Cookery help please

liz-paul

Thank you all - there is some great advice to get me started here!

liz-paul

Not sure if anyone will still be reading this but here goes....

Slow cooker: Am I right in thinking that they need a quite a lot of liquid in? When I used it before I had a lot of liquid in and when we were nearly ready to eat I spooned most of the liquid out and reduced it in a pan on the stove, then put it back in to serve. This meant the sauce was nice and thick and not too watery. Is this ok or should I be doing something different?

Stock: I have only been making stock for the last few months and so far the only way I have made it is to simmer the bones from any meat we've had. We tend not to eat much bony meat so I don't make a lot of stock. Are there any other ways I could/should be making stock?

Slow cooker: I am making a sausage casserole tonight. Just sort of made it up after reading a few different recipes. Do you always need to brown your meat/onions etc before they go into the SC? Or are there any recipes which I can put all the raw ingredients straight in?

I have heard you can cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker - how do you do this? And what does it taste like? I am imagining it being very soggy...

BTW I am going to have a go at making cream of mushroom & turkey soup, carrot & lentil soup, sweet potato & coconut soup & french onion soup (for me & OH, don't think boys will eat - it's got lumps in it ) over the next couple of weeks.

SailorSam

When i make soup in my SC i get packs of frozen veg for 75p from Tesco and then add tinned toms, onions and anything that's in the fridge.

flopsy59

you can google different types of soups. i have a soup maker and make lots of different soups. any vegs past there best can be used. i bought a book a couple of years ago called 500 soups and i only use a couiple of recipes and then make up my own

welshbookworm

You use less liquid in a slow cooker than normal.
I bung everything in the slow cooker and leave it until its nearly done and adjust the seasoning then.
I did frozen chicken thighs with frozen spinach and fresh chopped onion and a tumbler of water with some curry powder and got a very eatable curry from it.

liz-paul

So much for the turkey stock. OH threw it down the sink

hoglet121

Hi there,

The best soup website I've found is the new covent garden soup website.They have some really unusual but delicious soup recipes.

I picked up one of their soup books from a discount bookstore and they have all worked out really well.

suki1964

hoglet121 wrote: »

Hi there,

The best soup website I've found is the new covent garden soup website.They have some really unusual but delicious soup recipes.

I picked up one of their soup books from a discount bookstore and they have all worked out really well.

That book used to be my soup bible, I've passed it on to a new to soup maker

OP. Invest in a stick blender. £5 from most supermarkets. This way you can make any vegetable soup smooth Even those bags of broth mix can be blended for the kids ( and me,I only do blended soups myself)

Marigold Swiss vegetable bullion is gluten free. It's pretty strong so I wouldn't use as much as advised so the tub lasts quite a while

Slow cookers do make for a watery sauce/gravy. Either do as you have done and reduce the gravy after or experiment on how little liquid you need to start

As for browning first, depends on what you are cooking. Sausages will come out rather flabby looking, same as chicken. So yes I brown some foods first, others I don't. It's trial and error