Please come and talk to me about slow cookers!

[Issy]

I WOTH at least four days a week with a fairly long commute, so I'm generally not home before 8pm. DH and the DDs (12 and 13) arrive home at 6pm and they are absolutely starving. DH can't cook because (1) he's never been able to and (2) he's in a wheelchair which makes it super-difficult for even the most enthusiastic cook. The DDs can and help out but they have a lot of homework and their commitment to domesticity is predictably patchy.

I was wondering whether a slow cooker might be the answer. I could prepare the ingredients the night before, but them in the fridge and then whack them in the slow cooker before I left for the train, so that there was a hot nutritious meal waiting for the DH and DDs at 6pm. Is that how slow cookers work? Or is this just a domestic fantasy for an over-wrought commuting mother?!

[Cherrypippin]

A slow cooker sounds perfect for you, I use mine loads at this time of year. Favourites in our house are beef and ale stew, chicken and bacon casserole, sausage casserole, Spanish chicken, chilli, curry and I've just started to experiment with pulled pork and whole joints of meat. Homemade chunky soups are next on my list to try in it.

[OpiesOldLady]

It sounds as if a slow cooker is the answer to your prayers! I have ahem, seven, though one recently died so did have eight, and I do use them all. If you're on FB it's worth checking out slow cooked wonders fb group, and theres a good slow cooking section on the MN food pages too.

[sashh]

there are loads of threads on here about them - I only have 2, but then I don't have a family. And one is used at least weekly.

[artex]

Pulled pork
Whole chicken
All the soupy, stewy, chilli-y, casseroley things too
Pearl barley risotto. I can't make it work with rice so far
Bolognaise
Curry

Sounds like it'll be just the thing for your situation.

[pregnantpause]

I have to agree that a slow cooker sounds perfect for you. Mine is worth the space it takes for the mulled wine at Christmas alone. Good luck

[Tykeisagirl]

Yy, slow cooker sounds like exactly what you want. I use mine a lot, my two new things are gammon cooked in coke and porridge which you do overnight so it's ready in the morning. Lots of recipes on line and slow cooker books, just remember that you need far less liquid than you do with convention cooking.

[TeamScotland]

I recommend you join the Facebook page (run by mumsnetters) called "slow cooked wonders :)". There are thousands of members and hundreds of recipes and tips.

[Fallulah]

I've been wondering about a slow cooker, but I've heard you have to heat it and brown things in the morning before you leave it. I don't have time for that in the morning - are there any recipes where you can just put things in cold/raw?

[dreamingofsun]

fallulah - only thing i brown is sausages. i put everything in cold and raw. put ingredients into dish and put in fridge for the night and stick on in the morning. lots of things only take about 5 mins to prep in the morning anyway - frozen chopped onions speed things

[Issy]

Thank you everyone for your posts. I got the slow cooker and I've cooked a couple of things - coq au vin and meatballs - but they haven't worked out that well. OK but rather thin and fatty. I think there has to be a trial and error phase with a slow cooker! Meanwhile, I've asked to join the facebook page and will look for some bulletproof recipes. If anyone has an absolutely can't go wrong recipe, please do post it here and I can have my first slow cooker success!

[dreamingofsun]

1st thing i would try is curry. tin of toms, onions, curry paste or powder and meat and then maybe sultanas, apple or some veg (not root veg as that takes longer to cook) and maybe some chutney.

other one you can't go wrong with is tin of baked beans, glug white wine, oregano or dried mixed herbs, onion, mustard, tom sauce or paste and either browned sausages or pork

if things are too runny mix some cornlour with cold water and add for about 1 hour. if too bland add something like chilli/herbs/chutney/ginger or mustard or curry