Slow cooker every night?

[DumbleDorkReturns]

Due to big changes to mine and my husbands work schedules due to covid we are out the house at very different hours and meal times have become very erratic and lazy. Lots of takeaways and freezer meals.

We have 2 children's aged 6 and 12 so this needs to change.

Does anyone use a slow cooker every day?

And can someone give some meal ideas please. We all eat meat / fish etc and no allergies.

Thanks

Same question here, watching with interest.

Also keen to know

I thibk the beauty if the slow cooker is that iys really easy to cook so you dont have to use it every day.

So make some mince fir a spag bol and turn the left overs into a shepherds pie.

Make a big stew that will do you 2 days.

Pulled pork is a good one to do. Again do a big joint then have the left overs the next day with some rice and veg.

I don't use a slow cooker every day, but I do a few things in it: soups, Bolognese, a tomato meatball sauce, pulled pork, a pork and apple and cider dish, I'm sure there are others I do too.

I don't think I would want to be limited to slow cooker food every day? I do quite a few things that I freeze just before baking, you could do that in individual portions maybe? Also stuff that cooks quickly like salmon parcels etc so the person cooking preps them all and the eaters just pop them in?

We’re fine at the moment, but when we were shorter on prep time we did a mix of slow cooker and very fast.

Very fast meals were those that could be cooked in the tone the pasta takes to cook. So:

Bacon cream and garlic pasta
Or stir fry (prepped veg in advance)
Etc.

Just gives a bit of variety. Also Monday would be using up leftovers from Sunday.

For a while I used mine every second day or so during the week when we all came in at different times. Like most above have said it's bolognaise or chicken curry or something like that. I have done a whole chicken in it and it was lovely and just fell off the bone. I sometimes just cook plain chicken breast in it which can be used in salads or sandwiches as well as other uses.

No real receipts to share but there are loads online which are easy to use.

I do spag bol in the slow cooker at least 3 meals worth. One goes in freezer one becomes cottage pie/topping for jacket spud

I also do this in slow cooker
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/braised_steak_with_gravy_24508

Sausage casserole, stew beef/chicken

I have found that beef and pork recipes work well but chicken is another matter. Yesterday I made a slow cooker abomination using chicken breasts, carrots, potatoes, half a lemon and oregano. Bit of flour to thicken. Not sure what I was thinking.

Gammon joint is lovely cooked in the slow cooker.

I have found that stews don’t work well for me but recommend:

Whole chicken: just put it in. Serve with Microwave rice and veg
Ham: serve with mash (I reheat from frozen) and peas and parsley sauce
Chili: with rice
Ragu: serve with spaghetti one night then turn the rest into lasagne
Barbecue pork ribs

I also do a full batch of whatever I'm cooking, divide into 3, eat one, freeze one, have one a day or two later. Love my sc.

I use it probably 2-3x a week. I often double up on recipes so I can then freeze some of the meals I’ve made. As a rule I don’t cook after work, I just reheat my previously cooked meals.

What model slow cooker have you got?
Right now, this minute, in my kitchen I have 3 slow cookers on the go. 2 x Morphy Richards Sear and Stew and one Cooks Professional triple pot.
I am not a Professional, just a very enthusiastic slow cooker fan!
I don't use the Sear and Stew on the hob to brown anything. I could, they are metal inner pots and designed to do this.
Put non green veg and potatoes on the bottom, place raw chicken thighs on top. Pour over hot stock. On high while you are out at work, turn down to medium when you get in, and place the handle of a tea spoon under the lid, resting on the pot, to act as a vent and reduce to a thicker gravy. An hour or so.

A small whole chicken cooks meltingly well in a SC. Put in raw, breast down, drizzle olive oil over, a pinch of salt and squirt of lemon juice. Medium while at work, when you get back vent with tea spoon if not brown enough to your taste.

If you like green olives, drain a small jar of de-stoned variety, and tip over above chicken when you first put in pot. They cook in the olive oil and are super moreish

Meatballs, sausages, fish in paper bags etc cook in 1 1/2 - 2 hours in a pre-heated pot. Meatballs and sausage need turning to brown all over.

Dumplings are super fluffy. About 30-45 min into pot after you get home to your casserole. Just one bowl and a spoon to mix up. Add cheese or herbs, use mixing spoon to drop dumpling into casserole and quickly get the lid back on. On High.

