Most people break out the slow cooker this time of year as a way to make quick-and-easy soups and stews.
Not Karen Peterson. This Woods Cross resident has made a slow-cooked meal every day for the past 310 days. In January, she will reach a self-imposed goal: Make a different dish in a slow cooker for 365 days.
She started her project on Jan. 27, 2009. Two weeks into the program, the married mother of two realized she needed to organize her recipes. Her sister suggested a blog, which led to www.365daysofcrockpot.blogspot.com.
Peterson's project and blog, sounds similar to the recent movie "Julie and Julia." The movie follows the story of famed chef Julia Child, (played by Meryl Streep) and modern day blogger Julie Powell (Amy Adams). Powell takes her trusted copy of Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking , and vows to prepare all 524 recipes in it in one year, and to write a blog about her experiences.
Peterson started her project before learning of Powell's project or the movie.
Still the Utah woman's blog, and her recipes, resonate with cooks like Beth Dayley of Caldwell, Idaho. "I am inspired that someone would do this everyday," she said.
Jolynn Payne, of Monroe, checks Peterson's blog regularly for dinner ideas. "I will see what I have in the freezer, then search for that ingredient," Payne said.
The blog has about 400 regular subscribers, with followers in all 50 states, Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, and even Japan.
For the yearlong cooking project, Peterson has alternated between a six-quart slow cooker she received as a wedding gift and a smaller three-quart size. With daily use, she's surprised that neither has broken down.
The project has made Peterson a better cook and introduced her to people she never would have met. But some days, she found the daily commitment overwhelming.
"There were times that I wanted to just give up," she told The Tribune on day 293, as she was making lime chicken with spinach fettuccine. "If it wasn't for my blog and the fact that people are counting on me, then I doubt I would have made it past day No. 100."
Peterson has found recipe ideas from cookbooks, the Internet and her own cupboard, as well as from blog readers. Peterson rates each recipe: One star is "so bad I had to throw it out." A five-star is "great and worth trying."
The lime chicken earned four stars.
After the 365th-meal is cooked next month, Peterson is thinking about publishing a cookbook. "If not for anyone else, for myself, as a reference," she said.
Don't add more liquid than the recipe calls for.
Add fresh dairy products, such as cheese and milk, near the end of the cooking time, or will curdle. Instead, you can substitute condensed soups, nonfat dry milk powder or canned evaporated milk.
Don't lift the lid on your slow-cooker during cooking. It releases the heat and lengthens the cooking time.
Use the right size slow cooker; it should be at least half full.
Before cooking, spray the inside of the slow-cooker with nonstick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Let the slow-cooker insert cool before washing.
