Please hit me with your slow cooker recipes!

[TakingControl2023]

Life is hectic and overwhelming.

Lack of sleep means I'm making poor food choices and I've gained weight, which I need to lose before it gets out of hand. I don't eat enough vegetables... And it's only going to get busier in the new year.

I would love to start using my slow cooker most days to cook healthy, nutritious meals. Something that can be ready at tea time without me rushing in the kitchen with kids under my feet. Something I can prepare on a morning when I still have a little energy.

But I really need some more ideas of what to do in it, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated I'm trying to be a little cost-conscious, but happier to make a couple of slightly pricier meals a week. No allergies or intolerances, we all eat meat.

TIA!

I don't have any but I'm following your thread OP as I'm in similar situation!

This is always a hit in our house. I add button mushrooms right before the end, and serve it with mash and/or crusty bread

Used mine this morning to cook braising steak. Add raw braising steak, 3 tbsp tomato purée, a tbsp of onion chutney if you have it , a sliced onion, 3 cloves garlic crushed, thyme, bay leaf, glass of wine if you have it or a glass of water, a crushed beef stick cube. Cook low all day. Serve with whatever you wish. We had it with mashed potato and broccoli.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/burnt-aubergine-veggie-chilli
this works well in the slow cooker and is delicious. Do the aubergine first (obviously 🙂) and fry the onion and carrot. Then add everything to slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours.

The after school club at my school uses it a lot. They cook gammon in there. It’s really succulent just plopped in with no liquid at all.

Thanks for all the posts so far, some really good ideas

www.delish.com/uk/cooking/recipes/a29185240/slow-cooker-pulled-pork-recipe/

This is a winner

RecipeTinEats has a slow cooker section here. I’ve never tried it as I don’t own a slow cooker but I love every recipe I’ve tried from her website so I reckon her slow cooker ones will be great too.

I ad libbed this recipe recently and it was great, we had heaps left over:

8 pork chops
2 eating apples (can be going a bit soft)
1 onion, chopped
1 small swede, peeled and cut in 2cm thick slices
1 sachet of Schwartz pork casserole seasoning + water (use about 50ml less than it says on the packet, as your slow cooker retains all the steam)
1 level tsp dried sage
1 level tsp dried rosemary
Enough small potatoes for the family, peeled (i used Maris Piper and cut the larger ones in half)
A dessertspoon of light soy sauce

I served it with steamed sprouts and carrots.

Yes the key with slow cookers is less liquid as it doesn’t reduce or dry up like the oven.

Taming Twins has brilliant slow cooker recipes on her website or check out her Instagram too :)

Succulent Butter Chicken
(this always goes down well whenever I make it)

it’s from The Tasty website.

I usually do it in the morning around 11am and have it on a low setting for 6 hours or so.

4 chicken breasts, chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced ( I brown the onion and garlic off in a pan before adding to slow cooker but you don’t have to)
½ cup tomato puree (100 g)
¾ cup natural yogurt (200 g)
1 ⅔ cups coconut milk (400 mL)
½ cup butter (100 g)

rice, to serve
coriander, to garnish

Stew and dumplings is always a winner

Soups

Chilli or bolognese

Curries

I adapted this www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/horseradish_and_mustard_10990 for the slowcooker yesterday. It's delicious.

This - we use Richmond meat free sausages or other veggie sausages. So easy and reliably delicious.

I love Scott Baptie for his high protein slow cooker recipes. He has a huge variety of recipes inspired by different cuisines so it never tastes the same - I see people complain that slow cooker food all tastes the same - and they're super simple too. He also understands not using too much liquid! I've got a Belgian inspired beef stew in the pot today - perfect in the snowy weather!

www.foodforfitness.co.uk/7-delicious-slow-cooker-recipes/

Some recipes are free on social media/YouTube and he has downloadable slow cooker special recipe books for a small fee.

If you can get your hands on them via shop or library, I also rate Sara Lewis slow cooker cookbooks and the slow cooker section of the Mumsnet Top Bananas cookbook. The Cowgirl Stew and Totally inauthentic Mexican chicken are both hits in our house.

Sometimes I also do a small whole chicken on a bed of roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, any other root veg you fancy, some garlic gloves and herbs and sprinkle over a stock cube / seasoning. The skin won't be crispy obviously but you'll get lovely tender chicken and soft veggies. You can thicirkn the liquid with cornflour and serve with crusty bread like a stew.

Any kind of pulled pork / gammon joint recipe also does very well in slow cooker too.

thicken*

I do my chilli in the slow cooker and it’s really easy and really good!

Add beef mince, frozen onions, frozen sliced peppers (can use fresh obviously but this is easier), a whole jar of red jalapeños (liquid as well), 2 beef stock cubes, a sprinkle of thyme and salt and pepper to the slow cooker, fill up the jalapeño jar with water and add, mix and then cook on low for 8 or high for 4.

Half an hour before ready to eat add a can of drained kidney beans (or 2) and some gravy granules to thicken it up a bit.

Oxtail and red pepper braised with onion, garlic, ginger and chilli. Stock, sugar and soy sauce - delicious.

Are you on Instagram? I follow an account called the Batch Lady on there and she has lots of slow cooker recipe ideas. Also one called Bored of Lunch.

Taming Twins website! Oh my gosh their slow cooker recipes are the BEST! So tasty!

Goulash:

400-500g stewing steak. Toss the chunks generously in cornflour - about two tablespoons
Two large peeled carrots, chopped into thick coins
Two red peppers, deseeded and cut into thick pieces
1-2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Either 4 shallots or 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 - 1 small carton of passata (depending on how much liquid you like)
2 heaped tablespoons smoky paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 heaped teaspoon of garlic granules or powder or 3-4 cloves peeled and chopped
beef or veggie stock cube
salt and pepper
bayleaf
teaspoon of brown sugar (optional)
splash of red wine (optional)

Ideally you'd fry the beef, garlic, onion and peppers a bit first until caramelised. But if in a hurry you can literally just bung everything in, give it a good stir and leave it to cook.

Chopped up lamb. Toss it in a mix of flour, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, ginger. Brown then stick in the slow cooker. Add chunks of butternut squash, carrot, swede. Add can of chickpeas. Sprinkle in more spices. Add a stock pot of your preference. Add chopped apricots, lemon juice, and either pomegranete molasses or honey. Sprinkle some flaked almonds if wished. Cook and enjoy.