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Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

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  • Addy
    Addy Posts: 1,896 Forumite
    Good luck with your kitchen floor FP.

    You know, with the slow cooker and the steamer for veg and rice, we could theoretically never set foot in our kitchens again :j

    Only kidding.........I know my place really :rotfl:
  • furrypig
    furrypig Posts: 2,881 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Actually I was thinking of getting something to cook either pasta and /or rice in the microwave. What can you do in a steamer???
  • calleyw
    calleyw Posts: 9,896 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    You can cook rice in a steamer. But I found it was sticky and I did not like it. I prefer my rice a little drier.

    I cook eggs in my steamer while cooking my veg for my sunday lunch. I wrap them in foil and pop them in.

    You can poach eggs and I have even cooked chicken pieces by wrapping in foil or greaseproof paper.

    The tefal steamers come with a little recpie book and they have things in there like cake. Never tried it myself.

    Also I have cooked a whole chicken in a steamer. But of course you need removable bottoms to the basket otherwise it does not fit. And the meat is always tender and juicy.

    Yours

    Calley
    Hope for everything and expect nothing!!!

    Good enough is almost always good enough -Prof Barry Schwartz

    If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try -Seth Godin
  • Addy
    Addy Posts: 1,896 Forumite
    I've only done veg & rice in mine. The eggs sound a good idea - I don't think I'm adventurous (or imaginative!) enough by far! Mine came with a kind of little rice bath, it took some experimenting (at first I didn't realise you had to add water to it, thought the steam would cook it alone :doh: ).

    I much prefer it when I'm doing loads of different veggies for dinner.

    The Slow cooker arrived this morning curtesy of Securicor. It's a real sexy beast....I think I'm in lurrrrrrrrve :D
  • calleyw
    calleyw Posts: 9,896 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    I love my steamer. Just bought a replacement from Tescos for about £13.

    No rice bowl. But never mind.

    I use it at least 3/4 times a week. Once a week for sunday lunch and then the rest of the time to cook tea.

    I love the fact that I can pop all the items in to cook and walk away as it stops boiling if it runs out of water. As it does produce a load of steam put it near a window and open it a little.

    Steamed veg for tea is cooked in about 35 mins. But allows me to do other things while waiting. So no more hovering over pans. To check if they are boiling over or running out of water. So making sunday lunch is a joy. Means I have more time for me.

    Never cooked pasta in it. I have also popped in china bowls if I am cooking something like spinach and you don't want it going down the holes in the floor :D

    I have to admit that this gadet is worth its wait in gold for me. I only try and buy items now that I will use at least a couple of times a week. other wise it is wasted.

    One reason that I have ummed about a slow cooker as I don't cook very many joints and not many stews. So not sure it is worth buying one. That is why I have been holding out to see if a catalogue is offer one as a free gift for buying something from them. Rather than paying good money for one.

    Yours

    Calley
    Hope for everything and expect nothing!!!

    Good enough is almost always good enough -Prof Barry Schwartz

    If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try -Seth Godin
  • Bargain_Rzl
    Bargain_Rzl Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    Well I got my new Anthony Worrall Thompson 4.5 litre slow cooker last week, but I haven't had time to do anything with it yet!

    I was supposed to go to OH's house overnight on Sunday, so I hadn't made plans to eat at home, but he wasn't well and cancelled. That was quite late in the day on Sunday so I hadn't had the chance to either (a) put a slow cooker meal on in the morning, or (b) bought the ingredients to do one on the bank holiday the next day, as by that time on a Sunday all the shops were shut... :doh:

    Now, please tell me if this has been covered on the looooong slow cooker thread (there is SO much to look through to find anything) but I'd be interested to know what dishes take A NICE LONG TIME to cook in the slow cooker. Basically I commute into London and often work long hours - I leave the house at between 7:15 and 7:45, and often don't get back home for a good 12-14 hours. When I get home it's good if dinner is ready straight away, as it stops me getting bored and either snacking on chocolate or guzzling a couple of glasses of wine :o I would love to use it several times a week, rather than just on Sundays which is often the only time I'm home earlier!

    My cooker has three settings, low, high and auto. Any suggestions (or pointers on where else to look for answers)?
    :)Operation Get in Shape :)
    MURPHY'S NO MORE PIES CLUB MEMBER #124
  • Bargain_Rzl
    Bargain_Rzl Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    By the way, for anybody interested in the Morphy Richards 3.5 litre but put off by the fact that it seemed to be retailing for more money than the larger model, I spotted it for £24.98 in Asda in Charlton, SE London. (Next door to the Argos where I got my AWT...)
    :)Operation Get in Shape :)
    MURPHY'S NO MORE PIES CLUB MEMBER #124
  • Galtizz
    Galtizz Posts: 1,016 Forumite

    Now, please tell me if this has been covered on the looooong slow cooker thread (there is SO much to look through to find anything) but I'd be interested to know what dishes take A NICE LONG TIME to cook in the slow cooker. Basically I commute into London and often work long hours - I leave the house at between 7:15 and 7:45, and often don't get back home for a good 12-14 hours.

    My cooker has three settings, low, high and auto. Any suggestions (or pointers on where else to look for answers)?

    I leave stuff for about 9 - 10 hours some days and find things with lots of liquid (like casseroles, bolognese etc) are OK but things like a joint or something without much water they are a bit too well done.

    I have bought a timer from Wilkos for about £4 that I plug into the socket and I set it to come on about 1 ish so that it has more like 6 hours on low, problem solved.
    When life hands you a lemon, make sure you ask for tequilla and salt ;)
  • Bargain_Rzl
    Bargain_Rzl Posts: 6,254 Forumite
    Galtizz wrote:
    I have bought a timer from Wilkos for about £4 that I plug into the socket and I set it to come on about 1 ish so that it has more like 6 hours on low, problem solved.
    Cheers. I've got one of those somewhere!
    :)Operation Get in Shape :)
    MURPHY'S NO MORE PIES CLUB MEMBER #124
  • beadysam
    beadysam Posts: 587 Forumite
    I've looked at some descriptions and it says 4.5lr working capacity, 6.5lr to brim. can anyone comment on this please. I want to cook for the family and often large amounts of friends but I have disabilities which make it difficult to stand cooking for long period. A slow cooker would be perfect and the larger the better! The MR48715 on Amazon looks good but is there a - dare I say it - bigger one (!) that anyone can give comments on? Thanks
    SAM x
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