Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (31 page)

SMOKY SPICED LAMB CHOPS

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the onion rings into the bottom of your crock. In a small bowl, combine the spices. Rub the spice mixture on all sides of the lamb chops, and nestle the chops on top of the onion. Toss bell peppers on top. Pour the broth over. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours. I cooked our meat on high for 6 hours. It was well cooked, and quite tender. If I had taken it out about an hour earlier, it wouldn’t have fallen off of the bone so easily—which is really the only problem with cooking too long. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with rice or quinoa.

The Verdict

Adam and I really enjoyed the flavors. I mistakenly had the “yes, the lamb at the store is from actual baby sheep—like the ones at the petting zoo” conversation, which meant the kids ate rice, garbanzo beans, and avocado slices. Oops.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND FETA TRI-TIP

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the meat into the crock, and add the drained sun-dried tomatoes. Crumble the feta cheese over the top. Add the wine. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 10 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on if your meat is frozen or fresh, and how tender you like the meat. I cooked our frozen meat for 6 hours on low; it held shape and needed to be cut with a knife.

The Verdict

So super easy to prepare, yet tastes restaurantish—this was one of Adam’s favorites. My kids love feta, and happily eat any meal including it (because feta sounds like feet, and eating feet is always fun). We ate this on a warm evening in the backyard with a big green salad, and had sandwiches with the meat for lunch the next day.

USING THE SLOW COOKER AS A SMOKER: SMOKED BRISKET

serves
4
to
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Soak the wood chips in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes. Spread out a good-sized length of parchment paper on the counter, and put the drained wood chips on it. Fold over the edges of the paper to enclose the wood chips and make a packet that fits inside your removable stoneware completely. Place the packet in the stoneware. With scissors, cut teeny tiny holes here and there in the top level of the parchment paper to let the smoky steam escape.

Rub all sides of your meat with spice rub. Put it in the crock, directly on top of the parchment paper packet (lots of Ps, there). Cover with water or beer. I stuck with water. Put the lid on and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. The meat is done when it is cooked through and has reached desired tenderness. I wanted ours to fall apart, and cooked it on low for 9 hours.

The Verdict

It worked! The parchment didn’t disintegrate, and the wood chips never touched the meat. The brisket was flavorful and had a definite smoky flavor in each bite. My spice rub was quite peppery, so after the first few bites, I mostly tasted pepper, but the smoke was infused. The kids loved it, and called it “the best steak my mom has ever made in the Crock-Pot.” It cracks me up that they included the “in the Crock-Pot” part.

VEAL MARSALA

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of your stoneware. In a shallow dish, combine the flour with the salt, pepper, and oregano. Lightly dust each piece of veal with the flour mixture and place it into the slow cooker. Top the veal pieces with the green onions and mushrooms. Add the vinegar, wine, and melted butter. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 7 hours, or on high for 2 to 3 hours. Veal cooks quickly; keep an eye on it.

VEAL PICCATA

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge each piece of veal in the flour mixture, shaking off the excess. Stagger-stack the veal pieces in your crock. In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, diced onion, white wine, sugar, and the juice of 1 lemon. Pour over the top of the veal. Add the sliced mushrooms and capers. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours. Veal doesn’t take long to cook. Before serving, squeeze the other lemon onto the veal. Serve with your favorite pasta.

The Verdict

The first time I made this, I didn’t dredge the veal, and was slightly off with my lemon and caper taste. Dredging the veal is important, or it sticks together in a weird lump. You can make this with thin pieces of chicken, also, adjusting the cooking time longer by about 2 hours. This tastes great—the capers provide a fun tang that my kids really like.

O
ne of the side effects of my “Year of Slow Cooking” was that we didn’t eat out much. Previously, many a Saturday night would involve looking through the takeout menu drawer (it’s not weird to have a whole drawer of menus, is it?) and trying to agree upon what to order. Since I needed to cook in the slow cooker daily, I had no choice but to try to recreate the dishes we were craving at home. The results were amazing: tasty, wonderful meals that completely satisfied our takeout cravings without the worry of gluten contamination.

BROCCOLI BEEF

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Pour the liquid ingredients into the stoneware. Stir in the garlic, sugar, and pepper flakes. Slice the meat and add to the sauce. Toss with spoons to thoroughly coat the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Add the broccoli, and turn to high. Cover and cook 30 minutes, or until broccoli has heated through. Serve over white or brown rice.

The Verdict

This is a very tasty rendition of an Asian-inspired broccoli beef that is gluten-free and doesn’t leave you feeling as if you just ingested a tanker full of oil. One kid ate two helpings and the other ate one piece of broccoli and three bowls of rice.

CHICKEN MAKHANI
(INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN)

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Carefully sew together the cardamom pods using a needle and thread. You can put them in a little cheesecloth bundle, instead, if you have that in the house. Put the chicken in the stoneware, and add the onion, garlic, and all the spices. Plop in the butter and the tomato paste. Add the lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. The chicken should shred easily with two forks when fully cooked. Stir in the plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving, and discard the cardamom pods. Salt to taste and feel free to tweak the amount of garam masala and curry to your own taste—it’s fine to add more at the end of cooking. Serve with basmati rice.

CHIMICHANGAS

serves
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Trim away any visible fat from the meat, and salt and pepper both sides. Put it into your cooker with the diced onion and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. After the meat has cooked all day, remove it from the stoneware. Empty the liquid, reserving 1 cup. Slice the meat into thin strips, or shred with two forks. Put the meat back in the crock with the reserved liquid and both cans of drained tomatoes. Turn to high and cook for 30 minutes to warm the contents.

When the meat is hot, you can make chimichanga packets by adding scoopfuls of meat to the center of a steamed tortilla. Fold the bottom and top of the tortilla, then the sides. The edges need to overlap a bit so the meat doesn’t escape. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on the stovetop. When it is superhot, carefully put the chimichanga into the oil, seam-side down. Fry until
golden brown (about 1 minute), then flip and fry the other side. Repeat the process until you run out of meat and tortillas.

Top with desired fixin’s.

The Verdict

We all enjoyed eating our “crunchy burritos.” Since we’re gluten-free, there is no way to have chimichangas unless we make them at home. The slow cooker ensures that the meat is tender and juicy and provides ample time to shop for and prepare fresh ingredients.