Slow Cooker recipes

beertons

oleras wrote: »

Its ok, its brain fart day.

Rugby world cup fever has taken over. Some say it's worse than man flu!

Lovely Bloke

Anyone got any ideas for lambs hearts? I'd say the slow cooker would be perfect for them

amdublin

amdublin wrote: »

I am going to try this and will let you know how I get on
http://hostthetoast.com/crock-pot-general-tsos-chicken/


I love American-Chinese food.

Three hours in and my house is filled with the most incredible garlicky smell!!


A taste test is also looking very positive!!!

Lovely Bloke

would you mind letting me know if it's very sweet. I want to make it too, even went out and got the pineapple juice for it.

Can you also comment on the liquidity or stickiness of the final sauce please.

amdublin

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

would you mind letting me know if it's very sweet. I want to make it too, even went out and got the pineapple juice for it.

Can you also comment on the liquidity or stickiness of the final sauce please.

it is sweet but not overly. Id describe it as a sweent n sour flavour. There is a nice kick from the spices also.

My sauce was thick but still runny. I didn't add any extra thickening/cornstarch in the end as per the recipe.

Let me me know how yours go!!.

amdublin

After the photo was taken I sprinkled some spring onion over the rice

Spanish Eyes

Hi folks, quick question from a first time SC user!

I'm hoping to make a bolognaise in the SC. I am a bit worried that it will turn out watery though!

I am making my tried and tested recipe for the meat, but will only add a tin of plum toms (whole, but chopped +juice) and a dash of worcestershire sauce as the liquid base.

Do you think I should add some thickener also?

And another question please... If I cook on high to get it up to temperature for an hour and say 5 hours on low, would that be OK?

Thanks.

woidoi

@Spanish Eyes - I made a bolognese last Friday for the first time in the SC and it turned out perfect without changing the recipe in any way. I did brown the mince well in a frying pan first and soften the onions, but other than that I just bunged it all in the Sc, veg first, can of mixed tomatoes mixed through, basil, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper like usual and meat added. Lid on for six hours at low and it was delicious!

Spanish Eyes

woidoi wrote: »

@Spanish Eyes - I made a bolognese last Friday for the first time in the SC and it turned out perfect without changing the recipe in any way. I did brown the mince well in a frying pan first and soften the onions, but other than that I just bunged it all in the Sc, veg first, can of mixed tomatoes mixed through, basil, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper like usual and meat added. Lid on for six hours at low and it was delicious!

Oh that sounds great! And not too different from my own concoction either.

Thanks very much.

Lovely Bloke

Thanks am, I'll probably try this on Saturday.

Zelda247

Now that Winter is on the way, what's everyone's favourite Slow Cooker recipe, mine is the Fruity Lamb Tagine or my version of Irish Stew... I put garlic in it so its not really Irish Stew!

Dizzyblonde

Zelda247 wrote: »

Now that Winter is on the way, what's everyone's favourite Slow Cooker recipe, mine is the Fruity Lamb Tagine or my version of Irish Stew... I put garlic in it so its not really Irish Stew!

Mine is Hungarian goulash made with shin beef. Also chicken, chorizo & chickpea stew.

Zelda247

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Mine is Hungarian goulash made with shin beef. Also chicken, chorizo & chickpea stew.

oh the goulash sounds nice, can you share the recipe?

Shenshen

Venezuelan black bean stew

Perfect to fill burritos with.

Dizzyblonde

Zelda247 wrote: »

oh the goulash sounds nice, can you share the recipe?

Sure.

Ilb shin beef, diced
1 red pepper,sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 teaspoon of paprika
Half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
Flour
Half a beef stock cube
200ml/half a pint of hot water
Olive oil for frying
Salt and black pepper

Put flour into a freezer bag and add the meat to coat it. Heat oil in a large pan and brown the meat. Move to the slow cooker. Add veg to the pan and fry until it starts to soften. Add garlic and paprika and fry gently for a minute. Add tomatoes, puree and stock. Stir well then add to the meat in the slow cooker. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours.

oleras

Why are peppers added to long cooks ?

