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" Cooking pointers from Woman&amp;#039;s Day sister publication Slow Cooking   Do&amp;#039;s   1. Brown large cuts of meat before adding them to your cooker to ensure they reach food-safety temperature standards.   2. Gently wash your cooker&amp;#039;s insert with hot soapy water so it&amp;#039;s completely clean before using it. And allow the insert to cool completely after cooking before cleaning and storing it.   3. Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator overnight before adding them to your slow cooker. Skipping this step will increase the time necessary for food to reach a safe temperature. Improperly thawed food makes slow-cooked dishes cook unevenly.   4. Place the foods that take longer to cook on the bottom of the cooker insert, then arrange the other solid ingredients on top, spreading them as evenly as possible so they cook at about the same time. Pour in liquid ingredients last.   5. Spraying the cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray before filling it will make cleanup much quicker and easier.   6. When your recipe is finished, be sure to turn off and unplug the slow cooker before you remove the finished dish. Doing so prevents the base unit from remaining heated after your recipe is complete.   7. Add the more tender ingredients, such as peas, zucchini, fish and mushrooms during the last half hour to one hour of cooking. This allows them to impart their flavors without becoming mushy due to overcooking.   8. Read the recipe you&amp;#039;re using carefully\u2014it will usually tell you at what point you should test the food for doneness. And don&amp;#039;t forget to wear oven mitts when you do\u2014both the lid and the cooker insert can get very hot!   Don&amp;#039;ts   1. Using abrasive sponges and cleansers to clean the cooker insert will scratch and damage it.   2. Don&amp;#039;t remove the cover of your slow cooker during cooking unless the recipe says to. Doing so will cause the loss of valuable heat.   3. Never reheat leftovers in your slow cooker. It won&amp;#039;t reach a high enough temperature in time to meet food safety standards. Use the microwave instead.   4. Don&amp;#039;t put the cooker insert over direct heat, such as a gas or electric burner. Extreme or sudden temperature changes can cause breakage. For the same reason, you shouldn&amp;#039;t use the insert in the oven or put it in the freezer.   5. Overfilling your slow cooker can be dangerous. Halfway to two-thirds full is the ideal fill quotient. It ensures optimal cooking.   6. Don&amp;#039;t add dairy products until the last half hour to one hour of cooking time. When cooked for too long or at too high temperatures, dairy products tend to curdle and separate.   7. Never store leftovers in your slow cooker insert. Always transfer leftovers to separate containers or ziptop bags and either refrigerate or freeze them.   8. Slow cookers should not be placed near an open window or in the path of a draft. This interferes with their ability to reach the correct cooking temperature.   9. Preheating your slow cooker isn&amp;#039;t necessary unless the recipe you&amp;#039;re using specifies doing so.   10. Don&amp;#039;t stir food in the cooker unless the recipe instructions say to. One of the many advantages of slow cooking is that it keeps foods from sticking or bubbling over, making stirring unnecessary. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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