In my slow cooker today...

foxy-tigger

I have just prepared a Sausage casserole that I will pop in first thing in the morning.:j
I am never good in a morning so Iif I can prepare it the night before and pop it in the fridge then I am sorted!
I browned off some sausages. added carrots, parsnips, swede, onions, tin of tomatoes, tin of baked beans, 2 tins of water, a bit of lentil broth mix that I had in a tiny packet and some pearl barley. also added tom puree and might add a stock cube and some more water tomorrow. will see. oh and I chucked in a bit of chorizo sausage, and a tiny bit of garlic puree.just any veg that I have in really?!! will serve it with mash.

mmmmmmmmmmm. wanting it already!!!!:o

pink_princess

Cat_Addict wrote: »

Medallions of pork, pan fried in sherry then in the slow cooker with garlic mushroom sauce. No idea how this will turn out ....

Did this turn out well ? It sounds lovely.If it did could you post the recipe please.

Today we did cheesy chicken lasagne.

Tomorrow where just cooking a joint of gammon in,then serve it with egg and chips YUM!!

pebblespop

i have recently bought a proline slow cooker from comet. it was only £15 and i am worried it might be too cheap to work properly. should i take it back and get a better brand or try it?

also i notice you brown meat and par boil veg before putting in the slow cooker - does this not defeat the object of making life easier?

Cat_Addict

Hi Pink Princess - yes it was lovely! I did cheat because I was using up a packet that was going out of date - Schwartz Garlic Mushroom Mix which you make up with milk.
I got six pork steaks, trimmed the fat off and cut in half to make medallions. Pan fried in garlic oil until golden, at sherry and let simmer in that until the sherry had reduced. Then I popped them in the slow cooker, covered them in the milk and garlic mushroom powder mix and cooked on low for three hours (the pork was already cooked so just was getting tender). It was lovely and creamy and we had it with potatoes and cabbage.

Cat_Addict

Pebblespop, browning meat is optional and none of us par boil the veg as far as I know.

pebblespop

Cat_Addict wrote: »

Pebblespop, browning meat is optional and none of us par boil the veg as far as I know.

thanks. i just thought someone said the veg should go in hot and i thought it seemed like a pain!

i am going to give it a go tomorrow so i can keep an eye on it all day - once i trust it i will leave it on whilst i go to work!


can't wait to get slow cooking!!!!

Pollycat

pebblespop wrote: »

i have recently bought a proline slow cooker from comet. it was only £15 and i am worried it might be too cheap to work properly. should i take it back and get a better brand or try it?

also i notice you brown meat and par boil veg before putting in the slow cooker - does this not defeat the object of making life easier?

I'd try it and see how you go. Just because it wasn't expensive doesn't mean it won't work properly. I think a lot of the ones being sold in supermarkets aren't that dear either.

BUT - don't do what my friend did and keep lifting the lid off! That just extends the cooking time.

I've had some Proline stuff and it's been fine.
My ceramic hob is Proline and I've had it 15 years and it still looks like new and works perfectly.
My upright freezer was Proline too and lasted 18 years.

I don't brown my meat and I put my vegetables in raw.
People do things differently, try it your way and see how you get on.

Let us know how it goes.

yukkibear

Pack of mince, onions and a jar of dolmio in mine today. Cheating a bit but it saves me cooking it later.

Pollycat

Just had to tell you this:
my friend (single male) almost burned his house down when he went home from the pub, put some toast under the grill for beans on toast for supper, fell asleep and only woke up when the kitchen was ruined. :eek:

I talked him into getting a slow cooker (on the basis that if he forgot about it, the meal would just be ruined).
He tried it for a few times and decided it wasn't that good (I think he was a secret 'lid-lifter' iyswim) at cooking raw meat & veg.
Now, he cooks his vegetables before putting them in and uses a tin of minced beef or stewing steak. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I'm happy 'cos I know he's safe.:D

Magpie.

I love my slow cooker but am always a bit worried about over cooking.

If I turn it on at 9.30am and don't get in until 7.00pm is that too long (too dangerous?)

Once I've got some extra cash I'm going to invest in one with a timer and maybe different heat settings!

What is the longest time you would safetly leave your slow cooker on for?