Perfect Recipes for Father's Day!

This Father’s Day have the whole family help to prepare a Father’s Day feast with the best-selling cookbook, Fix-It and Forget-It. Hundreds of easy and delicious slow cooker recipes are already pre-tested and sure to make Dad proud. Why not spend a few extra hours outdoors with Dad, while your slow cooker does all of the work indoors! Best yet, slow cookers will not heat up the kitchen.

Following are some great recipe ideas for Father’s Day:

Zippy Beef Tips
Maryann Westerberg
Rosamond , CA
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep. Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 4-qt.

2 lbs. stewing meat, cubed
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
10¾-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup 7-Up, or other lemon-lime carbonated drink

1. Place meat and mushrooms in slow cooker.
2. Combine mushroom soup, soup mix, and soda. Pour over meat.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 8 hours.

Serving suggestion: Serve over rice.

Artichokes
Susan Yoder Graber
Eureka , IL
Makes 4 servings
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-10 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 4-qt.

4 artichokes
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1. Wash and trim artichokes by cutting off the stems flush with the bottoms of the artichokes and by cutting ¾-1 inch off the tops. Stand upright in slow cooker.

2. Mix together salt and lemon juice and pour over artichokes. Pour in water to cover ¾ of artichokes.

3. Cover. Cook on Low 8-10 hours or on High 2-4 hours.

Serving suggestion: Serve with melted butter. Pull off individual leaves and dip bottom of each into butter. Strip the individual leaf of the meaty p or tion at the bottom of each leaf.

Ham and Potatoes
Ruth Shank
Gridley , IL
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep. Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-11 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 5 ½ qt.

6-8 Medium red, or russet, potatoes, cut into chunks
2-3-lb. boneless ham
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. dry mustard

1. Prick potato pieces with fork. Place in slow cooker.
2. Place ham on top of potatoes. Crumble brown sugar over ham. Sprinkle with dry mustard.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 10 or more hours, until potatoes are tender.

Serving suggestion: Pour juices over ham and potatoes to serve.

Quick and Easy Nacho Dip
Kristina Shull
Timberville , VA
Makes 10-15 servings
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 3-qt.

1 lb. ground beef
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced, optional
2 16-oz. jars salsa (as hot or mild as you like)
1 ½ cups sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1. Brown grounded beef. Drain. Add Salt, pepper, onion powder, and minced garlic if you wish.
2. Combine beef, salsa, beans, sour cream, and 2 cups cheese in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Heat on Low 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.

Serving suggestion: Serve with tortilla chips

Barbecued Ribs
Moreen Weaver
Bath , NY
Makes 5 servings
Prep. Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-8 hours
Ideal slow-cooker size: 5-6-qt., oval shaped

4-4 ½ lbs. spare, or country style, ribs
2 ½ cups barbecue sauce
¾ cup cherry preserves, or jam
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 ½ tsp. pepper

1. Cut ribs into serving size pieces.
2. Place rib pieces in slow cooker.
3. Combine all other ingredients in a mixing bowl.
4. Pour sauce over ribs. If you’ve stacked the ribs, be sure that all are topped with sauce.
5. Cover. Cook 6-8 hours on Low, or until ribs are tender but not dry.