Tried and tested - slow cooker

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I've used Schwartz packets in the slow cooker - spaghetti bolognese and chilli con carne. They're passable but thinking preparing myself would be better.

I'm looking for your tried and tested slow cooker recipes for both please. 2 adults & 2 fussy kids so not too herby or spicy, if poss please.

Hopefully once my time is my own again, and organisation reigns, I can get back to bulk batching my own but this definitely works for now.

Thank you.

I made a vegetable stew a couple of days ago.

One onion
2 large parsnips
3 or 4 medium carrots
2 large sweet potatoes
Red lentils
Pearl barley
1 tin tomatoes
Vegetable stock powder

Fry onion then add tin of tomatoes. Season.
While the tomatoes are warming, chop veg and put in slow cooker
Add the tomatoes/onions
Add in pearl barley and lentils (a handful or so of each)
Make up stock and add enough to slow cooker so that it covers the veg (at least 1 pint but possibly more)

Cook. I usually start off on high for an hour or so and then put it to low for another 3 or so hours. Stir after an hour or so to make sure pearl barley isn't sticking to the bottom. Add more stock if necessary.

Check seasoning and serve with green veg and jacket or mashed potatoes (you could add potatoes to the slow cooker but I like them separate - and often don't bother with them at all)

I see it as comfort food ideal for this time of year. It's filling and very cheap. Incidentally, I'm not a vegetarian but I don't miss the meat.

I'm jumping in to follow this one - my boiler's just been condemned so any cooking until it's replaced needs to be oven or slow cooked <sigh>

Chilli
In a wok:
Fry off mince, drain excess fat.
Add fresh diced onion and garlic, finely chopped fresh chillies, as many as whatever heat you’re going for.
Add a carton of tomato passata, and crumble in a vegetable stock cube. Stir it all in wok, and heat gently for five minutes.
Drain kidney beans, rinse and add.
Add in a teaspoon of chilli powder, a dollop of tomato purée if too runny.
Transfer to slow cooker.

Thanks.

Is there a rule of thumb to reduce the liquid volume by if adapting other recipes?

I usually just reduce the amount of fluid slightly. If you still find it to much take the lid off, pop it on high for last half an hour.

This is a mild child friendly curry recipe.
www.aldi.co.uk/recipes/collections/slow-cooker/slow-cooker-chicken-curry

Our Christmas Eve Dinner every year is Sausages and Bacon Lardons with Baked Beans in a BBQ Sauce.
Fry an onion, sausages and bacon lardons till coloured. Put in the slow cooker. I make the Good Food Bbq sauce and mix it with a tin of beans. Cook on high for four hours.
(We do have it at other times of the year too!!)

This is one of our favourites, I use onion rather than leeks, as DH isn’t keen, and think one tin of beans is enough. We often put sweet potato in rather than the herb crust as well. Smells and taste amazing. I don’t pre cook anything, just chuck it in.

Also check out the taming twins website, never made a bad meal from there, and easy to adjust for number of portions.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-bean-one-potwww.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-bean-one-pot" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-bean-one-potwww.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-bean-one-pot

I use a lots of recipes for the slow cooker from the taming twins website/ book.
The lamb and spinach curry is gorgeous.

www.tamingtwins.com/category/collections/slow-cooker/

Easy roast chicken dinner

A whole chicken, whatever size fits in your slow cooker, usually medium sized here
Bag of frozen mash
Peas/carrots
Bisto best chicken granules

Sooo...unwrap the chicken, plonk it straight into the slow cooker, lid on, 5 hours on high, 8 hrs on medium (its that easy)

When its ready, carefully pour the juices from it into a saucepan (keep the actual chicken in the slow cooker with the lid on to keep it warm) and add a good splash of milk and some chicken bisto best granules until it tastes lovely, wee bit water if its too thick

Microwave the frozen mash in a glass jug or whatever, about 3 or 4 minutes does it, put a blob of butter in and a shake of salt, stir it up

Cook the veg however you want (i buy Microwave veg cos im a lazy sod)

Take as much chicken as you want per person straight out the slow cooker, add a dollop of mash and your veg, pour the yummy gravy all over....enjoy...

Bolognaise couldn't be easier: brown off the mince (my slow cooker has a saute function). Dump in half a bag of ready chopped soffrito or a quarter of a bag of onions. Salt, pepper, tube garlic (yes I am that lazy).

Once the onions are cooked off, stir in a big dollop of tomato purée, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a stock cube. Handful of oregano. Add water and stir it all up, cook on high for 4 hours.

The amount of water is the trickiest thing to get right, I eyeball it but essentially you don't want the mince covered, you want a good layer of liquid but with the top of the mince very much poking through.

Thanks again.

I'll give it a bit of trial and error.