THAI PORK WITH PEANUT SAUCE

THAI PORK WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Serves 4.

Note: Serve this slow-cooker pork over cooked rice and garnish with green onions and a wedge of lime. From "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook," by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.

• Nonstick cooking spray

• 1 (2 lb.) boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat and cut into 4 pieces

• 2 large red bell peppers, cored, seeded, cut into strips

• 1/3 c. prepared teriyaki sauce

• 1 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

• Cooked rice

• 1/2 c. chopped green onions (white part and half of dark-green stalks)

• 2 limes, cut into 8 to 12 wedges

Coat inside of slow cooker with nonstick spray. Place pork, bell peppers, teriyaki sauce, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and garlic in cooker. Cover and cook on low setting until pork is fork tender, 8 to 9 hours.

Remove pork from cooker and coarsely chop. Add peanut butter to liquid in cooker; stir well to dissolve peanut butter and blend with liquid to make the sauce. Return pork to sauce and toss to coat the meat.

Serve in shallow bowls over hot rice. Sprinkle with green onions and peanuts. Pass lime wedges.

CHICKEN A LA VERACRUZANA

Note: This slow-cooker entree is so good it can be a centerpiece party dish. The mixture also could be used as a soft-taco filling. In that case, when chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat, discarding bones. Remove potatoes and roughly mash. Return chicken and potatoes to sauce. Stir in olives and parsley. Serve with a dozen warm tortillas. From "Mexican Everyday," by Rick Bayless.

• 4 medium (about 1 lb. total) red potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes, each cut into 6 wedges

• 6 (about 3 lb. total) chicken leg-and-thigh quarters, skin pulled off and discarded

• 1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice, drained

• 4 to 6 canned pickled jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and cut into strips

• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1/8 tsp. dried thyme

• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

• Salt

• 1/4 c. (loosely packed) roughly chopped Italian parsley

Spread potatoes over bottom of slow cooker and top with chicken.

In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, jalapeños, garlic, Worcestershire, thyme, cloves, cinnamon and scant 2 teaspoons salt. Pour evenly over chicken. Cover and cook on low setting for 6 hours (the dish can be held in the slow cooker's "keep warm" function for 2 additional hours).

Using a large slotted spoon, carefully transfer a portion of chicken and vegetables to each of 6 dinner plates, leaving as much sauce behind as possible. Mix olives and parsley into sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Spoon sauce over chicken.

SLOW COOKER TWO-BEAN VEGETABLE SOUP WITH PISTOU

Note: This wonderful soup is topped with a dollop of pesto-like pizazz. If fresh fennel isn't available, substitute 6 ribs of celery, diced. To toast fennel seeds, place seeds in small, dry skillet. Place on medium heat and shake handle frequently to lightly brown evenly, about 2 to 3 minutes. If you prefer to use fresh green beans, cut them into 2-inch lengths and blanch them in boiling water for about 4 minutes or until cooked tender-crisp. Add them to slow cooker after stirring in the paprika. From "The Healthy Slow Cooker," by Judith Finlayson.

• 1 tbsp. olive oil

• 3 medium onions, finely chopped

• 3 carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 bulb fresh fennel, base and feathery leaves discarded, cut in half lengthwise, cored, thinly sliced crosswise; see cook's notes

• 1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes, including juice

• 6 c. chicken broth

• 2 baking potatoes, peeled, finely diced 2 (14 to 19 oz. each) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 c. frozen sliced green beans; see note

• 2 tsp. paprika dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

• Freshly ground black pepper

For pistou:

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled

• 1 c. packed fresh basil leaves

• 1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese

In large, deep skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and sliced fennel bulb. Stirring frequently, cook until vegetables start to soften, about 7 minutes. Add toasted fennel seeds and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice and bring to boil. Transfer to large slow cooker.

Add broth, potatoes, white beans and green beans. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in paprika solution and season to taste with salt (if using) and pepper. Cover and cook on high setting for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare pistou: In food processor fitted with the metal blade, drop in garlic through the feed tube with motor running. Process until garlic is minced. Stop and remove lid. Add basil and cheese; return lid and process until smooth. With motor running, add oil in thin stream through feed tube.

Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a dollop of pistou.

Variation: Add 2 cups of cooked small pasta, such as elbow macaroni, along with the paprika.

Makes about 8 cups.

Note: Pancetta is unsmoked Italian bacon. It's sold packaged in the deli section of many supermarkets. In the slow cooker, it is best added at the end, so the sauce does not become too fatty. From "Slow & Easy," by Natalie Haughton (Wiley, $22.95).

• 1 oz. dried mixed wild mushrooms, porcini or other

•1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes with added purée

• 1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes

• 1/2 c. dry red wine

• 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crumbled

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 3 oz. diced pancetta or 4 to 6 slices bacon

In a 31/2 to 4-quart slow cooker, combine the rehydrated mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes with juices, fresh mushrooms, wine, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on the low heat setting for about 5 hours.