Slow cooker recipes

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