Slow cooker becomes a pot o’ gold

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/03/2018 (3120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Roughly 13 per cent of Canada’s population is made up of the descendants of early Irish immigrants. So the odds are that 1.3 out of 10 of your friends could be Irish.

 

The 0.3 part must be the leprechauns.

Wee folk notwithstanding, St. Patrick’s Day on a Saturday is a fine time to use the slow cooker to tend to the meals while you sort out just what shade of green you’d like to be seen in when you’re out on the town.

To that end, we’re helping you plan ahead with some help from Fix-It and Forget-It Cooking for Two: 150 Small-Batch Slow Cooker Recipes from Hope Comerford (Skyhorse Publishing, $30.99).

Some day, my kids will leave home and I’ll still have all these crockpots. The only difference is I’ll be looking for good recipes with much smaller yields. (Leftovers are great but not five days in a row.)

The Fix-It and Forget-It series is reliable with easy-to-find ingredients and instructions that are edited down to the simplest steps. I am also astounded at the sheer number of recipes the series is able to produce, as evidenced by another in the series, the recently revised and re-released Fix-It and Forget-It: 700 Great Slow Cooker Recipes.

I really feel there should be an exclamation point somewhere in that title.

I totally respect that kind of dedication and focus on a single culinary subject. But the continued popularity of the series demonstrates just how much many cooks depend on their slow cookers to get meals on the table. And as many of those same households get a little smaller, it is tremendously helpful to have those recipes scaled down.

These three recipes would be ideal for the couple on the run this weekend, wanting to head out on the town to celebrate. Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Or at least they want to be.

Either the potato recipe or the beef recipe below would be grand with a pint of Guinness or a frosty glass of Magners apple cider. However, if you’re drinking apple cider with the oatmeal breakfast recipe, you might be celebrating a little too early. (Your second hint: you think you can see the leprechaun in the statistic above.)

The potatoes are a little meal in themselves with a soup or salad to round it out. The recipe calls for clover leaves to garnish, but with a little sleight of hand, pea shoots could easily pass for clover… I can’t say I know what happens when you eat four-leaf clovers, although I suspect they’re “magically delicious.”

I reiterate, if you’re actually seeing the leprechaun, you might need to talk to your supplier.

Twitter: @WendyKinginWpg

Luck o’ the Irish Boats

 

Prep time: 30 minutes. Cooking time: 4-5 hours. Ideal slow-cooker size: two-quart.

2 large potatoes, washed and cut in half lengthwise
15 ml (1 tbsp) butter
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
1 ml (1/4 tsp) pepper
50 ml (1/4 cup) milk
250 g (1/2 lb) ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
125 ml (1/2 cup) sour cream
50 ml (1/4 cup) shredded cheese
3-4 rinsed clover leaves for garnish

 

Place potatoes in slow cooker. Cook for two hours on low.

Scoop out pulp from the potatoes

(leave 1/4-inch in the shells).

Mash pulp with remaining ingredients except cheese and clovers.

Spoon mixture into potatoes and allow enough to liberally top each potato.

Top each potato with cheese.

Cook potatoes for another two to three hours on low.

Garnish each half with clover.

 

 

 

Beef and Cabbage

 

Makes 2 servings.

Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 4 hours. Ideal slow-cooker size: one-and-a-half quart.

 

250 g (1/2 lb) ground beef
375 ml (11/2 cup) shredded cabbage
175 ml (3/4 cup) barbecue sauce

 

This recipe would also be good over mashed potatoes — think of it as an upscale, spicier version of colcannon (colcannon is basically mashed potatoes and shredded cabbage fried together with butter).

This dish is shown with roasted brussels sprouts, which are delicious on their own or combined with a few root vegetables like sweet potato, carrot, parsnip or just plain potato.

To make them, clean as many vegetables as you want to serve. Cut the brussels sprouts in half and, if you are using them, the rest of the vegetables the same size as the halved sprouts. Toss them all with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. Spread out on a sheet pan (you can use parchment paper for easy clean-up) and roast at 190 C (375 F) for 40 minutes or until fork-tender and slightly golden.

Brown beef over medium heat. Combine cabbage, beef and sauce in slow cooker

Cover. Cook on low for four hours. Stir and serve.

 

Oatmeal Cookie Oats

 

If you really want to get your Irish on this weekend, start the day with some oatmeal. But organize this one the night before.

Prep time: 5 minutes. Cooking time: 7 hours. Ideal slow-cooker size: one-and-a-half quart.

 

250 ml (1 cup) gluten-free or regular steel-cut oats
50 ml (1/4 cup) raisins
50 ml (1/4 cup) turbinado sugar (Partially refined, large crystal, light brown cane sugar. You can also substitute demerara.)
1 ml (1/4 tsp) cinnamon
0.5 ml (1/8 tsp) salt
1 litre (4 cup) vanilla almond milk

 

Spray crock with non-stick spray. Combine all ingredients in crock.

Cover and cook on low for seven hours. Stir once more and serve.