I want to buy a slow cooker, and start cooking our meals

Counting_Pennies_2

Hi all,

I am getting rather fed up with getting to the end of the day, having fed the children and then having to make a start on our food once they are in bed. DH often works from home, but refuses to eat at 4:30pm with the kids, and they go stir crazy if they have to wait any longer!

Can anyone recommend a good slow cooker.

Can you recommend how long before the intended meal to start cooking, and how long is too long?

My DS is at school in the day and my DD is due to start a nursery for two half days a week, so on these days I intend to experiment and start using the slow cooker.

Can anyone also point me in the direction of recipes. I am a hopeless cook at the best of times, and hope this will help me.

Thanks

miecherox

I would heartily recommend a slow cooker. I am in a similar situation to you lifestyle wise and honestly I do not know how I would manage without it.

My sc tips are buy a large capacity one - mine is lovely and big and will feed all six of us.
I prepare mine the night before, then switch it on in the morning and leave it all day - when we get in dinner is there waiting. I do this mondays and tuesdays when I work and it makes my life so much more pleasant these are the days I make one pot meals.

Some of our favourite sc meals are.

Bacon ribs, split peas, leek, carrot and onion add water and anything you might like. (in there now for tea tomorrow!)

Curry, diced meat - anything but the cheaper the better! Pataks curry paste, chopped toms, onion bit of extra water if you think it needs it.

Roast chicken - just bung it in! you can add a carrot and an onion cut in half for a basis for stock.

Any joint of meat - beef is lovely.

Casserole - put anything you like in it will taste lovely - mine always have different stuff in depending what's in the cupboard. If you want dumplings just add them into the slow cooker about 30-40 minutes before you want to eat.

Soup - as for casserole but add more stock.

I hope this helps as a starting point.

neveranymoney

Counting_pennies, I bought a slow cooker just before Christmas after reading all the posts on here and I cannot recommend one enough!!
My husband works shifts and is often not in until 11 or 12 at night, so whatever has been made is left in a bowl for him in the microwave! I tend to make things as soon as I've the kids packed off to school, everything is in well before 10am and I tend to cook EVERYTHING for about 2 hours on high and then the rest of the time on low until about 4pm. I am an absolutely rubbish cook, but have yet to make anything that didn't go down well, there are loads of recipes here on the old style board and i have started living dangerously and experimenting with any old stuff I can find knocking about, wine, djion mustard, suspect looking veg and everything has been yum!!! Good luck!

phizzimum

we got our slow cooker from Lakeland - I think it was about £30 - and I've never had a problem with it.

I use it to cook a whole chicken, the meat is so moist and tender you don't even need gravy. then once the chicken has been stretched out to however many meals I can manage I bung the carcass in the slow cooker with water and a few hours later have lovely stock to put in the freezer.

I also use it for curries, casseroles and even deserts sometimes.

our slow cooker has a high, low and keep warm setting. so I use the low setting if I've put it on early before going out, prob about 8am. if I'm not so organised I can use the high setting and as long as it's on before lunchtime it will be ready for dinner. It's a very gentle way to cook so as long as there's enough liquid you can cook it for as long as you like (within reason!)

hth

Sunnyday

I`ve got a morphy richards 6.5 litre one which was on offer ages ago at £20 just before Christmas i got a tesco 3.5 litre one for £10, both are great.I use the big one for batch cooking for the freezer and for huge gammon joints and i use the smaller one for day to day stuff, i would hate to be without them. I would get the larger one then you have the best of both worlds and you don`t need to fill it up. I have a tiny sink so i struggle to wash the larger one.Some recipes are here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=4273and there is anothe thread here with lots of info and ideashttp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2197233HTHSD

ALIBOBSY

Its worth asking around friends and family as some people buy things like SC and hardly use them. I got one for free off my auntie, it was one of those tesco ones and its brilliant.

Although I am a SAHM at the mo (baby 4 due in May) it is great to put the stuff in either in the morning or at lunchtime when the eldest 2 are at school and know tea is covered, rather than doing the run around at 4 when they are all back lol.

I agree about gammon joints being lovely in it mmmmmm.
I find the high setting to be about the level of a pan simmering on a low heat. So on high things will be done in 3-4 hours, I tend to do things for 1-2 hours on high then turn down to low till tea time.

Thing to watch is the liquid levels as it doesn't reduce in the same way a pan would(although the high setting does seem to thicken it up better than on low), so sometimes best to have a little less liquid than in a normal recipe-you can always thicken with cornflour towards the end if needed.

Good luck

ali x

BTW I have V hungry kids, but sometimes they have a toastie or a buttie after school (along side the shed loads of fruit they swallow everyday lol) to put them on. Then we can eat together. Or I make someting I can "jazz" up for us 2 later on. IE a simple spag bol can become a spicy chilli for us later on. Or I can add salad, etc etc. Or I make 2 pots of curry side by side, the kids being milder ours being that bit spicer. Virtually the same ingredients in each. You could still do 2 meals, but on a simular theme so same veggie to chop etc.

thriftlady_2

Could you not just reheat yours and OH's portions on the hob or in the oven when you are ready to eat?

evie451

I have the big Morphy Richards and i love it, on low you can leave a chicken/beef casserole on all day, Gammon is fantastic done in it but if you want it to carve you need to take it out before it falls apart!! its so succulent though...The kids call my casseroles fridge stews sometimes cos you can really sling most things in. You do have to watch the liquid levels though as it doesnt reduce the same as hob cooking but if its a bit runny stick some lentils in and they soak it up fine....its great to walk in from work and know its a good home cooked dinner waiting for you...

gingin_2

It sounds like we have a similar routine to you. I cook for kids at 5.30pm and then us at 9pm.

I still haven't been convinced to buy a slow cooker, it sounds just as easy to make things on the hob to me (sorry to all slow cooker fans).

I do all my prepping for our evening meal while the children are eating, that way I can talk to them but still get everything done. The children also tend to eat the same meal as us but the day after, so for example we have lasagna tonight, and I will make one in another dish for the children tomorrow. I also batch cook a lot, any type of stew, mince dish, curry is doubled and one goes into the freezer.

Counting_Pennies_2

Thanks all, I feel very inspired.

Do you have a good recipe book to recommend? I have started going through the threads on the links, but I think I need something to flick through, 51 pages send my eyes spinning!

Thanks

Westywoodpecker

I've just bought from the works a book called slow cooking properly explained today (ok yesterday!) for only £1.99 The lady who served me said it was new in & it does look quite good. I'm trying a chicken & orange curry recipe later as it looks interesting