Small (tiny) slow cooker - how do I use it????

Pooky

OOOOhhh I got that one from La Redoubt too - it's dinky but really quite good. My old one is a throw back from hubbies single days and is like a saucepan with a hotplate, no temp settings - just on or off.

I did a chicken curry on tuesday in the new one, it turned out great. I used the metal cooking pot that it came with, stuck it on my ceramic hob and quickly softened an onion and browned the chicken....put the temp setting up to the highest on the crockpot base whilst I was doing this so it was well warmed up. Plonked the metal pan back on the base and added some marmalade, some apple, chicken stock, raisins, curry powder and garlic... left it to simmer for about 20 mins then turned it down to just under 1. Left it on for about 4 hours. I left it to cool and fridged it over night (always prefer it the next day) Stuck it in my bigger slowcooker and added the rice for the last hour...made a real stodgy gooey tasty meal - enough for 4 and a portion to freeze.

I'm going to use it again this week to cook some braising steak.

Turning_into_scrooge

catznine wrote:

I suffer from Chronic Fatigue and find my slow cookers (yes I have 2! one for dessert ) are invaluable as I can prepare a meal when I have the energy and don't have to stand over it. You can take your rest breaks and your dinner won't burn. Check out the slow cooker recipe thread I got loads of great ideas from there.

Once you start cooking this way you will be hooked!

I have fibromyalgia and M.E. and find my slow cooker absolutely wonderful. I have also considered getting a second one so i can do a really good batch cook for freezing for when i'm feeling not up to much. An easy recipie for me is
sliced chicken
sliced carrots
chopped onions
sliced red and green pepper
sliced mushrooms
stock cube or packet soup made up to approx 1 1/2 pt
salt pepper and any herbs you have available i usually chuch fresh basil in
When its done you can add a couple of tablespoons of cream but i find it a bit too much. Serve with bolied rice.

EDIT............I have quite a big slow cooker so weights are really what will fit in, including liquid measures.

zzzLazyDaisy

Thanks to everyone for your replies. Especially Pooky - I wondered whether I should warm the plate up first, and wasn't sure if i was supposed to bring it to simmer before turning it down, but I did anyway, just to be on the safe side (don't want to give myself food poisoning!!!)

Yesterday I had chicken casserole (onions, celery, carrots, herbs and spices, and chicken breast quickly sauted to start them off then cooked with a can of chopped tomatoes). Had it last night with pitta bread (would have liked chunky wholemeal, but I am sensitive to carbs, sob!!) It was Yummy, and there is enough left in the fridge for tomorrow.

Today I am having pork (cheap joint chopped up, half in freezer for another time) with onions, mushrooms, apple, mustard, herbs and water). Will have it with cauli and brock.

Am going over to the slow cooker recipe thread now, to see what else I can do with my new toy.

Thanks everyone :beer:

sjpkgp

If you do a google search on crock pot recipes (the american word for it) you also get loads of good ones. They really are time saving and moneysaving because you can do small amounts and it doesn't seem like an effort. You can use any old cuts of meat and they always end up tender. In mine I have done the usual - chilli, sausage casserole, chicken curry, pork in cider, beef bourgignon. Apparently you can do great steamed puddings too (not tried this yet) My tips would be - brown the meat first and drain the fat off, don't add cream until last 30 mins, also some veg take on a less pleasant nature (garden peas, and on occasion, potatoes I find take on too much liquid for some recipes).

My other vote for someone who likes great cooking with maximum healthy results is a steamer. Same effort as a slow cooker but great results in 20 minutes. Sling it in, and press a button. The veg is far nicer than anything I have ever stood over boiling on a hob, and you can do delicate things like fish really well. The layers mean that unless you are doing stuff with wildly different cooking times, everything is cooked just right.

My fave is beef, onions and carrots in the slow cooker, served with small potatoes in their skin and some other green veg from the steamer.

You actually cannot go that far wrong with these cooking tools because the steamer turns itself off, and slow cookers have to be left a really long time over their cooking time before. My steamer was £20, but the amount of money it has saved in spoilt dinners in pans and time has made it a bargain.

I think both implements are easier to wash than pans/pots from the oven.

I can do a meal for a family of 6 with less than ten minutes effort now, and less than 5 minutes if you use things like baby chantenay carrots and little potatoes in their skin that don't need or justify peeling.

best of luck with it.
Sal x

Erosgirl

Sjpkgp, I agree with you about the slow cooker and steamer. I have also recently started using my pressure cooker that my husband and I bought out of gift vouchers eight years ago. I can't believe I've let it sit there so long, I use it at least three times a week now. We're eating better, and healthier, than ever before.

Mariel

Be careful with the La Redoute one - it isn't strictly a slow cooker. On the highest setting it boils away merrily and cooks quickly (have made daughter's stew in about 30 mins) but on the lower settings it is more like a slow cooker. It makes great rice pudding and is the perfect size too.

nodwah

Bringing this back up as I just got a La redoute crock pot from freecycle. My current slow cooker is out of the ark and has no heat setting. just on and off, but i got by very well with it til the handles fell off. So anyway luckily I got this one , getting to the point , the glass lid has a hole in it so doesn't your slow cooked food dry up really quickly? My old one makes a sort of moisture seal round the lid when its cooking and so never dries out.

Mariel

I've only really cooked things fairly quickly in it - an hour or so at most but so far I've not had a problem with things drying out. TBH I wouldn't fancy using it if I was out of the house for more than a few mins although someone will prob come along and say it is fine. It is a brilliant little gadget though.

nodwah

Thanks, it is a lovely dinky gadget, I'll probably continue with my half broke old one for day-long cooking then.

Horace

Mariel wrote: »

Be careful with the La Redoute one - it isn't strictly a slow cooker. On the highest setting it boils away merrily and cooks quickly (have made daughter's stew in about 30 mins) but on the lower settings it is more like a slow cooker. It makes great rice pudding and is the perfect size too.

Thanks I have just bought the La Redoute one from my local charity shop for £10 - from reading other posts on here it looks as though it orginally came without instructions. Now, I know that the higher settings cook in 30 minutes, I shall know not to use them too often.

Now...what do I cook first...decisions, decisions....?