Make It Fast, Cook It Slow (32 page)

CHOW MEIN

serves
6
to
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the meat into the stoneware, and add chopped onion, celery, and two cups of water. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Shred the meat carefully with two forks.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, soy sauce, and molasses. Mix until smooth with no clumpy balls of cornstarch. Set aside. Add the bell pepper to the pot. Add the bamboo shoots, corn, and bean sprouts. Stir in the sauce mixture. Cover the slow cooker again and cook on high
for about 1 hour, or until the flavors have melded, and the vegetables have reached the desired tenderness.

Before serving, cook pasta according to package instructions in heavily salted water. When the pasta is al dente, drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok, and add a bit of salt and pepper. On high heat, toss the cooked pasta in the olive oil, allowing it to sizzle and get a tiny crust on some of the noodles. Serve the noodles with the slow-cooked vegetables and meat.

The Verdict

This was one of the best chow mein dishes I’ve ever had. I loved how the noodles weren’t squishy and how the vegetables remained crisp and the sauce was perfectly seasoned. My parents dropped by and they really liked it a lot.

DOLMAS

serves
12

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, rice, egg, allspice, dill, parsley, and juice from 1 lemon. Mix well with your hands to combine. Drain and rinse the grape leaves. Put a small amount of the meat mixture into each leaf, and roll to form a little packet. I’m pretty sure the vein-y part of the leaf is supposed to be inside, with the shiny side facing out. I didn’t do this at first, but they do roll better if done that way. Place the wrapped packet into your stoneware. Repeat, until you run out of filling or leaves. It’s okay to stagger-stack. I was able to make 24 before I ran out of filling. Squeeze the juice from the other lemon over the top. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, or until meat is fully cooked.

The Verdict

These are supereasy, fun to make, and even more fun to eat. I was floored at how many my kids ate—they really liked them a lot. These are an excellent appetizer to serve to guests. Dolmas can be made a day ahead of time and are served chilled or at room temperature.

FALAFEL

serves
2

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart oval slow cooker. Take a deep breath. It looks like there are a lot of ingredients, but this comes together awfully quickly. I seriously only spent 25 minutes in preparation. Pour the garbanzo beans into a mixing bowl and smash with a fork. Set aside. Using a food processor or blender, pulse together the salt, pepper, all of the spices, parsley, onion, garlic, egg, and lemon juice. Pour on top of the smashed garbanzo beans. Use a fork to mix, and add bread crumbs slowly until the mixture is wet and sticky but can be formed into balls nicely. I needed ¾ cup of bread crumbs.

Pour olive oil into the bottom of your stoneware. Form squished golf-ball sized patties of falafel—you should be able to make 8 or 9. Dip each side into the olive oil and then nestle into your
slow cooker. It’s okay if they overlap, or are on top of each other. Cook on high for 2 to 5 hours. Ours cooked on high for 3½ hours—you will know that the falafels are done when they turn a brownish-golden. You can flip them halfway through the cooking time if you feel like it, but they will brown on top even without flipping. Stuff into folded corn tortillas, or pita bread with lettuce, tomato slices, and tzatziki sauce. (Recipe on.)

The Verdict

I never would have imagined that a delicate falafel would turn out so nicely in a slow cooker. I am thrilled that this worked and even more thrilled that my kids didn’t run screaming from the kitchen when I showed them what we were having for dinner—although they did choose to eat plain pasta. This is a great meal to have on a hot summer day.

FRIED RICE

serves
4

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put all ingredients into the stoneware and stir well. Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours, or on low for 3 to 4 hours. You only need to heat everything through and cook the egg. After slow cooking daily, I had tons of little plastic containers taking up valuable real estate in the fridge, and this used every last bit.

GYROS

serves
4
to
6

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the onion and garlic into your cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the two kinds of ground meat with the paprika and oregano. Make a little meatloaf with your hands. Put the meatloaf log on top of the onion and garlic in the slow cooker. Pour the lemon juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, or on high for about 2 hours. While you are waiting for the meat to cook, make up a batch of the yummy tzatziki sauce and chill in the fridge. Remove the meat from the crock and slice thinly on a cutting board. Serve with pitas (or corn or brown rice tortillas) along with the tzatziki sauce and whatever other desired fixings you have chosen.

The Verdict

A hundred million years ago, my very first job was working in the education department at the local zoo. I think I spent pretty much every dollar I made across the street at a gyro stand. I have fond memories of those gyros, which flooded back with each bite. These were so much fun, and cooked perfectly—lots of flavor and moisture, with no grease.

HOT AND SOUR SOUP

serves
2

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Put the cubed tofu into the slow cooker. Add all the vegetables except for the green onion, the water, and the broth. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. If you need more of the sour flavor, add more rice wine vinegar. If you need more of the hot flavor, add more red pepper flakes. I like my soup very hot and sour, so I added another tablespoon of the vinegar and another ¼ teaspoon of the red pepper flakes. Garnish with the sliced green onion.

The Verdict

This is my favorite soup to eat when I’m sick. You can add chicken or pork in addition to or in lieu of the tofu, if you’d like.

INDIAN CURRY

serves
8

The Ingredients

The Directions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Assemble the spices, ginger, garlic, coconut milk, Tabasco sauce, and tomato paste. Combine the sauce ingredients in the bottom of your cooker. The sauce will be a lovely yellow. Add the chicken, flipping it over a few times to coat nicely. Pour in the garbanzo beans. Wash and chop all the vegetables, and then add them to the crock. Don’t worry about stirring them into the sauce. Let them sit on top of the chicken and steam away. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours, or on high for 4 to 6 hours. Stir carefully to combine all the flavors.

The Verdict

Rachael Ray gave me this recipe, along with a Thai Curry. It’s delicious. We had family over for dinner, and they all really enjoyed it, and took home leftovers. This was really good, and as with many dishes made in the slow cooker, the flavors are even more pronounced the next day.