Slow Cooker recipes

sleepyescapade

Are there any recommended rice based recipes for slowcooking? I have a 4 quart slowcooker and have made goulash, ribs, etc but want to make something rice based with veg and meat (or no meat). Ideally would also like to cook it on low for about 8 hours? Is this possible? Do any of you guys know any rice based recipes for slowcooking? Thanks

Guill

sleepyescapade wrote: »

Are there any recommended rice based recipes for slowcooking? I have a 4 quart slowcooker and have made goulash, ribs, etc but want to make something rice based with veg and meat (or no meat). Ideally would also like to cook it on low for about 8 hours? Is this possible? Do any of you guys know any rice based recipes for slowcooking? Thanks

I use mine for Rice pudding if that's any good!

Deki

well Muffin, this is not really what you were looking for- time is shorter and in U.S. measures but may be a starting point for you to play with.
Judi's Slow Cooker Chili Recipe

1 1/2 - 2 pounds of lean ground beef or venison

2 -3 small onions chopped

1 (15-ounce) can dark kidney beans, drained

1 ( 15-ounce) can light kidney beans, drained

2 (1 1/4-ounce) packets of your favorite chili seasoning mix

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with jalapenos

1 cup water

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

salt & pepper to taste



Brown the meat in a skillet pan over medium heat, add chopped onions, cook for 5 minutes. Break up the clumps of meat as much as possible.

Transfer to a slow cooker, add the rest of the ingredients, stir together. Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours.

Top with your favorite shredded cheese and chopped scallions if desired.

or this one

Easy Pleas'n Chili

Cook Time
6 - 8 hours on LOW
3 - 4 hours on HIGH
Slow Cooker
4 - 4.5 Quarts
5 - 5.5 Quarts
6 - 6.5 Quarts
Yields
4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
38 ounces red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
28 ounces tomatoes, canned, coarsely chopped, with juice
5 1/2 ounces tomato paste, canned
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup salsa
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried cumin and dried oregano, each
1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and hot sauce, each
1 red and green sweet pepper, finely chopped
chopped tomatoes, avocado, green onion, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, grated cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, sour cream
Directions

In a large nonstick skillet, cook ground meat, garlic and onion over medium-high heat, breaking up meat with spoon, for 9-10 minutes or until fully cooked. With slotted spoon transfer to Crock-Pot® slow cooker.
Add the meat mixture and remaining ingredients, except sweet peppers, to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours or until bubbly and hot.
Stir in peppers; cover and cook on High for an additional 15 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and serve with suggested toppings.
Refrigerate prepared chili in airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

I think the thing to remember is that moisture will build in a slow cooker, come out of the vegetables and juices from meat will not cook away, so things need to be slightly thicker if you expect the end result to not be watery. It's better to start a stew with a thick base as it will become looser when the juices combine. I enjoy using my slow cookers, They are so handy for carry -ins, and you usually just get them started and go on about your business.

vibe666

The Lovely Muffin wrote: »

Does anyone have a recipe for chilli and also for a beef stew please?

if you're talking about making a *proper* chilli, you need to see this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055938138

there's many pages of good advice and i'm sure Sparks Chilli or a variation of it would lend itself nicely to being cooked in a slow cooker.

The Lovely Muffin

vibe666 wrote: »

if you're talking about making a *proper* chilli, you need to see this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055938138

there's many pages of good advice and i'm sure Sparks Chilli or a variation of it would lend itself nicely to being cooked in a slow cooker.

The chilli in that recipe looks a little on the hot side for me

I guess I'm looking for a chilli that has a bit of heat, nothing too hot though.

I made pork belly last night and used a wee bit too much chilli on the meat and vegetables and was sick for half of the night, I don't want a repeat of that

Thanks a million for the link and to Deki for those recipes, I'll give them a try and see how I go.

vibe666

i'd always make stuff like that to y own taste rather than strictly following any recipes. just dial back the spicy ingredients to a more palatable level and take it from there.

aside from recipes that specifically require exact ratios of ingredients (cakes and breads etc.) to work properly, i always see a recipe as a rough guide or inspiration rather than a exact instructions.

