Slow Cooker recipes

Dizzyblonde

I'd also cook it for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Deise Musashi

Finished the beef stew and it was Nom!

A little too much roux so I had to thin it back down to a thick stew consistency, added maybe twenty minutes to plating up time. There was so much (we had a bunch of veggies from the garden so I added them into the mix, onions, garlic and courgettes) that what remains will feed herself when she gets in from the Birthday party she's at, or I'll blitz it for a nice warming soup for lunch tomorrow.

If you like a little heat in your food, some peppers (sweet/chili) or some tabasco/other hot sauce can liven up a stew that's a bit bland. There were cold boiled new potatoes in the fridge from yesterday's dinner, so they went in with about an hour to go. Well heated through and they helped add bulk and filling to a mix that was "stick to the ribs" grub.

I love my slow cooker, it's the only good thing about the weather we get in winter, and shift work! I hear it's also good for porridge so must give that a go this winter.

Dizzyblonde

When I'm making beef stew in the slow cooker I stir in a dessertspoonful of flour and add a handful of barley, and find that with a pint of stock it comes out perfectly thick.

Deise Musashi

I must get me some pearl barley, lots of childhood memories of warming soups!

I'm not fond of turnip/cabbage/tomatoes/cauliflower/kale but I would like my kids to try all sorts of food.
I don't think of it as "hiding" veg. in food, but if they eat grub that has added veggies (garden picked even better) and they like it, then it makes me a very happy Dad.!

My little boy will eat anything, my princess will eat nothing but pasta with parmesan...

Any time they eat a full dinner it's a win.

Dizzyblonde

Deise Musashi wrote: »

Any time they eat a full dinner it's a win.

I remember those days. And the rare dinner that was eaten by everyone was such a joy!

Toast4532

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I remember those days. And the rare dinner that was eaten by everyone was such a joy!

My mother said this to me often, I never believed her, until I was babysitting for a weekend.

Three kids, none of which could decide what they wanted, and they all came up with ideas, for different meals of course.

In the end I settled on chicken, potatoes and vegs. With a promise of a trip to the shop if all the plates were cleared. :pac:

gg2

Whenever I cook stew in the slow cooker, my pearl barley and veg don't cook :-( Usually its on low heat for 8 - 10 hours.... Anyone any suggestions? It was a really cheap slow cooker, could that be the problem?

Dizzyblonde

gg2 wrote: »

It was a really cheap slow cooker, could that be the problem?

I think that probably is the problem. I've seen someone else mention that the cheaper Tesco slow cooker is quite a bit cooler.

gg2

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I think that probably is the problem. I've seen someone else mention that the cheaper Tesco slow cooker is quite a bit cooler.

It has really put me off using the slow cooker as I love my veg..... I only use it for pulled pork, beef and the likes

Toast4532

I usually throw in a bit of barely into the stews too, would I be better off cooking it in a different saucepan and then throwing it into the stew?

I have the Tesco slow cooker too.

Dizzyblonde

Toast4532 wrote: »

I usually throw in a bit of barely into the stews too, would I be better off cooking it in a different saucepan and then throwing it into the stew?

I have the Tesco slow cooker too.

If it's not cooking in the slow cooker then you'd be better to cook it separately. I'd try it first though if you haven't already.

stevenmu

I'd really wonder what's going on that it's not cooking the veg. Is it cooking meat ok at the same time?

gg2

stevenmu wrote: »

I'd really wonder what's going on that it's not cooking the veg. Is it cooking meat ok at the same time?

Meat is always perfect. No matter how small I chop the veg it's still pretty much raw..... And I've almost lost a few teeth because of the pearl barley!!

annamcmahon

gg2 wrote: »

Meat is always perfect. No matter how small I chop the veg it's still pretty much raw..... And I've almost lost a few teeth because of the pearl barley!!

I have a cheap tesco sc and the low setting is very low. I fry the veg a little before adding to the sc. I prefer the flavor as well as ensuring it's cooked. I do it in the evening a leave the ceramic dish in the fridge overnight ready to go in the morning.

beertons

How Long would the pearl barley be in the cooker for? I have no problem with my veg in for 8 hours and I usually give pearl barley an hour. I bought a 6.5l one in Argos. I think it's more to do with the type of cooker you bought. Think it's time to reinvest.

kylith

vibe666 wrote: »

how did that work out in the end?

It worked out really, really badly. I don't know if my loaf was too big, my cooker too small, or if it needed a higher temperature, but the bottom cooked ok while the top remained a mess of raw dough, then it sank down to about 1.5" thick. After two hours I flipped it over and cooked it for another hour, no difference.

So if you want to make really dense, undercooked bread that's only an inch or so thick and takes at least four hours.....

MurdyWurdy

I got my slow cooker out tonight for the first time in ages. I'm looking forward to getting some use out of it this winter! I have a baby now but he goes to bed at 8.30ish so I'm planning on putting the slow cooker on after he is bed and I have a bit of time to myself.

I have a really good book of slow cooker recipes so cooked one of my favourites today.

