Make A Delicious Meal With Potatoes, Flour And A Slow Cooker

While slow cookers sound like a fantastic idea, a lot of people end up putting them away and forgetting to take them out again. It's time to dig yours out of the closet; there's no better time to start reaping the rewards of a slow cooked meal.

As the weather turns cold, now is a great time to start using the slow cooker again. After all, who doesn't like the idea of coming home on a damp, gray autumn afternoon to a home perfumed with the scent of a hot, rib-sticking meal?

Another great reason to use slow cookers in autumn again is because it's harvest season, which means loads of lovely, fresh produce on the shelf. Throwing a quick stew together couldn't be more simple.

You don't even need a recipe - you can get creative. Start with about 4 cups of a vegetable like potatoes, broccoli or butternut squash. Clean them up, peel them, chop them and throw them into your slow cooker.

Toss in some flavorings: a small diced onion, a minced clove of garlic, a quarter cup of creamy salad dressing (ranch is an excellent choice), some dried rosemary or thyme, and a teaspoon each of salt and pepper.

If you aren't a vegetarian, you'll want to throw a cup of chopped cooked meat into the mix. Some diced leftover cooked chicken or turkey breast is delicious. Alternatively, you could go with some cubed, pre-cooked packaged ham. If you have any leftover browned ground round or bacon, chop them up and toss them in instead.

Now you need some liquid, so pour in a quart of your favorite broth—chicken, beef or vegetable. Remember, crock pots cook very slowly so there is minimal evaporation - you don't want to add more liquid than you need.

If you prefer creamier soups and stews, you can add about 3 tbsp. of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of half and half (reduce the broth by 1 cup if you do this).

It takes about 15 minutes to gather ingredients, get them into the pot and stir. Now just cover it and set it on low for 8-9 hours, or high for 4-5 hours. By the time you come home, dinner is served.

As an added benefit, be sure to put a plastic liner bag into the slow cooker. Now you barely have any clean up to do.

Source: Cook Top Cove
Photo: YouTube