Slow Cooker Recipes

[Mckayz]

I have a slow cooker that never really gets used, I really want to start using it.

I got a recipe book from Amazon but it is american and asks for all sorts of things that I have never seen here.

We do sometimes use a packet mix for a chicken curry and a sausage casserole. But that is all.

So I would love some ideas of things to cook in it.

Thanks

[Therealamandaclarke]

Sorry to hijack McKayz. But me too.
Have a new slow cooker and keen to get started.

[goodjambadjar]

I treat it as a 'bung stuff in' pot. I cook soups, casseroles, stews, curries, chilli and bolognaise in mine. I've also used it to cook chicken bones for stock, and I've cooked meat joints in it, a whole chicken, and a cake!

[mrspaddy]

I don't really use a book as such but my tip is .. minced beef dinners don't really work - go too mushy.

I cook stew - fry onion and garlic in a pan - add meat (2lb lean stewing beef to make a large pot) and brown. Then add to slow cooker with
Worcester sauce, herbs and root veg (like carrot and parsnip).
Beef stock - cook for six hours.

Gammon is lovely - just put a joint in with honey and cloves

Rice pudding

Goulash is lovely in it.

I haven't tried chilli using the stewing steak chunk - might try that.

[cloudskitchen]

Shoulder of lamb is lovely. I soften sone onions and garlic, pop them in with half a shoulder of lamb, a couple of tins of tomatoes, splosh of red wine and some dried herbs of choice and off you go

[Therealamandaclarke]

[CharlieAlphaKiloEcho]

I made a mixed bean chilli with mine yesterday.

Soften a diced onion. Bung it in with a large carton of passata, a dash of worchestshire sauce, can of kidney beans and a can of mixed beans, spoon of chopped chilllis, bit of stock, tomato puree and some lentils to bulk it out a bit. Mix together, whack on low and leave all day. That did 3 of us and also two meals for the freezer for quick work day dinners.

I'm just about to do satay chicken in mine for tonight. There is a facebook group called slow cooked wonders that I think someone on here linked too and the recipe was in there.

I tried epic pork from there a couple of weeks ago and that was great too. Pork shoulder joint cooked in coke, shredded and then added to BBQ sauce and put back in the SC. We got 3 dinners out of that too. Had it with rice, on jackets and in wraps :)

[GinAndaDashOfLime]

charlie I've seen the coke / pork recipe mentioned on MN loads but not been brave enough to risk it - but your idea of adding BBQ sauce sounds lovely - how much coke do you add? Anything else? How long do you cook with coke and with the BBQ sauce?

[Therealamandaclarke]

Ooh. Does that mean it would be good for Nigella's ham in coca cola?

[sleepyhead]

I find it works best for me if I sauté veg and brown the meat in a pan on the cooker as I would normally and then add everything to the slow cooker for cooking.

It does mean that you've got an extra pan to wash, but I don't bother with special slow cooker recipes and just cook normal stews (maybe adding a bit less liquid).

Recipe: (basically Delia's spanish pork)

1 chopped onion
6 pork loin chops cut into chunks or a pack of diced pork
2 peppers, sliced
1 tin of tomatoes
Slosh of red wine
1 tbsp plain flour
Paprika, seasoning
Half a jar of green olives

Brown the onion and meat in a pan with some oil and add the sliced peppers. Season with salt, pepper, a tablespoon of paprika and stir in the plain flour (this is just to thicken the sauce a bit so can be left out).

Cook through for a minute and then add the tin of tomatoes and a couple of glugs of wine (you can substitute the wine for stock or water if you want, don't add too much liquid as it won't evaporate away in the slow cooker).

Once the stew is bubbling, take off the hob and transfer to the slow cooker pot. Cook on low for at least 4 hours but can be longer if you want.

About half an hour or so before you want to serve it, add the olives, cut in half.

[CharlieAlphaKiloEcho]

Gin - I just add one can. There is a recipe for making your own BBQ sauce but I got one from the shop lazy cow It was very popular with friends for lunch too - served with crusty rolls and salad and there was still loads left er feeding 6!

There are some good recipes on here too.

I want to try the self saucing chocolate pudding one I've just spotted on the facebook group :o

[CharlieAlphaKiloEcho]

Also, I have just fund this freezer crockpot post which has some good ideas for prepping ahead and freezing. It'll be great on work days when I don't get home until almost 7. I'm about to start full time next week now my DS is in school. And given that I work in a kitchen the last thing I want to do is cook when I get home!

