Slow Cooker - The Recipe Collection

elona

Thanks Math.
The light took hours to show on cooker last night but cooked the soup fine.
I might start leaving the cooker on all the time and chucking anything I find in it - as it only costs same as light bulb it is not really extravagant:):):)

vanoonoo

voucher_queen wrote:

Do I need to defrost anything b4 cooking or do I chuck it all in??

I defrost everything first in the same way that I do with other forms of cooking but others may do differently - I am a newbie to slo cookers

fazer6

For frozen meat I usually defrost it the day before, chop it up when I do the veggies and leave in the fridge overnight, I then bung with the presoaked and microwaved pulses it in in the morning when I turn it on. The only problem is stomaching the smell of garlic and onions that early. Last week I had some frozen stewing beef cut up so I added it the night before with the veggies. I gave it a quick stir in the morning to check and it had all defrosted itself. I bung veg in from frozen the night before too.

debbym

moggins wrote:

I've just invested in a new 6.5 litre slow cooker (£25 in the argos sale) because the old one was burning anything on the bottom.

It still works, it just seems stick and burn stuff. Do I just throw it out or is there anything I could use it for that it wouldn't ruin?

It should still be ok to "steam" things in, like steak and kidney pud, suet puds, Christmas pud type of things- although I guess if this is all you use it for you have to ask yourself is it worth the cupbaord room?

swizzlebabe

Been looking at the £25 slowcooker in the argos sale too. How many are you cooking for?

Want to get one, but want to get the right one.

We are a family of 4, but kids are fussey. So would it be too much for 2 greedy adults, suppose I could make eaxtra and freeze it.

Also can I just bung it all in? Don`t want to have to brown everything.

Trying to tell myself it will pay for it`s self in gas? Don`t like spending money!!
lol thays why I`m here!!

Ticklemouse

I have a 4.4 ltr slow-cooker and I could really do with a really big one. Did my left-over meat and veggie curry again today and it was a crush to get the lid on. Made about 5 adult portions, which equates to 2 each for tea (it is lovely) and one large portion for Mr TM to take to work tomorrow. Also, the large ones are oval so you can slow roast joints (lamb) in them. Mine is round and not big enough. However, having just aquired mum's old one, which is only half the size (OK for soups and rice puds), I can't justify a 3rd one - yet.

As mum would say - what will cook a lot, will cook a little. Your kids will get bigger and undoubtedly start eating your slow-cooker meals and you'll wish you'd bought a big one then.

As for browning - I think a lot is preference. I like to brown and par boil root veggies, but then I don't work, so am not on a timetable. As long as it's cooked through, you'll be fine. I can't find my cookbook that came with it so most of my recipes are guesses. (Need to find that book though - it's with my washing machine book)

moggins

It is huge! I've really had to think about how and what I cook since I got it, I honestly didn't think there would be that much of a difference.

It is oval, which means I can now cook flat rib without having the butcher chop it in half first and I can cook a whole chicken in there easily which will save me gas on boiling them instead.

I can easily do enough in there to have some left over for freezing.

I've never tried doing steamed puddings in the slow cooker, I'll give it a try over the weekend

Sarahsaver

Even the fussiest eater i know, my daughter, will eat slow cooker sausage casserole
or ****tail sausages and chick peas as we had last night. Just blend all the vegetables into a sauce so they are unidentifiable!

Ticklemouse

Having checked my last post here and then my slow cookers I find my large one is in fact 4.4 PINTS, with the little one being only 3.3 pints. No wonder I struggled to get all that veg in.:)

Hmmm - can I now justify a really big one? And where is the cheapest at the moment? Must go and investimagate

elona

Ticklemouse

If you find a good deal on a large slow cooker let us all know- mine is on its last legs (so to speak). Just conjured up mental picture of poor thing staggering under weight.