Slow cooker - what's the first thing I should try?

Slinky

MSE_James said:

Thanks again all - I made a beef stew yesterday. Needed a bit more seasoning but not a total disaster by any measure! 

You could try some Allspice (not Mixed spice!) which goes very nicely in a beef stew.

monnagran

-taff said:

monnagran said:

The slow cooker also makes the yummiest lemon curd, without having to stand over it stirring.

recipe please?

And yeah, what Wraithlady said....we're all just in it for it's usefullness, however it's used..

Sorry, I'm reading this in bed.  I'll look out the recipe tomorrow.

monnagran

-taff,  re: lemon curd.  I use the Miss Thrifty recipe.  Google "slow cooker lemon curd."
She says that it is so much cheaper than shop bought.  I would dispute that, but it is so delicious that once in a while we all deserve a treat.
I keep mine in the fridge, if I manage to hang on to a couple of jars, and I make smallish jars.
It makes a good present.

-taff

thanks monna, I will look it up...

MSE_James

This weekend's effort was a sausage casserole based on this recipe from Reddit

Pollycat

Did you brown the sausages as per the recipe, James?

I'm doing a similar dish to your beef stew but I'll do it with 2 slices of beef rather than diced with added onions, carrots and turnips (which seem to be shockingly expensive but we prefer them to swede).
I'll serve it with mashed potatoes - you can do a batch of these and freeze in portion sizes and reheat in the microwave.

I always add bay leaves to my beef dishes.

MSE_James

Yes the sausages had about 25 mins in the oven before I put them in the slow cooker

kimwp

I think frying them off would probably brown them better. You may find that if you're putting the sausages in the oven for half an hour, it's worth bunging the rest of the ingredients in with them from the start and just leaving it all in the oven for an hour.

Pollycat

kimwp said:

I think frying them off would probably brown them better. You may find that if you're putting the sausages in the oven for half an hour, it's worth bunging the rest of the ingredients in with them from the start and just leaving it all in the oven for an hour.

Sausage casserole is one dish that I don't use the slow-cooker for.
I do a batch of this, usually at least 6 portions and I grill the sausages.
I add mushrooms, onions and peppers (the more colours the better), chopped tomatoes and various beans - Aldi do mixed beans in spicy sauce, red kidney beans in chilli sauce, haricot beans, baked beans - the bigger variety the better.

Here is a recipe that I've shared on here before:

DHAL FRY/DHAL TADKA – JANE’S RECIPE

 

Jane is a lovely Goan lady who runs our favourite beach shack in Candolim, Goa.

This is a dish that is on every menu.

 

Here is what Jane told me:

Wash & boil the red lentils with turmeric powder.

Put some oil in a pan and add the garlic & cumin seeds and fry.

Add tomatoes & onions and fry a little more.

Add a vegetable stock cube.

Add coriander powder & chopped ginger root (or ginger powder).

Add chopped green chilli & garam masala.

Combine the above with the cooked dhal (lentils) and boil.

When ready, add fresh coriander.

 

THIS IS DHAL FRY.

FOR DHAL TADKA:

Heat extra oil and add a whole red chilli.

Add the oil and whole red chilli to the mixture.

 

1st Attempt (quite spicy, consistency OK, maybe use 5oz lentils):

6oz red lentils

1 Tsp Turmeric

1 Tsp Ground Cumin

Salt

2 cloves garlic, chopped (or crushed if you don’t like big pieces)

1 Tsp cumin seeds

1 small onion, very finely chopped

Fresh tomatoes, skinned & chopped or half a tin of chopped tomatoes

1 vegetable stock cube

small piece fresh ginger root (maybe ¾ to 1”), grated

1 Tsp ground coriander (I ground the seeds)

2 green chillies and seeds

1 Tsp Garam Masala

 

Rinse the lentils, add 1.5 pint of water, turmeric & ground cumin and bring to the boil.

Boil uncovered for 15 minutes, then cover & simmer for 15 – 20 minutes (maybe up to 30 minutes), ensuring it doesn’t boil dry.

Blend slightly but not until smooth.

 

Melt butter in a frying pan, then fry the garlic and cumin seeds.

Add the tomatoes and onions and fry.

Add the crushed stock cube.

Add the coriander powder and ginger.

Add the chillies and garam masala.

Fry for a few minutes, then add to the lentils.

 

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with naan bread.

 

I’ve since batch cooked this in the slow cooker with success.

It freezes well and can be eaten as a vegetarian meal with the flatbreads (courtesy of IslandMaid) or as a side dish to an Indian meal.
Both recipes were very well received.

Flatbreads/Roti !!!8211; recipe from Islandmaid
I use a standard coffee mug:
2 mugs of plain flour
1 of natural yoghurt
a pinch of salt
a glug of oil (Veg or olive)

Mix and kneed together till you get a lovely smooth dough - cover and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Divide into 12 and roll out thinly.
Heat a dry frying pan and add each roti/chapati/flatbread.
Leave for a minute or so and flip till each side is speckled brown and have lovely bubbly bits - continue till they are all done - they freeze really well.

Wraithlady

kimwp said:

I think frying them off would probably brown them better. You may find that if you're putting the sausages in the oven for half an hour, it's worth bunging the rest of the ingredients in with them from the start and just leaving it all in the oven for an hour.

I would agree - they'll be cooked anyway in the SC (even if you put them in raw) so a quick browning in a pan for aesthetic and taste purposes is all they need IMHO.

Admittedly, I would probably batch-cook a few packs of sausages in the oven in advance then freeze them ready to be used at will (yes, I hoover up YS sausages for this purpose) but I'm not sure how common a practice that is.

And, yes, I have successfully frozen sausage casserole with pre-cooked sausages and had no adverse effects at all.