Slow Cooker Wisdom

The combination of the above points will make cheaper, tasty cooking easy and a win-win situation. An investment in a slow cooker is highly recommended.

One minor drawback: If you are cooking a sausage casserole, chilli con carne or any meat dish it is advisable to either brown the sausages slightly under the grill or pre-fry the mince. Otherwise the meat content of your dish will have an anaemic look. Chicken pieces do not need browning.

To compensate: When supermarkets are offering cheap chickens, these can be roasted in a slow cooker. Just pop a whole chicken into the cooker which has been greased with olive oil, put an apple cut in two in the body cavity, rub the outer skin with a skinned garlic clove or a stock cube dissolved in a small amount of olive oil. Put the lid on the cooker and cook for 8 hours. Done. More slow cooker wisdom.

EASY RECIPES:

Chilli con Carne.

Cook 500g. (1 lb.) mince in a frying pan with a little cooking oil to brown.

Drain the meat and place in a slow cooker together with chopped onions, a green pepper also chopped garlic, chilli powder to taste, tin of chopped tomatoes, tin kidney beans, 1 beef stock cube dissolved in ½ pint warm water and anything else you might fancy.

Make sure the ingredients are covered in the stock.

Leave to cook for 8 hours (or according to your cooker setting) and serve with cooked rice.

Chicken Noodle Soup.

Place three chicken breasts, 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 6 cups water, 1 clove garlic finely chopped, the outer stalks of a celery head chopped into bite sized pieces. Cook for 6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts from the cooker. Discard the skin and shred the flesh into bite sized pieces. Return to cooker, add noodles. Increase the heat to high and cook for about 30 mins. A small can of sweet corn can also be added at this stage. Serve when the noodles are done.

Sausage Casserole.

Brown the sausages either under the grill (best) or in a frying pan. Place in slow cooker along with a tin of chipped tomatoes, sliced onions, thinly sliced carrots and anything else you might fancy. Add either a stock cube or gravy granules dissolved in 2 cups boiling water. Make sure the sausages are covered in liquid.Cook for 8 hours.

Filling Beef Stew.

This recipe is meant to be a filler so add plenty of chopped veg. Carrots, onions, swedes, parsnips, leeks – or any other veg. that you fancy. Pearl barley is excellent, filling and tasty because it absorbs the flavour and colour of the gravy.

Put two tablespoons oil into a bowl, tip in a packet of stewing beef (cheap cut) and coat with the oil. In a separate bowl put 1 heaped tablespoon flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Transfer the greased meat, mix around to coat the meat in flour. Brown this meat in little oil a frying pan for about 10 minutes. Add to the cooker. Mix gravy powder in sufficient boiling water to cover the meat and vegetables in the cooker. Cook for 6 hours.

If you are having a barbecue use your slow cooker to warm tinned soup. More slow cooker wisdom.

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