Crockpot Creations Time-Savers For Working Families

Dear Merri Lou: Anytime you can print some crockpot recipes, I’d love it. I use my crockpot a lot. Jeri, Rathdrum, Idaho

Dear Jeri: A crockpot can be a real time-saver. Here are some personal favorites of Chase Middle School’s principal, Alison Olzendam, who doesn’t even need to follow a recipe. Most of these take just a few minutes to pop into your slow cooker.

Olzendam prefers to cook her foods on high during the day; her children turn the crockpot down to low when they come home from school. Cookbooks recommend cooking on low 8-10 hours or high 4-6 hours for most dishes.

Chicken in a Pot

1 (3-3-1/2 pound) whole chicken

3 tablespoons powdered chicken bouillon

1 cup water

6-8 small red potatoes

1 pound baby carrots

1/2 cup fresh parsley

Combine all ingredients and cook on high 5-6 hours.

Yield: 4 servings.

BBQ Sandwich Beef

1 (2-2-1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck shoulder or bottom round roast

1 medium onion

1 (18-ounce) bottle barbecue sauce

Cube beef. Chop onion. Place in crockpot and add 3/4 bottle barbecue sauce. Cook on high all day. One-half hour before dinner, drain off liquid and shred beef. Heat the rest of the barbecue sauce and mix with the beef. Serve in rolls as sandwiches.

Yield: 4 servings.

Sherry Beef

1 (2-2-1/2 pound) boneless beef pot roast

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons oil

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 cup diced onion, optional

1/2 cup sherry

Cut roast into cubes. Coat with flour. Brown in oil. Combine with mushrooms and onion in crockpot. Add sherry and cook on high all day.

Yield: 4 servings.

Swedish Meatballs

Homemade meatball recipe (see note)

1/2 - 3/4 cup uncooked converted white rice

2 (10-1/2-ounce) cans reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup water

Combine meatball recipe ingredients, adding rice to mixture. Shape into meatballs. Put in crockpot. Mix soup with water and pour on top. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Additional water may be added if necessary.

Yield: 4 servings.

Note: For a basic meatball recipe, combine 1-1/2 pounds extra-lean ground beef, 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, 1 egg (beaten), 1 tablespoon basil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper.

Pork Chop Casserole

4 boneless thick loin pork chops

1 (10-1/2-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup

1 (10-1/2-ounce) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup

Put pork chops in crockpot. Mix soups together and pour over pork. Cook on high 5-6 hours.

Yield: 4 servings.

Baked Potatoes

Olzendam has two crockpots and uses the second one for side dishes, such as baked potatoes.

4-5 baking potatoes

Aluminum foil

Water

Prepare potatoes for baking. Prick skins with fork and wrap in foil. Place in crockpot and add about 1/4 - 1/2 cups water. Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours (potatoes may discolor slightly but the taste will be heavenly).

Yield: 4-5 servings.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken

Here’s another quick dish with minimal preparation but delicious results. Double the ingredients and tomorrow night’s meal is ready. From the Searchable Online Archive of Recipes (soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/).

1 cup celery, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Hot cooked rice

Put vegetables in bottom of crockpot and sprinkle with tapioca. Place chicken on vegetables. Combine all other ingredients, except rice, in a small bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover crockpot and turn to low and cook for 8-10 hours. Serve over rice.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition analysis per serving (not including rice): 345 calories, 8 grams fat (21 percent fat calories), 30 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrate, 82 milligrams cholesterol, 314 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian in Spokane, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210, or e-mail to merrid@spokesman.com. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Merri Lou Dobler The Spokesman-Review