Slow Cook Your Way to a Healthy, Delicious Meal!

You rush in the door at the end of a long day, and the last thing you want to do is cook. So you're faced with two options-get the extra energy to cook, or go out. Not anymore! Here's how to have your dinner waiting for you when you arrive home using your slow cooker.

A slow cooker (also known as a crock pot) is a device that resembles a stock crock with a metal base that plugs into an outlet. It has very precise temperature controls, allowing you to cook foods at low temperatures for long periods of time. Slow cookers are safe and reliable, and you may use them unattended—meaning that the device can prepare your food while you sleep or are away from your kitchen.

There are two major advantages to using a slow-cooker: 1) you save time—simply place prepped ingredients into the cooker and let it go and 2) you save calories—slow cooking is a method that relies on moisture, rather than fat, and results in naturally healthy food.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of slow cooking:

1. Practice safe slow cooking. Food has the lowest chance of microbial growth when its temperature is under 40ºF or above 140º F. For this reason, it’s essential to get the food in your slow cooker up to 140º as quickly as possible. To do so, you can:

*Sauté ingredients before placing in the slow cooker. Sautéing will also add a caramelized flavor to your finished dish.

*Add water that you have brought up to a simmer on the stove. Do not add hot tap water, however, as it usually contains dissolved debris from your hot water heater and pipes, and contains less oxygen than cold tap water you’ve brought to a boil.

*Defrost all frozen ingredients before using them in the slow cooker.

*Start your slow cooker on HIGH for an hour to quickly raise the temperature. Change the setting to LOW after the first hour and continue cooking.

2. Think about easy clean-up. Look for a slow-cooker with a removable cooking vessel, and spray the inside of the cooking vessel with pan spray before you fill it. Or, if your slow cooker lacks a removable cooking vessel, use a cooking bag.

3. Save money on ingredients. Dried beans, greens and whole grains, which are naturally inexpensive, are perfect for slow cooking. Also, cheaper cuts of meat, such as chuck or pork shoulder, have less fat, which makes them ideal for to slow cooking.

4. Get rid of fats before cooking so they don’t permeate your food. Remove skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats. Fats will melt with long cooking times, and will add an unpleasant texture to the finished dish. Fatty foods will also cook too quickly.

5. Pay attention to layering. Foods at the bottom of a slow cooker cook faster than those at the top. Therefore, some recipes will advise you how to layer your ingredients—follow those directions exactly! If you do not have specific layering directions, place thicker/denser foods (such as large cuts of meat, meat on the bone, carrots or potatoes) at the bottom.

6. Add ingredients at the appropriate time. Some foods are too delicate for long, slow cooking, while others change flavor too dramatically during long cooking processes. Place these foods in the slow cooker during the last hour of cooking. Follow this practice with:

*Seafood—shellfish and fin fish will become rubbery if cooked too long.

*Vegetables with a high water content (tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini)—these break down in texture and lose all flavor after a couple of hours.

*Spices—stir in spices for the last hour of cooking. They’ll lose flavor if cooked with the rest of the ingredients for the long cooking period.

*Pepper sauces (such as Tabasco) and hot pepper (such as cayenne)—the capcaisin (the element that makes the peppers taste hot) in these items will get bitter unless you add them during the last hour of cooking.

*Dairy products—add these during the last 30 minutes of cooking time, unless your recipe states otherwise. The proteins in dairy products will coagulate and become grainy at the higher temperatures achieved after 30 minutes of cooking.

7. Use the right amount of food and liquid. The optimal amount to fill a slow cooker is 1/2 to 2/3 full. Food will not cook evenly if you have too much in the slow-cooker, and food will cook too quickly if the cooker is less than half full. Also make sure you don’t have too much liquid. Slow cooker recipes call for less water than other recipes because water doesn’t readily evaporate from a slow cooker. However you can still prepare non slow-cooker recipes in your slow cooker—simply reduce the liquid by 1/3 to ½. If you have too much liquid after your food is cooked, either drain off the excess, or thicken the juices and concentrate flavors by removing the lid and finishing your dish on HIGH for the last half hour of cooking time.

8. Let the slow cooker do its job. You may be tempted to check on the progress of your dish, or stir the food during the cooking process. However, this alters cooking time, and re-arranges the ingredients you carefully layered. To peek in on your food, gently shake the lid of your slow cooker. This will displace condensation without letting precious steam out. Once you have a clear view, visually check the progress of your dish.

9. Add salt during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Because food cooks for such a long period of time, the final salt level is difficult to predict. Also, some foods like dried beans will not cook properly when salt is added at the beginning of cooking. Instead, wait until food is cooked to your liking, and the moisture level is where you want it (see #7). Then add a half teaspoon of salt and cook five minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

10. Treat leftover food appropriately. You can safely serve food directly from your slow cooker but don’t chill or store leftover food in it. Instead, transfer cooked food from the slow cooker into a cold dish before you refrigerate or freeze the food. This brings your food down below 40ºF (which is where microbial activity is greatly diminished) much quicker.

To get you started, here is a great slow-cooker recipe:

Chili Blanco
You can prepare this delicious chili and let it cook overnight while you sleep. Then pack it into a thermal container for a hot, tasty and healthy lunch.

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped yellow onions
½ cup chopped green peppers
½ cup chopped red peppers
½ cup chopped zucchini
1 teaspoon raw garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon oregano, fresh chopped
8 ounces dried Great Northern Beans, rinsed and picked to remove stones
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 ounces frozen corn, thawed
4 cups water
½ teaspoon or more salt
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

Method
1. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions, red peppers, green peppers and zucchini and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

2. Add garlic and spices, and cook another 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

3. Layer ingredients into your slow-cooker in the following order from the bottom up: dried beans, chicken breasts, corn, sautéed vegetables. Pour water over, cook on LOW 6 hours or more.

4. Add ½ teaspoon salt and chopped cilantro and cook 15 minutes. If chili seems too watery, leave the top off the slow cooker during this time. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt, if desired.

Enjoy!