Monday, August 09, 2004
Slow-cooked meals leave more time for summer fun
A string of busy summer days can leave you with a dinner dilemma. Quick sandwiches and grilled meats can become tiresome, but the thought of preparing a casserole in a hot kitchen often doesn’t sound any better. When you want something hearty without heating the whole house, break out your slow cooker. With it you can cook a complete meal without missing any summer fun.
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Slow-Cooked Steak and Potatoes
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup water
1 1-ounce envelope dry onion soup mix
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Place the potatoes in slow cooker. Cut beef into 4 pieces; place over potatoes. In a bowl, combine the mushroom soup, water, soup mix, garlic powder and pepper; pour over beef. Cover and cook until meat and potatoes are tender, about 6 to 7 hours on low. Makes 4 servings.
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To turn the juices into gravy, remove the chicken and vegetables and add 2 to 4 tablespoons mashed potato flakes. Cook until thickened, about 30 minutes longer.
Slow-Cooked Chicken and Potatoes
6 medium red potatoes, cubed
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Place potatoes and carrots in slow cooker; top with chicken. In a bowl, combine chicken soup, mushroom soup and garlic powder; pour over chicken. Cover and cook until chicken and potatoes are tender, about 6 to 7 hours on low. Makes 4 servings.
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Pantry Pointers
Root vegetables such as potatoes and carrots cook slower than meat in a slow cooker. For even cooking, place them on the bottom and the meat on top. Tender vegetables such a peas and greens should be added during the last 15 to 60 minutes of cooking.
When recipes call for browning meats before adding to the slow cooker, it usually is because the slow cooker won’t brown them. For casual meals where the final color of the meat doesn’t matter, you can skip this step.
Lifting the lid of the slow cooker allows you to peek at your meal in progress, but it also interrupts the cooking process. Because heat escapes, for every unnecessary peek you have to add 20 minutes to the cooking time.
The Practical Pantry ©2004 Tammy P. Olson