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I'm giving my slow cooker one last chance...

34 replies

storminabuttercup · 03/11/2011 11:35

I just can't get on with it, nothing ever tastes nice

I'm going to try it tomorrow as I'm late home but if it's not nice again it's going on free cycle.

I have chicken thighs (boneless and skinless) mushrooms, dried herbs and spices, plenty of tins of stuff and fresh potatoes, parsnips and carrots....

Can anyone inspire me to make something yummy?

OP posts:
GetOrfMo1Land · 06/11/2011 16:07

I think if you fry off some onions/meat etc, you may as well just carry on cooking it in the saucepan, either on a very low heat on the hob or in the oven.

And if you don't brown onions/spices it will be rank anyway, both these need to be browned, that is absolutely essential imo.

storminabuttercup · 06/11/2011 20:53

For ease I'd rather cook double in the oven and freeze some to reheat, just as easy than pissing about with the slow cooker! Grin

OP posts:
lilham · 06/11/2011 22:10

For ease I just don't do any casseroles or stews type of food that takes hours on hob or in oven. I'm definitely a sub 30min meal girl.

And agree I'd rather continue cooking in the same pot after browning onions and meat and frying the spices. And cooking double to freeze.

JenaiMarrHePlaysGuitar · 09/11/2011 17:05

I'm kind of with GetOrf on that, although the "joy" (if indeed it can be called that) of the slow cooker is that you can leave it unattended and go out.

I've yet to find a really good way to use my slow cooker though. I went through a brief period of loving it but most things I've made have been a bit meh.

moonbells · 10/11/2011 11:33

Sausage casserole: bung a tin of chopped tomatoes in cooker, skin some sausages and cut up. Roll the pieces into balls with floury hands. Add to cooker. Cover with roughly chopped onions, mushrooms and carrots and some black pepper. Add enough water to almost cover the veg, switch on and forget for a few hours. Alternatively, use passata if you don't want the tomato lumps.

Cassoulet: takes a bit of prep (boiling dried haricots for 10 mins first but you have to do that with any cassoulet) but yummy. Put in a lot of pre-boiled haricots, add offcuts of meat (pork, lamb chops, cheap sausages, bits of fatty bacon) and onions, cover with lots of water and leave on for several hours. You can use meat you have no intention of eating (the original recipes use the beans to extract the juices and flavours from the meat and then ditch the scraggy bits) and then add a few bits you do want (usually confit of duck) halfway through cooking if you're in! You can add tomato puree too, and also cloves (though not too much or they dominate!). This is a recipe which doesn't seem to suffer from overcooking. Before slow cookers, I used to cook it in the over overnight (and was responsible for me getting a Le Creuset casserole dish as I wanted one to go on the hob and in the oven. Now I have rather more Le Creuset...)

I once bought some tinned cassoulet and threw it out as it seemed to be 90% fat. So I always use fairly lean white meats, but that's only personal preference.

Pork Shoulder casserole: again one for mushrooms, carrots, other winter veg, onions and pieces of pork shoulder. I prefer diced but you can just bung shoulder steaks in.

Pot Roast Chicken
Bung chicken in whole, add about a pint of water, surround with some veg etc and season. Switch on low and leave several hours. Be prepared for it to fall to bits!

My only 'don't' is to say never add potatoes, at least for the long cook. I always find they go bitter for some reason. If it's just for the last 20 mins, eg, cubed spuds in a beef/veg casserole with dumplings, then you can add the potatoes, shove the heat to maximum, bring it to the boil and then balance suet dumplings on top to steam. Delicious. (Even if I don't eat beef any more, I remember my mum's winter stews...)

moonbells · 10/11/2011 11:34

*oven

deemented · 10/11/2011 11:42

I think i'd be inclined to give up manshape before i gave up any of my slowcookers.

They are fab. In the biggest one atm i have beef stew simmering, made with leftover roast beef. In the middle one i have a rice pud going and the smaller one i'm going to be doing a pizza fondue in tomorrow.

valiumredhead · 10/11/2011 16:41

I never brown anything and no more than a TBS of liquid in anything that goes in the SC - no need, it makes its own and that is how you get the flavour.

stayforappledunking · 10/11/2011 16:44

They are not shite Grin

One of the recipes I recently tried...gorgeous:

crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-lemon-and-dill-salmon-with.html

There isnt much I havent cooked in a slow cooker.

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