Piliger

Hi all from a really basic cook ..

I am looking for adding taste to my slow cooking, with difficulty, so I am looking at sauces that get in the supermarket in a jar.

However when I used them before with chicken or beef ... say something like black bean sauce, the cooking time was 10 minutes.

Can they be used in a slow cooker or will the long cooking time destroy them ?

I am already starting to use soups, celery, onions etc etc. just looking for other options.

Tks !

Dizzyblonde

The sauces will be fine in the slow cooker. Just don't add too much other liquid or it'll be too runny because there's no evaporation in a slow cooker.

Piliger

Ah thanks for that :-)

I was worried about over cooking. This is because I make a sweet and sour chicken dish with a brilliant Uncle Ben's (?) S&S sauce I get with extra pineapple. But one time I forgot to take it off simmer after 5 minutes and left it for 15 ... and all the taste was gone

vibe666

Piliger wrote: »

Ah thanks for that :-)

I was worried about over cooking. This is because I make a sweet and sour chicken dish with a brilliant Uncle Ben's (?) S&S sauce I get with extra pineapple. But one time I forgot to take it off simmer after 5 minutes and left it for 15 ... and all the taste was gone

sweet and sour sauce is one of the easiest to make yourself if you want to have a go?

obviously there are dozens of recipes, but at it's most basic, it's just sugar (for the sweet), vinegar (for the sour) & cornflour (to thicken).

there's usually some red or orange food colouring in there as well to make it look more appetising and the type of vinegar & sugar varies from recipe to recipe, but that's basically it.

you can add whatever veg (and pineapple) you like to it from there, add a bit of a chilli for a kick, pineapple or orange juice to adjust the flavours, maybe garlic, ginger or some shallots, there really are loads of ways to play around with it to get it tasting how you like.

for inspiration, just google for "sweet & sour sauce recipe" and read through the different ways to make it and go from there.

it won't always work out the way you want it to, but it's all a learning experience, so just do what i do and think of each failure as a new way not to do it.

Dizzyblonde

I don't think slow cooking would suit sweet & sour sauce. I copied a recipe for sweet & sour pork here a couple of years ago, can't remember who posted it but here it is:


1 onion, finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced
One heaped tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of flour

250mls chicken stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
1 tablespoon mango chutney
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

Optional: small tin of pineapple pieces, drained, and/or a tin of bamboo shoots, drained.

Finely sliced pork from a pork fillet or a couple of pork chops with the fat trimmed.

Method

Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper, and soften. When soft, sprinkle the flour over and stir to coat and cook the flour.

In a jug, mix the ingredients for the sauce - that's the stock, tomato puree, vinegar, mango chutney, sugar and worcestershire sauce. When the flour is cooked out in the pan (don't let anything brown, this is all to be done under a gentle heat), add the sauce mix, stirring all the while. The sauce will thicken up as it hits the heat and flour.

When the sauce is bubbling gently, add the raw, unsealed, finely sliced pork - it will seal and cook in the heat of the sauce within minutes. After about five minutes, you can add the chopped pineapple pieces and the bamboo shoots if using, and cook for another three or four minutes.

Serve over buttered egg noodles - boil egg noodles as per instructions on the packet, drain well and add a knob of butter, toss until the butter melts and the noodles are coated, then serve in a shallow bowl with a serving of the sauce on top. You could also serve it over buttered pasta - it has a richness that lends itself to a starch.

You can do this with chicken as well, but it's really excellent with a finely sliced pork fillet.

vibe666

sorry, i didn't mean specifically S&S for slow cooking, just that the previous poster was talking about getting more adventurous and had mentioned a jar based S&S sauce, so i was just trying to encourage them to have a go at their own.

Dizzyblonde

vibe666 wrote: »

sorry, i didn't mean specifically S&S for slow cooking, just that the previous poster was talking about getting more adventurous and had mentioned a jar based S&S sauce, so i was just trying to encourage them to have a go at their own.

