I'm looking at getting a slow cooker, but have no idea what I can put in it. Any idea's would be greatly received!

I dont have one myself but I do know they are great for soups, stews and I think if large enough you can put a whole joint into them too. I have seem them mentioned a lot on the money saving expert site

I'm looking at getting a slow cooker, but have no idea what I can put in it. Any idea's would be greatly received!

I've mostly used mine for stews, but have also used it for things like bolognese and chilli con carne. Prepare it in a pan in your usual way, then once it's all assembled pour it into the slow cooker and you can just forget about it until you're ready to eat. It's handy if you're going to be out all day and want to be able to get a meal on the table quickly once you get home.

I always use ours for stews and the like. It's really nice to have because you can put it in at the beginning of the day and when you get back from work or have been busy all day, you can sit down to a meal without having to worry about cooking it!

As others have said, I use mine for stews and casseroles as well as chilli etc.

The only thing I would say is be careful which one you buy. I bought mine years ago without properly looking into all of the models available. Just my luck to get one with a steam vent hole in the lid. This means that even if you try to block it up, you cannot turn it on and go out as the food will boil dry. It therefore does not get used as much as I would like. Make sure you get a big enough cooker for what you want but ensure it has a heavy enough lid with no vent holes.

Good luck.

anyone got recipes for chilli con carne and spagetti bolognese

anyone got recipes for chilli con carne and spagetti bolognese

There's probably as many recipes for those two as there are people who cook them. Here's how I make chilli:

Serves 2
1 medium sized onion
Fresh garlic
250g pack of lean mince
Cayenne pepper
Oregano
Bay leaves
Salt
Tomato puree
Small tin of red kidney beans
Vegetable oil

Chop onion, fry gently until soft but not brown in a small amount of vegetable oil. Add mince and fry gently until brown, chopping with spoon as it cooks, then add 3-5 cloves of crushed garlic. Drain the kidney beans in a sieve and rinse with water, then add to pan. Top up with enough water to just cover the ingredients, add a generous squeeze of tomato puree, about half a level teaspoon of cayenne pepper ( you might want to start with less) , a dash of salt, generous sprinkling of oregano and 1 or 2 bay leaves. Turn heat to low, put a lid on and simmer for about an hour and a half stirring occasionally. Don’t let it dry out. Taste after about half an hour of cooking and add more spices, herbs, tomato puree etc if needed.

As above but with no salt, cayenne or oregano. I use chillies and cumin instead. I also put mixed peppers in there for added texture and veg and a tin of plum tomatoes.

The best advice for anything like this is to taste it throughout, put a little flavouring in first because you can always add more (but you can't take it out) and just experiment. And have fun

Best advice for making chilli is a good squirt of HP sauce improves the flavour and consistancy no end

Our favourite is

a; joint of beef,
glass of red wine,
some water,
onions and pepper
together in the slow cooker and leave on
for 8 hours, lovely with mash, yorkshires and veg- make a
gravy with the juices left and add some cream to it :)

not forgetting the hendersons sauce

not forgetting the hendersons sauce

Of course:hihi: Can't have meat without hendo here (or crisps)

I'm not a hendersons fan I'm afraid :gag:

I'm not a hendersons fan I'm afraid :gag:don't make me ban you!

A chicken casserole turns out lovely in the slow cooker especially done on the low setting all day. I always turn it up to high for the last hour though if i'm in.

I also do stews etc in mine. I often use half the stew in a large yorkshire pudding with veg on the first day and then make a pie with the rest of the stew and have pie, home-made oven chips and peas the next day.

I'm yet to make soup but my DD wants to try so that's something for the holidays!

I did a spanish chicken dish in my slow cooker. Just put some chicken breast in chopped up, mushrooms and onions and added a jar of tesco healthy living spanish sauce then about 20 mins before it was ready to be served I added a few prawns and served it with rice, nice!

You can use colmans packet mixes for ideas. If you look on the back of the packets it says if they are slow cooker friendly.

I used to do Stew & Dumplings in mine. Try it :thumbsup:

I am looking to cook a piece of lambs leg in my slow cooker. It isn't a big piece but do I need to cover it completely with water? Being the lazy bum that I am, I was just going to chuck some onions or something in with it maybe carrots (chopped up small) and some knorr lamb cubes. Then i'll probably thicken up the liquid with some lamb and mint gravy powder.

Thanks.

I am looking to cook a piece of lambs leg in my slow cooker. It isn't a big piece but do I need to cover it completely with water? Being the lazy bum that I am, I was just going to chuck some onions or something in with it maybe carrots (chopped up small) and some knorr lamb cubes. Then i'll probably thicken up the liquid with some lamb and mint gravy powder.

