Slow Cooker - Cooking Tips and Tricks

Cooking over a slow cooker/crockpot is the best way to preserve nutrients as well as enhance the natural tastes of the cooking foods. And this is one of the best time saving appliances one can have in their kitchen.

To get started with a crock pot there are a few tips and tricks:

Try and buy crockpots with a removable liner. They are much easier to clean and maintain. Food normally cooks at approximately 140 degree F so initially you can raise the temperature to speed up the cooking process and later reduce once the temperature is achieved.

Do not life the lid frequent to see the cooking. Or else the heat will escape and the cooking time will get prolonged. Cut hard vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower etc in bit size pieces and place at the bottom of the pot for quicker cooking. While place softer vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms etc towards the end of the process (last 1/2 hour) so that they don't get over cooked.

Add liquid (1/2 to 3/4) in the pot as it helps keep the food tender and moist.

Avoid frozen foods in the crockpots. Always defrost them before cooking. Stir in spices during the last hour of cooking. If added earlier with the rest of the ingredients, they will lose flavour due to prolonged cooking time. However, dried herbs will add to the intensity of the flavour such as bay leaves.

Add dairy products towards the last half an hour, unless specified by the recipe. Sauces such as Tabasco or cayenne turn bitter if cooked for long. So add less quantity and that too towards the end (last half an hour). Foods like pastas and rice turn up far more flavour in crockpots.

By following these tips and tricks you can turn out wondrous recipes from your slow cooker.

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Been a vegetarian through out my life and since I have had a keen interest in cooking I have come up with several recipes across cuisines.

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How to Cook a Meatloaf in a Crock Pot

Crock pot has definitely made cooking for dinner easier especially for busy housewives who only want to prepare a healthy and sumptuous dinner for the family in spite of a hectic schedule. Having found a place in modern kitchens, this can be left unattended for hours at a time while away attending to other tasks and can be back with a warm meal waiting. One dish that is best cooked in a crock pot is meatloaf.

There are different versions of how to cook them and I have one version of my own from the basic and just added some twist by using some other additional ingredients. I usually cook this on special occasions but with a slow cooker around you can have it as long as you want. Before sharing with you a recipe, I'd like to share some helpful tips in cooking meat loaf in a crock pot too.

Useful Tips:

Select cheaper cuts of meat as this works best with crock pot cooking because it has less fat contents and the long and slow cooking makes the meat very tender. And since its is cheaper, definitely it can help stretch the budget.
Just fill the crock pot with ½ or full to cook the food properly.
To remove the meat loaf easily when done, make a foil handle that is about 24 inches long that is folded lengthwise. Place at the bottom of the crock pot with ends hanging on the top edge.
Line the bottom of a crock pot with a cooking bag sprayed with a cooking spray inside to make cleaning easy if it has no removable liner. If possible, buy it with a removable liner.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground pork
¾ cup bread crumbs
½ cup finely chopped carrots
6 tbsp. minced green and red bell pepper
¼ cup onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup sweet pickle relish
¼ cup raisins
3 whole eggs
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons catsup
1 tbsp. cornstarch
dash of liquid seasoning
salt & pepper, to taste
3 hard-cooked eggs, quartered
aluminum foil

How to make the meat loaf:

Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl thoroughly except the hard-cooked eggs.

Divide into portions of your desire. Place a portion on a piece of aluminum foil, flatten and place the hard-cooked eggs at the center and cover with half of the mixture and roll to tightly shape into logs. Pat edges to seal. Do the same with the rest of the portions. ( It is advisable that size of the loaf fits the crock pot with enough space for air to ensure proper cooking).

Place the loaf in a crock pot. ( Place crumpled foil at the bottom of the pot to keep the loaf out of the fat drippings).

Cover with the lid and cook the meat loaf to low for 8 hours.

Let it cool, slice into rings and serve with catsup or mayonnaise for a dip or any of your favorite food sauce.

Makes 4 - 6 servings

This can be served as cold cuts or slightly fry before slicing into rings. Eat together with freshly cooked rice for a perfect meal.

Refrigerate extra meat loaf and get back to it when you feel some cravings for it again.

Marichu Coning

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Grilled Tuna Steak - Recipe That Helps Your Diet

Fish lovers like to enjoy fresh grilled tuna but some of us don't like tuna that much because it might not be the best looking fish. But you should know that eating it would be very healthy. This recipe is different tough, you may not like tuna but you will be lured after preparing it. One thing for sure is that fish doesn't have many fats compared to the meat or beef. Usually fish really does taste like meat once you get to love it. Don't think negatively of tuna, it can really help you in your diet. Here is the recipe for the Grilled Tuna Steak.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 lb tuna steak

Cooking the Food:

1. In a bowl combine olive oil, old bay seasoning, lime juice and lemon juice. Mix the ingredients until all of them are combined together.

2. Once done, pour the mixture over the tuna and marinade it for 20 minutes. Don't leave it unattended. You have to turn the tuna occasionally, so that the marinade is evenly distributed in and out of the fish.

3. Once done, prepare your grill. If you are using an electric grill then turn it on to high and cover the grill. If you are using a common grill, put some coal and burn. Have the coal turn red hot and no black spots should be found because you need the hottest part of the grill. Make sure that the grill is hot and put the tuna in the hottest part of the grill. Sear the tuna every 1 to 2 minutes per side to seal in the juices and strongly gives the flavour.

4. When done, transfer the tuna slightly away from the hottest area. If you are using an electric grill turn to medium or low to lessen the heat. Turn the tuna every 8 to 10 minutes, it depends how thick your tuna is, so if it is thick have a least 2-3 minutes gap.

5. When done put the tuna on a clean plate, and if you like, you can add the old bay seasoning on your tuna. You can also try squeezing fresh lemon on the tuna to bring the flavourful taste of the fish. Prepare some fruit juice or fresh cold water with your fish and have a perfect lunch or dinner.

It sounds simple isn't it? Yep, that is right. It is that simple. If you want to lower your oil intake, you can just lessen the olive oil. This has 52% of protein, and 60% of calories. But if you want to lessen your calorie intake you can even change the tuna steak for another fish that has lower calorie. White fish is one of the healthiest fish that you should eat. So, keep in mind this delicious recipe. You might be able to use it the next time you bought a fresh fish from the market.

Elizabeth Beauchamp is a writer who is a health and fitness enthusiast. In fact, he likes to write about food, diet and topics about how to grill salmon and grilling steak, and other interesting stuff.

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