[Bethslosttheplot]

Having no kitchen due to renovations we live from the slow cooker,an have a few books but we just try anything and see how it turns out...

The two best results are

4 chicken legs marinade over night with garlic chilli onion peppers and a bottle of shop brought reggae sauce - switched in on before work came home put some summer cabbage in the steamer, brown rice mixed with turtle and black eye beans and serve!!!  Delicious....  Better than the carribean takeaway  

The other is steak and liver casserole type thing, stewing steak same amount of lambs liver cover with water add bouqet garni bay leave pepper corns etc and leave on all day, the liver just melts into the water making a really rich gravy...  served with mashed potato and kale...

(The dog loves this one too she gets all the liver with kale and gravy!)

[chickchick]

i do a tasty beef bourignon in mine, use braising steak (cubed, and browned first) sliced carrots, button mushrooms, shallots (whole) ermmmm beef bourignon mix (sorry) and lots of red wine and cook all day, serve with mash and peas or crusty bread, yum

[Elcie]

I have been thinking about buying a slow cooker for a while, these recipes are definitely encouraging me!

[Elcie]

I bought one today hurray!  Was reduced from £35 to £25 and is a 6.5L biggie.  Was supposed to have a recipe book with it but it was missing  :roll:   Phoned company and they were very helpful and putting it in the post tomorrow so will let you know if I try any of them and they are tasty!

[SalJ1980]

Yay, well done Elcie, slow cookers are great!  

[mrs bouquet]

Don't forget that you can cook all your Chicken, legs of lamb, gammon etc
in there as well.  I have just done "roast chicken"  and then put all the carcass, straight back in with all the juices, gravy, any left over veg, and bits of stuffing, in fact anything.  It will now cook overnight, when I will strain, and add the remainder of the cooked chicken, veg and finally pasta, and serve tomorrow with chunks of bread.  
It is also excellent for your puds on Christmas Day.  Mrs Bouquet

[chickchick]

mrs b, how do you do a Christmas pud in a slow cooker?, sorry :oops:

[kezlou]

good question chick chick thats what i was going to ask mrs b

[mrs bouquet]

mrs b, how do you do a Christmas pud in a slow cooker?, sorry :oops:

You take the paper off, put the pud in its container into the cooker with enough water to go 1/2 way up the container, and pop the lid on.  I normally put mine on in the garage late on Christmas Eve.  Gets it out of the way when there is so much going on in the kitchen.
PS: I forgot to say, make sure you keep the top of pud covered with greaseproof or foil,  but if its a shop one, they are usually in a plastic pot with a lid.  Mrs Bouquet

[Bethslosttheplot]

Well I am calling it that... its more of what I had to hand  

Ham / Gammon Joint.....  1/4 fill pot with water roughly chopped onion pepper corns 1/2 stick of cinnamon, clves, bay leaves, and left for a couple of hours, took out the joint (which was falling apart yummy!!) and then added two tins of plums toms a good dash of red wine vinigar clove of raw garlic then blended with hand blender, its now like a thick tom soup or a passata type mix, got a variety of tinned beans (butter / harricot / cannallini), and to save putting the steamer on I added about 200 grms of wholegrain rice to the pot. Roughly sliced the joint (now removing the fat for the birds) and popped it all back in on high for 3 - 4hours.

It was really delicous, and could have fed the 5 thousand cause the rice turned into a rissotto type bulging grain...  Cheap filling and easy to make!!

[Jellyhead]

Just a word of warning, any meat on the bone cooks beautifully in the slow cooker but be very careful cos the meat falls off the bones and with chicken especially the bones just go everywhere if you stir it. I have cooked legs of lamb and if the lid doesn't go on I cover it with foil and then rest the lid on top, after 4 or 5 hours you can pull the leg clean out :roll: yum yum yum. Also gammon joints are moist and tender too. I love the slow cooker, wouldn't be without it

[Yorkie]

You're right about the bones.

I made a chicken dish with thighs from the butcher.  The recipe said cook on high, which I did - boiling rather than simmer.  The bones and joints have simply disintegrated so it's a nightmare to eat as there are lots of small bones and things all over the place.

Will probably do the recipe with chopped chicken pieces rather than joints next time, and use auto rather than high.

[Elcie]

We used the slow cooker for the first time today to make a beef casserole.  My 10 year old son was involved from the start, chopping carrots and mushrooms.  When we got home in the evening he couldn't believe the smell and spent about 5 minutes just standing near the slow cooker smelling and watching it!

The meal was delicious, but for anyone wondering whether to buy one I would say - go for it.  Even if only to encourage the kids to cook and eat healthily.

[SG6]

So far as books go I bought 2 a while ago:
The Australian Womans Weekly series picked up the Casserole and Slow Cooker one and also the Casserole and One Pot recipe one.

Had bought a slow cooker and wanted ideas. Both have a fair selection, just haven't used it much in the last few months.  :?

Find a Waterstones and you should be able to find one or both, they usually stock lots. They may do a small "pocket" version (no idea what they are listed as although I have several) which would be cheaper and would give you some ideas. Try Amazon?

[Parsnip]

Guess where my slow cooker is..........



I'm ashamed to say it's in the garage :oops:

I bought it about five years ago, used it about three or four times to cook beef casserole, thats it..funny thing is , we love that sort of slow cooked stuff...I reckon I should dig it out... :roll: