10 Slow Cooker Dinners With Only 3Ingredients (Dump It In, Walk Away, Nothing to Chop), by Cook with Walter on YouTube. 26 min 21 s.
- Video length
- 26 min 21 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Pick three parts: a protein, a sauce, broth or canned soup, and a bag of frozen or canned vegetables. Nothing needs chopping.
Thaw any frozen raw meat in the fridge overnight before it goes in the pot. Frozen meat spends too long in the warm range where bacteria grow.
Put the meat in the pot, pour the sauce or soup over it, and set the cooker to low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
Keep the lid on. Every time you lift it you lose about 20 minutes of heat, so resist checking until the last hour.
Line the pot with a slow cooker liner when you make teriyaki chicken, then lift the bag out for a quick cleanup.
Cook the Italian beef until it shreds with a fork, then pile it into soft rolls and spoon the juices over the top for dipping.
For the meatless lentil soup, use dried lentils, broth and a bag of frozen soup vegetables. It needs no browning and no meat.
Stir in noodles, frozen vegetables and dairy in the last 20 to 30 minutes, so they do not turn to mush or split.
Cool leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours, eat within 3 to 4 days and reheat to 165F. Freeze half in single portions.
For one or two people, halve each recipe, use a 2 to 3 quart cooker and freeze the second half for another night.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the pot no more than two thirds full so the lid still seals and the food heats evenly.
Write the date on freezer bags and use frozen portions within 3 months for the best texture.
Creamy soups and cheese sauces scorch on high, so finish them on low and stir once at the end.
A jar of salsa, a can of cream soup or a bottle of teriyaki sauce counts as one ingredient and saves you chopping.
Questions
Can I put frozen chicken straight into the slow cooker?
No. Thaw it in the fridge first. Frozen meat sits in the warm range too long as the pot heats up, which is where bacteria multiply.
How long do the leftovers keep?
Get them into the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat each portion to 165F until steaming hot all through.
Can I cook a smaller amount in a big slow cooker?
It works better in a small 2 to 3 quart cooker. A large pot filled a quarter full heats unevenly, so halve the recipe and use a smaller pot.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
