Please help me with some cooking questions!

[LaDamaDeElche]

I'm really time poor at the moment, so have decided I need to learn how to cook simple stews, casseroles and soups, which I can batch cook. I don't have any equipment to do this, and am looking at purchasing some, but I'm a bit confused. There is conflicting info on the internet and I don't want to end up buying things I have no space for and spending money unnecessarily.

So, my question is, regarding casseroles - are they cooked on the oven or on the stove? Do I need a pyrex dish and some kind of casserole pan that you can put in the oven and on the stove too, or just one?

I'm also looking at cooking soups and stews, so is there a multi use thing, like a slow cooker/crock pot, that I could use for all? Is it worth purchasing a soup maker separately to this as it gives different consistencies without having to use a blender?

At the moment I have a soup maker, pyrex dish, hand blender/normal blender, crock pot and a casserole pan on my Amazon list and it seems like that may be an overkill - also £££. Also, no idea where I would store all of those things as my kitchen is pretty small. Would be grateful for advice on this!

I make lots of stews and soups. I have cast iron dishes (a mix of everything from Aldi to Le Creuset) and steel pans. I rarely cook in the oven as it is expensive and wasteful unless I’m batch cooking or doing a big dinner. I find soups and stews both do perfectly well on the hob. A stick blender plus pans is all you really need.

I do have a slow cooker, but mainly use it for serving curries or other hot meals at parties. And for cooking the Xmas pudding.

I also have a pressure cooker for when time is short, but only got that recently.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think I'm going to start with buying a stick blender and also a casserole pan/dish and start from there. Will research a bit more into slow cookers b pressure cookers and maybe look at getting one, if I need it (maybe the things I've said will be sufficient for what I need), in the black Friday sales.

Thanks a lot everyone for taking the time to give me your opinions and advice!

You might not have children, but I've found the "eating with the kids" slow cooker recipe pack has much better recipes than any slow cooker book I've bought (I've had various from charity shops). Recipes are all really simple but tasty. Each would probably do 3 adult meals so you could freeze a portion each time. I love my slow cooker for busy days, you just need to get into the habit of prepping in advance. For meat free dishes you can also use one of those plug in timers - like my parents used to use for lights when they went on holiday.

I have a counter top slow cooker/ pressure cooker, very easy to use and a chilli/ casserole can be cooked in half an hour. Then the machine holds it at a warming temperature for when you're ready saves having cooker on all day for a casserole. The one I have browns as well so saves on pots. I use it loads, for a soup a stick blenders all you need.

Technically, a casserole goes in the oven, a stew is cooked on the hob.

Didn’t know this. I will stop referring to dh’s stews as casseroles.

This is exactly what I was going to say.
Sounds like a slow cooker and a stick blender are all you need for now.