The joy of slow cookers is they are easy and quick.
Once you have made a recipe, mix up the ingredients to create a whole new dish.
Courtesy photo/NEW CANADA
There is nothing better than walking into your home after a long day and being greeted by the tantalizing aromas of a slow-cooker meal.
Slow cooking has made a comeback in Canada in recent years, with about 10 per cent growth per year.
"Slow Cooker soups are so easy," said Jennifer Dionne, group marketing manager for McCormick Canada in a release. "You simply add the desired fresh ingredients and seasoning...to the slow cooker appliance, set it on low for eight hours or high for four hours, and come home to delicious, homemade soup."
Dionne suggested busy families prepare the ingredients the night before so everything is ready to throw into the slow cooker in the morning before the family rushes off to work and school.
"And experiment with other ingredients once you are comfortable with a recipe to add variety to your slow-cooked meal," she said.
Pasta fagioli soup
1 15 1/2-oz can Great Northern beans
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 10 1/2-oz cans condensed beef broth
2 14 1/2-oz cans whole tomatoes
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce
1 tsp dried basil
2 cups macaroni, cooked
Combine all ingredients, except pasta in the stoneware. Cover; cook on low for eight to 10 hours or on high for four to six hours. Add the pasta 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Spiced lentil soup
1 cup lentils, rinsed
1 28 ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 medium potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover; cook on low eight to 10 hours (or on high for four to five hours), or until lentils are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
~ Recipes courtesy of www.crock-pot.ca