ALLRECIPES is a great website and I got this fabulous tip from them – here is the link:
http://dish.allrecipes.com/recipes-tips-convert-slow-cooker/?prop26=whatscooking&prop25=5387083448&prop27=2017-01-19&did=121929-20170119&eaid=13631981&hid=3dd8bf9f54f4e4b1d93019915ccd0696fe74e136
If you have a favorite stovetop or oven recipe that you wish you could make in the slow cooker? If it has some moisture in it—whether from water, broth, wine, sauce, or canned soup—you’re in luck. Just about anything you can braise, stew, bake, or roast can work well in a slow cooker. Just keep some tips in mind when you’re converting a conventional recipe for your crock pot.
Top Slow Cooker Conversion Tips
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Cut liquid amounts from a conventional recipe in half.
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For maximum flavor and a more appetizing color, trim visible fat from meats and remove the skin from chicken, then coat the meat lightly in flour and brown in a hot skillet before adding to the slow cooker.
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For every hour you’d bake, roast, or braise something, allow about 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high in the slow cooker. (When in doubt, turn it on low and leave it all day or overnight.) The low heat setting is about 200F; high heat is about 300F.
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To thicken or enrich sauces, stir in cream, sour cream, shredded cheese, or cornstarch slurries at the end.
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Brighten flavors at the end with salt and pepper, lemon juice, or vinegar. A handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, or cilantro doesn’t hurt anything either.
I would add a few other ideas:
1. I have drained off excess sauce just before the end of the cooking and thickened it with cornstarch, and then stirred it in and let it simmer with the last 30 minutes of cooking. It does the trick every time! It is also less calories than the cream, sour cream and shredded cheese options.
2. Seasoning definitely needs to be re evaluated before serving – I find that most of the time I need to add salt.
3. There is NO way to cook meat anything but well done in a slow cooker – medium or medium rare or rare just doesnt work. So its a good approach for braising, but not, in my opinion, for roasting.
4. Shrimp and most fish cooks so fast that if you convert a fish recipe cut the time for cooking down to no more than half an hour without testing for doneness – so that the fish does not overcook and dry out. Having said all of that – this is still my ABSOLUTELY favorite cooking tool – just look at the delicious dish Chicken and Quinoa and Peppers in my very old Crockpot below. YUM!