Bell peppers cooked for 6-8 hours only leave the skin from my experience.

I would only really use them for the crunchy texture myself in something like a stirfry.

Dizzyblonde

oleras wrote: »

Why are peppers added to long cooks ?

Bell peppers cooked for 6-8 hours only leave the skin from my experience.

I would only really use them for the crunchy texture myself in something like a stirfry.

You could of course add the peppers later if you prefer them crunchy, but the thing about a slow cooker is that you can put everything in and forget about it for hours. Personally, I can only eat peppers that have been very well cooked or I get dreadful indigestion.

amdublin

I'm doing dinner for 8 people in two weeks time. Im going to slow cook something.
It may not be haute cuisine but the difference: compared to having to entertain and serve up a roast chicken or 8 steaks all at the same time - compared to entertaining and doling out a nice slow cook dish.

Spanish Eyes

amdublin wrote: »

I'm doing dinner for 8 people in two weeks time. Im going to slow cook something.
It may not be haute cuisine but the difference: compared to having to entertain and serve up a roast chicken or 8 steaks all at the same time - compared to entertaining and doling out a nice slow cook dish.

That is the beauty of having things simmering and hot in the sc.

Easy does it!

Please let us know what you did, might help me with the post Christmas gang here on Steeeeeevennnn'ssss Day, lol. Early planning me!

katydid

amdublin wrote: »

I'm doing dinner for 8 people in two weeks time. Im going to slow cook something.
It may not be haute cuisine but the difference: compared to having to entertain and serve up a roast chicken or 8 steaks all at the same time - compared to entertaining and doling out a nice slow cook dish.

If you can get your hands on some venison, do a venison casserole. If not, just a simple beef and beer casserole. Both are fabulous slow cooked. Get chuck steak if you can, it's a cheap cut but brilliant for slow cooking.

vicwatson

Quick question lads and lassies, have a casserole going since about noon, have it on low and plan on leaving it on for 8 hours. Is it ok to lift the lid to give it a stir? Mind you it's an ALDI 15.99 one and the lid is a bit rocky on it:eek:

Zelda247

I always stir mine... does not seem to cause any problems.

vicwatson

A lot of liquid left !! More cornflour? (already have 2 dessert spoons in from the start) to thicken it?

Shenshen

vicwatson wrote: »

A lot of liquid left !! More cornflour? (already have 2 dessert spoons in from the start) to thicken it?

It could be one of the cooking myths, but someone once told me that if you add cornflour or potato flour to a dish and then keep it cooking for a long time after, the thickening effect will disappear?

Dizzyblonde

Cornflour is best added at the end, as Shenshen said. If I'm not flouring and browning the meat first I always stir in a tablespoon of flour before adding the liquid.

Lovely Bloke

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Thanks am, I'll probably try this on Saturday.

change of plan, and this is now prepped and on a timer to come on at lunch time tomorrow.

I forgot to coat the chicken in the first step, so will see what happens.

Flippyfloppy

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

change of plan, and this is now prepped and on a timer to come on at lunch time tomorrow.

I forgot to coat the chicken in the first step, so will see what happens.

Just curious...do you prep it and leave it sitting out overnight? Would the food not become luke warm?

Lovely Bloke

Probably not the best from a food safety point of view, I'll grant you, but I've not developed any ticks yet. Probably best to leave that discussion there though.

but yeah, prep it and leave it plugged in on a timer, and when I get home it will be ready.

What do other people do, cook it overnight, then re-heat for dinner?

Marty McFly

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Probably not the best from a food safety point of view, I'll grant you, but I've not developed any ticks yet. Probably best to leave that discussion there though.

but yeah, prep it and leave it plugged in on a timer, and when I get home it will be ready.

What do other people do, cook it overnight, then re-heat for dinner?

