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Do you love your clay pot but stuck in a routine with the same old recipes? It’s time to create your own. This post will show you how to create your own slow cooker recipes with the same ease and convenience you’re used to. The possibilities for variation are endless, meaning your taste buds will never get bored again. Even if you’re not bored with your clay pot reserves, putting together your own recipes is a good way to clean your pantry or refrigerator.
Many Americans rely on their slow cookers to put dinner on the table. Sales have doubled in the past fifteen years, in part because men are using the iconic device to prepare meals for Sunday football, and the internet is full of recipes that will allow anyone armed with a slow cooker to create a wide range of meals. Even so, slow cookers are still the kitchen staple that people love to hate. Maybe you had a soft result and banished your clay pot to the basement. Or you associate it with your Aunt Martha’s unimaginative stews.
Whether you love it or hate it,
or haven’t tried it yet, find inspiration and cooking tips in these ideas for building your own clay pot recipes
. Choose Your Base Sauce or Marinade A jar of
marinara sauce
will taste great with just about anything else you add to the cooking pot, from meats to beans to vegetables. If you don’t have pasta sauce on hand, look in your cupboards for what you have. Maybe you bought a curry sauce at Trader Joe’s that seemed versatile at the time, but now it’s gathering dust. This is a good time to use sauces and marinades for which you haven’t found any other use.
It’s also a great opportunity to use leftovers from your refrigerator. Do you have soup or other sauce-based dish lying around? Throw it away, add a few more items from the next section, and you’ll have a completely new recipe.
If you don’t have much in your kitchen or aren’t inspired by your choices, buy or make a base sauce. You can go Italian with a pesto, Alfredo or other pasta sauce, or look for curry sauces with Thai or Indian flavor.
Add your favorite protein and set
the cooking time
If you want to make meat or fish in your cooking pot, the cooking time will vary depending on what you choose. Pork is cooked longer, 5 to 9 hours depending on your weight and your choice of a high or low heat setting. Poultry should remain in the clay pot for 6.5 hours over high heat, 7.5 hours over low heat. The meat will need 5.75 hours over high heat and 8 hours over low heat. The fish does not need to be cooked for a long time, only 1.5 hours over high heat and 3.5 hours over low heat.
If you choose a vegetarian protein like tofu, tempeh, seitan, or canned beans, you’ll have some flexibility with cooking time. In general, these options don’t need to be cooked as much as meat and fish, but they become tastier the longer they are marinated in sauce.
Here’s a money-saving tip: Substitute dried beans for canned ones. Simply soak them overnight in water, then cook them for 3 to 4 hours in their base sauce.
Create texture with grains and starches
Dress your plate with pasta with fun shapes like wheels or bow ties. Penne and other small pastes will also work well. To avoid soft paste, add it near the end of the cooking cycle, about 18 to 30 minutes before, depending on the type of pasta. It will also help transfer the contents of your clay pot to a serving bowl as soon as you finish cooking.
Rice is another clay pot favorite. Go with brown rice instead of white for more nutritional benefits. Depending on the type of rice you choose and the heat setting, you should add it with about 2 to 3 hours remaining. You may also need to add hot water if there is not enough liquid to meet the 2:1 cooking ratio of rice.
Expand your horizons with other healthy grains, including barley, bulgar, millet, quinoa, and amaranth. The last two are complete proteins, which is good for everyone, but especially beneficial for vegetarians. As with rice, they should be added near the end of the cooking cycle, with exact times depending on the type of grain and the heat setting of the clay pot. If you’re adding grains or starches, be sure to remove your recipe from a dish to serve quickly at the end of the cooking cycle to avoid overcooking.
Don’t forget your vegetables!
Add as many vegetables as you want, you can’t go wrong. Shop at the farmers market for seasonal eating or use that half-empty bag of peas in your freezer. Just be sure to thaw frozen foods before adding them to the pot. Vegetables can also suffer from overcooking, so wait until the last 30 to 60 minutes of the cooking cycle to add them. Firmer vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots, will need to cook longer, while peas and other small vegetables may enter at the end.
Done, done, slow cook
!
Just before serving, top out your meal with grated cheese, green onion, breadcrumbs, tortilla strips, or any other delicious dressing you have on hand
. 
Create interest and take your recipe to the next level with a delicious dressing.
Options:
- Grated cheese
- Green onion
- Breadcrumbs Tortilla
- strips
- Fresh herbs
- Shredded bacon
- Nuts Now
You see that the possibilities of building your own clay pot recipes really are endless. Overwhelmed by the election? Hug him! Alternate between making tried and true recipes and experimenting with your own. A slow-cooked dinner is never a bad option!
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