Ah no I didn't think you were. Your post just reminded me of that recipe

vibe666

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Ah no I didn't think you were. Your post just reminded me of that recipe

sounds very tasty. i like how there's always room for plenty of butter in the noodles or pasta, just to be on the safe side.

Piliger

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

The sauces will be fine in the slow cooker. Just don't add too much other liquid or it'll be too runny because there's no evaporation in a slow cooker.

Unfortunately they don't work.

I used S&S the other day and it lost 100% of it's flavours and last night I used Blackbean sauce and it also lost 100% of it's flavour

Deki

I have used concentrated canned soups in the slow cooker with good success. Don't dilute it at all the juice from the meat is enough to do that. I would also recommend flavor packets or dry soup mixes. Of course if you are doing a roast you can season it well with dry rub and brown in a skillet before you slow cook it. I don't understand how the flavor could just disappear. Does your lid fit tightly? Try putting a piece of foil on and then the lid. Just my thoughts. Don't give up.:)

Piliger

I used powdered packet soup last week and it did a good job.

I am not surprised something that is sold for cooking for 10 minutes loses it's taste after 4-6 hours

Dizzyblonde

Piliger wrote: »

Unfortunately they don't work.

I used S&S the other day and it lost 100% of it's flavours and last night I used Blackbean sauce and it also lost 100% of it's flavour

That's a pity. Maybe it's because they're designed for quick meals. It tends to be trial and error with the slow cooker.

Piliger

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

That's a pity. Maybe it's because they're designed for quick meals. It tends to be trial and error with the slow cooker.

Well ... yesterday I put on a stewing beef thingy and it worked great!

Stewing Beef, Onion, CELERY, Stock cube, Tomato paste. Then one hour before the end I added Black Bean Sauce from Superquinn and a frozen diced carrot/peas/corn mix. Turned it to high for 15 mins and let it rip to the end.

Bingo. For me the Celery has really transformed the flavour level of my slow cooks, and the sauce didn't cook too long and it all came out great. The veg mix gives it colour and the peas/corn a bit of sweetness in there.

et101

Piliger wrote: »

Well ... yesterday I put on a stewing beef thingy and it worked great!

Stewing Beef, Onion, CELERY, Stock cube, Tomato paste. Then one hour before the end I added Black Bean Sauce from Superquinn and a frozen diced carrot/peas/corn mix. Turned it to high for 15 mins and let it rip to the end.

Bingo. For me the Celery has really transformed the flavour level of my slow cooks, and the sauce didn't cook too long and it all came out great. The veg mix gives it colour and the peas/corn a bit of sweetness in there.

I hate celery but when cooked it's not so bad. Thanks for this tip will have ANOTHER go with my slow cooker next week wish me luck! Appreciate all the hints, tips and recipes

Piliger

et101 wrote: »

I hate celery but when cooked it's not so bad. Thanks for this tip will have ANOTHER go with my slow cooker next week wish me luck! Appreciate all the hints, tips and recipes

I actually hate celery too But I love the taste it gives to a mix and I actually love the smell.... :rolleyes: I usually cut it into big chunks and then remove them after .... god I'm hopeless I guess :cool:

Piliger

Things are going well with my small slow cooker. One major problem is my 20yo will NOT eat celery ... even though it is tasteless and soft by the time it is all cooked ..

Would anyone know if it would cook as normal if I chopped the celery as usual and then liquidised it on it's own and added it to the cooking ? :rolleyes:

Dizzyblonde

Piliger wrote: »

Would anyone know if it would cook as normal if I chopped the celery as usual and then liquidised it on it's own and added it to the cooking ? :rolleyes:

I'd say it would, but if your 20 yo doesn't like the taste it might spoil the whole meal for him or her. Might be better to leave it in chunks so it can be avoided.

