Slow cookers

Rachele

Rachele

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Joined
5 Apr 2014
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91
Location
England
I couldn't live without my slow cooker, especially in the winter. I can throw ingredients into my slow cooker, turn it on and when I come back from work in the evening, a delicious meal such as stew, soup or curry is ready and waiting for me to enjoy. It has made my life so much easier! I recently experimented with cooking pasta in sauce with meatballs in the slow cooker, which turned out to be really tasty. I did put the paste in too early, so it was a little too soft for my particular taste, but I have learned my lesson for next time.

Do you use a slow cooker? If so, what do you cook in it? Do you make anything out of the ordinary in it?
 
What a coincidence, my family recipe for meatballs in tomato is almost the only thing I use the slow cooker for! :D I'd like to diversify, although it never occurred to me to cook the pasta in the sauce, since pasta usually boils quickly enough that I just slow-cook the sauce separately and earlier. I'm curious about this book for slow cookers.

The only other thing I make in a slow cooker is adobo which is meat in white vinegar, soy sauce, and oil. Maybe with some salt and garlic.
 
You can cook almost anything in a slow cooker, and it uses virtually no electricity.
 
I just got one of these and it is wonderful! I can put something together and turn it on and have a ready meal when I arrive!
 
We also just have one slow cooker. One of my favorite dishes to cook with it are chicken dishes. It could be just as simple as chicken with tomatoes and seasoning or chicken with various vegetables.Seldom that I would cook red meat.
 
zararian said:
We also just have one slow cooker. One of my favorite dishes to cook with it are chicken dishes. It could be just as simple as chicken with tomatoes and seasoning or chicken with various vegetables.Seldom that I would cook red meat.
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Try some braising steak in the slow cooker, it's amazing, it just falls to pieces because it's so tender once it's cooked. Braising steak is a cheaper cut of meat, but if cooked right absolutely delicious. Three to four hours in the slow cooker with plenty of gravy and a generous glass of red wine. Bellisimo!
 
Funny enough, I had a slow cooker for two years before I actually used it. And now that I have, I can't believe I ever waited so long. I love the convenience. I put my ingredients in there and let the cooker do the work for a few hours. I can do whatever else I need to do around the house.
 
A few years ago, I tried to cook most of my meals exclusively in my slow cooker, and was determined to find the best recipes for it. However, after a lot of trial and error, and wasted food, I've come to the conclusion that it's more of a supplemental tool in my kitchen, not something for creating very many "one pot" meals. These days, I will place something like a roast or ribs in it, and let them slow cook in just some broth or water, then take them out and season them and either grill or broil them to finish them off, adding any sauces after they come out of the slow cooker. I just use it to tenderize the meats without having to run my oven all day. Beyond that, I dislike what it does to sauces and seasonings - it tends to make everything taste bland.
 
I love slow cookers! I love making pot roast in it, and pulled pork.
I have 2 favourite ways to do pot roast, first always brown the pot roast in a skillet, place roast in slow cooker, and deglaze the pan with 1 cup red wine or beef broth, take a wooden spoon and scrape the good bits up and poor into slow cooker. Add potatoes and vegetables, with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup or 2 cans stewed tomatoes, and 1 cup of red wine or beef broth, water is fine, too. Add 1 tablespoon garlic powder, onion powder, pinch or 2 of salt, and a few shakes of Worchestershire sauce.
My favourite pulled pork is with 2 cups Worchestershire sauce, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, 1 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of garlic powder. My son deemed the marinade perfect and drinkable! Haha
 
I am a big fan of slow cookers too. I use mine all the time. One of my favorite meals to make in the slow cooker is lasagna. You just layer it like your normally would but there's no messing with cooking the noodles before hand. Just layer it and let it go all day long. So easy! I also love to make chicken tacos and various other chicken meals. I also make meatloaf in my slow cooker and of course everyone's favorite, pot roast!

I've never had a problem with seasoning tasting bland after using a slow cooker. Of course, that might be because I live by the rule, "if you think you've added enough seasoning, add more!" Sometimes that philosophy turns out disastrous but for the most part, it works like a charm!
 
I did a macaroni cheese once, it's not for me. Ragu, goulash, curry, soup, stew, sausage casserole and mousakka are our faves. We eat a lot of salsa so i tend to make a huge vat of it, which last a couple of days. I'd love one with a timer but not until this one gives up it's last. Oh and cottage pie.
 
I've tried macaroni and cheese in the slow cooker too and I also did not like it. It had a very strange flavor and you could barely even taste the cheese even though I had loaded it down with cheese. Oh well. I'll stick with my homemade baked mac and cheese!
 
I absolutely adore my slow cooker, bought a cheap one from Target and it has held up to a lot of use and works like a charm. My favorite things to make in my slow cooker is this salsa lime chicken that can be used for tacos, on rice, a salad pretty much whatever you want, and I also like making meatballs and sauce in it because they cook for so long so the sauce has all of the great flavors and a little bit of fat from the meat--so good! I am considering trying to make a dessert or two in the slow cooker, that seems to be a trend now, but have read that it has questionable results.
 
I would recommend multi-cooker instead of slow cooker. In combines a little bit of everything (like slow cooker, steamer and pressure cooker). It can fly, steam, make soup and bake, and so on. Recently I've bought a good one by Redmond brand and nowadays starts my culinary experiments in there. Highly recommend, cheaper or expensive, it's such a useful kitchenware.
 
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Here's mine.

Had it since the late '70s, and it is STILL kicking! I call it Ole' Reliable. Hah!

For many years, Ole' Reliable has turned out some very tasty dishes, from pot roast, to soups & stews, all without even batting an eyelash!!

It has never let me down, not even once! I'll probably be calling on Ole' Reliable again this coming Sunday to do a pot roast for Sunday Dinner. I've heard bad things about the newer Crock Pots, so thank God that I never parted with Ole' Reliable!! It has been there for me through thick & thin, good times & bad!! :)
 
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