Slow Cooker recipes

Zelda247

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I have a 6.5l slow cooker and mostly use it to cook for two, so I'd advise you to go for it if you have the space. It's so handy when you want to cook something bigger, and no more trouble to wash than a smaller one.

I would go for the larger one. I only cook for 2 and use my large one for everything, the smaller size is very limiting.

Mrs Fox

Thanks ladies. I got one this afternoon. Looking forward to tomorrow's dinner already.
My only gripe with Cookworks is the main body felt like a can. I'd say it'll be easily damaged if I'm not careful. Another option was Morphy Richards, but i didn't like the aluminium bowl.

Greenmachine

Great thread.

54and56

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Thanks ladies

and gentlemen!!!

Lovely Bloke

Mrs Fox wrote: »

Thanks ladies. I got one this afternoon. Looking forward to tomorrow's dinner already.
My only gripe with Cookworks is the main body felt like a can. I'd say it'll be easily damaged if I'm not careful. Another option was Morphy Richards, but i didn't like the aluminium bowl.

I've had that large Cookworks one for over a year now, and it's fairly robust even though it feels kind of flimsy. Mine gets bashed in and out of the back a corner press with no "corner door", so it's pulled, banged and all sorts. Be grand.

(I'm also a bloke:P)

Mrs Fox

Thank you all
I have the chook in already this morning.

Graces7

Got one of those real bargains in tesco recently after the new rescue cat killed my slow cooker by knocking it off the counter.. an end of line half price original crockpot.. Literally half price and an elegant addition to my kitchen

Mrs Fox

I cooked whole chicken using this recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/235713/whole-chicken-slow-cooker-recipe/

I cooked it for 8 hours, which i know now was about an hour too long with the size of the small chicken. Everything fell off the bone nicely though, leg meat succulent but breast meat was very stringy. It was also a bit too lemony, like washing up liquid; slow cooked lemon is just a no-no to my palate unless if it's in the oven. I will try other recipes, perhaps using only legs next time.

This morning I had beef stew in. Let's see how this turns out.

scudzilla

duckling10 wrote: »

on friday night I bought a Housekeepers cut of Beef from Lidl, 6.99 i think for one kilo.
I put it in the slow cooker on Saturday morning and cooked it with 100ml red wine and 400ml of stock (made from an Oxo stock cube mixed about 1 pint (400ml) of just boiled water).
I put it on high for 2 hours then low for 4 hours, but that was a little bit too short time. I took it up and sliced it, it wasn't quite falling apart, but we ate some and everyone loved it.
I put the rest of the slices back into the slow cooker and cooked it on low for another 3 hours. Today it was falling apart and delicious, and the winy stock made a fantastic base for a gravy, which hubby made. He melts butter in a small saucepan, adds flour or cornflour, mixes to a paste, then added the winy liquid. delicious.....
If I was doing it again I would have cooked the meat for 5 or 6 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low and it would have been melt in the mouth yummy...
I will definitely be doing it again.
Tomorrow is something with chicken. scuttles off to cook book....

Made that tonight, was just perfection and sooo easy

Gravy was the business too, did it the same way as you said

Toots

I've got this 4.7l one and I can fit a full chicken in that. I reckon you could probably use the 6.5l one and just not fill it. A lot of the recipes I've made have only half-filled my pot.

Mrs Fox

Toots wrote: »

I've got this 4.7l one and I can fit a full chicken in that. I reckon you could probably use the 6.5l one and just not fill it. A lot of the recipes I've made have only half-filled my pot.

Tankoo I made beef stew today and only filled it halfway, enough for 4 feeds. I'm glad I got the 6.5; time to defrost all that chicken wing tips and backbones and make broth out of them.

Toots

My 'Poverty Chilli' recipe from the 'What I had for Dinner' thread

400g mince beef
2 medium white onions
2 cans kidney beans
7 sweet mini peppers (those little packs you get in Lidl)
One chilli (I used a fresh jalepeno cos that's all I had in the house)
4 cloves garlic (or less/more to your own taste)
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
300ml beef stock (oxo cube)
250g red split lentils
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
Salt & pepper

Brown mince and add it to slow cooker, then dump in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans. Slice up the peppers and roughly chop the onions, throw those in. Add the beef stock, chilli flakes, paprika, sugar, salt and pepper. Carefully slice and de-seed the chilli pepper, then either chop extremely finely (I put it in a mini blender along with my garlic cloves) I wear disposable gloves when cutting chillis cos I've nearly blinded myself by touching my face too many times. Add chilli and garlic (minced or crushed) and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir and cook on high for about 3 hours. If it's looking very watery at the end add some gravy granules to thicken it up.

