What A Crock! for Feb. 2, 2012

Elevate your vegetable dish to next level

The secret to many slow-cooked vegetable dishes often lies in cooking time. Fresh root vegetables, as I’ve mentioned before, do need longer cooking times; however, many vegetables do not. Spinach is one that does not need a lengthy cook time.

Dishes like Spinach Madeleine or, in this case, one that uses cream cheese, do not need to sit in a slow cooker for the traditional time. Just under three hours is just about right.

In households that need a couple of hours to settle before dinner, this is a perfect companion to the evening meal. It gives everyone a chance to arrive home, grab a snack, start homework, or finish sports practice before the family meal.

Don’t like spinach? No problem, the cream cheese and artichokes transform a common veggie to a new level. In this case, put the spinach and artichokes into slow cooker with the butter/onion mixture for an hour, then add the cream cheese.

Whether crumbled crackers or french-fried onion rings are chosen as toppers, the topping is added at the end of cooking time. Involve children with the last step. Most love to crumple crackers or “decorate” with onion rings.