I got a 5lb piece of neck of pork at the weekend and made pulled pork with it, it was amazing. I put a rub on it and left it overnight in the fridge, then cooked it on high for 7 hours. I took it out and pulled it, then put it all back into the slow cooker for half an hour in a BBQ sauce from the Hairy Bikers Mum Knows Best book. It was amazing

Piliger

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'd say it would, but if your 20 yo doesn't like the taste it might spoil the whole meal for him or her. Might be better to leave it in chunks so it can be avoided.

Wel .. I think it is a 'texture' thing with him. He ate some of my last dish after I removed the tasteless celery at the end. So if it is liquidised first ... that issue may be removed...

Also could anyone suggest another word I could use instead of 'goulash' ? :rolleyes: I seem to have this word on my brain for all foods of this kind but it seems the MINUTE I labelled it as a goulash on the first day ......... he said 'what a disgusting name!' and has a prejudice against everything I cook in the slow cooker ever since .....

Anyone ? some fancy name that might change his mind ? (some hope!)

Deise Musashi

Also could anyone suggest another word I could use instead of 'goulash' ? :rolleyes: I seem to have this word on my brain for all foods of this kind but it seems the MINUTE I labelled it as a goulash on the first day ......... he said 'what a disgusting name!' and has a prejudice against everything I cook in the slow cooker ever since .....

Anyone ? some fancy name that might change his mind ? (some hope!)

Dinner? As in "Here's your Dinner, eat it or go hungry?"

Sorry, my 21 yo Brother is being a tit atm. :rolleyes:

implausible

Piliger wrote: »

Wel .. I think it is a 'texture' thing with him. He ate some of my last dish after I removed the tasteless celery at the end.

I can empathise - I fecking HATE celery. To me it has a taste, an awful one. I refuse to cook with it, in some recipes I substitute leeks (obviously, doesn't work for all recipes).

Markcheese

Piliger wrote: »

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'd say it would, but if your 20 yo doesn't like the taste it might spoil the whole meal for him or her. Might be better to leave it in chunks so it can be avoided.

Wel .. I think it is a 'texture' thing with him. He ate some of my last dish after I removed the tasteless celery at the end. So if it is liquidised first ... that issue may be removed...

Also could anyone suggest another word I could use instead of 'goulash' ? :rolleyes: I seem to have this word on my brain for all foods of this kind but it seems the MINUTE I labelled it as a goulash on the first day ......... he said 'what a disgusting name!' and has a prejudice against everything I cook in the slow cooker ever since .....

Anyone ? some fancy name that might change his mind ? (some hope!)

+1 on leaving celery in large chunks so you can eat round it...
Goulash is Hungarian with loads of paprika in it ??
When I was small everything was a casserole , daube is another name for a stew cooked in a crockpot ... Fricassee and blanquete are White stews , Carbonnade is a stew cooked in beer, ragout is a brown stew, tagine for something morrocan... Should get u started, if he still grumbles tell him to grow up and start cooking ...

Piliger

Markcheese wrote: »

Goulash is Hungarian with loads of paprika in it ??
When I was small everything was a casserole , daube is another name for a stew cooked in a crockpot ... Fricassee and blanquete are White stews , Carbonnade is a stew cooked in beer, ragout is a brown stew, tagine for something morrocan... Should get u started, if he still grumbles tell him to grow up and start cooking ...

Thanks for those suggested terms I can bamboozle him now and see if I can sidestep his 'thing' with the word

jendafer1

Wonderful thread!!! I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time reading through this whole thread and am now just dying to go and buy a slow cooker! I've just transitioned from the world of University to real working life so the idea of throwing a dinner together in the morning for it to be ready when I get home and hungry from work is amazing! Unfortunately the OH has no interest in curries or anything "spicey" so that removes a lot of options, but my mind is whirling with ideas of stews/casseroles/filling soups/pot-roasts... mmm delicious! Right... onto the argos website I go...

the beer revolu

Piliger wrote: »

Thanks for those suggested terms I can bamboozle him now and see if I can sidestep his 'thing' with the word

Personally, I'd side step him, then bamboozle him with a clatter across the head!
Ingrate!!!:mad::mad: