Advice about slow cooker

seven-day-weekend

Hi! We saw a slow cooker today, would like to buy it but are not entirely sure how to use it! (We are in Spain so the instruction booklet will almost certainly be in Spanish and we won't understand all of it).

Can you cook anything in it (eg a 'roast' chicken) or is it just for things like stews and curries?

Would it be worth our while as we are a retired couple with loads of free time? Or is it better for busy working families?

How exactly do you use it?

I can't remember the make now, may have been a Kenwood, it used the equivalent of around four light bulbs.

Any information gratefully received as I know nothing about them at all!:rotfl:

Jayar

If you do a search of this forum you'll come up with loads of threads with advice on slow cookers, here's just one of them
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=419065&highlight=slow+cooker+recipe

Pink.

Hi seven-day-weekend,

I use the slow cooker a lot for stews and casseroles but it is great for doing whole chicken, gammons etc. I find I use it more in winter for hearty meals, soups etc but others like to use it in summer as it doesn't heat the kitchen in the same way as an oven does. It is great for making a meal in the morning and just leaving it until you're ready to eat.

If you have a browse through The Complete Slow Cooker Collection you'll get more idea of whether or not a slow cooker would suit you.

Pink

seven-day-weekend

Thank you both, that is very helpful.

My husband and I will peruse the threads tomorrow!

charlies_mum

Don't make the mistake I did at the weekend, I cooked my joint of beef for about 7 hours, and it turned into corned beef hash :rotfl:

Apparently, I should only have cooked it for about 5 hours !

Good luck with your slow cooker, I love mine, and once you have used it you will wonder how you ever managed without it

beedeedee

Just make sure it's not too large for the two of you. Of course you could freeze what you don't eat straightaway, but we found it a bit daunting when the food barely covers the bottom. We get on much better with a very small one for casseroles and stuff, although we use the crock of the large one to cook chicken in the microwave. You'll wonder how you ever managed without !

seven-day-weekend

Thanks to all for your replies.

DawnW

I expect if you contacted Kenwood's customer services in the UK they would send you an instruction book in English - or maybe you could download and print one out from their website?

seven-day-weekend

Good idea Dawn....never thought of that! Must be a senior moment....

belfastgirl23

I have a SC and hardly use it. There's only the two of us and I accidentally got a really big SC. It needs to be reasonably full to use it and as a veggie I find everything goes a bit mushy for my taste. Could you borrow one and try it out? the other thing is I quite like cooking and don't have the time pressures of having to get dinner on the table in half an hour so kids don't starve. If you quite like cooking and have time to potter about or if you tend to be around the house most days anyway I don't know that it is really worth it. But if you're likely to be out of the house and looking for a hot meal coming in then it is.

Make sure you get a small size though unless you're planning to freeze a lot!

seven-day-weekend

Yes, living out here in the wilds of southern Spain, we do have a large freezer. I don't know anyone who has a slow cooker, so can't borrow one, I live in a small Spanish village and none of the Spanish or the few other expats have got one. The Spanish tend to use their traditional ways of cooking.

I'll show all your replies to my husband as he likes cooking, but sometimes when we go out for the day it would be nice to come home to a meal. We might be better off buying a microwave so that we can heat up frozen ones quickly!