I have just invested in a slow cooker...

[ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts]

And my DH says it will be a waste of money as I'll never use it.

I am a terrible cook, lack inspiration but really want to be able to throw some basic ingredients together and out pops a lovely meal. This can be done, yes?

I'm tired of using jars for sauces and would love to be able to use a good stock to make a lovely gravy instead of bisto.

So... can I have your all time favourite slow cooker recipes, pretty please?! :)

My slow cooker is a 3.5l and the food will need to feed me, DH and 3yo DD who eats anything and everything thankfully. DC2 is on the way so in time there will be four mouths not three.

I'm looking for ways to incorporate it into everyday use, so stews, joints, curries, anything really. but quite basic to begin with until I get the hang of things.

I hate knowing I'm not feeding my family properly and really want to learn while I have time before baby comes.

Thanks in advance :)

thefoodschool - the chickpea and chorizo sounds lovely. I have just found a recipe for a chicken and chorizo stew also, so looks like chorizo is a popular ingredient :)

There are quite a few recipes here on MN too and also on a website called MyDish if anyone else wanted to look :)

One one hand it is so good that these dishes are so versatile and you can substitute many things for others but then again when you are completely stupid like me it is nice to just be told exactly what to do and stick to that!!

Going to start with a traditional stew this weekend and then perhaps venture into more adventurous things each week. :)

good for you and by the way once you discover cooking chorizo you'll never be without it. your right chicken is good in it too. happy cooking! if you need any other tips don't hesitate - i am currently cooking my family (4) homecooked meals each night for about £30 per week and its going well.

Thanks :) any tips at all greatly appreciated.

We seem to be stuck in a loop of eating the same stuff each week. Sausages, random chicken+jar of sauce thing, frozen pizza, spag bol etc . It's grim and boring. I try hard to cook what I can fresh wise for DDs sake and we are very lucky that she will eat anything and everything. DH is more fussy than her!!

I think what I might do is look at what we eat that is ready made and try to make it from scratch.

before you all go nuts this message is specifically for ALovelyBunchOfCoconuts and i am not promoting my blog (i've only got 13 followers and am no self publicist) or being patronising

i think creating homecooked versions of 'ready meals' its a really good place to start with fussy eaters. also make simple dishes as there's absolutely no fun in slaving over a hot stove for hours and getting stressed or no satisfaction. i would say that a lot of celeb chefs have got a lot to answer for as the idea of being a domestic godess is great if you can a) afford it b) got time on your hands and c) got the skills

i'd love to help and at the risk of getting another 'flaming' from MN users i'll suggest that my blog is helpful - cheap, really easy meals and if you contact me via it i can send you loads of stuff / recipes / tricks that can help getting your family to eat nice grub.

by the way i am a food teacher and school catering consultant / trainer / manager. your welcome to get in touch or i can help via this forum. good luck

recipes-for-my-daughters.blogspot.com/

Ohhh, I like your blog lots !!!

its main function is for my daughter's to have all the meals i've ever cooked them so they may use them as they get older. they may be of use to other people, but that doesn't really bother me. thank you!

I like Annette Yates' slo cooker book - especially the Moroccan chicken and beef in brown ale

Thefoodschool - thank you :) I will take a look at your blog shortly.

You sound lovely and I wish my food teacher at school was like you :) we only learnt the technology of things as opposed to how to actually cook (not the teachers fault tho I suppose, just the curriculum) and unfortunately my mum never taught me.

I have had the idea of writing out everything I try that is successful so I have something to show my DC when they are older, so similar to what you're doing.

I have been thinking about this all evening and have already written a list of things I want to try out and ways I can do it so inspiration is definitely coming from somewhere already :)

Off to look at your blog now...

go for it! without sounding corny, cooking can be the most amazing and bonding of activites and its how i express my love for my family (hence the title). remember - simplicity is key

Simple is what I'll be aiming for don't worry

DD does love to cook and I let her do the basic chopping sometimes (shes only 3) and she'll stir anything and everythin if you let her. we make rocky road together and she likes that as it is super messy but no hot bits so i know there is not burning risk, which is good. After I've mastered some basics I might even move on to baking!

get em when they're young i say and you'll have a commis chef for life (essential for doing jobs you don't like!).keep me up to date with developments and i'll keep an eye out for you posting

Thanks TFS.

