Minimalist Slow Cooking

posted August 8, 2007
  by Pamela Chester, The Savvy Slow Cooker

One of the key benefits of the slow cooker is that it allows you to maximize flavors with a minimal expenditure of time. The design of the slow cooker allows you to throw a couple (or a dozen) ingredients in the pot in the morning, and forget about it until dinnertime. Because a lot of the time you are rushing out the door to start your day, simpler recipes work better for a busy weeknight dinner— sometimes just three or four ingredients make the best recipe. Since summer is the time for simplicity, it’s a concept we can all embrace at this time of year.

There are a number of different cookbook series based around three or four ingredient cooking. Several of the cookbooks that are available in online bookstores feature a minimal use of ingredients in slow cooker recipes. You can also find many more three and four ingredient crockpot recipes right here on CDKitchen.

In addition to starting off with some great three or four ingredient recipes that are already out there, you can also work on paring down some of your own tried and true recipes to streamline them to just a few different items. With this type of cooking there are several “free” ingredients such as water, oil or butter, salt, and pepper, which are not counted towards the total.

To get started, you want to think about the essential ingredients in a dish. For example, that classic crockpot recipe, a simple pot roast dish, contains beef, some veggies, and seasonings. To limit it down to just the four ingredients in the recipe below, I eliminated some of the extra veggies, such as potatoes. You can streamline it even further by eliminating the carrots and onions and serving vegetables on the side.

Another way to cut back your ingredient list is to use prepackaged seasoning mixes such as onion soup mix. While onion soup mix may be one of the oldest cooking tricks in the book, you can also consider using some of the other seasoning mixes that have become available more recently to add some pizzazz to your dish. Creamed soups, such as cream of mushroom soup, are another oft-used method for adding flavor and richness to dishes (especially casserole type dishes) with one simple step.

The key to minimal cooking with just a few items is to use good quality ingredients so that the flavors really come through. If you have been fortunate to have a productive vegetable garden this summer, you can use some of that abundance in a delicious and simple vegetable soup, such as carrot orange soup. Served with a salad and some crusty bread or crackers on the side, it makes a simple and light summer supper.

With the minimal slow cooking concept, you will love the convenience of the slow cooker even more. Let me know if you come up with any of your own streamlined slow cooker recipes!

Easy Beef Pot Roast Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 6
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 3 pounds beef rump or round roast (lean)
* 1 package dry onion soup mix
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 package (8 oz size) baby carrots
* 1/4 cup water
* Salt and black pepper, to taste

Mix soup mix and water, pour over roast, onions, and carrots in crockpot. Cook on low heat for about 8 hours, or until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper, slice beef and serve with juices and vegetables.

You can also slice and serve beef on rolls with a bit of gravy made from the drippings, or slice and chill for use in cold sandwiches.


Carrot-Orange Soup Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/


Serves/Makes: 4
Ready in: > 5 hrs

* 5 cups sliced and peeled carrots
* 1 medium onions, chopped finely
* 3 cups low sodium vegetable broth
* 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (optional)
* 3/4 cup orange juice
* 1/2 cup whipping cream
* Salt and pepper

Combine carrots and onions in crock pot. Add broth and orange juice. Add optional ginger if you want a tangy soup. Heat on low for 10-11 hours or high for 4-6 hours. When carrots are tender, blend to a smooth consistency. Add whipping cream, salt and pepper, and stir until creamy.

©2008 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction of this article may be made without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.



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