slow cooker quick questions thread

squeaky

You could certainly mash them if you wish - but you could also parboil them - ie boil them for just fifteen minutes and then (being careful not to burn your fingers), slice them and layer them on top of your mince in the slow cooker for the last hour.

zippychick

Squeakys solutions sounds perrefct to me! Let us know how you get on, and try not to worry. I'm sure he will appreciate all the effort you have put in and it will be yummy! x

Penny-Pincher!!

I'm not being sarcastic or anything, but I dont understand why people cook the mince in a pan along with other stuff, then put in the SC....surely its easier to just cook it in the pan and make into a shepherds pie or chilli etc without putting in the SC....seems to much washing up to me:D

My friend puts mince in raw with oxo, onion, peppers etc and it turns out fine without cooking first. THis makes more sense to me.

Maybe I am missing something:o

PP
xx

Swifty1982

Hi Kat, don't know if this advice is too late!!! I usually just put the potatoes in with the mince and everything in the morning, means the potatoes taste gorgeous!!

Penny Pincher - I totally know what you mean, i used to think that cooking it first was a waste of time, but sometimes at work i do 4pm - 7pm. its too late to put something in the oven then to cook, but SC takes more than 3 hours so cooking it first helps things along.. But yeah, more washing up!!! (putting everything in raw with cold water means you have about 10 hours cooking time, awesome if you're going out for the day!!)

Patchwork_Quilt

I agree with Squeaky too. By the way, a curry cooker is quicker than a slow cooker. Mine is made by Kenwood.

I am also another one of these people who bung everything in the SC (yes, I have one of those as well!) raw and just switch it on but if I'm not going to have time in the morning I sometimes prepare it at night and leave it cold until the morning.

Kataratarina

Thanks guys for your advice- he loved it but doesnt want mushrooms in it again!

In the end I- sc'd the mince etc
Par-boiled potatoes, mashed them with milk, butter and scallions
Then put it in the oven!

It was scrummy- although the only thing is the mash on top looked like it was going to cave in amongst the mince but it was ok, just not use too much force putting the mash on???

fletch3163

Your recipe sounds much like what I cooked yesterday and had today. The only difference was we didn't have mushrooms in ours. I too had too much water so I just added two handfuls of oats, more worcestershire sauce, a wee smidge of mustard and cooked on low for about 4 hours. Had it with mashed tatties tonight and it was lush

zippychick

Kataratarina wrote: »

Thanks guys for your advice- he loved it but doesnt want mushrooms in it again!

In the end I- sc'd the mince etc
Par-boiled potatoes, mashed them with milk, butter and scallions
Then put it in the oven!

It was scrummy- although the only thing is the mash on top looked like it was going to cave in amongst the mince but it was ok, just not use too much force putting the mash on???

I wondered at your use of the word scallions, then seen you are up the road!

That's great it worked out for you. Maybe you put the layer of mash in a bit thick? I wouldn't worry, even if it collapsed in it would still be lush! Well done! What you going to try next then? :T

Pink.

Hi Kataratarina,

To make sure the mash sits on top rather than sinks in, thicken your mince mix with a little cornflour mixed in cold water. You need to add the cornflour gently and stir it in well. Pour the mince mix into an oven proof dish. Meanwhile prepare the potatoes. Mash them but add less milk or butter than you normally would so they're less 'sloppy' (they'll absorb the juices from the mince when cooking in the oven so won't be too dry). Use a dessert spoon to put small blobs of potato all over the top of the pie, then spread the 'blobs' into one another to form a topping, making sure that the egdes are well sealed to stop the juices from the meat spilling onto the top of the pie.

There are more suggestions on this thread: Shepherd's pie recipe

Pink

Penny-Pincher!!

Pink-winged wrote: »

There are more suggestions on this thread: Shepherd's pie recipe
Pink

OOOOoooooooooooooooooooooo......my favourite kind of thread:D

PP
xx