slow cooker

Thanks Marelli. On a 'fasting day' of my alternate - day diet today, but might try it tomorrow.

I think I'd put rice pud on low and let it cook for a bit longer, Anagram - say another hour or so. You can always have a look at it when it's nearing the end of the cooking time, to see how it's doing.
kitty, I usually toss meat/poultry about in a pan just to seal it before putting it into the slow cooker. This can be done while the cooker's warming up a bit in readiness.

Can someone please tell me whether it is necessary to brown everything before it goes in? Thank you

What if you've only got high or low settings?

Here you are, shysal! Mine is a 4.5 litre cooker, but the recipe gives you the ingredients for the 2.5 litre as well.

2.5 litre 4.5 litre

25g butter 40g butter
100g pudding rice 150g pudding rice
100g sugar 150g sugar
1 litre milk 1.5 litres milk
Pinch nutmeg Pinch nutmeg

Method

Butter the inside of the ceramic pot. Add all ingredients and stir. Place the ceramic pot on the slow cooker base and cover with the lid. Cook for approximately 3-4 hours. (Medium setting).

It's lovely!

marelli, could you outline the rice pudding recipe please? I haven't eaten it for many years, since microwaves were a new thing and mine came with built in grill, which made a lovely skin on top. I am drooling at the thought!

yogagran - you get that in the slow cooker as well! Absolutely delicious! I got the recipe in the leaflet that came with my newest one (I've had 3 over the years).

I use my slow cooker quite a bit but never for rice pudding. For me, that HAS to be cooked in the oven so that you get the lovely skin on it - that, and the scrapings from round the edge, are the best bits

We have a local butcher also grannyk and he has the seal of approval above his door from her maj....and he supplies shins of beef

beef shin with bone (impossible to find in the supermarkets but luckily my butcher obliges) is double yummy in the slow cooker.

I bought my slow cooker to replace one form years before - the lid had been smashed. Somehow it was several more years before I got round to using it, but now I'll echo what has been said by so many here - I wouldn't want to be without it.

Must agree about shin of beef, and the whole chicken (with garlic and butter) - jointed rabbit is marvelous, too. Then I thought of curry... there is an Indian style of cooking called dum, in which food is cooked over a slow fire, in a closed pot, with pastry sealing the lid. Sounds not unlike the way a slow cooker works, no? Anyway, lovely curries - lamb, nice and tender without pre-cooking - are possible - sorry, had to wipe the old chin there, drooling, you know!

Shin of beef is absolutely beautiful done in the slow cooker,and I agree the gravy and is beautiful ooohh can't wait for the hearty dinner season to return...do dumplings as well init on top of the casserole or stew,have been known to put my Christmas pudding in it to cook when I made it....I love the smell of a dinner cooking...actually just love food...

I regularly use mine for a whole chicken, too. Cut two or three slits in breast skin and slide in garlic cloves and stick an onion in the cavity. Crumble a chicken Oxo over and Bob's yer uncle! Shin of beef (hough, as it's called up here in Scotland) is a good cheap cut and makes a wonderfully tasty gravy.

I wouldn't be without my slow cooker, use it for soups, stews etc - shin beef is especially tasty and tender. I have never had to get up early to start anything either. If a dish is required for lunch I do it the day before, which is said to improve it anyway. When I had a busy life with a growing family my pressure cooker was a godsend, but it now resides in my loft, gathering dust. I hope you make the right choice for you, and good luck!

I give the chicken half an hour with roast potatoes and let it rest if I want to slice it. I have an electric knife, so I take the whole breast off and sllce it on the chopping board, and put wings and legs out with slices of chicken.

When I have cooked a whole chicken in the slow cooker I have found that the bones become very soft and it is difficult to 'carve' the bird - am I doing something wrong or do you just take the meat off the bone in lumps?

I have used a slow cooker for years, but find the recipes suggest longer cooking time than needed. I just put everything in, vegetables at the base, and the cheap meats are lovely in flavour. My food only cooks for about 4 hours though - becaust it is usually diced pork, stewed beef or chicken pieces - cooked just long enough for me to be out in the morning and come home for a delicious lunch.

I also use my slow cooker regularly, especially in winter, I often don't spend a lot of time on putting together a recipe - I just plonk a piece of meat e.g. rolled brisket, or other 'forgotten cuts' in it, cover that with either thinly sliced tomato and onion or slices of lemon (depending on what meat) for moisture, lay a few sprigs of fresh herbs whatever is in the garden over the top of that, dash of wine or some stock, salt pepper and off I go to work. Come evening all that is needed is some veg and perhaps making gravy from the slow cooker and you're eating a lovely supper. Another thing I use it for very successfully is ribs - it cooks ribs so that the meat falls off the bone, then I cover them with sticky marinade (mix of chutney, honey, tomato sauce, brown sauce - or anything similar I have to hand) and stick them in the oven to finish them off, before we finish them off! I've had great success with curries, chili con carne etc. Like the idea of the whole 'pot' chicken when will try that.

I put a whole chicken in my slow cooker, with lots of veg, and make not only a lovely juicy pot roast, but great chicken stock and plenty of chicken soup. I usually transfer the cooked chicken to a roasting dish with roast potatoes for half an hour, and get lovely gravy when the dish is ready.

I make quantities of soup & casseroles!

Slice the onion, dice any cheaper cut of meat & brown lightly in oil in the pressure cooker, chop whatever root veg to hand stick it all in the pressure cooker with your preferred seasoning and small amount of liquid ( wine, beer, stock, cider, cola etc!)
Bring up to pressure, lower heat and let it hiss for 20 mins...yum! I often do double quantity I need for one meal & either freeze half or blend it for soup! See link for more ideas!

allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/pressure-cooker-recipes.aspx

I'm with nanaej. Just love my pressure cooker.

I use the slow oven of my cooker for overnight porridge and have also used it for slow casseroles like cassoulet. DH had a yen for home made chicken stock at little while back which entailed buying a pressure cooker (!) quantities of veg, chicken legs and wings and a lot of prepping. The stock was delicious but cost about the same as vintage port. So now I am looking for useful suggestions for using the pressure colker!

I have just done a slow cooker search and have found about 10 pages of recipes and info so I will spend some time reading them tomorrow.

Ella I did have a quick look through House and Home and also through Food but I did not see anything. Admitted it was only a quick look so I will do it again.
Cheers

glitabo I'm sure we've had a previous thread on slow cookers. Might be worth a look.