Slow Cooker Chili Recipes - The Easiest Way To Spice Up Your Cooking

Slow cooker chili recipes are one of the easiest ways to enjoy the benefits of spicy fresh food cooked using a variety of spices.

Many amateur chefs or home cooks are scared by the prospect of cooking spicy food. Such cuisine is often perceived to be the domain of professionals or cooks that have grown up in regions famous for spicy foods such as Asia or south America. This could not be further from the truth.

Spices such as chili, turmeric, garam masala, all spice and cumin offer a very simple way for the inexperienced or amateur cook to liven up an otherwise bland dish. Take for example a tin of chopped tomatoes: place them in a pan with some garlic, fresh chili and some cumin and you immediately have a lively sauce that could form the base to many Indian dishes.

So assuming chili peppers and other spices offer the cook a simple way to liven up simple cooking, adding a slow cooker simplifies the process of putting dishes together such that the chef can focus more on flavour combinations and taste rather than cooking methodologies.

Using a slow cooker chili recipe simply involves choosing a nice selection of base ingredients that can be used in most dishes; chili peppers, potatoes, carrots, courgettes, onions, garlic. In addition the cook can then add other more specific ingredients such as chicken, beef, red or white wine, fish, liver etc. Once these two elements have been combined and are cooking slowly the chef has little to worry about.

Slow cookers therefore remove the need to be concerned about timings, browning onions, searing, crisping etc and instead let the chef free to concentrate on the 3rd element to a successful slow cooker chili recipe; spices. Once the first two elements are cooking, you should taste and experiment by adding different varieties of chili, turmeric or other spices and herbs in order to perfect the blend of flavours in your dish.

Cooking Pot Roast in Slow Cooker - Recipe and Instructions

One of the most satisfying and delicious home cooked meals you will ever make is a pot roast cooked in a slow cooker, also known as a crock pot. It is especially wonderful during cold winter months. This easy to make, tender and savory pot roast recipe is sure to be a huge hit with your friends and family. There are many variations to this dish and if you ask 5 different people how they prepare a pot roast, you will more than likely receive 5 different answers. While the ingredients for making pot roast may vary from cook to cook, the method is generally the same: Season then brown a piece of meat on all sides and then slowly cook the meat along with a mix of vegetables in some type of broth mixture until the meat is fork tender.

CHOOSE YOUR CUT OF MEAT
The very first step to cooking a pot roast is to choose a cut of meat. There are several cuts of meat that will work for pot roast, but some are better than others. I recommend that you visit your local butcher and ask him or her to recommend a good piece of meat for your pot roast. If however, there is no butcher shop close by, visit your local supermarket. Most supermarkets will put helpful labels on the meat telling you what that cut of meat is generally used for. Common cuts of meat used for pot roast are Chuck, Brisket, Top Round and Bottom Round. Most people prefer chuck as the meat of choice, but I find it a bit too fatty and prefer to use Bottom Round. Experiment with different cuts to find the one you like best. For the purpose of this recipe, choose a cut of meat that is 3 - 5 Pounds.

THE VEGETABLES
I like to use a variety of different vegetables when I make this dish. It makes it more interesting than the usual carrots, celery and onions that many recipes call for. The best vegetables to accompany pot roast in my opinion are carrots, celery, onions, garlic, potatoes, turnips and rutabaga. You are free to use all of these or just a few. The choice is yours and nothing is written in stone. I just love the different textures and flavors that these different vegetables provide. Here are the measurement estimates for the veggies I like to use. Use more or less depending on how big your crock pot or slow cooker is. You don't want to overcrowd the crock pot.

1/2 Cup of Chopped Turnip

1/2 Cup of Chopped Rutabaga

1/2 Cup of Chopped Onion

1/2 Cup of Chopped Carrot

1/2 Cup of Chopped Celery (Look for celery with celery leaves still attached. The leaves impart an excellent flavor to the broth)

3 Garlic Cloves Minced

THE COOKING LIQUID
People use a variety of liquids to braise a pot roast and add their own unique flavors to this dish. People use a combination of water, beef stock, red wine (choose a wine that you would drink, not a cooking wine) and even beer. I like to use simple water mixed with beef stock. I usually use one part water to one part beef stock and use enough to where the roast is only submerged half way.

LET'S GET COOKING
Ok, we are ready to start cooking this beautiful dish.

Step 1
Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the meat on all sides, in a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

Step 2
Place your chopped vegetables in the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the vegetables and then pour your liquid over the top.

Step 3
Cover the slow cooker and cook at the lowest setting possible for roughly 8-10 hours. Meat should easily fall apart when pierced with a fork and vegetables should be soft. Remove meat and vegetables and place on a serving platter.

