Tips from slow cooker pros — Take 3

One thing I had not thought about before is that using a slow cooker in hot weather doesn’t heat up the kitchen like an oven does. What great logic! I’m definitely going to keep that in mind on those hot and humid days next summer.

Slow cookers also come in handy for taking food to a potluck even if the dish wasn’t prepared in it.

One woman I read about utilizes a “crock pot” so she has a casserole ready for Sunday dinner when she gets home from church. She prepares and bakes the combination on Saturday and then refrigerates it. On Sunday morning, she puts the casserole dish into her slow cooker and turns it on “high” for 30 minutes and then sets it on “low” while she’s at church. (It seems to me this crafty re-heating method would work for any occasion on the other days of the week, as well.)

Herb and spice advice

• If you have them on hand, use whole or leaf herbs and spices rather than ground or crushed varieties in slow cooking.

• Ground spices and herbs tend to lose some flavor with this method of cooking so if you are using them, add during the last hour.

• Adding one-fourth to one-half cup of red or white wine to a soup or stew tends to bring out the flavor of other seasonings.

Using the “old noggin”

• Are mornings around your house too hectic to prepare a “crock pot” meal? Assemble your entire recipe (in the lift-out liner) the evening before and place the mixture in your refrigerator overnight. In the morning, put the crock liner in the electric base and arrive home to a delicious dinner.

• An alternative idea is to cut up the vegetables for your din-din the night before and store them in plastic bags in the refrigerator overnight. This step also cuts down on preparation time in the morning.

• Have you thought about using your slow cooker to “bake” potatoes? Cook washed potatoes all day on “low” and voila — they’re ready for dinner or other dishes such as potato salad or fried potatoes.

• You can cook a chicken, turkey breast or beef roast in your “crock pot” to use in salads or casseroles.

• Do you use a lot of hamburger for your slow cooker recipes? Contemplate browning a large quantity of ground beef, seasoning it with onion and garlic or whatever suits your taste. Drain, cool and freeze it in one-pound packages. The meat will be ready-to-go when preparing a “crock pot” recipe that calls for it. Just think — there’s no extra prep or clean-up time! CJK