Fix-It and Forget-It Christmas Cookbook (114 page)

Fruited Wild Rice with Pecans

Dottie Schmidt

Kansas City, MO

Makes 4 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2-2½ hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 3-qt.

½ cup chopped onions

¼ stick (2 Tbsp.) butter, cut in chunks

6-oz. pkg. long-grain and wild rice, uncooked

seasoning packet from wild rice pkg.

1½ cups hot water

⅔ cup apple juice

1 large tart apple, chopped

¼ cup raisins

¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans

1. Combine all ingredients except pecans in greased slow cooker.

2. Cover. Cook on High 2-2½ hours, or until rice is fully cooked.

3. Stir in pecans. Serve.

Mjeddrah

Dianna Milhizer

Brighton, MI

Makes 20-24 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt.

10 cups water

4 cups dried lentils, rinsed

2 cups uncooked brown rice

¼ cup olive oil

2 tsp. salt

1. Combine all ingredients in large slow cooker

2. Cover. Cook on High 8 hours and then on Low 2 hours.

3. Check after cooking 8 hours on High. Add 2 more cups water, if needed, to allow rice to continue cooking and to prevent dish from drying out.

Serving suggestion: This is traditionally eaten with a
salad
with an
oil-and-vinegar dressing
over the lentil-rice mixture, similar to a tostada without the tortilla.

Mushroom Stuffing

Laverne Stoner

Scottdale, PA

Makes 7-8 cups stuffing

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2-3 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter

1 cup finely chopped onions

1 cup finely chopped celery

8-oz. can sliced mushrooms, drained

¼ cup chopped parsley

1½-2 tsp. poultry seasoning

½ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. pepper

12 cups toasted bread cubes
*

2 eggs, well beaten

1½ cups chicken broth

1. Sauté onions and celery in butter in skillet until cooked. Stir in mushrooms and parsley.

2. Combine seasonings and sprinkle over bread cubes in large mixing bowl.

3. Gently add remaining ingredients. Spoon lightly into slow cooker.

4. Cover. Cook on High 1 hour, and then reduce to Low and cook 1-2 hours.

*
Lay 18-22 slices of bread on baking sheets. Toast in oven for 15 minutes at 300°.

Tip:

This is not as much a time-saver as it is a space-saver. If your oven is full, make your stuffing in your slow cooker.

Variations:

1. Add extra flavor to your stuffing by adding 1 tsp. dried sage, ¾ tsp. dried thyme, and ¼ tsp. dried marjoram to Step 2.

Mary H. Nolt
, East Earl, PA

Jean Turner
, Williams Lake, BC

Mary Rogers
, Waseca, MN

Kristi See
, Weskan, KS

2. Add 1 lb. loose sausage, browned and drained, to Step 3.

Dede Peterson

Rapid City, SD

Slow-Cooker Stuffing

Allison Ingels

Maynard, IA

Makes 10-12 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 5-qt.

12-13 cups dry bread cubes (equal to a 20-oz. loaf of bread)

¼ cup dried parsley

2 eggs, beaten

giblets, cooked and chopped, broth reserved
*

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. sage

1½ tsp. poultry seasoning

3½-4½ cups turkey broth (from cooking giblets)

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups finely chopped celery

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 sticks (16 Tbsp.) butter

1. Combine bread cubes and parsley in slow cooker.

2. Stir in eggs, giblets, and seasonings.

3. Dissolve bouillon in heated turkey broth in stockpot. Add to slow cooker.

4. Sauté celery and onion in butter in stockpot. Stir into bread mixture in slow cooker.

5. Cover. Cook on High 1 hour and then on Low 2 hours, stirring occasionally if you’re home and able to do so.

*
Place giblets in 3½-4½ cups water in stockpot. Cover. Cook over medium heat until giblets are tender.

Remove giblets from broth and allow them to cool enough to handle. Then cut up giblets and proceed with Step 2.

Reserve broth and keep warm in stockpot for Step 3.

Variations:

1. Add 1 lb. loose sausage, browned and drained, to Step 2.

Dorothy VanDeest

Memphis, TN

2. Use 6 cups cubed day-old white bread and 6 cups cubed day-old wheat bread to add flavor and fiber.

Jean M. Butzer

Batavia, NY

Tip:

A convenient way to free up oven space—or keep your kitchen cool.

Slow-Cooker Dressing

Marie Shank

Harrisonburg, VA

Makes 16 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes, plus baking time for cornbread

Cooking Time: 2-8 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 6-qt., or 2 4-qt. cookers

2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread mix

8 slices day-old bread

4 eggs

1 onion, chopped

½ cup chopped celery

2 10¾-oz. cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1½ Tbsp. sage,
or
poultry seasoning

1-1½ sticks (8-12 Tbsp.) butter

1. Prepare cornbread according to package instructions.

2. Crumble cornbread and bread together in large bowl.

3. Stir in all other ingredients, except butter.

4. Spoon into 6-qt. greased cooker, or into 2 greased 4-qt. cookers. Dot top(s) with butter.

5. Cover. Cook on High 2-4 hours or on Low 3-8 hours.

Variations:

1. Prepare your favorite cornbread recipe in an 8”-square baking pan instead of using cornbread mix.

2. For a more moist Dressing, use 2 14½-oz. cans chicken broth instead of 2 cups chicken broth.

3. You may reduce butter to 2 Tbsp.

Helen Kenagy