Step 4
Now to make the gravy. Whisk together, in a sauce pan, 1/4 cup of cold water and 2 tablespoons of flour until smooth. Slowly incorporate 1 cup of the hot broth from the pot roast and bring to a simmer stirring constantly until thickened.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker For Healthy Living

A slow cooker (also called a crock pot) is a time saver and a convenient cooking device. You can prepare a meal in the morning and when you arrive from work it is ready to be served. It can enhance the nutritional content of foods also. With slower cooking, more vitamins and minerals are retained in the food.

Meals cooked with the use of crock pots can be very delicious. The food flavors sink in deeply and gradually. The flavors of the herbs and stock are also well absorbed. Moist heat tenderizes the meat.

A properly working slow cooker and a strict adherence to recommended cooking procedures make meals cooked with slow cooker perfectly safe to be consumed. Slow cooking eliminates any bacteria.

Cheaper cuts of red meat or white meat are cooked better in crock pot or slow cooker plus it saves you some money. They have less fat content compared to expensive cuts that make them more suitable for slow cookers. It normally requires eight hours to cook most meat.

Place food from one half up to two thirds of the crock pot's capacity only. Slow cooker filled to its full capacity will not properly cook food. However, food will be cooked quite fast when the liquid and its level is lower than the usual.

Foods on the bottom will be more moist and will cook faster because of the simmering fluid. Cut too much fat from meat and take out the skin of meat from poultry. Long, slow cooking will melt fats and give the finished dish an unpleasant feel.

Remove the cover and shift to high setting during the last half hour of cooking time to thicken the juice and concentrate the flavors.

As tips to slow cooking, add seafood only in the final one hour of cooking time to avoid overcooking it, overcooked seafood has a gristly texture.

Ground meats should be pan-fried first before cooking it in slow cooker to get the best result. You can brown large cuts of meat before cooking it in the crock pot, although this step is not really needed, browning the meat can add color and further develop the flavor.

Vegetables easily cooked such as tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms should be added on the last 45 minutes to avoid overcooking them.

Use just a small amount of Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper and put them in the crock pot at the end of required cooking time to avoid a bitter taste. In general, spices should come in the last hour so as not to lose its tasty flavor if cooked together with other ingredients during the duration of cooking time.

Add dairy products at the final half hour of desired cooking time except when the recipe requires differently.

If you are planning to cook with a recipe not specifically made for the slow cooker, cut the liquid down by one third or one half, because liquid does not easily boil away from the crock pot.

Generally, slow cookers are safer to use for cooking because it works on lower temperatures, and the lids are always closed. This prevents accidents that may result to fires. There are also certain types of meat that are more conducive to slow cooking above other methods.

Slow Cooker Recipes - Wonderful Cooking Tips

Everyone knows that a slow cooker is a great way to make hearty stews. However, there are many more slow cooker recipes that you may not be aware of.

For example, a slow-cooked chicken curry is a deliciously spicy treat. All you have to do is add the meat, vegetables, spices and sauce to the cooker before you go to work, and you can come home to a wonderful curry. All you will need to do on your return is cook some rice or heat some naan breads to serve with it. What is particularly good is that curries are amazingly versatile. For this dish, for example, you can swap the chicken with other types of meat, fish, or extra vegetables for a vegetarian alternative.

Desserts can also be prepared using the slow cooker. One option is to slow cook chunks of fresh pineapple for 4 hours, along with ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar. This method makes the pineapple wonderfully soft, and will melt in the mouth when served with exotic coconut ice cream.

Of course, most people use their slow cooker primarily to make soups or stews. After all, it is a great way to use up any spare vegetables, along with tougher cuts of meat that need a long time to cook. Adding the stock, meat, vegetables and herbs to the slow cooker before you go to work means you won't need to think about cooking after a hard day in the office. Instead, you will be able to open your door to delicious cooking smells, and the prospect of a freshly prepared meal with minimum effort. And that really is a great way to relax.

There are numerous recipes that can be adapted for larger numbers of guests, taking all the stress out of hosting a dinner party. This means you can concentrate on what is important - spending time with your guests and ensuring they are enjoying themselves.

A classic chili is simple to prepare and very popular - the perfect dish to satisfy hungry guests. Just remember to wash your hands after chopping chili peppers.

So, with many soup, main course and dessert slow cooker recipes available, this really is one of the most versatile appliances in the kitchen.

Now you're in the know, you'll be able to use your slow cooker to its full potential, instead of simply concentrating on making stews with it.

Benefits of Using the Slow Cooker and Slow Cooker Recipes

The slow cooker or crock pot has become one of the most useful appliances in the kitchen for every family. The slow cooker has gained much popularity due to the many benefits of using it. The slow cooker can help to prepare a great variety of delicious food. There are many slow cooker recipes widely available to provide more choices of the types of dishes you can prepare using the slow cooker. By simply following the recipes, you can cook many types of delicious meals for your family everyday.

