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GUIDE TO ADAPTING RECIPES
This guide is designed to help you adapt recipes to the Crock-Pot®slow cooker— your
own favorites and prized recipes collected from friends, food companies, newspapers
and magazines. Our aim is to save preparation time with fewer steps and dishes…and
to keep cooking simple. In most cases, all ingredients can go into your slow cooker in
the beginning and can cook all day. Many preparatory steps are unnecessary when
using the slow cooker. A few hints:
• Allow sufficient cooking time.
• Cook with cover on.
• Do not add as much water as some recipes indicate.
• Remember — liquids don’t “boil away” as in conventional cooking. Usually you’ll
have more liquid at the end of cooking instead of less.
• It’s “one-step” cooking: many steps in recipes may be deleted. Add ingredients to
or even extreme humidity. The slight fluctuations in power do not have a
noticeable effect on most appliances; however, it can slightly alter the cooking
times. Allow plenty of time, and remember, it is practically impossible to
overcook. You will learn through experience whether to decrease or increase
cooking times.
Q
“How about thickening the juices or making gravy?”
A
Add some quick-cooking tapioca to any recipe when you want to make a thick
gravy. Add the tapioca at the beginning and it will thicken as it cooks!
Q
“Can I cook a roast without adding water?”
A
Yes. We recommend a small amount because the gravies are especially tasty.
The more fat or “marbling” the meat has, the less liquid you need. The liquid is
needed to properly soften and cook vegetables.
Q
“May I substitute liquids or ingredients in the recipes?”
A
Certainly – a specific liquid called for in a recipe may be varied if an equal
quantity is substituted (such as substituting a 103⁄4-ounce can of soup plus
4-ounces of water for a 141⁄2-oz can of tomatoes OR 1⁄
2
cup beef or chicken broth
for 1⁄2cup wine, etc.)
A 71⁄2-ounce can of soup is specified in some recipes. if desired, 3⁄4cup of