Slow Cooker meals for kids??

maman

room512 wrote: »

My mum used to make the mince mixture for spag bol in the slow cooker and then just cook the spaghetti when she came home from work so it only took the time for the spaghetti to cook before we could eat.

I do exactly that but personally I prefer to make it one day and eat it the next or cook for the freezer. It seems to marinate overnight and taste so much better. So what I do is make HM ready meals instead. So I use the SC to do the batch cook then freeze in portions so I only have to microwave/reheat the sauce while the pasta's cooking. You should get at least two meals out of the SC.


I do Bolognese, chilli, savoury mince so they're all portioned up in the freezer. Also gives you the option of making up into Cottage Pie or lasagne rather than always eating the same way.


You could use the SC one evening or at weekends. It still saves time in the week though.

YORKSHIRELASS

I make spag bol, chilli, curry, meatballs, keema, hotpots,stews and casseroles in my slow cooker which all go down well with the kids. My sc is usually on from 7am to 5pm on low.

I hardly ever brown anything.

I do know that slow cooking gives a certain texture to dishes and not everyone is a fan of this. We like meat well cooked so thats fine with us!

Have you tried ready done meatballs (L*dls are good) put in with a jar of pasta sauce. Yes you do get a little fat on the top but either spoon it off or give it a good stir and its fine. 10 minutes for some pasta and you are done.

Bublin1

Yes Ive done the Lidl meatballs and they do love them....but they need a long cooking time.

Regarding the long cooking time, I've taken the advice on this thread and purchased a plug in timer from ebay for £2.99. Wish i had bought a SC with a timer on it!

I have just made jacket potatoes in the sc for the first time. I wrapped them in foil. They cooked well for 5 hrs on high. They were very large ones. Im not at work today so i could turn it off.
My son wanted the skin crispy so i put them in the oven for 15mins.
Both kids munching away happy right now!

tindella

Linda - re the chicken not being brown. I always heat some oil in my frying pan and brown the chicken on the outside first, keep turning it - you may have to "hold" it with two wooden spoons so that it keeps in contact with the pan. When it's brown all over, put it in the slow cooker as you do now.

tindella

Bublin 1 - I have two Slow Cooker recipe books - they were from Amazon, quite cheap. Slow Cooking by Dianne Page has really basic (but good) stuff in it. If you didn't want to buy, there's recipes on the internet or if you prefer a book, try the library. You can always copy the recipes you like before you take the book back!

Emily_Rachel

Bublin1 wrote: »

Yes Ive done the Lidl meatballs and they do love them....but they need a long cooking time.

Regarding the long cooking time, I've taken the advice on this thread and purchased a plug in timer from ebay for £2.99. Wish i had bought a SC with a timer on it!

I have just made jacket potatoes in the sc for the first time. I wrapped them in foil. They cooked well for 5 hrs on high. They were very large ones. Im not at work today so i could turn it off.
My son wanted the skin crispy so i put them in the oven for 15mins.
Both kids munching away happy right now!

Hello, have you tried a pack of ready-mades and cooked meatballs added to a jar of sauce? I always do this when I have to pick someone up from the airport 1hr away, as it sits happily for about the 3hours this can take. All I have to do then when we get home is skim the fat off, give it a stir, cook pasta, and dinner is in 15 minutes. We call it airport dinner! Can cost less than £3 for 6 people, and any leftovers warm up well too.

sandi123

Many thanks for all these ideas, especially the timer, as I too bought a basic slow cooker to see if I liked it. New convert. Recommend to anyone.

maman

tindella wrote: »

Linda - re the chicken not being brown. I always heat some oil in my frying pan and brown the chicken on the outside first, keep turning it - you may have to "hold" it with two wooden spoons so that it keeps in contact with the pan. When it's brown all over, put it in the slow cooker as you do now.

I've taken to browning things in my wok instead of the frying pan. It works so much better for awkward or bulky things: used it at the weekend for lamb shanks. Plus it's so much deeper if you want to add loads of veg and stock before transfer to SC or casserole dish.


Somehow although browning in advance isn't essential for slow cooking I always seem to prefer it. Maybe it's just the look of it and psychological??

gayleygoo

The kids might like Brown Sugar Pulled Chicken? I haven't the recipe to hand but a google search brings up a few, the one I use is possibly the first in the list. If you add extra water to the glaze and put it all in the SC at the beginning, it can probably be left without toughing for a few hours. You could have pre-cooked rice or noodles in the fridge that they might be able to microwave?

fleur38

I've enjoyed reading this post as i love using my slow cooker and should use it more.


chicken and sauce - i brown skin on chicken thighs, then add to SC layering with onions, mushrooms, salt, pepper and dried Italian herbs. then i pour a can of value chicken soup over the top (don't add any extra water) and it makes a lovely sauce when cooked on slow for 6/7 hours.


I do similar with a can of tomato soup which i call Italian chicken and everyone loves (accidental discovery when i ran out of passatta).


also beef casserole - i don't brown, but sprinkle flour on top, add onions, carrots/mushrooms etc. then pour a can of bitter on top - lovely gravy! put on low setting for 7/8 hours. Don't try and do dumplings on top in SC though (like i tried once). I do these in the oven, covering dish with foil at the end and can return SC to it's heated element part on 'warm' if I'm not serving straight away.


The soup and bitter sauces work out a lot cheaper than buying ready made sauces.


I got a small book from M and S with lots of ideas that is really good.