More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: 200 Brand-New, Budget-Friendly, Slow-Cooker Recipes

by Stephanie O'Dea

Overview

The New York Times bestselling author of slow-cooker cookbook Make It Fast, Cook It Slow returns with budget (and gluten-free!) meals that will satisfy the entire family. Stephanie O'Dea's 200 delicious recipes include

• Baked Herbed Feta
• Smoky Bean and Corn Soup
• Maple-Glazed Pork Chops
• Moroccan Chicken with Lentils
• Apple-Pecan Bread Pudding
• Orange and Honey Tilapia
• Chocolate Pot de Creme with Ganache

—and many more. More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the perfect cookbook for easy-to-prepare meals that don't take a toll on the family budget.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781401310387
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	12/28/2010
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.34(w) x 11.34(h) x 0.82(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Stephanie O'Dea is the author of Totally Together: An Organizational Journal for the Busy Household. O'Dea developed a following of over 20,000 daily readers on her blog, A Year of CrockPotting (crockpot365.blogspot.com). O'Dea has a background in child development and psychology, and holds a degree in English Literature from San Francisco State University. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters.

Recipe

B&N Bonus Recipe: Slow Cooker Dry Rub Ribs

Is there any better food on the planet than ribs?

I didn't think so.

I get emails from astonished readers (really. they tell me that they are astonished.) who are blown away that you can make dry rub ribs in the slow cooker. The old skool thought was that meat needed drown in a liquid (such as barbecue sauce) in order to cook properly in the cooker.

I am so happy to blow this notion out of the water. Or barbecue sauce. Whatever.

I made Lemon Pepper Ribs and Greek-Spiced Ribs a while ago, and they were a big hit, but last week really wanted something sweet and spicy. We had a rack of baby backs in the freezer and so I mixed up a rub and slathered them up.

I really think you'll like these.

• 3 pounds baby back or pork spareribs
  
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
  
• 1 tablespoon paprika
  
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 4 ears of corn (optional)
  
• aluminum foil (for the corn)

Instructions

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Put the ribs into the bottom of your cooker---you many need to use poultry scissors to cut the rack to get everything nestled properly. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, onion flakes, and other seasonings. Rub this mixture all over the ribs inside the pot. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for 6- 7 hours, or on high for 3-4.

If you'd like to cook your corn in the same pot, wrap each shucked cob individually in a length of foil. Put the foil-wrapped cobs directly on top of the ribs and cook together for the last 1-2 hours, or until the corn is bite-tender (I cooked my cobs the last 90 minutes with the ribs on high, then let everything sit on warm for another 2 hours).

The Verdict

I was impressed at how many ribs the kids ate. My girls are now 6 and 9, and they each packed away quite a bit of meat. The cayenne is noticeable, but wasn't a deterrent to my little carnivores. The heat sneaks up—you don't feel it at the front of your tongue, but in the very back. If you've got little ones with sensitive palates, you might want to omit the cayenne altogether. Adam was thrilled to have a "cave man" dinner of ribs and corn. My only complaint was with my family continuously licking their fingers—I put out napkins—but they sat unused. I'm glad Grandma wasn't over!