Serves 7-9 people (I'm using it as dinner for 3 days for me, hubby, and our 4 year old)

Dizzyblonde

I made a Moroccan beef stew in the slow cooker for the first time today and it was probably the nicest stew I've ever made. Here's the recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
500g of stewing beef (I used shin), cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp ras el hanout or other Moroccan spice blend (recipe for spice mix HERE)
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp clear honey
A handful of dried dates, roughly chopped
250ml beef stock - I used a red Oxo cube
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A squirt of tomato purée
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp of flour

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes to soften, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. In a bowl, toss the beef in the ras el hanout and transfer to the pan along with any remaining spices. Cook for a few minutes, turning the beef to brown it all over.
Return the vegetables to the pan and add the garlic. Stir for a minute, then add the flour and stir that in. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

54and56

The Moroccan stew sound delish DB, I'll have to give it a go.

Here's one I tried recently and will be making again tomorrow, it's a mince lamb chiili dish with macaroni chucked in 25 minutes from the end. Dead easy - http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/slow-cooker-lamb-and-pasta

I prepped it the night before, stuck it on low at 8am, chucked in the macaroni at 6pm and at 6:30 we all (2 adults and 2 kids aged 11 and 15) were tucking into it and enjoying it a lot.

The only adjustment I'd make is to put in 33% more macaroni than recommended. I think that would be a better balance of pasta to "sauce".

Mrs Fox

I have chicken thighs in the SC with Asian flavours - ginger, garlic, star anise, shiitake, leek (ran out of spring onion), fresh coriander stalks, white peppercorns. Gonna be wholesome and comforting.

talking_walnut

Has anyone tried this Butter Chicken recipe? I might have to give it a go this weekend.

beertons

Mrs Fox wrote: »

I have chicken thighs in the SC with Asian flavours - ginger, garlic, star anise, shiitake, leek (ran out of spring onion), fresh coriander stalks, white peppercorns. Gonna be wholesome and comforting.

Stick up a pic when it's done please.

Mrs Fox

beertons wrote: »

Stick up a pic when it's done please.

I'll take a photo next time, which is pretty soon as this will be a regular in mi casa. It's pretty anaemic looking; i served it with rice cooked in the braising stock, a soy garlic sauce with chopped birds eye chillies, and ginger sauce made with grated ginger, sesame oil and finely chopped spring onion. Bit like Hainanese chicken rice.


This morning another Asian flavour brewing in the cooker: stewing beef, mushroom, garlic, ginger, onion, leek, lemongrass, celery, baby corn, celery, soy, sriracha, rice wine, stock, a dash of sesame oil. Will report later.

Neyite

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I made a Moroccan beef stew in the slow cooker for the first time today and it was probably the nicest stew I've ever made. Here's the recipe:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
500g of stewing beef (I used shin), cut into bite-size pieces
1 tbsp ras el hanout or other Moroccan spice blend (recipe for spice mix HERE)
2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp clear honey
A handful of dried dates, roughly chopped
250ml beef stock - I used a red Oxo cube
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A squirt of tomato purée
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp of flour

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes to soften, then remove from the pan with a slotted spoon. In a bowl, toss the beef in the ras el hanout and transfer to the pan along with any remaining spices. Cook for a few minutes, turning the beef to brown it all over.
Return the vegetables to the pan and add the garlic. Stir for a minute, then add the flour and stir that in. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

I did this stew last night and it was compliments all around. Such a delicious winter warmer. I think I'll bulk it up with more veggies next time, its a hearty stew that can take it.

It's a keeper!

Dizzyblonde

Neyite wrote: »

I did this stew last night and it was compliments all around. Such a delicious winter warmer. I think I'll bulk it up with more veggies next time, its a hearty stew that can take it.

It's a keeper!

It's going to be a regular here too. And like you, now I've made it once I'll add more veg in future.

A_Sober_Paddy

Tried a Pork Harissa Stew

Pork(Loin) 300g

Onion 80g
Carrots 160g
Parsnips 160g

Tinned Tomatoes x1(400g)

Harissa Paste(Tesco) 45g

Olive Oil 1 Tsp

Cinnamon 1/2 Tsp
Ginger 1/2 Tsp
Turmeric 1/4 Tsp

Salt and Pepper

Chickpea's x1(Tinned)

Cooked for 6 hours on low...