I work shift work so generally only slow cool when I'm on nights or days off.

Either way I prep and turn on the slow cooker in the morning before bed then re heat or prep and put on around noon.

Dizzyblonde

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Just curious...do you prep it and leave it sitting out overnight? Would the food not become luke warm?

You could prep it at night and leave it in the fridge in a ziploc bag,a covered dish or even the removable part of the slow cooker. Then pop it in and switch it on in the morning.

Lovely Bloke

So, the General Tso's chicken is superb , never having had the original so can't compare that, but it's a nice almost-sticky sauce, complemented nicely by the broccoli. I toned down the cayenne and ginger so mini-Baldy could have some - unfortunately he wasn't in the mood for a plate of food having had a cake in creche in the afternoon, so I didn't get his reaction.

I'll be chopping a chilli into the helping I have for lunch tomorrow, which will round it off nicely.

amdublin

Glad you liked it baldy! I could handle some extra heat in it too - although the spices give it a small bit. It's a lovely sticky sweet and sour dish isn't it.

I've had the original in america - this definitely captures the essence / is very close to it!

Broccoli isn't necessarily something we'd put with a rice amd sweet and sour dish but that is the way it comes over in america and it definitely works too.

Dizzyblonde

I'll give it a try soon. My concern would be that it would stick like glue to the slow cooker and be hard to clean off afterwards - was that a problem?

amdublin

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'll give it a try soon. My concern would be that it would stick like glue to the slow cooker and be hard to clean off afterwards - was that a problem?

Nope not at all. It's sticky but it's saucy/drippy as well. Not overly sticky.

amdublin

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

So, the General Tso's chicken is superb , never having had the original so can't compare that, but it's a nice almost-sticky sauce, complemented nicely by the broccoli. I toned down the cayenne and ginger so mini-Baldy could have some - unfortunately he wasn't in the mood for a plate of food having had a cake in creche in the afternoon, so I didn't get his reaction.

I'll be chopping a chilli into the helping I have for lunch tomorrow, which will round it off nicely.

Here is the recipe for General Tso's chicken again to save people trawling back pages for it.
http://hostthetoast.com/crock-pot-general-tsos-chicken/

It gets the thumbs up from myself and Baldy Conscience.


And simple to make like most slow cooker recipes!

Lovely Bloke

Nope, didn't have an issue with it sticking, although I washed the inside of the Slow Cooker while it was still warm-ish, so nothing had a chance to dry on. Had no chilis in the house, so just used some lazy squeezy chili mixed in for my lunch for today.

I'll post back later about that, and mini-B has his with him for his lunch too - so the creche will tell me if he eats it or not.

vicwatson

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

Cornflour is best added at the end, as Shenshen said. If I'm not flouring and browning the meat first I always stir in a tablespoon of flour before adding the liquid.

Thanks guys, I threw 2 spoons into some water near the end and it thickened it up nicely. Cheers

Pistachios & cream

Marty McFly wrote: »

Here's one I do regularly enough done it last week for my one year old birthday party and it went down a treat.

No measurements I tend to just judge it myself.

Your normal diced beef,stewing beef
Passata
Onions
Peppers
Garlic
Chick peas
Worcestershire sauce
Balsamic vinegar
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Cayenne pepper
Smoked paprika

Then cook on high for about 6 hours.

I've just thrown this into the slow cooker. my first time not browning beef so fingers crossed it works. I also added some Moroccan spice mix as it sounds a bit tagine like to me.

Glebee

amdublin wrote: »

Here is the recipe for General Tso's chicken again to save people trawling back pages for it.
http://hostthetoast.com/crock-pot-general-tsos-chicken/

It gets the thumbs up from myself and Baldy Conscience.


And simple to make like most slow cooker recipes!

How would this turn out with pork instead of chicken???? Should be OK me thinks.

