In my slow cooker today.... part 2

nataz

Am in right in thinking that after Ive roasted my chicken, and shed all the meat, I can put the carcass in the SC to make stock?

HOw do I do it, I wont be putting chicken in SC cos its too big.

TryingHardToSave_2

I have lasagne in my slow cooker at the mo. Very first time ive done it, so hope it turns out well?? ha x

Sunnyday

nataz wrote: »

Am in right in thinking that after Ive roasted my chicken, and shed all the meat, I can put the carcass in the SC to make stock?

HOw do I do it, I wont be putting chicken in SC cos its too big.

Just pop it in with some water, i usually use a large pan for this as it only takes about an hour or less simmering. I would use around a litre of water or maybe a bit more and crush the carcass down so that the bones are more or less covered, if you have too much stock you can always simmer for a while with the lid off to reduce it.
HTH

TryingHardToSave wrote: »

I have lasagne in my slow cooker at the mo. Very first time ive done it, so hope it turns out well?? ha x

I`ve never done this before but i`ve been tempted so let us know how it turns out. Are you browning the mince first or just throwing it all in?

SD

nataz

Thanks will post tomorrow about how it went

TryingHardToSave_2

I will do and yes i have browned the mince, This is the recipe ive used, although had a supermarkets own brand of red sauce. Would like to try to make own next time just not sure how??

2 TBSP of Olive Oil, 455g of mince, Salt, 1 onion chopped, 1 500g jar of Dolmio Original Lasagne ‘Red’ Sauce (I used the roasted onion and garlic), 1 package of lasagne sheets, 250 g of cottage cheese, 1 egg, 125g of parmesan cheese, 200 g of mozzarella cheese
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the mince, season with salt and brown. About 3 minutes before it is finished add the onion and saut! till soft. Add the Dolmio sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes. Keep a small amount of the mozzarella aside to sprinkle on top after.
In a separate bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese. Put a layer of the meat sauce in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover with a layer of sheets. This is a bit fiddly. You’ll have to break them to fit. Cover with a layer of the cheese mixture. Spread evenly. Add another layer of meat sauce, then another layer of sheets. One more layer of the cheese mixture and then beef. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Sunnyday

OOH thanks for that it sounds lovely, i shall definitely be making that and freezing it into portions for those cold winter nights.

I don`t normally buy many pre made sauces but i do just happen to have a jar of the red lasagne sauce, my Mum gave it to me as it is just out of date (she is still one of those people that thinks everything goes off as soon as the date is reached) so i shall be able to use that up.

To make a sauce usually sautee onions, garlic and peppers until just soft in a little olive oil or butter and then throw them in the blender with a tin of tomatoes and/or a carton of passatta depending on how much i want to make. Add whatever else you like eg basil or or other herbs and some tomato puree if you like it stronger tasting. If you want the sauce thicker just simmer it in a pan for a while or add more veggies when making it. I shall be making some with fresh tomatoes as soon as they are ripe and freezing the sauce in tubs for when its needed. I never seem to get the same taste or consistency but not far off and its always delicious.

SD

EDIT - Add chilli powder or fresh chillies for a sauce to make chilli con carne, there are quite a few possibilities and even if you make up a huge batch and portion it up you can add different things to it when you want to use it eg add basil when using some for a pasta sauce etc

TryingHardToSave_2

Sunnyday wrote: »

OOH thanks for that it sounds lovely, i shall definitely be making that and freezing it into portions for those cold winter nights.

I don`t normally buy many pre made sauces but i do just happen to have a jar of the red lasagne sauce, my Mum gave it to me as it is just out of date (she is still one of those people that thinks everything goes off as soon as the date is reached) so i shall be able to use that up.

To make a sauce usually sautee onions, garlic and peppers until just soft in a little olive oil or butter and then throw them in the blender with a tin of tomatoes and/or a carton of passatta depending on how much i want to make. Add whatever else you like eg basil or or other herbs and some tomato puree if you like it stronger tasting. If you want the sauce thicker just simmer it in a pan for a while or add more veggies when making it. I shall be making some with fresh tomatoes as soon as they are ripe and freezing the sauce in tubs for when its needed. I never seem to get the same taste or consistency but not far off and its always delicious.

SD

EDIT - Add chilli powder or fresh chillies for a sauce to make chilli con carne, there are quite a few possibilities and even if you make up a huge batch and portion it up you can add different things to it when you want to use it eg add basil when using some for a pasta sauce etc

My mum is also one of those people haha. Thank you very much will be giving that a try as i hate parting with silly amounts of money for something im sure i could make myself for a quarter of the price

Triker

To stop the 'spitting' out the top of the slowcooker, I put some greaseproof paper under the lid...solves the issue. I cut round the lid with a slight overlap.

Today I have belly pork, slowcooking for pulled pork for later.

Sublime_2

Soup, using yesterdays stock

Loobeyloop

Hello there, been lurking for a while now, what an interesting thread! Just shows you can do more than beef casserole in the slow cooker...Trying hard to save, I never would ever of thought about a lasagne, what a fab idea! Does it come out of the cooker easily?
After reading this thread you have inspired me to get mine out, only use it in the winter usually, but today I've made a beany sort of casserole with all the veggies I had in my fridge which were looking a little worse for wear, or close to it! (I used 1/2 red,green,yellow peppers, 1/2 onion, couple of limp carrots, very limp celery. 1/2 courgette, some mushrooms, tin of chopped toms, tin kidney beans and tin baked beans, some chorizo sausage and loads of garlic, mixed herbs, carraway seeds and some worcester sauce...it smells lush and cost very little as all the stuff was from aldi..will probably have it with a jacket potato done in me halogen oven (which was free!) Have any of you got any lighter recipes, that would be good for summer slow cooking?
Thanks for the inspiration!!