Slow cookers

[MrsCadwallader]

My sister has just bought one and is utterly evangelical and attempting to convert me

Do I need one? Are they worth having? Or will it simply spend all but the first month of its life cluttering up my worktop until my husband eventually puts it in the loft with the bread machine?

And if I do need one, does anyone have any tips? Brand recommendations? Recipes?

Thanks!

Oh I couldn't live without mine. I'm now 32 and had one since I moved out when I was 18 (my Mum insisted that I buy one) and it's still going strong.
I use it probably 4/5 times a week. I work full time and it's so nice not to have to rush about cooking dinner when I get home.
My Mum just got me a fab Slow cooker cook book for x-mas, its called something like "The busy womans Slow cooker cook book". Lots of recepies that you can just chuck things in with no pre prep at all!
I too took mine camping this year- was a god send when it rained all week and others were cooking outside in the rain

I love my slow cooker....bookmarking for receipes suggestions!

I bought one in the sale and am hoping it will be great, but I have no clue what to do with it. So, I always click on these threads and there are people saying 'oh, I've got a sausage casserole in mine as we speak' and 'chicken casserole in mine' and I really want to jump up and down like a toddler and scream - tell me how!!!!

Please please, take a minute to write down what you do with your slow cooker so a useless cook like me has a chance to emulate you. i will be incredably grateful I promise.

Please.

wheredid I had a look at that book on Amazon and the cheapest copy is £29!!

I have two (evangelical MiL) but have never really made the most of them. Have tried in vain to find a slowcooker cookbook that has recipes in that I want to eat (the only meat we eat is chicken) and so it is gathering dust.
Am enjoying the inspiration on this thread and if anyone has any good recipe book recommendations I would really appreciate them.

ok turkey casserole planned for tea, when do I put it on ?

Clemette it's not that one, I am just trying to find it! Will get back to you when/ if I find it via google.
My Mum got it at a book shop at our outlet village.
Will post when I get home tonight if no joy.

Im a useless cook.

What I do is but the packet mixes of stuff and use that. Reduce the liquid a little though as slow cooking creates liquids.

Chicken casserole mix from tescos. I add skinless and boneless chicken thighs, carrots, onions and water (if it says 3/4 pint liqid I put half way between the 1/2pt and 3/4 pint)

cook on low all day....if home and have time chuck mushrooms in for 1hr when I get home and switch it to high

LIZS. I would have put in on by now. What times tea?

Chilli con carne

Brown mince/onions Transfer to slow cooker.

Add tins of tomatoes, chilli, kidney beans.

Cook on low most of day.

Great to do a huge batch and freeze

Wow - loads of great replies, thanks!

so it seems to be a fairly resounding 'yes' from most people, then? with reservations re recipes? I'll be looking with interest at suggestions for recipe books!

I might be tempted to get one (especially as we have an Asda voucher to spend from Christmas. Oh, the glamour and excitement of my life these days ) I'm a SAHM too, but studying as well so evenings are busy - this could be a good solution (assuming I can persuade DS1 (7) that casseroles are not the work of the devil )

Thanks again - some really helpful stuff here!

MrsCadwallader. I have a couple of receipe books. I would recommend the library before buying one or the internet.

I luuuurrve my slow cooker.

I call it the 'wife' because she always has a hot dinner waiting for me when I come home - ha ha.

Main good points include:

• If I cook tea just before we eat it, kids smell the food, turn up in the kitchen, start 'helping', start fighting, and then burn their mouths trying to eat too hot food because they're impatient. With the slow cooker, we all go to the kitchen together, and it's far more civilized.
• I cook more sensible simple food if I'm not cooking hungry. I used to find that I cooked 'to my appetite' before, which always = over elaborate and leaving shocking mess that I end up cleaning the rest of the night.
• My kitchen is relatively clean at the end of the day (see above). I do all my cooking before mid day, then spend the rest of the day cleaning/holding on to my sanity/MN.
• Kids'll have a ladle-full at 5 p.m. . Then I put it on warm and DH helps himself to a ladlefull when he comes home 7/8 o'clock so I don't have to get off the sofa ..
• It's easy to clean, safe and economical. Using the oven turns my hair grey with my helpful toddler. No fishfingers in this house!

www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/

Just found this site - looks quite good. And will try the library too, thanks (as soon as I'm brave enough to go in with our very overdue books )

oops guess I'd better get a move on !

