slow cooker quick questions thread

Hopelessly_Hopeful

Thanks for the tip about only needing to cover an inch or so in fluid. Is that the same for using coke with gammon?

Cooked a couple of stews recently, didn't brown the meat, added veg and some broth mix and hey presto. Was magic for leaving a couple of days too, really infused the flavours.

HHx

zippychick

Hopelessly_Hopeful wrote: »

Thanks for the tip about only needing to cover an inch or so in fluid. Is that the same for using coke with gammon?

Cooked a couple of stews recently, didn't brown the meat, added veg and some broth mix and hey presto. Was magic for leaving a couple of days too, really infused the flavours.

HHx

Here's the gammon and c oke thread

No meat needs to be covered in liquid , but i know that seems very wrong! :rotfl:
Zip

rising_from_the_ashes

Hello everyone, I've lurked on the DFW board for a while and have finally plucked up the courage to post over the past few weeks.

I keep seeing people talking about the old style money saving board and have finally found it!

I'm hoping to try to reduce my grocery spending a bit. I used to be really good at making big pots of things and freezing them but have got out the habit a bit (I'm single so I probably do waste a fair bit of food but am trying hard and have got better over the past couple of months).

I've just been given a slow cooker and literally have no idea where to start - I did pop into a local bookshop at lunchtime but they only have 2 slow cooker books, both over £10:(.

Can anyone recommend a good website with easy starter recipes?

Also, any tips for keeping veg (especially potatoes) fresher longer - being single, I can't get through a lot of the packs before they go off. There's only a small supermarket near where I live and it tends to keep big packs for families and there isn't a lot of choice.

Thanks!

LittleLauz

Hey, welcome to OS! :-).
First of all, I too live alone and find that potatoes go a bit 'sprouty' before I get to the end of the bag, however I find that keeping them in a fabric bag makes them last much longer than leaving them in the plastic bag they are bought in.
I am new to slow cooking, only got it a few weeks ago, but I love it sooo much, it's fab and very versatile.
I think the majority of users on here seem to have slow cookers, so there will always be somebody about to solve any slowcooker queries you may have.
Here is a link ( hopefully a link anyway!! ) to all the major Slow cooking threads ;

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1332010#post1332010

enjoy :-)

Fruball

:hello: Welcome

Don't forget you can cook and freeze potatoes.

Mash freezes well so you can make a big potful and freeze in individual portion sizes
You can cook a whole trayful of baked potatoes and freeze them too

I used to throw out a lot of potatoes but now, if I buy a bag of new potatoes, I cook them all, freeze some, put some in the fridge where they will keep for 4 days and are really good fried up with chopped bacon and a left over sausage

Re the slow cooker - you can use your normal recipes but use slightly less liquid as there is hardly any evaporation from slow cookers.

Hope that helps

Linda32

Hi, Very warm welcome to OS

In answer to your title question - "Yes a few of us do" Although I personally don't for no reason what so ever.

I make the big portions of things and freeze as you used to do. Nether way is the right way of course, just what suits.

I can assure you, that if you stick around, you won't be wasting anything after a month or so.

I wonder if home delivery would be better, rather than using you local supermarket.
Our local Londis only sells bags of spuds which are too much for the both of us, so I know what you mean.

You certainly don't want to be spending £10.00 on a cookery book, I've never heard anything like it :eek: well not unless a man in a pinny comes with it

First questions of many you will get, what sort of foods are you throwing away? what sort of meals do you want to save money on - Lunches at work/evening dinner?
What don't you like to eat?

rising_from_the_ashes

Hello everyone!

LittleLauz - thanks for the link, will have a good trawl through!

Frugal - I never even thought of freezing cooked potato:o - seems so obvious when you think of ready meals (which I don't eat BTW). Ohhhh, when I think of the amount of mash I've thrown away.....:mad:

Linda - well, lets see.....

I have a fairly restrictive diet (Crohn's Disease). I'm OK with the odd bit of cheese/other diary but not too much & same with veg. Unfortunately not great with wheat so have to keep that to a minimum (lily thinks she may scurry away now before anyone reads this and goes "ohh no"). I'm allergic to strawberries, oranges, several spices (incl ginger so tend to avoid most things & stick to herbs) and a few bits & pieces. Aside from that, I actually like most things ... apart from celery and barley which I HATE.

Breakfast - porriage or oat granola (very expensive but hard to get cheap versions - esp without strawberries in!).

Lunches - tend to have a wholemeal wrap with sliced meat & spinach. I used to make a lot of soup but veg ones aren't great and got totally sick of lentil!

Dinner - shepherd's pie, corned beef hash, pasta bakes, lasagne, chicken breasts with whatever, roast chicken now and then etc - I take the leftovers for lunch the next day as always make too much!

Enough about me!

Penelope_Penguin

lilylass wrote: »

I've just been given a slow cooker and literally have no idea where to start - I did pop into a local bookshop at lunchtime but they only have 2 slow cooker books, both over £10:(.

Can anyone recommend a good website with easy starter recipes?

This thread has every recipe you might ever need

I'll add this thread to the Quick Q thread so that you can see tips from other posters :T

Linda32 wrote: »

In answer to your title question - "Yes a few of us do" Although I personally don't for no reason what so ever.

I don;t use one, because food from mine (from Freecycle,so no money wasted :money: ) alll tastes the same

Linda32

lilylass wrote: »

Linda - well, lets see.....

I have a fairly restrictive diet (Crohn's Disease). I'm OK with the odd bit of cheese/other diary but not too much & same with veg. Unfortunately not great with wheat so have to keep that to a minimum (lily thinks she may scurry away now before anyone reads this and goes "ohh no"). I'm allergic to strawberries, oranges, several spices (incl ginger so tend to avoid most things & stick to herbs) and a few bits & pieces. Aside from that, I actually like most things ... apart from celery and barley which I HATE.

Noooo, don't do that, we said your more than welcome here, and you are I had a milk free diet a little while ago, (under hospital supervision) only for IBS though not Crohn's so nowhere near as serious. So I am a little aware of special diets.

lilylass wrote: »

Breakfast - porriage or oat granola (very expensive but hard to get cheap versions - esp without strawberries in!).

True, but you can make your own granola

Lunches - tend to have a wholemeal wrap with sliced meat & spinach. I used to make a lot of soup but veg ones aren't great and got totally sick of lentil!

Wraps are nice arn't they? much nicer than bread IMO easier to digest as well. Do you freeze most of the packet and take out just a couple at a time?

If you make veg soup, could you stir in abit of plain cooked chicken, might make it more interesting. Again you can freeze cooked chicken in portions, you don't have to have it everyday until its gone.

Dinner - shepherd's pie, corned beef hash, pasta bakes, lasagne, chicken breasts with whatever, roast chicken now and then etc - I take the leftovers for lunch the next day as always make too much!

Thats good that you take the left overs. Some people always make too much so that they have pack-ups the next day.

Linda32

[QUOTE=
I don;t use one, because food from mine (from Freecycle,so no money wasted :money: ) alll tastes the same [/QUOTE]

I thought that as well, I actually do have one, but its different to the table top ones, its in the form of a ' S ' setting on my gas oven IYSWIM, its below the mark 1.