slow cooker quick questions thread

RustyFlange

I have just reserved my tesco slow cooker. 3.5 litre with removable pot for £10

Picking it up tomorrow and plan to do something in it on sunday ... not sure what though as I hadn't thought about any meals lol
Thanks for the help

trying-very-trying

thecornflake wrote: »

We brown ours first because it won't really brown in the SC. You can add flour to thicken it though once it's in there.

You can coat the meat in seasoned flour before browning in the frying pan, it still helps to thicken the gravy. I often stick some onions in the pan when browning the meat, 'cause I love the flavour from the fried onions.

trying-very-trying

RustyFlange wrote: »

Annie C and Pink Winged, thank you ever so much for your fast replies. OH says I am allowed to start looking for one but I need to wait til payday til he will buy me one I plan to look for a 6.5 litre one so that I always have enough space. I like the look of the morphy richards ones, but I have also seen a crockpot one which has an older look about it which I love, this also has a higher price tag.
Pink I have saved the link and will look through when I have a little more time. Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be on here telling you all how wonderful my SC is
Thankyou once again.

Rusty, I was in sainsbugs today and noticed that they had a 4.2ltr one for £10. It's not quite 6.5ltr, but it's certainly cheap. It's got a 200w output I think.

Edit; Forgot to say, try freecycle, I got one for my daughter from freecycle. A lot of older people are downsizing and trying to get rid. Only disadvantage is, you can't be too picky.

mumzyof2

Hi all, just a quick question i need answering please. Im going to be making carrot soup consisiting of carrots,onion,garlic and wondered if i just chopped everything up and left it in slow cooker from say 10am till tea time and then use my cordless blender and then turn it in to soup? Or do i have to cook it on the hob?

Bongedone

You could do it in the slow cooker but it would be cheaper on the hob as it only takes 20-25 minutes.

EDIT: If you have some corriander chuck that in also.

Olliebeak

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Hi all, just a quick question i need answering please. Im going to be making carrot soup consisiting of carrots,onion,garlic and wondered if i just chopped everything up and left it in slow cooker from say 10am till tea time and then use my cordless blender and then turn it in to soup? Or do i have to cook it on the hob?

I usually add some red lentils to mine as well - good luck !

scottishf

I have just bought a slow cooker, and wondered if anyone had any good moneysaving recipes......can you leave these on during the day when you are at wor btw?..as you can tell im not a domestic goddess!!!!

Pink.

Hi scottishf,

If you have a look through the The Complete Slow Cooker Collection you'll find links to lots of recipes that should help to get you started.

Here people talk about what they're cooking in their slow cooker (with some recipes) :

In my slow cooker today...

This thread also has lots of recipes: Slow Cooker - The Recipe Collection

Good luck with your slow cooker. I'll add your thread to the Quick Questions on slow cookers thread as your query may help others.

Pink

Sunshine_and_Roses

I used my sc for the first time the other day, and was disappointed.

I thought I could just throw everything in there, switch it on and leave it for the day, then I would have a lovely meal when I came home.

I did not realise I had to brown the meat etc, and also when I tried to thicken the gravy with a flour and water mix, it did not make much difference.

What am I doing wrong - and are there any foods that do not need pre-cooking (ok - I admit it - I dont like all the extra washing up )

Pink.

Hi Clareski,

I prefer to brown the meat because I think it looks better and helps flavour the dish but lots of people don't bother.

It's best to add less water than you usually would to a dish because the slow cooker is covered and the liquid doesn't get a chance to evaporate (if anything you end up with more liquid in there). I normally thicken dishes with a little cornflour mixed in cold water stirred in towards the end. There's an earlier thread on how to thicken slow cooker meals. I'll have a look for it and edit the link into this post.

Pink


Edit: Found it. How do i thicken up.....