Slow Cooker recipes

McMurphy

Macy0161 wrote: »

Well broke one of my rules with yesterdays slow cooker dish - I did a smokey beef chilli, with mince. No prefrying, but sliced across the mince going in, and then spent time mixing through the finely diced onions and celery, and then did the same adding the spices and diced smokey bacon, and again adding the passata. Did that on Wednesday night in the removable pot, in the fridge. I took it out when I got up, and the better half put it on when she was leaving (so it'd come up in temp a bit). It worked really well, no clumps, so mince back on our slow cooker menu for work days.

The recipe was from an ebook, so can't post it, but it was a "Smokey Beef Chilli" from the foodforfitness.co.uk High Protein Handbook 4 Slow Cooker Special ebook. There is, however, a video of the recipe on the Scott Baptie FaceBook page though (I couldn't work how to link it). We haven't had a dud yet from his recipes, but this one was really really nice.

We mixed through 300g (raw weight) of pre cooked rice, and from 1kg of mince it split 11 ways (albeit served with flatbreads/ nachos - but a tenth would've been loads without any sides).

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2397569220258875&id=224938874188598

odyssey06

Has anyone got a good rule of thumb for converting from a recipe for casseroles \ low heat cooking in a conventional oven to slow cooker?

e.g. if conventional recipe has cook on 120 celsius for three hours what would that be?

There are some guidelines here but they seem a bit broad:
https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/crockpot-conversion-chart/

dastardly00

I got a 1.5 kg piece of rump in Tesco at half price the other day. I put it in the slow cooker along with a beef stock pot, a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a sprinkle of black pepper and garlic powder and about 300 ml of water. Turn on 'low' and left it for roughly 8 hours. I dumped the liquid and shredded the beef using two forks. I added a bottle of this BBQ sauce (http://www.micschilli.com/hotstuff/kec8vfd97v75yry4noak4at3gx75nm) and turned back on the slow cooker for 20 minutes.

I had the beef with some fresh veggies... Absolutely delicious!

the beer revolu

Deja Boo wrote: »

Intend to attempt a simple potato soup in my small slow cooker tomorrow.

Sounds comforting on a stressful day.

It takes about 20 minutes to make potato soup from scratch with a saucepan.
How is there any advantage with using a slow cooker for this?

Macy0161

odyssey06 wrote: »

Has anyone got a good rule of thumb for converting from a recipe for casseroles \ low heat cooking in a conventional oven to slow cooker?

e.g. if conventional recipe has cook on 120 celsius for three hours what would that be?

It kinda depends is the answer - different slow cookers at different wattages with different settings. Then you've got whether you're adding stuff cold or prefried or heated (eg stock from boiling water/ cube).

I generally double casserole recipes, and add less liquid (or a broth mix for extra soakage). Ours gets most use when it's going to be on all day though. It also has an "auto" function where it does several hours (I forget how many) at "High" and then switches to "Low". If in doubt or we're not sure how long we need, we use that function.

Kat1170

the beer revolu wrote:

It takes about 20 minutes to make potato soup from scratch with a saucepan. How is there any advantage with using a slow cooker for this?

If you only have 15 minutes to spare

the beer revolu

Kat1170 wrote: »

If you only have 15 minutes to spare

It still needs to be preped

54and56

Hi all,

I made a large portion of this very straightforward Spag Bol this morning. Super easy to make and no tricky ingredients e.g. celery!!



It's been on low for just over 6 hours so tasted it and there are two slight issues I'd like to address.

1. I may have used a few too many chilli flakes

2. There is a slight acidic taste which I attribute to the 4 X cans of chopped tomatoes.

Can better cooks than me confirm that the addition of a little sugar to the mix would help negate the acidity and may also soften a little of the heat from the chilli flakes?

FYI I used 2 X 600g 15% fat beef mince from Aldi instead of the 900g called for in the recipe but kept the rest of the recipe the same i.e. 4 cans of tomatoes etc and the consistency turned out just how I prefer i.e. not runny.

Leinster1980

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Hi all,

I made a large portion of this very straightforward Spag Bol this morning. super easy to make and no tricky ingredients e.g. celery!!

It's been on low for just over 6 hours so tasted it and there are two slight issues I'd like to address.

