slow cooker quick questions thread

indierocker85

When cooking with meat, remove skin and cut off excess fat. Fats melt away during long cooking periods, giving your dish an oily texture and unpleasant taste.

skipkoo

Thanks for the replies. I now have my first dish cooking in it, Hungarian Goulash, recipe from the accompanying hand book. I am a bit worried though. When I got it home this morning, the lid does not seem to fit properly, as though it is too small for the pot. There always seems to be a slight gap, kind of a slit, however the lid is put on, whichever way I sit it on the pot. Should there be a gap always??? I really dont know. If any MR 6.5l owners have any thoughts on this please let me know! I have put it on to high to start with and then will turn it down to medium.
Thanks for reading
S

Rikki

Shoulder of Lamb..........slow cooker recipe ideas please.

Something spicy rather than stew like as I have made a large batch of chunky winter vegetable soup and would like something with a bit of a kick.

skipkoo

Another question , sorry about this! I was worried the the lid of my cooker seemed a little loose but was reassured that a seal would form around the lid. Today, second use, I notice that little whisps of steam are escaping. Is this ok??
Thanks
S

3tabbycats

Hi
I've just discovered the pulses/pasta soup mixes in Morrisons, I was thinking of making the soup in my slow cooker while I'm at work tomorrow. My question is, if I boil up the dried pasta & pulses tonight & put them in the stock & leave it all in the fridge until the morning, will I have a big stodgy mess to put in the SC in the morning? Wondering if the pulses will just keep soaking up the liquid? I'm not very organised so if its likely to be a nightmare, I'll leave it til the weekend & have a tin of heinz tomorrow!!

RichyRich

Rikki wrote: »

Shoulder of Lamb..........slow cooker recipe ideas please.

Something spicy rather than stew like as I have made a large batch of chunky winter vegetable soup and would like something with a bit of a kick.

I LOVE lamb in the S/C, it always comes out so tender and the fat just pulls off (useful if, like my OH, you don't like the stuff!)

However, I am a real sucker for minty lamb based dishes, and to be honest I haven't experimented with going Moroccan, Greek, or Spicy (and am prob missing out).

Whatever cut of lamb, I normally stick a crumbled lamb oxo cube, a dash of water, tons of mint sauce, and the lamb in and turn it on low for the time I'm out at work (10/11 hrs) then return to find it deliciously melt in the mouth. Depending what kind of dish I'm doing I might add a tin of toms and mixed herbs to this, but it never, ever fails to be delicious.

Sorry if this is more boring than what you were after, but it is my favourite way of eatting lamb and works whatever the cut (I have done this with shanks, chops, "stewing lamb" and various joints).

One other way I have done it is just stick a jar of (Aldi) Curry Sauce into the SC, add Lamb Chops. Stick on Low for 10/11 Hrs, when it comes to serve remove bones. Yum!

zippychick

3tabbycats wrote: »

Hi
I've just discovered the pulses/pasta soup mixes in Morrisons, I was thinking of making the soup in my slow cooker while I'm at work tomorrow. My question is, if I boil up the dried pasta & pulses tonight & put them in the stock & leave it all in the fridge until the morning, will I have a big stodgy mess to put in the SC in the morning? Wondering if the pulses will just keep soaking up the liquid? I'm not very organised so if its likely to be a nightmare, I'll leave it til the weekend & have a tin of heinz tomorrow!!

Hi i think its ok to add the lentils or pulses, but pasta and rice generally should be left to the last 30-60 mins. I think u cook the pasta first . Pulses can go in dry but do use extra liquid - thats all from my reading on here, so not personal experience.

Ok, i checked my book.

dried beans and pulses - overnight soaking required. drain after soaking and cover with enouigh water for them to reach double their quantity. cook on high 2-4 hrs or until tender. if tinned, add 30-45 min before end of cooking time.

Pasta - rice and noodles - not recommended for long cooking times apart from pudding rice. Cook separately and add during last 30 mins.

HTH Edited for book info! I have a rosemary conley SC, just for info.

pollywollydoodle_2

skipkoo wrote: »

Another question , sorry about this! I was worried the the lid of my cooker seemed a little loose but was reassured that a seal would form around the lid. Today, second use, I notice that little whisps of steam are escaping. Is this ok??
Thanks
S

I have the same slow cooker and yes that is the way the lid is and is perfectly fine

glowgirl_2

Does anyone have a simple cake recipe for the sc - thanks

lxpeanut

Hi

Just got a slow cooker and have two questions:

The instructions say liquids should be boiling when put in to the cooker. I was hoping to put everything together the night before so I just had to put it in and switch it on in the morning. Is it OK to start from cold like this?

I'm veggie and looking at some of the non veggie recipes that sound like they would work well with veggie mince. Do I need to adjust the recipes in any way when using veggie mince instead of meat mince?

Thanks