[zgaze]

I work on meat + alcohol = goooooooood when it comes to my slow cooker. I use it all the time through the winter.

Beef chunks and Guinness or real ale, a stock cube, onions, black pepper
Lamb shanks / shoulder / leg and red wine, stock cube, onions, rosemary sprig
Chicken pieces, white wine, garlic, sage, cream stirred in at the end
Chicken pieces, chorizo, butter beans, onions, red wine
Beef or lamb mince, passata, mixed herbs, onion, garlic, red wine - awesome ragu
Venison chunks, onion, garlic, herbs, beef stock and port
Good sausages, mixed tinned beans, onion, chilli powder, passata, red wine
Pork shoulder, BBQ sauce (either home made or bottle), Mexican spice mix (home made, google budget bytes taco seasoning) - remove fat/skin from pork beforehand though
Gammon, onions, bay leaves, black pepper, cloves in ginger beer or coke or cherry coke or cider,
Chicken strips, coconut milk, fish sauce, lemongrass, ginger, chilli, lime leaves (rare recipes with no alcohol)

Etc etc etc. You can see my theme. Sometimes I just make it up, chuck in random stuff plus booze and it's always delicious. I don't bother browning the meat unless it's sausages and that's only because I don't like things that look like skinned willies in my dinner.

[Mckayz]

Thanks everyone. They look great.

We make pulled pork a lot and I never knew you could do it in the slow cooker.

[georgedawes]

There's a facebook group called slow cooked wonders which has lots of lovely recipes.

[georgedawes]

Sorry I see CAKE beat me to it!

[DragonsAreReal]

Brown stew chicken,

season cut up chicken breast with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and a spoonful of sugar and 2 spring onions,

add 2 chopped peppers and a onion ino slow cooker, place chicken breasts on top, add a squirt of ketchup and a tablespoon of hot sauce (preferably a jamaican hot pepper sauce but any will do really) you might need a little bit of water to.

cook on high for about 3/4 hours.

This is nicer if you fried the chicken and cooked down a sauce in frying pan but it works quite well in slow cooker as long as you don't leave it to long.

[Therealamandaclarke]

zgaze

Browning the meat for a stew is a pita bother.
My dh is obsessed with it but the whole point of te crockpot IMHO is to bung stuff in, switch on and swan off until supper's ready. I am encouraged by your view on this.

[sashh]

I do shoulder of lamb but don't add anything except the lamb to the sc

[ProbablyJustGas]

I've been getting a ton from the Betty Crocker website today. Apparently, you can do baked potatoes in the slow cooker.

One easy family favorite has been chucking a few chicken breasts into the pot, covering with a can or two of cream of chicken soup. Cook on low while we're all away at work/school (about 8-10 hours for us, but 6-8 would probably do the trick). After cooking, add a ton of shredded cheese and stir. The chicken is usually very easy to pull apart at this point. Nice when served with something like rice or broccoli. Not at all low-cal, but the seven year-old eats it, and even asked for it to be made again.

[Phalenopsis]

If you want a good British starter book, I'd recommend 'Slow Cooking Properly Explained' by Dianne Page. Good recipes with few ingredients and she tells you how to convert your own recipes to slow cooker ones.

Also good is 'The Slow Cooker Recipe Book' by Catherine Atkinson, more recipes than the book above but they often call for more ingredients.

Both books cover puddings, drinks etc.

[beccaamuseyourbouche]

This is AMAZING www.amuse-your-bouche.com/slow-cooker-mushroom-stroganoff/

[nappyaddict]

I use my slow cooker all the time. Today for Sunday dinner I did "roast" chicken in it. I rubbed butter, herbs and black pepper over it, put in some stuffing and put it on low for 6 hours (it was a 1.6kg chicken). I prepped all the veg and put it in my electric steamer. I use a plug timer for the slow cooker and another one for my steamer which I set for 15 minutes. I can go out, come back at a specific time and it's pretty much ready. Even if I come back later than expected, all it takes is a quick nuke in the microwave. Then I crisp the skin up under a hot grill for 5-10 minutes and put the steamer back on for the same amount of time (15 minutes isn't quite long enough for potatoes but 30 minutes is too long so I put it on the timer for 15 minutes and then finish it off whilst the skin is crisping up)

[mrspremise]

distractedhousewife.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/monday-11th-of-march-2013.html

Don't know how to do links properly Its my favourite thing to do in the slow cooker though, and very easy too, which is nice for a meal on a cold and otherwise bloody boring evening