Crockpot Staples for Your Store Cupboard
Posted by forestthornbarg on 14 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Health
The best thing about slow cooking is the way that you can throw a delicious meal together with just a few ingredients from the store cupboard.
Your slow cooker pays for itself in no time at all. The time you save when you are making a meal makes it priceless. But, if you intend to make slow cooking part of your regular meal times, then it’s best to keep some basics in your cupboards to make planning your meals simple.
Beans – Beans are a very economical source of protein that cook very well in slow cookers . Each bean has its own flavour which can be enhanced by the herbs or spices you use to cook them. Beans can make a meal base when you cook them with meat or be the main ingredient if you are a vegetarian looking to create a quick and simple dish. Whether haricot, black-eyed, borlotti, or lentils, beans can make some fantastic slow cooker meals.
Fibrous Vegetables – For starters, these means good old spuds and the average kitchen has at least a few potatoes lurking around in the vegetable rack.They are a very versatile food. Mash them, fry them, stew them, or chuck them in the crockpot. Potatoes add thickening to stews, soups, and meat-free meals. Potatoes and other fibrous veggies like carrots, swede and turnips, take a time to cook, so they can be thrown in the slow cooker with meat and can cook for a long time.
Fresh Herbs – Using herbs can dramatically change the flavour of almost any meal you make. Herbs can also be bought dried, but they release a much better flavor if they are added to the crockpot fresh. You can even grow your own fresh herbs on your kitchen window ledge. All you need is a nice sunny spot, some compost, and remember to water them regularly. Home grown herbs can even be dried to lengthen their shelf life, making them easy to keep in your store cupboard without worrying too much about wasting them. Remember herbs need to be added at the end of the crock pot cooking cycle so their flavor mingles in through the meal and isn’t lost during the cooking time.
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