What's So Great About Slow Cooking Anyway?Written by Sherry Frewerd
As I walked through grocery store aisles a few weeks ago, I noticed increase in prepackaged slow cooker meals. I’ve been using my slow cooker and reaping rewards for years, so it was no real surprise to me when others started proclaiming benefits of cooking with a crock pot. Why did it take rest of country so long to catch up? With this increase in popularity, I’ve recently been asked by a few ‘newbies’ ‘What’s so great about slow cooking anyway?’That’s an easy question to answer even if all you’ve ever done is make chicken stew with your slow cooker. It’s just so dang simple and food tastes better when cooked slowly and evenly in a crock pot. I’m a work at home mom. I operate a Family Child Care and also have a busy online business, both of which keep me going all day long. That on top of my daughter’s activities and in and out nature of my husband’s business, we’re usually searching for time to sit down and eat, especially eating together as a family. There’s where slow cooker comes in handy. I have tons of slow cooker recipes, and can find just about anything to cook that my kids and picky husband will like to eat. Since I work at home, having kitchen stay a comfortable temperature is a must, as I spend quite a bit of time there preparing meals and snacks for my day care kids. I use my crock pot year round, and love its usefulness during warm weather months when I can fix beginnings of meal in morning when I’ve got other ‘stuff’ out on counter anyway, put it all in pot, and then clean up whole mess when I’m done. The crock pot requires very little clean up itself, so there you have yet another major reason for why slow cooking is so great.
| | Royal Rhubarb Pie (With Easy No-Roll Pie Crust)Written by LeAnn R. Ralph
Filling: *2 tablespoons water *4 cups rhubarb (cut up) *2 cups sugar *3 tablespoons cornstarch *a pinch of salt *1/4 cup milk (cream, or Half & Half) Note: If you're using 'old-fashioned' rhubarb with greenish stalks, add several drops of food coloring. If you're using Canadian Red rhubarb, there's no need for food coloring. Make pie crust (see below) and bake bottom shell at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. While pie shell is baking, put rhubarb, 1 3/4 cups sugar and 2 tablespoons of water into a saucepan and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from burner. Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 3 tablespoons cornstarch and stir into hot rhubarb mixture. Add milk (cream or Half & Half). Cook until thick. Pour filling into baked pie shell. Add crumble crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool thoroughly before cutting.
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