Thanks.Nope you don't have to completely cover the joint in liquid - I think it's nicer if you don't ;)

I tried this recently when my parents came to visit - it was so delicious and tasty, everyone loved it!

Braised Lamb Shanks with Garlic and Rosemary
1/2 cup dry red wine
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 pounds lamb shank -- not trimmed of fat
1 large head garlic -- peeled and crushed (about 15 cloves)
2 medium yellow onions -- peeled and chopped
1 large carrot -- peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
2 heaping tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
In a small bowl, mix the red wine, mustard, salt and pepper and place in the slow cooker. Layer the shanks the way they fit best and scatter the remaining ingredients on and around the shanks. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours. Use tongs to reverse the position of the shanks, top to bottom. Reduce the setting to LOW and cook for an additional 6 hours.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shanks to a serving platter. Skim the fat from the cooking juices. Taste the juices, add salt and pepper if needed, then pour over the shanks and serve.


I don't think I stuck to the "6hrs then turn then another 6hrs" cooking time though. That's the beauty of a slow cooker - you can give or take a couple of hours and it doesn't actually make any difference!

Well I put stock in just to half the height of the meat and turned it over half way through. It was gorgeous and the meat just fell apart :love:

Excellent stuff!


We have a slow cooker and we`ve been wondering how to make the most of it for a while now.

This thread is just the thing!

Having resisted getting a slow cooker for years I now have two! I have a 3.5 litre one for cooking for 3-4 and then a little sad single one . The easiest recipe I have (and I've had it tonight with a portion for tomorrow and one each for my mum and bruv) is great as there's no pre cooking or browning

Chicken Chasseur

4 chicken breasts
tin of chopped tomatoes
250 ml of veg stock or white wine/vermouth
1 x bouquet garni (i use the Schwartz one that looks like a teabag
1 clove garlic (or tsp of easy garlic)
4 oz button mushrooms
1 onion thinly sliced
Throw everything except the chicken in the slow cooker, season with salt and pepper and stir then tuck the chicken breast into the mix, pressing it under the fluid.
Cook on high for 4-5 hours -serve with Aunt Bessie mashed pots for the ultimate easy comfort food!

Nooooo serve it with home made mash :thumbsup:

Excellent stuff!


We have a slow cooker and we`ve been wondering how to make the most of it for a while now.

This thread is just the thing!

Get it out and get it used :hihi::hihi: Let us know what you try first!!

Get it out and get it used :hihi::hihi: Let us know what you try first!!

I use it all the time but just for meat, Lamb abd chicken and pork, but I want to try something more adventurous.

ermm fish? Not that i've tried it!

ermm fish? Not that i've tried it!

I've seen one pot recipes for the slow cooker that used salmon, but I don't think seafood is really playing to it's strengths.
Actually, I can't even think of any seafood dish that benefits from a long cooking time and could be done well in a slow cooker.

On a side note, I'm not sure of sous vide times for various seafood but then the slow cooker can't be a replacement for sous vide anyway like it can a slow braise or simmer on the hob or a low temperature roast.
For those who haven't come across it, Sous vide is a cooking method using vacuum packed ingredients cooked in a very consistent low temperature water bath for long periods of time (over 24hrs for some things). It is thought that it will probably become more common in more fancy restaurants in the near future.
The special water baths used start at a few hundred pounds and then you need a vacuum machine which is even more expensive :/

I've seen one pot recipes for the slow cooker that used salmon, but I don't think seafood is really playing to it's strengths.
Actually, I can't even think of any seafood dish that benefits from a long cooking time and could be done well in a slow cooker.

:/

Octopus would be great in a slow cooker, squid to a lesser extent. For the octopus I'd slow cook it for 8 hrs in a light tomatoe "stew" with ginger, garlic and a little chilli, some tinned toms maybe topped up with water or stock and finished with coriander. Serve with rice.

I did a lovely fish recipe out of my slow cooker meals for one book last night - cooked it in my mini slow cooker but sure it could be doubled/quadrupled up
Mediterranean Fish Braise:
1 piece of firm white fish about 6 oz (I used cod)
1 small red onion
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 large firm tomato
1/2 tsp fresh tyme
3 tablespoons orange juice (either fresh from an orange or from a carton)
sliver of orange peel (if using a fresh orange)
bay leaf
5-6 olives

Fry the onion in a bit of olive oil for 5 mins, add the garlic and thyme, cook for another minute.
Put in the bottom of the slow cooker, add the bay leaf and orange peel. Put the fish fillet on top. Slice the tomato and arrange over the fish then pour the orange juice over the top. Add the olives

Cover and cook on low for 2-2.5 hours