Fix-It and Forget-It Pink Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good Read Free Book Online Page A

nutritionally than if you relied on take-out or packaged meals.
    Second, you’re not alone
    This book has a warm heart. All of the recipes come from households across the country, where they are tried and trusted and loved. Thank you to each of you who has offered your favorites – and to each of you who has tested these recipes. You exemplify the great tradition of sharing good recipes, rather than possessing them.
    Make this cookbook your own
    Most of the recipes in this collection are flexible and forgiving. You’ll notice that most of them offer a range of cooking times; many of the recipes suggest optional ingredients.
    You will also find series of recipes throughout the book that are similar. Yet these recipes differ enough from each other so that you can select the one with the ingredients which you like best, or the ingredients which you already have in your pantry.
    Make this book your own. Write in it. Note the cooking time that worked for you. Star the recipe you liked. If you added or subtracted ingredients, write them in the neighboring column. Flip to the Index and put a big dot next to a recipe you especially liked. Then you can spot it at a glance when you’re looking for cooking inspiration.

    This is a community
    The Tips spread among the recipes give you the kind of advice and encouragement your mother or good-cook-neighbor or favorite aunt might offer if s/he were cooking with you.
    When you cook from this book, you’re in the company of cooks everywhere who do their best to bring delicious, satisfying food to their families and friends.
    May the Fix-It and Forget-It PINK Cookbook help make your meal preparations less harried and your dinners more satisfying! Because spending time together, after all, is among the greatest gifts we have.
    â€”Phyllis Pellman Good

Tips for Using Your Slow Cooker:
A Friendly Year-Round Appliance
What to buy
A good standard size for a household of four is a 4-quart slow cooker. If you often cook for more, or you like to prepare sizable roasts, turkey breasts, or chicken legs and thighs, you’ll want a 6-quart cooker.
    For parties or buffets, a 1½- to 2-quart size works well for dips and snacks.
Cookers which allow you to program “On,” the length of the cooking time, and “Off,” are convenient. If your model doesn’t include that feature, you might want to get a digital appliance timer, which gives you that option. Make sure the timer is adequate for the electrical flow that your cooker demands.
A baking insert, a cooking rack, a temperature probe, and an insulated carrying tote are all useful additions offered with some models. Or you can buy some of them separately by going to the manufacturers’ websites.
Learn to know your slow cooker
Some newer slow cookers cook at a very high temperature. You can check the temperature of your slow cooker this way:
Place 2 quarts of water in your slow cooker.
Cover. Heat on Low 8 hours.
Lift the lid. Immediately check the water temp with an accurate thermometer.
The temperature of the water should be 185°F. If the temperature is higher, foods may overcook and you should reduce the overall cooking time. If the temperature is lower, your foods will probably not reach a safe temperature quickly enough, and the cooker should be discarded.
Maximizing what a slow cooker does best
Slow cookers tend to work best when they’re 2 / 3 full. You many need to increase the cooking time if you’ve exceeded that amount, or reduce it if you’ve put in less than that.
Cut the hard veggies going into your cooker into chunks of about equal size. In other words, make your potato and carrot pieces about the same size. Then they’ll be done cooking at nearly the same time. Softer veggies, like bell peppers and zucchini, cook faster, so they don’t need to be cut as small. But again, keep them similar in size to each other so they finish together.
Because