1. I may have used a few too many chilli flakes

2. There is a slight acidic taste which I attribute to the 4 X cans of chopped tomatoes.

Can better cooks than me confirm that the addition of a little sugar to the mix would help negate the acidity and may also soften a little of the heat from the chilli flakes?

FYI I used 2 X 600g 15% fat beef mince from Aldi instead of the 900g called for in the recipe but kept the rest of the recipe the same i.e. 4 cans of tomatoes etc and the consistency turned out just how I prefer i.e. not runny.

I’ve used sugar before to reduce the acidity and as far as I know it could help with the hotness from the chilli flakes. Would you try adding some passata, to water down the hotness a little?

54and56

Leinster1980 wrote: »

I’ve used sugar before to reduce the acidity and as far as I know it could help with the hotness from the chilli flakes.

Thanks Leinster1980, I'll try a little sugar and see if it does the trick.

Leinster1980 wrote: »

Would you try adding some passata, to water down the hotness a little?

No, I'd prefer not to use any more liquid as I don't want it to be too runny.

Macy0161

Speaking of Spag Bol, we actually made spag bol recipe on snow day Friday. We didn't have wine, so we just put a spoonful of cranberry sauce left over from Christmas. In a rarity for the slow cooker, while it tasted absolutely lovely, it missed the additional liquid. I'd probably add the equivalent passatta instead of the wine next time - we're not wine drinkers, so it'd be that, cranberry juice or stock I guess.

beans

I have wine- and cider-vinegars on-hand for this kind of situation. Opposite problem, the wine gets drank too quickly to be available for cooking.

Macy0161

I'm too tight to buy it, and the in laws would just end up drinking it!

odyssey06

You can get small bottles of red and white wine for €2 in ALDI - that's 187ml bottle. In main supermarkets usually €3.
In LIDL I think it's 250ml for €2.50.
Add a pinch of salt once opened to preserve.

Dial Hard

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

very straightforward Spag Bol this morning. Super easy to make and no tricky ingredients e.g. celery!!

Can better cooks than me confirm that the addition of a little sugar to the mix would help negate the acidity and may also soften a little of the heat from the chilli flakes?

What's tricky about celery? Celery, carrots and onion are the holy trinity of a good bolognese sauce.

Macy0161 wrote:

We didn't have wine, so we just put a spoonful of cranberry sauce left over from Christmas.

This is a totally new one on me. Cranberry sauce instead of wine???

Jellybaby1

I would also call celery 'tricky', because you have to buy a head of it and usually only use one or two sticks. I almost bought a head of celery today to make soup but the price put me off it. Maybe if Aldi or Lidl offer it for 49c I might buy it. I hate the raw taste of it.

Dial Hard

Jellybaby1 wrote:

I would also call celery 'tricky', because you have to buy a head of it and usually only use one or two sticks. I almost bought a head of celery today to make soup but the price put me off it. Maybe if Aldi or Lidl offer it for 49c I might buy it. I hate the raw taste of it.

It's about 69c at full price in Lidl. Whatever I don't use I dice and freeze, you can then just throw it straight into your next bolognese/chilli/whatever straight from the freezer.

I can't stand it raw either, FWIW.

Dial Hard

odyssey06 wrote:

Add a pinch of salt once opened to preserve.

Or freeze in ice cube trays.

Macy0161

Dial Hard wrote: »

This is a totally new one on me. Cranberry sauce instead of wine???

I was winging it, with lack of options and being snowed in! There was logic, as I have read that cranberry juice can be used as alternative to red wine in cooking, and cranberry juice has worked for us in the past.

Jellybaby1

Dial Hard wrote: »

It's about 69c at full price in Lidl. Whatever I don't use I dice and freeze, you can then just throw it straight into your next bolognese/chilli/whatever straight from the freezer.

I can't stand it raw either, FWIW.

I should have thought of freezing it myself! Ta!

54and56

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I would also call celery 'tricky', because you have to buy a head of it and usually only use one or two sticks. I almost bought a head of celery today to make soup but the price put me off it. Maybe if Aldi or Lidl offer it for 49c I might buy it. I hate the raw taste of it.

