Quick Meal Ideas
Conventional ovens, toasters, pots and pans all help produce a tasty meal. But none of these develop and enhance ingredients quite like a slow cooker. A slow cooker is a device you should be using if you want to create a meal with rich, intense and perfectly fused flavors. Requiring little effort to use, a slow cooker works its magic while providing you with dishes that you never knew could be as flavorful as they are easy. Change the way you cook with these slow cooker hacks.
1. Experience Quality Cooking
If you have a busy schedule, the slow cooker is a convenient place to toss all of your ingredients together and get on with your day. But if you want to make the best of your slow cooker meal, there are some practices you should follow. Ingredients like meats, vegetables and broths need time to blend and develop flavor and should remain in the cooker for longer periods of time. However, products like cheese, milk, cream and pasta only need to be added during the last 10 to 15 minutes of cooking. To create an excellent meal, know your ingredients well!
2. Go D.I.Y. Crazy
The slow cooker is home to countless D.I.Y. creations. If you’re a lover of things homemade, you can use your slow cooker to make a customized yogurt or granola. To create granola, combine old-fashioned oats, crisp rice cereal, egg whites and honey and add your favorite fruits and nuts at the end. The slow cooker will blend every flavor to create the perfect crunchy snack you were hoping for. To make your own yogurt, all you need is milk and yogurt with active cultures. Create these two D.I.Y. slow cooker dishes, and you will have yourself a delicious homemade parfait!
3. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
If you’re looking to make a dessert with any chocolate or melted element, a slow cooker can help. To avoid multiple messy pots and pans and get the most out of your slow cooker, use jars to melt ingredients for your dessert. Put baking chips like semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, vanilla chocolate and peanut butter in small jars inside the slow cooker. Keep on high for 30 minutes and you will have tasty melted sweets to use as a dip or to drizzle on pretzels, cookies or popcorn.
4. Go Nuts
Enjoy mouthwatering snacks and savor the incredible aromas of the fall. Slow-cooked nuts are great for enhancing a simple, healthy snack. Cooking nuts in your slow cooker saves oven space, makes your house smell fantastic and gives you a protein-filled, flavorful treat. Whether you prefer cashews, pecans or peanuts, combine your favorites in the slow cooker and add sweet ingredients like maple syrup or a combination of butter and cinnamon to ensure a terrific glaze.