In my slow cooker today.... part 2

Sunnyday

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

I guess you guys are the right people to ask this...

My wife wants a slow cooker.
What should we be looking out for?
How big should we go? How big do they go?
Are there other factors (e.g. power of heater) that are worthy of comparing?
Does http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4228826.htm look any good?

We've got 4 small children and often have family over for dinner, so the bigger the better I would have thought unless you guys know different...


Thanks,
Jim

Jimmy i always say that you can half fill a large cooker if you don`t want to make as much but if you need to make more food then the small one won`t stretch

Says she who has both a 6.5 litre one and also a 3.5 litre :rotfl:

Seriously you could always make extra and freeze for a no cooking day, i prefer the oval shaped ones as some of the bigger chickens and odd shaped joints etc won`t fit properly into the round ones.

HTH

SD

MrsEm

2 dinners later for less than 3 quid for the 2 of us - thanks for the tips guys!

Yummy!!!

Diflower

Sunnyday wrote: »

with a gammon joint it may be best to soak it overnight in cold water or bring it to the boil in a pan of water and then throw the water away before slow cooking it. Tbh i don`t usually bother but the last lot of soup that i made from the stock was too salty so think i`ll do this next time.

You can usually get away with just pouring boiling water over it rather than bring it to the boil, but often don't need to. I've taken to wiping a finger over it and licking it Usually it doesn't taste of salt at all, but if it does I just boil the kettle and pour it over.
Btw I almost always cook bacon/gammon joints in the microwave.

JimmyTheWig

Sunnyday wrote: »

Jimmy i always say that you can half fill a large cooker if you don`t want to make as much but if you need to make more food then the small one won`t stretch
...
Seriously you could always make extra and freeze for a no cooking day

So you're saying get a big one. Sounds like what we were thinking.
But how big is big?

Pollycat

cooking-mama wrote: »

Oh dear...my hungarian goulash just tasted like beef stewed in tomatoes,no smokey paprika taste,no hint of garlic..nowt.
I browned everything first...even added extra paprika..dunno what went wrong....Family ate it anyway,But they were hungry(rather than hungarian;))

Hi cookin-mama
sorry to hear that your goulash wasn't anything special.

How much paprika did you put in?

I've not used smoked paprtika so I don't know how strong it is.
I use hot paprika which I get from either Julian Graves or Turkey when on holiday.

I did see in a recipe book somewhere that said if you haven't got hot paprika, do 3 parts sweet to 1 part cayenne.

Finally did you put any sour cream or creme fraiche in just before stirring?

Pollycat wrote: »

I think the creme fraiche lifts it from an 'ordinary' casserole to something much nicer, although it does thin it down somewhat so you have to bear that in mind.
I usually do enough for 4 and freeze half, but if I am doing that I leave out the creme fraiche for the portion going into the freezer.

Hot paprika is a 'must' for us.

Pollycat

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

So you're saying get a big one. Sounds like what we were thinking.
But how big is big?

The 6.5 litre one is BIG!

In fact we refer to it as 'the baby bath'. :rotfl:

Sunnyday is right about getting a big one rather than a smaller one, although like her I have both the 6.5 and 3.5 litre one.

I think Argos have the 3.5 litre Cookworks one for £9.99 at the moment, I have this one and it's been fine.

richj

We have a 3.5l and a 6.5l, 3.5 does for about 3 meals and the 6.5 allows us to freeze 4-6 meals. If you are only getting one I woiuld go for the larger one.

Magpie.

I'm going food shopping later and this thread has inspired me to dig out my slow cooker again! now just to decide what to cook in it first.

mommygoose

Got cheap pork chops and gravy in mine at the mo. Going to prepare and add some veg to it now. Thinking of putting some chopped apple in too:undecided. Had lots of apples gave me for my hm wine but i'm sure i could spare a couple for tonights tea

vickyj

Well after going and investing in a shiny new Crock pot saute 5.7l I have now cooked my first SC meal !!!!
I have been very brave and cooked a Beef casserole lol. I had some beef in the freezer so put that in with a ton ov veggies and cheated by using a couple of casserole sachet mixes, By golly it is fab just had some for lunch.
Thank you all here for your posts i would never have bothered otherwise.
Just got to go and make some nice fresh bread to go with it now lol

Thank you all
Vicky xxx