Slowcooker Recipe Favourites

pinkhammy

Stews - basically just throw in beef pieces and veg, then leave all day and a beautiful dinner at night! Even kids will eat this!:j

researcher

Do you use the same proportions as for normal recipes? Do you heat liquids first, and fry meat etc for stews?

wigginsmum

I just bung everything in for stews and switch it on - sometimes I don't even defrost the meat first.

Addiscomber

wigginsmum wrote:

I was just thinking of rice pudding but I think I'd miss the skin.

If you don't stir it you get a skin, and since you aren't supposed to lift the lid ...

Addiscomber

researcher wrote:

Do you use the same proportions as for normal recipes? Do you heat liquids first, and fry meat etc for stews?

For some things you need less liquid as there is little or no evaporation to lose it through, but for other things you need to cover the ingredients. It is best to follow a few of the recipes that come with the cooker exactly to get a feel for for whatt to do and then start adapting.

zombiecazz

I make chicken stew - make with Cubed chicken breasts, carrots, onions, leeks, white beans,herb, chicken stock and a little white wine Cook for 5-6 hours on low. £0 minutes before the end add some the lemon and rosemary dumplings. Cook on high for 30 minutes until dumplings are cooked.

Soup. Lots and lots of soup.
Minestone (ingredients carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, bacon, white beans, pasta stock.

BrandNewDay

wigginsmum wrote:

I just bung everything in for stews and switch it on - sometimes I don't even defrost the meat first.

And THAT is the beauty of a slow cooker! You can literally throw in a lump of frozen beef, chop up some onions and carrots, and toss in a handful of frozen peas - add a bit of salt and pepper, then leave it on low all day long while you're at work. You will come home to a good roast dinner!

Here's a tip: stock up on cream of mushroom soup. You ALWAYS need a can of cream of mushroom soup in the store cupboard. If you toss a can of it on top of the meat and veg, it will be even yummier and juicier. I suppose other varieties of creamy soup would also work.

As for my suggestion of what to make: try pulled pork BBQ. Get a nice bit of pork for roasting (I don't know what kind. I just tell the butcher what I'm doing and he gives me something. He's trims a bunch of the fat off for me, too. I recommend that.) Put it in the slow cooker covered with a cup or so of BBQ sauce. Cook on "low" for a few hours. Then, go and pull it apart with a couple of forks, shredding the pork. Stir it around, and add some more BBQ sauce. Let it cook for a while longer. If you put this on a split bap, you will have a DEEEE-licious pork BBQ sandwich!

BrandNewDay

Squishy wrote:

I've been thinking of getting a slow cooker, but I'm not sure about leaving something on all day when out of the house. I guess you hear too many horror stories about faulty electrics / power surges etc. Does anyone here leave them on and go out all day?

Yup. I don't know if it's unsafe to do in the UK, but it's considered the norm in the states.

Squishy

Managed to delete my post - not paying attention I guess Thanks for the reply anyway, brandnewday

researcher

Addiscomber wrote:

For some things you need less liquid as there is little or no evaporation to lose it through, but for other things you need to cover the ingredients. It is best to follow a few of the recipes that come with the cooker exactly to get a feel for for whatt to do and then start adapting.

No recipe book - so I'll just have to make do with all your combined knowledge :rotfl: