Use a spoon to scoop out the centers of each mushroom, and add to the bowl. Add the tomatoes, bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar, Parmesan, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and set aside. Spread the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of your stoneware. Put mushroom caps on top of the oil. It’s okay if they are a bit on top of each other, or lean them up onto the sides of the crock. Spoon the filling mixture on top of the mushrooms. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 7 hours. Serve with basmati rice.

The Verdict

Portobello mushrooms are nice big, meaty mushrooms that can mimic the texture of meat in your mouth. They are amazing, and hold up well during slow cooking. I loved every bit. The kids weren’t so sure and had salami and cheese. Adam ate his along with a steak he barbecued for himself.