This 100%. There's always a good stock of the basics on hand (onions, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, fresh coriander etc etc) but i don't like raw celery and whilst i have used and enjoyed it in Bolognese previously it has to be purchased specially and most of it gets thrown out hence 'tricky'.

crustybla

I find leeks similar. Bought some today for soup but I won't use most of the pack.

Doing the old chickpea and veg curry tomorrow. Actually can't wait.

Jellybaby1

crustybla wrote: »

I find leeks similar. Bought some today for soup but I won't use most of the pack.

Doing the old chickpea and veg curry tomorrow. Actually can't wait.

Ooh I'll use up your leeks, always use them in veggie soup. Yum!

Shenshen

Macy0161 wrote: »

I was winging it, with lack of options and being snowed in! There was logic, as I have read that cranberry juice can be used as alternative to red wine in cooking, and cranberry juice has worked for us in the past.

I can actually see cranberry juice working - it wouldn't be the same, of course, but it does have this somewhat acidic, dry, earthy taste you'd also get from a red wine.
It might turn things very sweet, though?

Shenshen

crustybla wrote: »

I find leeks similar. Bought some today for soup but I won't use most of the pack.

Doing the old chickpea and veg curry tomorrow. Actually can't wait.

Top tip I got from the Thug Kitchen cookbook : Always have a plastic bag in your freezer that you add leftover vegetables, cut-offs and peelings to. Once the bag is full, empty the content into a big pot, cover with water, boil, drain, and freeze your lovely tasty vegetable stock in portions for later use (I freeze it in muffin tins)

54and56

Shenshen wrote: »

I can actually see cranberry juice working - it wouldn't be the same, of course, but it does have this somewhat acidic, dry, earthy taste you'd also get from a red wine.
It might turn things very sweet, though?

I think that might be a good thing as it would soften the acidity of the tinned tomatoes. Might try it next time.

Last nights Spag Bol went down a treat with all the family and there's enough left over to make 3-4 single portions for freezing, perfect for lunches etc.

Macy0161

Shenshen wrote: »

I can actually see cranberry juice working - it wouldn't be the same, of course, but it does have this somewhat acidic, dry, earthy taste you'd also get from a red wine.
It might turn things very sweet, though?

I'd say it depends. Unsweetened cranberry juice is quite sour rather than sweet in my experience.

Dial Hard

Macy0161 wrote: »

I'd say it depends. Unsweetened cranberry juice is quite sour rather than sweet in my experience.

Cranberry juice, yes. Cranberry sauce, not so much. I'm still struggling to get my head around it in a bolognese! I would have just skipped the wine part if I didn't have any to hand, tbh.

Anyway, have a chipotle sweet potato chilli in the slow cooker for this evening's dinner. Will update with the recipe later if it's worth sharing.

Dial Hard

Dial Hard wrote: »

Anyway, have a chipotle sweet potato chilli in the slow cooker for this evening's dinner. Will update with the recipe later if it's worth sharing.

So this wasn't the best chilli I've ever made (that still goes to my two-day beer chilli) but I'd definitely make it again so worth sharing. Serves 4.

400g pork, chicken or turkey mince
Tin of whole tomatoes, whizzed
Tin of cannellini or kidney beans
3 small sweet potatoes, diced
2 small onions, diced
2 pouches cauliflower rice (get it in Iceland)
1 red pepper, diced
1 red chilli, finely diced
4 fat cloves garlic, minced
3 tbs tomato puree
2 tbs chipotle in adobo
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs smoked paprika
1 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chicken or beef stock cube
1 bay leaf
Salt & pepper to taste

1. Dry fry your mince. White meat minces clump waaaaay more than beef so do it in a really big pan and break it up really well.

2. Dump it in the slow cooker along with all the other ingredient except the beans. Fill the tomato tin with water, add that too, give everything a good stir and cook on low for five hours.

3. After five hours add the beans, give everything another stir and taste. Adjust the seasoning, add more spices if needed and cook for another hour.

4. Serve with cheese, sour cream, fresh coriander and baked tortilla chips.

gozunda

Dial Hard wrote: »

So this wasn't the best chilli I've ever made (that still goes to my two-day beer chilli) but I'd definitely make it again so worth sharing. Serves 4.
...

Looks fantastic. Might try that. Cheers