Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow-Cooker Recipes!

Introduction

About Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook

This grand treasury of the best "make-it-again" slow-cooker dishes is ready to be your steady kitchen companion.
I selected these 1400 favorite recipes from four of the cookbooks in our beloved Fix-It and Forget-It series. They are gathered here in one handsome, meant-to-be-used volume!

The Big Solution
Fix-It and Forget-It BIG COOKBOOK offers tasty cooking solutions every day.
Too little time to cook?
Worried about your skills in the kitchen?
Scared of a flop?
Note the Prep Time at the head of each recipe. Most are happily short.
Each recipe's instructions spells out every step so you won't get stranded along the way. This book makes cooking manageable, even though you might feel inexperienced. (I first fell in love with the "peepy-step" approach to cookbook instructions when I was a completely novice cook.)
And all of these recipes come from home cooks. These are their favorite dishes, loved by families and households across the country. So get out your slow cooker-or cookers-and choose from these flexible, forgiving, and absolutely scrumptious recipes.
There's tempting variety among the recipes, and many differ only by a tantalizing ingredient or two. So pick the particular recipe that suits your mood, pleases those who eat at your table, or matches the ingredients you have on hand.
You'll find helpful Tips spread among the recipes-the kind of pointers that you usually learn only after a long acquaintance with a slow cooker, or with cooking in general. Think of them as the voices of your favorite aunt or grandmother, standing at your elbow with their cooking wisdom.

A word about slowcookers
Slow cookers have proven to be the efficient friend of those cooks who are gone all day, or who don't want to be occupied in the kitchen for hours, but want to offer substantial home-cooked food to their households.
You can prepare a dish one evening, store the filled "lift-out" vessel in the fridge overnight, and then place it into its electric component in the morning as you do your dash to the door. Or you can tote the whole works to a buffet or carry-in meal, doing no damage to the quality of its contents.
These great little appliances can vary considerably in their heat intensity and speed of cooking. Older models often require more cooking time than newer ones. That's why I give a range of cooking times for many of the recipes. Experiment by using the shorter cooking time first. Then make a note right on the recipe page itself about what you discovered works best for your cooker. Personalize this cookbook.

Ideal slow-cooker sizes
The ideal slow-cooker size given with each recipe is just a suggestion. I went big in most cases so that you aren't faced with a pot that's running over. (On the other hand, be aware of the fact that your food may get too dry if your pot is less than half full.)
Some raw vegetables stand up and take a lot of room. As they cook, they quiet down and sink together. So some recipes with an abundance of uncooked vegetables suggest a larger cooker than other recipes which yield the same number of servings.
Slow cookers are great for carry-in meals and pot-lucks. But who wants an overflowing pot in the back of a vehicle? So, again, I tilted toward the larger size.

Variables to keep in mind
Ideally, you should fill your slow cooker about ²/³ full. You may need to increase the cooking time if you've exceeded that amount, or reduce it if you've put in less than that.
· The fuller your slow cooker, the longer it will take its contents to cook.
· The more densely packed the cooker's contents are, the longer they will take to cook.
· The larger the chunks of meat or vegetables, the longer they will take to cook.
If you put ingredients into the cooker straight out of the refrigerator, you may need to add 20-30 minutes to the suggested cooking time.
If you put frozen meat into the cooker, you should add 4-6 hours of cooking time on Low, or 2 hours on High.
If you're using a slow cooker at an altitude over 3,500 feet, you will need to cook its contents somewhat longer than the recipe states. Allow time to experiment, and then write what worked next to the recipe.
If you want to check that the meat in your slow cooker is fully cooked, use a food thermometer:
· Beef should reach an internal temperature of 155°-160°?F.
· Pork should reach an internal temperature of 155°-160°?F.
· Poultry breasts should reach an internal temperature of 160°?F; poultry thighs 175°?F.

Converting recipes for slow-cooker use
Many stove-top and oven recipes can be adapted for a slow cooker. If you want to experiment, use these conversion factors:
· Low (in a slow cooker) = 200°, approximately (in an oven).
· High (in a slow cooker) = 300°, approximately (in an oven).
· In a slow cooker, 2 hours on Low = 1 hour, approximately, on High.

Consider the wonder of owning slow cookers of varying sizes
Slow cookers do their job famously well, whatever their size-1-quart, 3-quart, 6-quart, or in between. Little ones work well for singles or doubles, or they cook the vegetables while the beef burbles away in a bigger cooker, sharing the same counter-space. In fact, you can do a whole meal in slow cookers, thereby multiplying the pleasure without significantly increasing the work. Just be alert to the lesser amount of cooking time needed by the small cookers. (Check the instruction manuals to get the cooking time right.)

"Light" recipes
You'll notice that some of the recipes in this book include nutritional analyses. These are the dishes to prepare when you're looking for light and healthy eating.

Calculating the nutritional analyses
The recipe analyses for these recipes are based on the lesser amount of an ingredient when a range of amounts is given. Optional ingredients are not included in the analyses. Only those items on a recipe's list of ingredients are part of that recipe's analysis. (If a recipe's procedure or notes suggest serving it with pasta or potatoes, for example, those foods are not calculated in the analysis.) The serving sizes are quite modest in these recipes, all in an effort to assist with portion control.

The pass-it-on tradition
Good cooks love to share their recipes. They don't possess them; they pass them on. This collection is rich because of all the home cooks who generously offered their favorite recipes, so that all of us could fix satisfyingly delicious food at home. Thanks to each of you who has shared your gems. This books holds your precious food traditions, and we are all grateful.
Thank you, too, to the cooks who tested and evaluated these recipes. Your comments, as well as those from the family and friends around your dinner tables, were invaluable.
This champion collection of recipes came together with the superb assistance of many staff members at Good Books through the years, especially Esther Becker, Tony Gehman, Cliff Snyder, Jamie Schwankl, Dawn Ranck, Delphine Martin, Norma Gehman, and Melissa Horst, as well as Jan Mast, Dean Mast, Peggy High, Kate Good, and Rebecca Fennimore. And always Merle. Thank you. Thank you.

Why is the Fix-It and Forget-It BIG COOKBOOK such a reliable friend?
Its pages are packed with recipes.
Many of its recipes call for just a few ingredients-and they're readily available.
Lots of the recipes are offered in multiple variations. Find the one that suits your taste-and the ingredients you have on hand.
Preparations are easy; the ingredients are reasonably priced.
Everybody eats well-without the cook being under pressure.
Little fuss. Lots of flavor!
You'll love cooking, hosting, and eating from this treasure of good food. Fix-It and Forget-It BIG COOKBOOK makes it possible for you to sit at the table together with your family and friends, around absolutely tasty food, no matter how wild and crazy your day.

- Phyllis Pellman Good