Let's get the slow cookers out!

[mummydummyabc]

It's September! The weather is definitely starting to feel autumnal! It's slow cooker season! So far I have made pork roast, spaghetti Bol, sausage casserole and chicken casserole. Any other recommendations or easy recipes?

I’m cooking chicken, chorizo and chickpea stew today. To be served with warm baguette and salad.
I really need more family friendly veggie meal ideas for the slow cooker, I always default to soup.

Do you have a recipe for that @tankgirl97? Sounds yummy.

I do a kind of mix between these two recipes chocolate, skip the booze from the first one and add more tomatoes like the second. I like using cooking chorizo (not the salami kind).

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chorizochickenandchi_87895

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3147690/chorizo-and-chickpea-stew

Beef Goulash - www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/180653/beef-goulash

I cooked this this week, suprisingly tasty for so few ingredients. Just cooked off all meat and onions/peppers and then threw rest in slow cooker.

Thanks @tankgirl97

I do a lot of lamb stews in mine, the occasional beef stew and chicken. A new one we're liking is chicken pieces browned off then added with about 1/3 cup each of balsamic vinegar and honey. Recipe calls for garlic and coriander (ground) but I don't use the garlic as it makes it bitter. Also whole peeled carrots. Pour the sauce ingredients around and over chicken/carrots and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Really nice.

Also keen to do more veggie versions. I have a butternut and spinach curry recipe which is a bit of a faff on stove top so am planning to see if I can adapt that for slow cooker. Ditto I have a chickpea curry recipe DH and I used to have all the time I want to try in slow cooker.

I like that bean and sausage casserole but I think I'd probably do it with regular beans rather than baked beans (cannelini probably) and add a bit of extra stock or passata. I think I might give it a try.

DH hates anything in the slow cooker so thought I’d try a roast chicken and see if I can change his mind! Roll on Sunday 😋

Dh isn't big fan of slow cooker stuff either but it's a texture thing - he doesn't really like he whole "meat falling off the bone" thing eg wouldn't dream of ordering pulled pork or lamb shank in a restaurant.

With lamb stew, i use a relatively low ratio of meat and always add lentils or beans because he loves the flavour just not big chunks of meat.

@blingloving was that my one? I do it with canellini beans as well but I chucked some baked beans in at the last minute as I thought it wouldn't go far enough. Also added mushrooms, peas and chilli flakes to the recipe, and a bit of tomato puree.

Yes chocolate... Good ideas re the chilli flakes. Ditto peas. Definitely going to give it a bash.

@PinkDaydreams if you scrunch some silver foil into balls (about tennis ball sized) and put the chicken on top it stops the bottom of the chicken going soggy, or potatoes and carrots can do a similar job. I do slow roast lamb shoulder in mine and then the leftover lamb gets shredded and goes back in with onions, carrots, garlic, lamb stock cube and rosemary and I make shepherd's pie with it. Sweet potato and lentil curry and pork belly, chorizo and butter bean casserole are also slow cooker favourites here.

@HippyChickMama thank you for the foil tip

Love this thread will be dusting off my slow cooker.

Over the rainbow minestrone
www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/over-the-rainbow-minestrone/

I'm following with interest. I've not had much success with my slow cooker- not sure if it's me or the cooker or both......

Coconut quinoa curry (veggie)

www.simplyquinoa.com/slow-cooker-coconut-quinoa-curry/

I guessed some of the quantities (US recipe with tins in oz) and only had one tin of coconut milk, but my family really enjoyed this.

DH made a lovely ox cheek stew this week. Just browned ox cheeks, and chucked in diced carrot, onion and celery, a stock cube and a little water. The fat from the cheeks melted into quite a thick sauce. It was lovely.

I make this in the slow cooker https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/ribragg_28935/amp
It's super yummy and a very economical cut.

This is also a good slow cooker recipe, but with much less stock required.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipe/braised-beef-onepot

@PinkDaydreams I have I chopped a couple of onions and placed them on the bottom of the slow cooker and laid the chicken on top. The only things is the skin doesn't brown and crisp but you can take it out and finish it off in the oven afterwards. The chicken was melt in the mouth and fell straight off the bone

CaptainmyCaptain agree that not browning off sausages first can make for a strange 'floppy willy' texture lol The recipe I follow for sausage casserole.....

6 or 7 good quality sausages
2 sliced onions
3 chopped carrots
Some mushrooms if you desire
1 pint of chicken stock
Little bit of dried rosemary
Veg oil for frying sausages
3 tablespoons of chicken gravy granules

Set your slow cooker on medium and add chicken stock.
Brown off your sausages in a frying pan for 5 mins.
Add onions, carrots and mushrooms to chicken stock, then add sausages.
Put lid on and after an hour turn to low.
Cook for 5 - 6 hours.
Towards end you can thicken with gravy granules and cut up the sausages with scissors.
Serve with mashed potato:)

Here’s the recipe!

Oh my other one didn’t post!

It’s for Mongolian beef, just chuck it all in give it a mix and leave.

I have an instant pot so I used the pressure cooker setting for half an hour and that gave the same results.

@TankGirl97 we're a formally veggie family (craved meat in pregnancy) and still eat veggie a lot, but I've not found any decent veg recipes for slow cooker.

I think the problem is that slow cookers make everything taste the same, so veg recipes are boring as every mouthful is identical.

They're good for cooking dried beans tho or soup/dhal where it's ok for the flavour to mix.