One question:

We love honey mustard chicken but the type where it is actually a creamy sauce not a spread on a drumstick.

If I wanted to recreate this chicken tonight dish from fresh, to make the sauce would I just need to make a basic roux ie flour, butter and then add double cream, honey, mustard, seasoning? I completely just made that up so forgive me if I'm wide of the mark :)

sorry only getting back now - my wife is becoming a MN widow!

you could make it like you suggested but i think you could leave out the roux part. with a dish like that brown your chicken pieces and put in a casserole or large pan with a lid. then 'deglaze' the pan with a little white wine and let it boil down to half its volume then put this in with the chicken. make up about 1/2 a pint of chicken stock and add to the chicken. cook chicken on a simmer for about 30 minutes (check thighs and drumsticks). take chicken out of pan and boil liquid down to about half its volume again. add mustard (1 tsp?) and 150ml double cream and simmer until the cream has thickened. add honey a little at a time and taste. salt and pepper if you like. its hard to give quantities for seasonings because of personal taste i.e i dont like honey much but love mustard so add a little at a time.

if you are not using chicken pieces but breasts then the principle of making the sauce is the same but in one pan.

hope that makes sense if not i've got a very similar recipe on my blog using mustard, cream and parmesan - its under french food

Ah cheers I'll keep alook out for it :)

Oh i love my slowcookers I do everything in mine - from jams and chutneys for christmas presents, to chocolate brownies and sponge puds as well as the usual stews, soups and roasts.

Easy Pork Curry

Get a couple of pork chops or steaks per person, a couple of tins of beans, a tin of tomatoes, a chopped onion and a couple of spoons of curry powder mixed with about half a tomato tin of water. Bung it all in the slowcooker for 6-8 hours on low. Serve over mash or with big chunks of fresh crusty bread. It's delicious and a real favorite in our house.

Deemented that sounds lovely :) I really like these recipes that use cheap and easy stuff like tinned tomatoes or even baked beans. I would never have thought of making curry involving baked beans but I bet its great!

Oh it is - and because it has beans in, my kids love it. And it's fairly healthy too - and Slimming World friendly too, if you're following that plan. It's great to just bung in and forget about and smells lovely cooking!

Do you leave your steaks/chops whole or chunk them up? and is there a specific order to putting them in the SC? pork steaks are on offer in my local shop so might try this in the week as well.

Have been looking at food so differently already whilst shopping this morning, appreciating how much cheaper it is to do things from scratch and have bought a few pots of dried herbs already and some tinned toms to stock up ready :)

I chuck them in whole. They fall apart when ready Just chuck it all in and give a quick stir, pop the lid on and the obs a guddun.

as a general rule leaner meat (usually more expensive and less fatty) requires quick cooking i.e steaks etc and fattier / tougher meat (considerably cheaper) i.e braisng steak, pork shoulder, lamb shoulder lends itself to longer cooking. its a 'no brainer' to use the latter option for slow cooking as the meat is tastier and cheaper while using prime lean cuts are costly and dry out due to the lack of fat / muscle

So chicken thighs are better to use than breasts? I love to use the darker meat - this was a revelation to me a few weeks ago when supermarket was out of breasts I had to buy thighs and they were so much tastier and more moist so I guess they'd be even better in a SC?

Yes - breasts dry out more than meat on the bone would. I would skin them first though.

Silverside done in the SC is lovely, as is a whole chicken - that just falls apart.

I love to use the darker meat

If you like juicy flavored thighs and drumsticks have a look for when these hit the non Italy market.

they are BRILL !!

Even I the killer of "all things chicken dish" can make nice moist dinners with this. But not the fish one. That's not so good. I still can ruin stuff no problem with that one.

only skimmed the thread so this might have been mentioned already but spag bol sauce is really yummy done in the slow cooker. i bung everything in raw.

2 tins chopped tomatoes
500g mince
biiiig squeeze tomato puree
1 chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
15ish basil leaves, torn

bung it all in and leave on low for 8ish hours. deeeelish.

what make & size of slow cooker have you all got, please? I'm wanting to get one, & am inclined to go for a 6.5 (sometimes there are 5-6 of us, & even when there aren't DH likes to have lots of leftovers for next day )