Sausage and Apple Casserole

Ingredients

2 large onions
2 large green apples (I used granny smiths)
2 tablespoons of curry powder
2 tins of baked beans or chilli beans (The book I have is a NZ book and it's easy to get tinned chilli kidney beans etc there but not so easy here, I used one tin of Heinz fiery chilli baked beans and one tin of Heinz mixed baked beans)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
brown sugar
mixed herbs
8 sausages


Slice the onions and apples (leaving the skin on) and fry in a pan with some oil and the curry powder until they have a nice brown colour. Turn off the heat and add in the 2 tins of beans and the tin of tomatoes. Add in the brown sugar (this is optional) and the mixed herbs (I just used dried mixed herbs)

Give the slow cooker a spray with non stick oil and place the 8 sausages in the cooker. Pour in the bean/onion/apple mix over them. Put the lid on and cook for 6 - 8 hours on low.

Yum

Toast4532

That sounds lovely. What book is it you have?

MurdyWurdy wrote: »

I got my slow cooker out tonight for the first time in ages. I'm looking forward to getting some use out of it this winter! I have a baby now but he goes to bed at 8.30ish so I'm planning on putting the slow cooker on after he is bed and I have a bit of time to myself.

I have a really good book of slow cooker recipes so cooked one of my favourites today.

Sausage and Apple Casserole

Ingredients

2 large onions
2 large green apples (I used granny smiths)
2 tablespoons of curry powder
2 tins of baked beans or chilli beans (The book I have is a NZ book and it's easy to get tinned chilli kidney beans etc there but not so easy here, I used one tin of Heinz fiery chilli baked beans and one tin of Heinz mixed baked beans)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
brown sugar
mixed herbs
8 sausages


Slice the onions and apples (leaving the skin on) and fry in a pan with some oil and the curry powder until they have a nice brown colour. Turn off the heat and add in the 2 tins of beans and the tin of tomatoes. Add in the brown sugar (this is optional) and the mixed herbs (I just used dried mixed herbs)

Give the slow cooker a spray with non stick oil and place the 8 sausages in the cooker. Pour in the bean/onion/apple mix over them. Put the lid on and cook for 6 - 8 hours on low.

Yum

MurdyWurdy

It's called 100 great ways to use slow cookers and crockpots by Simon and Alison Holst.

As I said I got it in New Zealand so not sure if you can get it elsewhere, maybe online? Some of the recipes use specific NZ ingredients like kumara (but you could substitute sweet potato)

gg2

Ok I decided to attempt my stew again in the slow cooker but I par boiled my veg and pearl barley first........ Time will tell!! Hope its nice!

brian ireland

And?

bogman

Pearl barley turns lovely in an Irish Stew, cant imagine doing one without it, Tesco always has some, always throw everything into the slow cooker with plenty water and cook it at low heat

gg2

brian ireland wrote: »

And?

I went a bit mad with the water, it ended up a stew/soup, a stoup as I call it... It was delish

Faith

Aldi are selling slow cookers at the moment, if anyone is in the market for one.

vibe666

had two great successes with mine in the last couple of weeks. one was my old staple of ham and veg soup and the other was a shoulder of pork, which was a very big hit on sunday.

couple of rough chopped onions in the bottom and about 200ml of ham stock (made with a knorr stock cube), with the whole pork shoulder on top. 4 hours on high and then 6 on low to finish it off, then lifted out and basted with veg oil and a good crack of pink himalayan rock salt (in most supermarkets now) before going in the over at 200 to crisp up the skin (which worked perfectly), with the only issue being getting the joint out of the slow cooker in one piece, but i managed it in the end.

the meat came out like pulled pork, i didn't cut it, just pulled chunks off the bone. had it with roasted spuds, carrots & parsnips and cabbage, with gravy made from the oniony porky juices left in the slow cooker. perfect crispy crackling too although as i was the only crackling fan in attendance, i put on 6lb between friday and monday night (after finishing off the leftovers) as a result! :eek:

Dizzyblonde

vibe666 wrote: »

with the only issue being getting the joint out of the slow cooker in one piece, but i managed it in the end.

A tinfoil 'sling' can help with that.

vibe666

yeah, i used one for a slow cooked chicken i did a few months back, but by the time i thought of it for the pork it was already in and on.

it was grand in the end, just needed to be careful to get a couple of good wide spatulas under it to support it as i lifted it out.

Stheno

I'd a slow cooker a few years ago that I gave away, then I bought a book recently for slow cooker recipes, so went out and got a 3.5L Breville slowcooker.

Did a beef and guinness stew in it today and it's just finishing, the entire house smells delicious.

However, I've a few questions.

Ingredients were:
900g beef
500ml guinness
Can chopped tomatoes
3 carrots
2 onions
1 parsnip
2 very large potatoes.

Put all the veg in the bottom, then the beef (all had been fried/sauteed to break them down a little) then the guinness and tomatoes, the slow cooker was stuffed to the brim, and I'd to stop halfway through cooking and mix it all up as it didn't shift.

Then I added cornflour for the last hour to thicken it up.

Could I have done things differently?

hbonbr

I think you did fine. I seldom bother with the sauté part, I find it works fine without doing that. If the potatoes are large, I cut them up, to make them roughly twice as large as they would be if I were boiling them, if that makes sense.

You could try thickening with a roux instead of cornflour, you can have this made in advance and frozen in an ice cube tray.

I stack the cooker like you do, Usually I add the potatoes last, this means they cook above the body of the liquid, but I don't bother mixing it, I just let it all cook, it gets mixed when I serve it. The potatoes cook fine that way.

I will try your recipe, thanks!

stevenmu

I'd usually just give things a good mix when I put them in, and then again just before serving, I wouldn't bother doing it while it's cooking (taking the lid off the slow cooker lets a ton of heat out).