Slow cooker meal ideas

[incognito1991]

I have a 2 year old and I’m currently pregnant, my partner works late so isn’t home for dinner time (I save his for when he gets in at 9). Looking for some slow cooker meals I can do when he’s working to make it easier for me. I do curry and beef stew in it at the moment, I tried to do chilli con carne a few weeks ago but ended up like slip, the mince mushed up and was very watery, I’m pretty useless with cooking so ideas and recipes would be useful please.

There are a few Bored of Lunch slow cooker recipe books and they're brilliant.

I use my s.c. a lot, but I adapt recipes to suit it.

Liquid does not evaporate the way it would in the oven or on the hob, so use less of it. If it's still too watery at the end, I suggest you decant excess liquid to a saucepan & boil it hard on the hob.

Herbs tend to lose their flavour , so add them towards the end of cooking.

I make this beef and broccoli all the time. I do cook the broccoli separately and add at the end. Loads of other ideas on her website. Archer kitchen, Dean Edwards and Bored of Lunch all have great slow cooker recipes on their socials.

Mince really does need browning off before adding to the slow cooker or the texture can be funny but I prefer doing chilli con carne with diced beef in my slow cooker.

The Taming Twins site linked above is great for slow cooker recipes, we love the pulled pork

Gammon / coca cola. It is infallible and very tasty. Easy as pie. Gammon joint, coca cola, turn it on, do veg and potatoes and Robert is your parental sibling.

I make chilli with casserole beef, not mince, so much nicer.

I do a chicken and bacon thing which is nice.

Skin on chicken legs - I sear in a pan before putting in slow cooker.
Then I fry onion, garlic, diced bacon, and add that to slow cooker
Add stock, chopped potatoes, chopped carrots, mustard, salt, pepper.

Right before serving, stir in some crème fraiche.

Lentils are brilliant for slow cookers. Add them to mince or stews.

I brown off all meat (especially mince) before putting it in the slow cooker. No matter how low the fat content - it all needs to go.
It also stops the meat from going sloppy and makes it much tastier.

Bored of Lunch has a slow cooker book with 6 ingredients or less and it’s AMAZING haven’t had a duff recipe yet!!

Another vote for Bored of Lunch. This book is like my bible https://amzn.eu/d/05WifCM0

This is lush https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/braised-beef-onepot

AT THE MOMENT half shoulders of lamb, pork shoulder and some beef joints are half price in Tesco - all slow cook fantastically . Just cut a potato or onion in half , place on the base of the SC, add a splash - and I mean a splash - of water or stock , put the joint on top, season, put on high for 4 to 6 hours - and you have the most moist tender joint going . With pork shoulder, Ill do a roast dinner on day one, pulled pork however the next , chicken, roast dinner, a pie, soup , risotto /chinese etc, beef roast, stew, soup.

Slow cooking makes it so much easier to remove all the meal from fat/bones so you can use cheaper cuts - big savings

Most supermarkets sell packet mix’s from Schwartz (usually around £1) which are specifically intended for the slow cooker. Although the sachets are nothing more than a combination of dried herbs & spices, they do list all the ingredients that you need and might give you some inspiration. I regularly have a browse through them when I am inspired to try something new.

Any recipes with chicken need to have their cooking times halved, unless you like the taste of greasy, overcooked chicken. Once the slow cooker is at temperature, chicken cooks in a similar time to a stovetop recipe. More positively, this does mean you can make a good curry in 60 - 90 minutes.

I agree with the recommendations for Taming Twins and good food sites, it’s easy to find recipes that you like. I regularly make the peanut butter and butternut squash curry from TT. I’m also a big fan of the Pataks triple pack curry spices and if you add a tin of tomatoes you can usually make double quantities.

Meatballs work really well in the slow cooker I think
I also chuck some chicken thighs and chickpeas, onion and a kindof harissa /shawarma mix of seasoning and some tomatoes and that works out pretty well

Bored of Lunch Facebook page has free recipes you could try to see if you like them.
Put a tea towel under the lid to absorb excess moisture.