Slow cookers! Everybody seems to love them, but is everybody a slow cooker ninja? Are you? Well you will be after watching this video! Or, at least you’ll be part way there, and you’ll have two new recipes under your belt — slow cooker pasta alfredo and slow cooker cheesecake!
The Power of the Microwave
I normally do not endorse the microwave. I won’t even use it to reheat stuff unless I’m in a total bind. But here, it’s used to develop flavor on the noodles — flavor that would never be able to develop inside the slow cooker itself. Make sure you don’t use too much oil — a tablespoon or two for every pound of pasta will be more than enough. There aren’t many other tips needed for this recipe. Just make sure to actually microwave the pasta. I promise that it’ll make all of the difference in the world.
Cheesecake, Steam, and the Slow Cooker
You’ll see that the recipe for the cheesecake asks you to put between a half inch and a full inch of water into the bottom of your slow cooker before you cook — that’s because the steam is key to this recipe. Normally, we use an oven to cook a cheesecake — an oven capable of reaching very high temperatures. Most slow cookers do not reach the same temperatures that ovens do, and as a result we need steam. Steam transfers heat much more quickly than air does, allowing you to cook a cheesecake even at a slow cooker’s lower internal temperature. The steam, obviously, comes from the water, so don’t forget to put it in!
Thanks for watching! Come back next week for a new episode of Chemistry Bites!
- 1 package noodles, preferably penne, linguini or rotini
- 1 cup milk cream
- 6 oz. parmesan cheese, grated
- .5 Tbsp garlic powder
- 18 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp salt
- Microwave noodles with a small amount of oil for roughly a minute, or until nicely brown
- Place all items in slow cooker with a half cup of water and cook for an hour or until pasta is soft
- Melt the chocolate by microwaving for one minute on high power, and then in 15 second bursts as necessary. Stir the chocolate after each use of the microwave.
- In a food processor, place all of your ingredients and run the food processor until all items are nicely combined.
- In your slow cooker, place a rack on the bottom and fill with between ½ and 1 inch water. If you do not have a rack that will fit in your slow cooker, take 15 inches heavy duty aluminum foil, roll it up, and form it into a circle that will fir into your slow cooker.
- Place the cream cheese mixture into a 6 inch round pan, put it on the rack in the slow cooker, and turn the slow cooker on high.
- Let cook for roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Turn off slow cooker, and let the cheesecake rest inside the slow cooker, lid on, for another hour.
- Move to the refrigerator and let cool for another two hours.
- Enjoy!
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