Soup is wonderful. Add mini pasta shapes last 45 mins.

Ooh and curry. Meat or veg. Hot or mild. Tomato or creamy. Thousands of recipes online.

I use 5 times a week usually.

How do you turn a bolognaise sauce in to a shepherds pie? Wouldn’t it be full of tomatoes?

I'm not classy enough to actually make all these separate mince mixtures.

I make one generic standard beef ajd tomato based one and thats the base
For lasagne, shepherds pie, sonetimes even a pasta bake too.

I await my flaming

A, whole chicken dumped in is easy. Or a tin of pineapple tipped in with a joint of ham on top.

@Poppyolive90

How do you turn a bolognaise sauce in to a shepherds pie? Wouldn’t it be full of tomatoes?

I often wonder this as it comes up all the time on here. People come on and say they make a big bolognese then use it for cottage pie and chilli. I really don't get it. The three are completley different things, differengt flavours and really not interchangable.

Oo following to come back to, have just dusted the slow cooker off now that the kids are in school and we're eating at different times. This week I was going to try chicken thighs cooked in a bit of stock, honey and mustard. Last week I did a sausage and apple pot. The one before I did chicken curry just with a tin of tomatoes, garam masala and yoghurt stirred through.

I guess I could make a soffrito and brown the mince and then split it in two for a cottage pie or lasagne, then just change the tomato volume and my choice of spices etc. But Bolognese and cottage pie aren't really the same thing in my head so I wouldn't go any further along in the process.

I don't use mine daily but at least once a week usually. I like to try a lot of new recipes but they can be a bit hit and miss so takes a while to find what works for you.

I regularly make:
Pulled pork - just put a shoulder joint in SC on low for several hours until it can shred easily, then add bbq sauce.
Mexican casserole - www.wellplated.com/crock-pot-mexican-casserole/
Beef & broccoli - tasty.co/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-and-broccoli
Beef & ale stew - www.schwartz.co.uk/products/recipe-mixes/slow-cookers/slow-cookers-beef-ale-stew-recipe-mix
Crack chicken - www.themagicalslowcooker.com/slow-cooker-crack-chicken/
White chicken (or turkey) chilli - www.thechunkychef.com/slow-cooker-creamy-white-chicken-chili/#wprm-recipe-container-8881

Personally I hate them. Thin, watery sauces and overcooked meat and veg. Little control. On/off/medium or high. No browning and generally just unnecessary.

With good planning you can make better quality food with conventional methods and reheat. Batch cook twice a week and you’ll feed your family with ease, leaving some days for convenience / takeaway because it’s fun.

Chicken fajitas.

Soy, ginger garlic chicken thighs.

Mushroom risotto.

Lamb tagine.

Vegetable / chicken chow mein.

Proper ragu using non-minced meat such as beef shin and pork shoulder.

A mild curry that the kids can’t not like.

Roasted vegetables to go with any of the above.

The slow cooker should be labelled as a cult. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Scientologists were behind it.

Buy an instant pot instead much better tasting food, can stick it on and get on with other things, keep warm for people eating at other times. Very fast and easy risotto

I couldn't do a slow cooker every day, even though I love mine. But they are good and there's no reason why yo can't do a stew or whatever one day and then have a second meal for another day. Using it twice a week you'd rapidly get to having food for four days just through the slow cooker.

I have been developing quick easy things to cook that can be served at different times. A lot of pasta sauces can be made and mixed with pasta and reheated or, worst case, each person makes their own pasta when they need it. DH used to eat a lot of couscous when he was working weird hours - it would be his carb alongside whatever I'd made that could be heated up when he got in. Chicken fajitas can easily be made by one person then just heat the mix and the wraps for eating as you need them.

Also often do a roast chicken with veg and new potatoes which call all easily be microwaved as needed. Left over chicken can then be used in a salad or risotto the next day.

I do a sausage casserole in my sc, diced carrots , diced sweet potatoes, 2 tins chopped tomatoes, a load of sausages, 250ml water, an oxo cube, spoon of tomato puree, sprinkle of thyme. I boil up some penne pasta to do with it.

I do find that meals tend to taste similar when slow cooked. I always use mine for beef stew, lamb shanks, root veg stew and gammon joint - things that would always be done long and slow. I rarely use it for anything else.