Bought a slow cooker today, finally, after about a year of procrastinating!

[Lulumama]

now, what can and can;t you cook in it?

was going to start with a sausage casserole.. quorn sausages, browned first, then in the cooker with tinned tomatos, some stock, onion, baked and kidney beans.

how do you know how long to cook stuff for?

what about seasoning? does it need more or less, or does it make no difference?

thanks x

i am making that tomorrow

it will be yum - loads of onions browned and mushrooms are nice (plus peppers)

why don't you try cannellini beans - also veggie stock to give it bit more depth

i cook mine for around 6 hours

i also add pototoes so i don't need to do a side dish - brown first with the onions so it is super yummy

oooh, spooky twin coincidence !!

i have borlotti beans i think

was going to throw in some lentils too.

i put loads of garlic and herbs in and it tastes fab. if its not thick enough i chuck a few lentils in near the end.

Don't put too much liquid in, it doesn't reduce as it does in the oven or on the hob

second the not too much liquid thing - it doesn't simmer off like a normal casserole. I use mine all the time, esp for spag bog etc when I have time at lunchtime to do it, but not when I need to later. they are pretty forgiving and so you can usually do something between 5-7 hours. same amount of seasoning as normal, just start a casserole as youwould normally and when it gets to simmer stage bung it inthe cooker.

Do a whole chicken next, you'll never put it in the oven again. Cut a lemon in 4, stick 2 bits up it's jacksie and the others on top and put it on high for 5ish hours. I get so much meat off chickens this way, it's ridiculous.
Lamb works well as well,
If you cook any joints of meat cut up a potato into fat chunks and put the meat on that as otherwise it just sits in it's own juice and dissolves!
Really be skimpy with teh liquid, is easy to add a bit if it looks ry after a few hours but harder to remove it without mucking up flavours.

This is quite handy..........

many of your favourite recipes can be adapted to the slo cooker using the following guide:

If recipe time
stated is:..........cook on LOW............cook on HIGH
30 mins............6-8 hours................3-4 hours
35-60 mins......8-10 hours..............5-6 hours
1-3 hours.........10-12 hours............7-8 hours

Topside of beef makes a good Sunday roast.

Can I hijack?
I have no hob at the moment, as our gas is off (building work!). Is it ok to make things like spag bol in the slow cooker, but without browning the meat first?
Is it possible to brown meat in a microwave? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but I've only just got a microwave, so am unsure what I can do in it.

I have to admit. I have never browned anything before putting it in the slow cooker. It all tastes fine though. I am sure it woud taste better if I browned it, but while I live in blissful ignorance I will never know

oooh, so many more replies!!

well, the casserole is in there, with half the amount of liquid i would usually add

will definitely try chicken in there, as we eat a lot of chicken

i am resisting the urge to remove the lid and stir !

feel so very smug organised that the dinner is all sorted..

extra time for Mumsnetting housework

it was a delish casserole.. was a bit more flavoursome, but i don;t know if it was my imagination !!

I borrowed a book from our library once which had dozens of recipes in, and a chapter at the end which went on to explain how to cook almost anything in the slow cooker, including creme caramel, and unbelievably, even a fruit cake, which would take abou 15 hours IIRC.

Do go and have a look in your local library, they are bound to have one or two slow cooker recipe books in there, and also remember that any casserole/stew or soup can also be made in a slow cooker, just give it extra cooking time.

Oh, and Jamie Oliver now says that it's unnecessary ever to brown meat before making a casserole with it. I follow his advice on this (that was always the bit I found a faff about doing a casserole) and don't find any detriment at all.

I've just put our slow cooker on. Am doing chicken chasseur. Just browned pieces of chicken with assorted veg, but heavy on the mushrooms and a pint of chicken chasseur mix from a sachet. I also added a bayleaf.

Am planning to have it with buttery jacket potatoes tonight.

Yum!

The reason you should pre-brown meat before going in the slow cooker, is to get it heated up. Not solely for flavour reasons (although that is an added benefit!).

Sorry for minor hijack, but I have a question - do slow cookers make the house smell of cooking for all those hours, or is it sealed in?

I'm thinking of getting one but as our house seems to have been carefully designed to spread all cooking smells over as wide an area as possible, I'm not sure I'd want 7 hours-worth of casserole aroma

Pesto, that's not a problem tho, as long as you give the cooker plenty of time.

If the food's in the cooker for 5 or 6 hours, it will have come up to cooking temp after about 45 mins, probably less if it's set on high.

I have, before now, shoved my liqids in the slow cooker crock pot, and got it all up to hot in the microwave, then shoved in the meat/veg and put it on to cook on the slow-cooker, but that was only cos I'd forgotten to put it on early enough.

Ah, I see.
Aniyan, the smell of chicken chasseur is permeating my house. But, in a good way

Thanks, Pesto - I'll give it some more thought, and meanwhile carry on lurking here & stealing potential recipes

great stuff, thank you all, am making soup in it today.. and will be making a goulash on saturday !

I have been known to put the ingredients in the crock pot, put the lid on and leave it in teh fridge overnight, then transfer it in the morning and add a few hours to cooking time. Means I cna go out first thing and come back after a full day to tea, veyr handy!

Aniyan, It does make the whole house smell, for hours, but I quite like openeing the door to lovely food cooking!

Jack, yes I've done the same. If you're out from 9 - 5, on a standard working day, it has plenty of time to come up to proper cooking temp.

can i throw frozen chicken into slow cooker mine has just arrived at the door ten mins ago lol