MrsCadwallader Go for it and get the breadmaker out too! Ours has been invaluable as all the idiots other people on the planet are panic buying bread. You can make yummy home made Jam in it too.
Steak and Mushroom pudding is one of my Family's fav's.

ScaredofCows I had the same issue but think I have it sussed now...brown onions on the hob, coat meat in flour and season, add to the onions and stir til you've got a kind of roux(with bits of meat and onion in!), chuck everything else into pot and add only a small amount of liquid (eg one glass of wine). I cook the onions in butter and it makes the stew quite velvety doing it this way.

My slow cooker cookbook is crap, all the recipes are add a can of soup type ones which isn't how I cook really.

I use it most days. Today I have veg curry. Experimenting with a new idea - so can;t vouch it;;l be perfect but what i did:

chopped aubergines and oil on high for about 1.5 hours. Then stirred in some curry paste, cumin, coriander plus tin chick peas and chopped butter nut squash (no need to peel). Would have liked a tin of chopped tomatoes with it, but I'd run out. Anyway - veg curry.

If I get home early i will put a cup of rice and a cup of water in the other slow cooker (I have two ) for 1.5 hrs high.

Or, you could start with the aubergine base, the add carrots and ground coriander.... roast for a while then courgette/tinned toms/passata/ketchup/breadcrumbs = ratatouille .

Lentil soup is always a stand by (lentil+water+stock cube+cumin) - any soup really.

This isn't quite 'official - but I'm not above cooking a stir fry an hour ahead, then scraping it into the slocker on 'keep warm'. No worse than lot's of restaurants do.

Three bean chilli is gorgeous (I use the Tana ramsay real family food recipe).

you must have the same cook book as me! It's really american and odd. Never found a particularly good one, tbh.

I soften my onion in a spoonfull of oil in the slow cooker for about an hour before I add other stuff. Saves making extra pan dirty, and avoids that boiled onion taste. I turn it on when I get my morning coffee, then add teh other stuff after I've finished my breakfast, so the timing works well for me.

wheredidmyfeetgo I bought Ultimate Slow Cooker solely for the Steak and Mushroom Pudding but haven't been brave enough to risk wasting a load of steak on it yet. Any tips?

I love my slow cooker BTW. Easiest thing in the world is to brown a brisket of beef off on the stove and then stick it in the slow cooker with some carrots, a parsnip perhaps, a quartered onion, maybe a stick of celery, a cup of stock and a glass of red wine.

It's important that the vegetables ae covered otherwise they don't cook properly. You can also put some potatoes in the pot too, so you don't even have to make mash (for example) to go with the beef.

It's on, reckon 4 hrs on high . When should I add my Aunt Bessie's dumpling ? Normally I allow about 45 mins

FreakoidOrganisoid I too have a book full of racipes based on condensed soup

The book I linked to in my last post is pretty good imo - and no condensed soup to be found

It's weird, because the whole benefit of the slocker is it makes it's own fricking soup while it's bubbling all day!

Doesn't need the flavour shortcut at all.

OtterInASkoda Not from a book, but I just chop my onions up and add them to the pot with the steak. Pour in water to fill the pot about hald way, add 3 oxo cubes and a bit of Bovril and leave all day. All the Mushrooms about an hour before serving.
Only faff with this is to get the pudding right I have to transfer it to a pan on the hob. Before I put the pudding on a thicken the stock up with gravy granuels. Not sure if there are some other bits your book says to add but that's a basic one and is V tasty.

OtterInASkoda and FreakoidOrganisoid that sounds like the one I have, I was a bit at the soup too. But there are some other good quick ones in there too with no prep which is why I liked it. I did one the other day with Chicken tins of tomatoes and rice, was v.tasty!

Kif my slow cooker goes on the hob too so no extra washing up

There is one recipe in there that is pork something and it says add cream of mushroom soup...I did it with mushrooms, a bit of seasoning and creme fraiche instead and it was pretty good