Slow cooker - is it worth it?

[LeapingSalmon]

I have recently started meal planning to help get more organised since having dc2 2 months ago, and have been wondering if getting a slow cooker might help. I like the idea of getting dinner mostly sorted at beginning of day so can give dc1 (aged 3) a bit more attention in the late afternoon when he's getting tetchy. Just not sure if it would end up taking up work surface space and would only be used once in a while for stews etc.
Do people find them useful and what are the best sort of things to cook?

YES.

Anything mince based for batch cooking. Spag bol. Chili. mince and onions. lasagne filling.

Batch cooked stews lamb beef or chicken. Then can be used as pie fillings.

Gammon (chuck some honey on after its cooked and put it in the oven for half an hour its lovely!)

I havent tried yet but I have heard it does a lovely whole chicken.

It does do a lovely whole chicken! You can also do a bacon joint in there which is lovely!

Totally worth it, I work as a childminder and on days I know I will be rushed off my feet and will want to eat my dinner as soon as the last child leaves the slow cooker is my best friend!

Get one! Slow cookers are fantastic. Don't take up nearly as much room on the side as actual cooking, only one thing to wash up (except knives and stuff, obvs) and you can just chuck it all in and leave it for 6 hours. I use mine for cooking dried chick peas/ beans etc, let them cool down then bag them up into portions and freeze them. Loads cheaper then buying tins, great for cheaply bulking out fresh ingredients and you realise how much tinned beans taste like the tins rather than the beans! I'd also recommend frozen veg to cut down even further on prep time. I don't eat meat so tend to generate mostly 'wet' stuff in mine, anything you'd basically be standing over for ages stirring, chillis, curries, stews, soup (let it cool down a bit when it's all gone soft then blitz it with a stick blender) etc, all of which are freezeable, but people do seem to cook all sorts in them, google it!

Totally worth it. Mine is playing up at the moment and it's killing me. Slowly.

Also, I feel so damn smug when I walk in and smell the dinner and I don't have to do anything at all. It's worth it just for that!

I recently bought one for the same reasons as you (new baby and 3 year old to entertain) and am quite impressed by it- especially considering how cheap they are.

Quick question for you slow cooker gurus- when you make bolognaise, curries etc do you have to fry the onions, meat etc first then transfer to the slowcooker or can you bung everything in at once?

I have a multi cooker which can fry off meat & onions then I switch it to slow cooker mode.

Morphy Richards intellichef multicooker it will

Slow Cook
Steam
Fry
Braise
Stir Fry
Boil
Grill

Personally I've never used it to stir-fry because I have woks for that but the other functions are fine.

All sounds good, thanks! I am also a recently converted veggie so learning how to cook meat based meals and think it will help (last beef stew i tried was ok but completely stuck to pan). Any other brands you'd recommend?

Great for making fluffy byrianis.