Lovely Bloke

Glebee wrote: »

How would this turn out with pork instead of chicken???? Should be OK me thinks.

yep, should be grand imo

Neyite

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Just curious...do you prep it and leave it sitting out overnight? Would the food not become luke warm?

I refrigerate, but that's because I've a pretty warm kitchen. Then stick it in the slow cooker on low before I leave the house in the morning. Or, more accurately, I get halfway to work and realise I forgot to put it on, resulting in panicky phonecall the OH to see if he's left for work yet, and if not, get him to turn it on. This also usually coincides with me making a gorgeous lunch which also gets forgotten in the morning resulting in me morosely eating a limp deli sandwich at lunchtime instead.

Flippyfloppy

Neyite wrote: »

This also usually coincides with me making a gorgeous lunch which also gets forgotten in the morning resulting in me morosely eating a limp deli sandwich at lunchtime instead.

Nothing worse than thinking of your gorgeous lunch at home!

Will give refridgerating it a try...although I cooked big batches and doubt my fridge can fit the 6.5 liter pot!

Glebee

amdublin wrote: »

Here is the recipe for General Tso's chicken again to save people trawling back pages for it.
http://hostthetoast.com/crock-pot-general-tsos-chicken/

It gets the thumbs up from myself and Baldy Conscience.


And simple to make like most slow cooker recipes!

Have this just finishing of at the moment but used pork instead of chicken and its turned out lovely, bit of cornflour gone in at the end to thicken. The sause is lovely and rich. Next time only one clove of garlic though, think ill be in the spare room tonight

Neyite

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Nothing worse than thinking of your gorgeous lunch at home!

Will give refridgerating it a try...although I cooked big batches and doubt my fridge can fit the 6.5 liter pot!

When space has been tight, say around Christmas and FridgeTetris is stretched to its limits, I've put a filled cool box outside our back door with stuff that would normally reside in the fridge. Mostly I stick to the low-risk items like vegetables and keep meats and dairy at a correct temperature in the fridge, but its a handy workaround and usually the temperature outside overnight and in a shaded area is cool enough in Ireland.

Its also great for the Christmas Beer and wine that needs chilling. Just make it secure enough that animals cant get to it. And add ice-packs if you want to be sure it stays cool.

Marty McFly

amdublin wrote: »

Here is the recipe for General Tso's chicken again to save people trawling back pages for it.
http://hostthetoast.com/crock-pot-general-tsos-chicken/

It gets the thumbs up from myself and Baldy Conscience.


And simple to make like most slow cooker recipes!

That looks and sounds delicious but Christ that's a lot of sugar.

.red.

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Nothing worse than thinking of your gorgeous lunch at home!

Will give refridgerating it a try...although I cooked big batches and doubt my fridge can fit the 6.5 liter pot!

Theres a chance that the pot could crack if put from the fridge straight into the slow cooker. Best to keep the food in something else and then transfer into the slow cooker pot before cooking. A tupperware box or even a few sealable sandwich bags will work if space in the fridge is an issue.

oleras

I would say there is as much of a chance of the ceramic pot suffering thermal shock just sitting on the counter, those things take ages to heat up, especially if the container is coming from the fridge.

Different ball game if going straight into a 200c oven.

trmartin

I've just thrown this into the slow cooker. my first time not browning beef so fingers crossed it works. I also added some Moroccan spice mix as it sounds a bit tagine like to me.

How did this turn out — would you have noticed the difference?

I would have thought that not having to brown meat would be a huge time saving.

Pistachios & cream

trmartin wrote: »

How did this turn out — would you have noticed the difference?

I would have thought that not having to brown meat would be a huge time saving.

It was really good. I'm not sure if the large amount of spices i added compensated for not browning the beef so i'm thinking i will try a beef stew next time. Using my usual recipe but without browning or sauteing anything.

That will be the big test.

SillyBeans

I've recently bought a slow cooker but haven't tried it out yet. Anything in particular anyone would recommend as an easy beginner recipe? I'm making notes of lots of these recipes though, they all sound yummy!