Hi,

Bought a slow cooker 10 months ago and never used it!! I am now determined to use give it a go, Has anyone got any tasty recipes for a slow cooker..

Many thanks

Hi Livtoots, I got a slow cooker years ago. You can basically cook anything in it that you would do in the oven. You should have got a recipe booklet with it. I put mine on at night, on low, and by morning its cooked. I do full chickens with no stocks added. It comes out really tender, falling off the bones, and looking like you roast it. I do my joints of rolled lamb, pork, now beef, I use brisket (cheap) and add some stock and a few chopped up carrots, any herbs, dried or fresh. Slices of garlic. Anything you like the taste of. What exactly do you want to cook? You can make a full lasagne, but I have not tried that. So long as you cut up veg fairly small or sliced thinly it will cook. I am not keen on potatoes in the slow cooker though. Meat, when cut up cooks quicker than the vegs. Braised steak and onions is nice. Always remember to brown meats first and make sure any liquids you use are boiling before adding them. Post another message about what you would like to cook and I'll try and send you some recipes. What make is it?
Good luck.

a whole chicken with no liquid/stock in the slow cooker? does that work or have i misunderstood?!

Yes. sparkly, it really does work. The lid seals as it gets cooking and it generates its own juices. I found with some of the cheaper slow cookers, of which I have another one, the lid doesn't seal properly and it loses some of the steam generated inside, then it can dry out on the bottom. This one I wouldn't leave to cook overnight. Its ok for doing stews and soups in though because you already have alot of stock. I have a morphy richards, variable heat, its a good un. I couldn't be without mine. I have even 'roast' chicken legs. Yes you can roast in them. I don't add liquid when I cook Pork or Lamb. Hope this answers you question.

Snowlight, The slow cooker was a cheap one! thought I would get a better one if I used it.. I would like to cook stews, curry, lasagne, or soups. recipes would be great!!

Many thanks

Ok Livtoots, I'll get on to it as soon as I can. Only one thing though It means me typing out the whole recipe on this message board. Its ok I don't mind. I'm a fast typist. I'll do one recipe at a time. Keep watching this space!

Oh, yeah, forgot to mention it but you can buy slowcooker recipe books. If you type slow cooker recipes in your google search it should come up with some sites. Just browse through them, download any recipes you fancy then.

Thanks Snowlight, have downloaded a couple of recipes, but wanted some tried and tested ones. I do really appreciate the time you are taking to type up the recipes for me.. Many thanks

Hi Livtoots, do you like spaghetti Bolognese, chilli con carne, Beef casserole,Chicken and mushroom casserole, Lentil soup, veg. soup? I've got a cook book somewhere, will have to have a good look for it. What about a bacon joint, this can be cooked in some cider as well as some stock, add a chopped up apple. Make sure liquid is near top of joint. For a 2.5 ltr slow cooker you can cook up to a 1kg joint if its a larger slow cooker you can cook up to a 1.5 kg joint. Cook for approx 5-7 hours (medium)Drain, cool slightly, then remove the skin. Allow to cool, then wrap tightly in kitchen foil. Place in the fridge until well cooled. Put the stock into a jug or container and let it set. You can then skim the fat off and you've got stock for your soups. Bacon joints are good value for money. Get them in the bacon chiller in the supermarket. Let me know if you fancy any of the above and I'll send through the recipes.

Hi Snowlight, The chilli con carne, Beef casserole, Chicken and mushroom casserole and Lentil soup would give me a goos start, then I could adapt my own recipes

Hi, Livtoots, ready?
Lentil soup - I don't go by the one in the recipe book.
Use orange lentils or split yellow peas. I pour over boiling water and let them soak overnight. Rinse and put in slow cooker.Then I add an onion that has been chopped and slightly cooked (in the microwave, makes life easier). Add a few chopped or sliced carrots to the slow cooker, add garlic if you like, if you have any stock, say from the joint of bacon I mentioned before, heat it up in the microwave and add to the slow cooker. If you have no stock make some with any stock cube you have handy. Make sure the lentils etc are covered by the stock. Add any dried herbs you like. Give it a stir. Put cooker on after about 7 hours.,just check to see if the lentils are cooked, if not just leave a little longer until cooked. You can use up any leftover celery or you can add bacon chopped up and put in with the other ingredients if you wish. I can,t give exact amounts because I just add what I have in. If you have a large slow cooker it should work out approx as 1 litre of stock to 150g lentils, I think. I always just make sure that all the ingredients are covered, and do a couple of checks whilst it is cooking to make sure in case it needs any more liquid. If you want a creamy soup, then liquidise with a blender, the hand one is best, after cooling it. You could garnish with some coriander leaves and put a swirl of cream or fromage frais on top when serving. I,ve made this soup and frozen it in portion sizes so when I want some soup I just lift out one container, lid off, and in the microwave. Always use lentils etc by the use by dates because after that they become too dry and will never cook. Thats one recipe down, many more to come.

Enjoy

Livtoots, Just answer me one thing, do you have a 6.5 or a 3.5 litre slow cooker? Cos amounts in them vary. The casserole recipes I can down size for you if you have the smaller size.