I haven't eaten it yet, its dinner late...

From a preliminary taste i think the cinnamon maybe a tad too much

amdublin

I made the General Tso's chicken again and it went down a bomb. My people said they had never tasted anything like it before. I put in a little extra cayenne pepper which gave a nice afterkick and my guests said they liked the extra heat.


I cannot recommend this dish enough.

muppet_man

I tried this whole chicken today and it turned out great. I didn't have all the spices as the recipe so just used what I had in the press: sea salt, black pepper, garlic minced, herb de provence and fresh rosemary from the garden. Left it in fridge overnight but didn't bag it as suggested. It was a small chicken and left it on low for about 6.5hrs. It was falling of the bone, gorgeous.
I hated cooking whole chicken in the oven. Confused about how long, what temp and using fan oven!! This was so simple I'll definitely be doing this again.

Mrs Fox

muppet_man wrote: »

I tried this whole chicken today and it turned out great. I didn't have all the spices as the recipe so just used what I had in the press: sea salt, black pepper, garlic minced, herb de provence and fresh rosemary from the garden. Left it in fridge overnight but didn't bag it as suggested. It was a small chicken and left it on low for about 6.5hrs. I was falling of the bone, gorgeous.
I hated cooking whole chicken in the oven. Confused about how long, what temp and using fan oven!! This was so simple I'll definitely be doing this again.

I'd say your timing is spot on. Will do that next time.

Queenalocin

cadesin wrote: »

Are meat, veg and potato the only things that turn out well in a slow cooker? Do other starches like rice or noodles work?

We have made lasagna in ours - http://http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna and it is really nice.
As for noodles and pasta, I find it hard to get the timing right, it usually ends up mushy or not cooked fully. It's as easy put them on when you get home.

athtrasna

Queenalocin wrote: »

We have made lasagna in ours - http://http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna and it is really nice.
As for noodles and pasta, I find it hard to get the timing right, it usually ends up mushy or not cooked fully. It's as easy put them on when you get home.

Broken link

oleras

athtrasna wrote: »

Broken link

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagna

A_Sober_Paddy

Some advice guys...

Cooking a pork tenderloin(pork steak), in the slow cooker, will 6 hours on low be enough, was thinking 8 hours could be too much...

Its 300 gram of meat with a tomato based chili...

I lost my notebook with all my recipes, but know most of the recipes by heart, but not cook times

54and56

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Some advice guys...

Cooking a pork tenderloin(pork steak), in the slow cooker, will 6 hours on low be enough, was thinking 8 hours could be too much...

Its 300 gram of meat with a tomato based chili...

I lost my notebook with all my recipes, but know most of the recipes by heart, but not cook times

I'd say 300g of meat would be more than cooked in 4 hours on low never mind 6.

If you're cooking it whole just stick a meat thermometer into it and as long as you hit 77c in the thickest part you're golden. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6d/31/d5/6d31d5fc8237a59b4b19d8d27dae1b4a.jpg

aligator_am

Toots wrote: »

My 'Poverty Chilli' recipe from the 'What I had for Dinner' thread

400g mince beef
2 medium white onions
2 cans kidney beans
7 sweet mini peppers (those little packs you get in Lidl)
One chilli (I used a fresh jalepeno cos that's all I had in the house)
4 cloves garlic (or less/more to your own taste)
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
300ml beef stock (oxo cube)
250g red split lentils
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp sugar
Salt & pepper

Brown mince and add it to slow cooker, then dump in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans. Slice up the peppers and roughly chop the onions, throw those in. Add the beef stock, chilli flakes, paprika, sugar, salt and pepper. Carefully slice and de-seed the chilli pepper, then either chop extremely finely (I put it in a mini blender along with my garlic cloves) I wear disposable gloves when cutting chillis cos I've nearly blinded myself by touching my face too many times. Add chilli and garlic (minced or crushed) and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good stir and cook on high for about 3 hours. If it's looking very watery at the end add some gravy granules to thicken it up.

Serves 7-9 people (I'm using it as dinner for 3 days for me, hubby, and our 4 year old)

Looks tasty! did something fairly similar but stuck in a can of butter beans (was in Lidl getting the ingredients and saw them next to the kidney beans), turned out well, got a few dinners and lunches from that