The best benefit of using the slow cooker for cooking is that the dishes it prepares are nutritious. This is because mainly fresh, wholesome ingredients are used in the cooking. The ingredients are cooked at a low temperature for a long period of time, thus they become extremely tender and delicious. As there is little evaporation, the food will not dry out. The natural juices from the meats and vegetables are retained in the pot, thus, the cooked food are nutritious as well as tasty. Hence, if you are looking for healthy food, using the slow cooker to cook your meals is a way to attain it.

Although using the gas stove, electric burner or grill are fast and efficient methods to do cooking, these methods require attention and supervision. For example, if a piece of meat is left unattended on a hot grill, it will become charred. If stirring is not done regularly while simmering tomato sauce in a pot, sticking and burning will occur at the bottom of the pot. Similarly, if a tray of butter cookies is placed in a heated oven, the cookies will blacken if they are not removed on time. Hence, we see that although these methods are fast but they require monitoring and the food items need to be stirred, flipped or turned. The advantage of the slow cooker is that it is able to do the cooking without any human intervention. The cooker takes the heat and indirectly applies it to the food so that the food cooked slowly and evenly. As the slow cooker uses low heat, the food is not burned without stirring.

Due to the fact that slow cookers are safe, easy to use, and require no attention while cooking, people who use it save much time and effort in cooking their meals. Nowadays, many working adults avoid cooking because they are either too tired after a long day of work, or they have no time to do so. The slow cooker provides them with the convenience of being able to work and still can enjoy eating home-cooked food without having to spend time in the cooking process. In the morning before leaving for work, they can easily place all the food ingredients in the slow cooker and set it on low. By the time they come back from work in the evening, a tasty, nutritious, home-cooked dish will be ready for them. They can choose to add a salad or whole-grain bread to the dish and it will form a complete meal. Thus, by using the slow cooker, people can spend their time at work, in school or anywhere enjoying some recreation, and still have the opportunity to eat nutritious food.

During hot weather, when using the stove and oven for cooking may increase the heat in the surroundings, the slow cooker provides a good alternative. Furthermore, the slow cooker is an economical appliance to use for cooking. It uses as little electricity as a 75-watt light bulb and substantially less energy as compared to an electric oven.

As you can see from the above, crock pot cooking has many benefits. If you wish to enjoy fully the advantages of slow cooker cooking, it is best to equip yourself with a book of slow cooker recipes. It can provide you with a great variety of ideas so that you can prepare delicious and sumptuous meals everyday. For more information, please visit Slow Cooker and Slow Cooker Recipes [http://www.internetbizcenter.com/crockpotrecipe/index.htm]

Adapting Your Recipes for the Slow Cooker

Now that you've started using your crock pot slow cooker regularly, you're probably wondering how you can adapt your traditional recipes to use in a crock pot. The ease of preparing a meal with a slow cooker has literally changed the lives of busy families. With the help of their slow cookers, families are eating healthier and consuming less greasy fast-food.

Here are some hints for adapting your favorite traditional recipes for crock pot cooking.

1.) Add vegetables like peas and broccoli to your recipe in the last 15 - 60 minutes. If you're using frozen vegetables, remember to add them to your crock pot recipe during the last 30 minutes.

2.) Make sure to soak your dried beans so that they are completely softened before adding them to your recipe. If your recipe includes tomatoes, salt, or sugar, then your beans should definitely be soaked before cooking.

3.) If your recipe calls for pasta, any kind of seafood, milk or other dairy products, then only add them during the last 60 minutes of cooking, and cook pasta to just a bit tender before adding them to the cooker. Condensed cream soups are good alternatives to dairy products because they can withstand longer cooking times.

4.) When cooking a recipe with rice, add an extra ¼ cup liquid for every ¼ cup of rice.

5.) Always remember to reduce the liquid in your recipe by ½ when you're using a traditional recipe in your crock pot.

6.) A good idea for cooking stews and soups that call for vegetables is to put the veggies on the bottom and sides of the slow cooker and then place your meat on top.

Traditional Recipe to Slow Cooker Use:

15-30min traditional = 1.5-2 hrs High or 4-6 hrs Low in Crock pot

35-45min traditional = 3-4 hrs High or 6-10 hrs Low in Crock pot

50min-3hrs traditional = 4-6 hrs High or 8-18 hrs Low in Crock pot

If you're like most families, your slow cooker supplies lots of food per meal, so you'll very likely have leftovers. Always remember to never reheat your leftovers in the crock pot. One of the additional rewards of slow cooking is the ability to make lots of food and freeze for future meals. Happy slow cooking!