Snowlight.

Snowlight, Its a 3.5litre. thanks for 1st recipe. Am going to try over weekend.

I didn't know you could cook chicken, pork or lamb without liquid. I also have a Morphy Richards slow cooker - what setting do you put them on and how long do you cook them for? Many thanks.

Snowlight, Have purchased some stewing beef - could you please send me a recipe using that when you have some time.....many thanks

Livtoots

Lamb shanks easy and resonably cheap
you need the shanks some garlic, redcurrent jelly and some stock, seasoning and chuck it all in leave it overnight or all day and then served with brie mash
delish

Soon as Livtoots. Got a busy day today will do tomorrow.

Wow that lamb shank one sounds good. Think I'll get the ol' slow cooker out and give it a go!

oriental honeyed pork, this is a really tasty slow cooker recipe.(amounts are for 4.5 litre cooker) cube 1kg pork fillet &toss in seasoned flour/cornflour(or iv done it with up to 6 -8 pork chops),heat oil in a pan,&fry 1 lge chopped onion & 2 crushed garlic cloves,add pork & lightly brown,add 2 chopped green peppers,8 chopped mushrooms,6 chopped tomatoes(or a can)and a big tin pineapple pieces.(keep the juice).In a jug measure 1 litre chicken stock,5 tbspns honey,3 tbspns soy sauce,mix & pour over pork in pan,blend 5 tbspns cornflour with the pineapple juice and add this to pork pan,bring to boil then transfer all this to your slow cooker and cook on medium for 5-8 hours.this sounds a bit faffy but its not ,sometimes i prepare everything the night before ready to just bring to boil in the morning,switch on and go to work.serve with rice or new potatoes and green veg.

beef in red wine.(4.5litre cooker) Fry 2 lge chopped onions til soft in tbspn oil,add 1.5kg cubed stewing beef or steak,and brown .add 2 crushed garlic cloves(not essential if you dont like garlic)10 chopped tomatoes(i always use a couple oflarge cans)800g mushrooms(nice to use whole small ones)1 litre red wine,salt and pepper,bay leaf if you have one and bring to a simmer ,transfer to slow cooker pot and cook 4-8 hours on medium.remove bay leaf and add some chopped parsley to serve-lovely with mashed potatoes. if you dont want to use all that wine just substitute half with beef stock

rice pudding. 4.5ltr slow cooker.butter the inside of the crockpot first, put 150g pudding rice,40g butter(diced or grated if really chilled)150g sugar and 1 and a half litres milk, pinch nutmeg, mix well,cook for 3 - 4 hour on medium, i havent tried this one yet but it looks good--imagine it makes a LOT of rice pudding so i think id half this .

If you cook the rice pud without sugar, then after it has cooked and you are ready to serve, add granulated sweetener instead of the sugar and it will give you a lower calorie rice pud. Rice pudding made in a steamer is also very good. And if you use sterilized milk you can lower or even omit the 40g of butter.

Beef curry - Fry 2 medium, sliced apples with 2 large chopped onions in a pan until soft. Coat 700g beef in 3 tblsp. flour and fry until lightly browned. Stir in 400ml of stock and bring to a simmer. Add 3 tsp curry powder,75g sultanas(optional) 3 tblsp mango chutney 200g tinned chopped tomatoes and 2 tblsp. lemon juice. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook for approx 4-7 hours. At the end of the cooking time it may be necessary to thicken the curry with a little cornflour mixed with a little water. After putting the cornflour mix in the pot put the lid on and leave a little longer for the cornflour to cook out or transfer to a pan to put on the hob or a dish to use in the microwave, to thicken.

Chicken, pork and lamb - Just put the joints in the slow cooker as is put the lid on set to low overnight. Then in the morning just give it a boost on high for an hour (whilst you are in the house). Roasts lovely. I put a boned and rolled shoulder of lamb in and next to that I put 4 chicken thighs, overnight on low, boosted power in the morning for an hour. Cooked 2 meals at the same time. Juices come from the meat eventually plus the steam generates liquid. When the pot is cool enough to handle, pour out the stock into a dish or jug and let set (in the fridge when it has cooled), take off the fat from the top and you also have your stock for gravy etc.

Thank you Snowlight. Very informative.

Snowlight, like the curry recipe, will use my stewing steak for that.... also like the beef in wine posted by mcnamara...

I can tell you that the rice pudding is really excellent. When my gas cooker expired(!) I decided to try a slow cooker instead and it is one the best buys I've made. Because nothing dries out in a slow cooker, you don't lose as much when cooking in a conventional oven. The rice pudding used to dry out in my oven, but in the slow cooker I get a lot of portions from the same recipe. I haven't tried cooking chicken without liquid but that sounds like a good idea, the meat really comes out tender in a casserole. The other advantage is that you get a lot of liquid from cooking so there isn't any need to make a separate sauce with ingredients outside of the slow cooker. You can just use the liquid from the cooking and make a really tasty sauce - I usually add soured cream to make it creamy and even more tasty.
PS: Us gents can cook very easily using the slow cooker!!!