Do you use a slow cooker much? Any tips?!
Answers: I have one, but never use it, I feel like giving it a try. Any help, recipes, tips gratefully recieved.
Great for cooking meat that tends to be tough...
I use mine to cook soups, stews, chicken a la king and so on.
I use it exclusively to do a wonderful venison stew on a weekly basis.
Recipes are usually he sae, as long as you keep in mind that the meat must be covered with water otherwise that part that stands out of the water will be dry and sometimes not well cooked...
Simply place meat, onions and carrot wheels in at the same time, cover with water, add your favourite spice or herbs and a pinch of salt. Replace lid and turn the cooker on.
Go to bed.
Next morning, add baby potatoes and other veg like green beans and replace lid quickly as it looses heat fast.
Trun the cooker on to low and go to work.
By the time you get home, everything in there will be soft and cooked....
For soups, simply add barley, lentils and whatever veg you like in there, also a bit of meat, cut up finely...
Cover with water, add salt and let it do its job overnight...
By supper time next day the soup will be quite ready.
I like to add potatoes in small cuts or even grated and some leeks to my soup, but do as you like best....
Enjoy it because it is wasted in the cupboard.
great for soups, stews, too long to give recipes.
Yep.. its great for shredded chicken, beef or pork... beef stroganoff, stews, soups, chili...
I love my slow cooker...especially during winter.
The best tip I can give you is....resist the urge to take the lid off while it is cooking...it can add hours to the cooking time.
Yes, I use mine alot. I mostly do meats in mine. Just season as usual and add about a cup of water. Follow the manufacturer's suggestions for cooking. The books that come with these, usually contain some very good recipes.
I dont even use an ordinary cooker much lol
Get back to current events!
i use mine, it,s great for cooking gammon joints in, a great tip is to use coke(not diet) instead of water,it makes the meat really sweet, try it ,its great, my aunt gave me this tip and at first i thought yuk,but tried it and now will never go back,
rice puddings are also better done in the slow cooker as they turn out a lot creamier, and obviously they are great for doing the usual stews and casseroles in, especially sausage casserole. mmm yummy
Crock Pots are perfect for people like me who don't cook and don't have a lot of time. You can make pretty much anything in it. They even have "ready made" meals in the freezer section of super markets. You don't have to add anything. Just toss in the contents of the bag and continue with your day.
There are some good recipes here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Main-Dish/...
Try anything you might normally make for tea - soup, stew, bolognese, curry, chilli, sweet & sour, chops, etc.
Make things in the morning and leave them to cook all day, you don't need to check or stir just leave it to cook. Do check the instructions for which power level to use, though. Then then just cook your veg, pasta etc at tea time.
Remember to only add as much liquid as you would like in the end product, the water doesn't evaporate off during the cooking process.
Creamy Honey Rice Pudding
1 cup long-grain rice
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
2 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk (fat-free can be used)
/4 cup 1% or skim milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
cinnamon, to taste
Directions: In cooker, combine rice, olive oil and water. Close lid, bring to high pressure then lower heat on stove and cook for 8 minutes. Release pressure (cold water or automatic, according to manufacturer’s directions), open lid and add honey and sugar to rice mixture. Stir in evaporated milk, milk and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir constantly. Add raisins and vanilla extract. Spoon into dishes and sprinkle with cinnamon. Serve hot or cold.
Tortilla Soup
A Mexican favorite that you can now make in your own home!
1/3 cup oil
2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 can (15 oz.) tomatoes, drained
3 quarts chicken broth
Tortilla chips
cilantro, chopped
1 pound grated cheese
lime wedges (optional)
Directions: Heat oil in cooker, then add onions and garlic cloves. Saute until deep golden brown. Remove from cooker and puree with tomatoes in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to cooker and add broth. Heat to boiling. Bring up to high pressure, reduce heat and cook 10 minutes. Release pressure and remove the lid. Add cilantro and salt to taste. Place cheese and tortilla chips in individual soup bowls and pour hot soup on top. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.
They bring better flavour to casseroles and meat dishes has the
seasoning have more time to blend into the recipe.Once you
start you won't be able to stop.Especially in winter.Any chicken
recipe i use is especially nice for me.Google slow cooking.
Slow cookers are the bomb, so to speak. Do not sell you slow cooker. You can cook stews like the woman said, but you can also cook roasts and Lima been. You can bake a cake in a slow cooker. Slow cookers are the do all appliance.
You can deep fry; you can pan fry (tongs required).You can make strawberry preserves you can sterilize you anal thermometer, there is nothing you can not do with a slow cooker.
Look in Yahoo!Food (look under slow cooking) for some great recipes, for example the recipe for Ropa Vieja turned out great. The BF also liked the Cantonese Dinner (made with pork). Another great site to find slow cooker recipes is foodnetwork.com, the kids loved the Slow Cooker Chicken with Rosemary, Apples and Onions. The Chicken Gumbo turned out pretty good too.
Just follow the recipes, mostly just throw all the ingredients in the pot and set for 6-8 hrs and dinner is ready!
Tell them to hurry up.
i use mine all the time for stews and currys
just make sure you brown off the meat in a pan on the hob first and make sure the sauce is heated through before you put it in the slow cooker.
make sure the slow cooker has heated before you put the meat and sauce in.
we cook on high for the first 2 hours then reduce to medium for the next 2 - 4 hours
use sauces from the supermarket they are great for beef and lamb if you dont waant to make your own
i had this link emailed to me the other day has some great recipies - http://lifestyle.msn.com/foodandentertai...
Preheat on High for as long as poss - I turn mine on before I start prepping.
softer veg at the bottom, then harder and harder until you get to the hardest at the top.
If using meat, brown it first otherwise it comes out rather pallid.
Add only very little liquid - ie stock - so that you do not cover the veg. As the cooker heats it creates steam, which rises to the lid and comes down again, creating more liquid.
When you leave it turn it down to low and it will happily continue on its own for any amount of time. When you come back and you decide the food is cooked, but you are not ready to eat turn it to Auto. This will keep it at a constant temperature, but will not cook further.
Things like barley should be added half hour before end and cooker turned to high again.
It is fantastic. Use it. You will save a lot on electricity. Washing up a doddle - if you grease the bowl. Save on fat too as most things are cooked in liquid or own juice.
I cannot praies it enough!
All one pot cookery recipes can be used. Soups, stews, casseroles etc.
I use mine a lot.. I like beef sandwiches in it. Take a beef roast put in a pack of italian dressing seasoning, and a small jar of banana peppers with the juice.. let it cook all day!! It will just fall apart and eat it on good hard italian rolls with horseradish sauce and cheese. DELICIOUS!!
I also love sauerkraut and hot dogs, or kielbasa cooked all day in it!!
there are so many things you can do it.. Just put your ingredients in it and let it cook.. things get really moist!
Pick up a Fix It And Forget It Cookbook (Good Books 2000) - it has everything from Dips to Desserts.
Since you haven't used yours you may not be able to "Forget" it. What I mean is, every pot cooks differently. My first crock pot I was able to leave food in it while at work. The one I have now shouldn't even be called a SLOW cooker-For any recipe out there it cooks it in 2-3 hours on low when most recipes say 8-10 hours - So get to know your cooker and see how long yours takes to cook. It's a lifesaver, I use it at least twice a week.