Slow cooker and what can I cook in it?

[Amber4]

So I've decided to buy one on Monday. I have gotten really into making home made nice food lately now my little girl eats mostly what we do. So I'd love simple ideas. I've thought about stews, soups and curry and that's it. Please tell me what you cook and what you put in there is cooked before going in (meat) thank you x

 

[LoveCakes]

I love my slow cooker. It does great casseroles and stuff. Stew is lovely in it too, the meat is so soft.

I've made puddings in mine before and chilli the other night.

Use your normal recipes except only put in as much liquid as you'd expect to see at the end. Nothing boils away, so the first time I made stew it came out like soup! Lovely though.

We're doing a ham for Sunday dinner tomorrow and it just falls apart, yum.

 

[babyerin]

I've done loads of curries, casseroles etc in mine. The only thing I have browned before chucking it in is sausages, and thats only so it looks nicer tbh. I just chuck everything else in raw. I also find you can get away with chucking veg you wouldn't normally use in certain recipes in. I put quartered potatoes in most things, they go so soft and soak up all the flavour it bulks meals out a bit IMO. I love my slow cooker

 

[chuck]

bolognaise, lasagne, pasta bake, chillie, roast chicken, gammon joints, braised beef, pulled pork, jacket potatoes, tagines/casseroles/soups/stews, rice pudding, mulled wine, mulled cider (well it getting closer to xmas lol)

 

[JeepGirl]

I love my slow cooker. I leave for work in the morning at 7am and don't get home till 6pm, if it wasn't for the slow cooker we would be eating take out everyday I usually chop all the veggies the night before, so in the morning all I have to do is throw everything in. I never cook anything before putting it in.

I do stews, roasts, chicken, ribs, ham, chilli. I use different things for my liquid - gravy, BBQ sauce, apple or pineapple juice. etc You can also buy packages of slow cooker spices. There are lots of great slow cooker cook books with loads of great ideas.

 

[chuck]

O hI had a really good recipe for a chinese style orange chicken somewhere...I'll have to go find it!

 

[Amber4]

Agh I'm so excited! There's so much you can cook in there!! Thanks for the ideas. Would of never thought to leave on while I'm out! Wasn't sure it was safe thanks

 

[chuck]

Yeah safe and a lot sheaper than using your oven to slow cook things!

Ig you google for recipes you will find an abundance of American recipes and website I think theyre more popular over there, but you'll find some great ideas for prepare ahead meals where you can literally prep a whole bunch of meals and freeze everything in a bag then on the day you want it pop the pfrozen bits in the slow cooker go out to work or what ever for the day and it'll all be cooked ready and waiting by the evening.

 

[JeepGirl]

Agh I'm so excited! There's so much you can cook in there!! Thanks for the ideas. Would of never thought to leave on while I'm out! Wasn't sure it was safe thanks

It took me a long time to be comfortable leaving it on while I was out. But a good friend ours has been a firefighter for over 30 years, and he told me that he has never once been to a fire cause by a slow cooker. He said if I was that worried about it to put a large metal baking tray under it, that way if it ever did malfunction and overheat the metal would protect the counter from the heat.

 

[tardiz]

My favourites are a gammon joint cooked in pineapple juice and chicken thighs in salsa. I just bung it in and leave it x

 

[moomoo]

We are doing a whole roast chicken with garlic and onions.. Will use the juices for gravy!

Curry
Chilli con carni
Stew
Pie fillings
Soups
Joints of meat
Chutney

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

whole roast chicken
lasange
chili
spag bol mix
casseroles (chicken, beef, sausage)
curries

 

[chuck]

lets not forget fondue!

omnomnom Nothing quite like a massive bowl of melted cheese!

 

[RileysMummy]

I am sooooooo requesting a slow cooker for christmas!

Which one does everyone have? x

 

[chuck]

Mines super old I got it from someone on freecycle LOL

How big is your family?

The bigger you get the bigger the joints of meat etc you can fit in there, but there are some meals you can make that use a pudding basin or bowl placed inside the crockpot so take a look at some recipes and see what type of thing you'll thin you'll cook most combined with how much food you'll need to make and go from there.

 

[moomoo]

Ours is big enough to fit a large roast chicken, it's oval.

Defintely a sound investment we use ours at least twice a week!

 

[RileysMummy]

Only 3 of us atm, just looking on argos, a breville 4.5 litre one is £30, 200 4.6* star reviews, think I shall purchase that ready for our new home x

 

[chuck]

Sounds good hun.

I find it great for days I know I simply wont be bothered by tea time for a lot of fuss.

I can always find a few minutes throughout the morning to chop a bit of eg or brown some meat and chuck in in the crockpot. But sometimes spending 45 minutes or what ever in one fell swoop to cook a meal just doesn't work with 2 kiddos running around!

Also brilliant for making bigger batches of things so you can freeze portions for more easy meals.

 

[moomoo]

lets not forget fondue!

omnomnom Nothing quite like a massive bowl of melted cheese!

Wonder if this would work with chocolate!? *licks lips*

 

[chuck]

Literally just popped a little pork shoulder joint in ours with a bottle of BBQ sauce.

By tonight it'll pull part and we'll have pulled pork sandwiches.

Best of all the pork was on the reduced section for less than £3 and the buns were down to 9p.

We're always stocking up the freezer from the reduced section lol