Ok, convince me to buy a slow cooker.......

[warmsummersday]

Hi. I don't get back from the school runs until 4.15pm everyday and am thinking about getting a slow cooker. What kind of things can you cook in there? Which is a good one to get? Thanks

It is a must, really. Meat/chicken is so moist and tender. I love mine. I often prpare it all the night before and put the pot into the fridge, then bring oit out before we leave in the morning.

this is a great book for recipe ideas.

Dont know where we would be without our, infact DH has just walked in and gone hmmmmmmmmmmm Chilli

So I cook stews, Soups, Bolegnease, Saus casarole etc. it is fab

I've got a Russell Hobbs which was £15 so they are not very expensive. I love it!

half price in tescos currently

Have just bought one tonight in Sainsbury's - a third off the price.

We've just had a sausage casserole, prepared at about 1pm and left to be eaten at 5pm.

I softened onions, red pepper,chucked in a tin of tomatoes and a tin of haricot beans then put browned sausages on top and left to cook. Served with boiled potaotes tonight and both dd's who wouldn't touch an onion or a red pepper usually scoffed the lot.

Most time though I usually put everything in raw and leave for 8 hours on low, stuff like chilli / curry / spag bol.

I love mine!

get one - I got on in september for my birthday [saddo] and I love it. Put on dinner at 8.30 - 9am and by 5.30pm you have the most delicious meal - and if you go out for the day, when you come home the smell the greets you is fantastic.

I do

Beef/lamb stews
lamb shanks
chilli
lamb curry
Rice Pudding

The meat falls apart, it would make a pair of old boots tender!

I just literally (some say fry stuff first, but I don't) chop it and chuck it all in, plug in and away you go.

btw I only brown the sausages so they don't look obscene

I just did a whole chicken today - rinsed it and put it in this morning, done beautifully at tea time. Did roast potatoes in the oven but fan oven only takes 40 mins, plus some veg - somehow seemed alot easier than a normal roast.

Bolognese sauce cooked for a whole day in the slow cooker is amazing and you don't need to add any salt.
In mine at the moment, I've got spilt pea and bacon soup with home-made chicken stock - made in the slow cooker - from yesterday's chicken. How Nigella am I??

get one, they are brill ( does that convincee you!?)

There's a really good one in Makro, it's a 6.5litre one (the biggest, great for families and leftovers two days on the trot), the make is crockpot and it's down to 14.99 plus VAT! I just bought one and am now nosing at recipes too!

Chasing - do you have to put liquid in with the chicken?

DD1 loves meat from the slowcooker as it is very tender so she doesn't have to chew it for ages. It has to be the best time management tool for the kitchen! I have also cooked creme brulees in it!

Twiggy - Yes always put liquid in with meat/poultry.

no liquid - I wasn't convinced it would work but it was lovely. There was some liquid at the bottom at the end of the day - obviously from out of the chicken.

to clarify - I would always put liquid in with cubed or cut meat - this was a whole chicken and just went in as it was, no veg or anything.

Scooter how long do you do to make stock?

i am a slow cooker virgin, can you do anything in them or just stews? or is it anything but slower?

Thanks Chasing.

I got one about a year ago. Not expensive - about £17.

We love it. The meat is just lovely. Nothing ever dries out in it and you get that nice organised/dinner is under control feeling.

I know that's a very sad thing to say but I love seeing it bubbling away on the side.

It's difficult if (like me) you like to fiddle and stir your cooking though. You must not touch it or lift off the lid.

I've just got one and so far have made -
lentil casserole
veggie sausage casserole
veggie chilli
veggie bolgnaise

I've just bunged it all in raw and cooked for about six hours on medium. I am very impressed so far, especially with the chilli as the vegetables still had some texture and taste of their own, whereas in a pan they tend to all sort of take on the general chilli-ness of it if that makes sense.

So I would say, yes, get one!!!

ok well i got one as a wedding present in 1999 and hardly used it as i couldnt be bothered to brown meat then cook it again iyswim - decided this year after getting into school runs etc and having a under 1 yr old as per op to use it and dropped the lid . it is now binned. Saw them half price in tesco and was tempted again - is theone in makro bigger than tesco sale one? also in my scenario i chuck in 4 chicken breasts and a load of potatoes and veg then chuck on boiling water stock - will it a) burn down my house or dry up after 8 hrs bubbling away or b) will we all end up with salmonella poisoning coz i didnt brown the chicken? When spag bol do you just chuck inraw mince and your jar of ragu? sorry i am not very domesticated as you can gather lol!!

COV - I put it all in last night - chicken carcass, onion, carrots, tomotoes, garlic - and switched it on this morning. The stock was ready by about 6pm, for the next stage of soup-making. According to Nigel Slater, there's no right amount of time to cook stock for, you should just keep tasting it to see if it tastes right as each chicken will have different flavours. I think that's what he meant