Slow Cooker

I recently got a cast iron (but enamelised) casserole dish with lid from aldi-(online) it weighs a ton but is not too deep and i can sear meat in it on hob then either cook on lower on hob or best is to stick on heavy lid then put it in oven about gas 4 or fan 160 for 2 hours-(can add liquid like stock/gravy) things like roasts & stews are cooked to melt in mouth perfection! & its easy clean too.only cost £19.99 & its a nice autumn shade of plum.

Last Xmas my DD2 gave me a new Slow Cooker, (the knob on the old one kept falling off)
I do normally brown the meat in the fryng pan, prepare the potatoes (you can leave the skin on). Thaw out a bag of froz vegetable in the microwave and toss them all in the slow cooker with water to cover- what heat you put it on depends on what time you want it. If I have everything ready and on before 10 am it will be fine on low for our T-Time at 5.30pm
Check it periodically if you are around. I will thicken the water about 4 -5 ish and add extra flavouring, herbs or OXo
That's all there is to it!!

Good Luck

* Nannan2* I have a large French cast iron casserole (not le Creuset, it's Chasseur I think) but I can just lift it without anything in it. I haven't used it for ages but can't bear to part with it.
When it goes into the oven full of food, the oven rack bends!

No you don`t have to pre-heat a slow cooker before adding food.
I love mine nd they are so easy to use/clean.

I've never reheated mine.

I typed preheated

I've never preheated mine

I love my slow cooker, which my daughter bought for me a few years ago. It is currently gently bubbling away with a beef stew. I don’t sear the meat, but do preheat for about 20 mins, then add meat, sprinkle with flour, then the vegetables, stock cube or stock pot, pearl barley, seasoning and cover with red wine and cook for about 6 hours. Everything goes in cold.

I’m awaiting a delivery this afternoon of a new slow cooker. I inherited my old one from my dd who was given a better one as a wedding present. It’s now become very difficult to get the ceramic inner dish properly clean - I guess the glaze has worn away. I’m interested to see the comments about differences in cooking times between different appliances, something I hadn’t considered.

I don’t sear the meat. I started off by doing so but I truly couldn’t tell the difference, so stopped doing it and saved a dirty pan. As I’ve learnt how to use it, I add less liquid and had better results. I don’t defrost frozen veg, (mostly just butternut squash) and it’s fine.

I’ve only had one real disaster, which was trying to make clotted cream. It was literally reduced to burnt cinders and possibly is why the glaze seems to have broken down! I’ve tried making soup but I didn’t find it worth the effort, it’s quick enough to make in a saucepan.

Christmas puds can be both cooked and reheated in a slow cooker and I made the best golden syrup sponge of my life in it.

I’m hungry now!

I love my slow cooker, use it every week. I think there's a trend at the moment for slow cooked meals - winter coming on.
The first one I had - 20+ years ago or so - recommended browning the meat off first. But my current one doesn't need that.
The only thing to add - I read a warning about re-heating in a slow cooker. Some don't bring the contents up to bubbling point so could be a health risk.
Callistemon - like you I would love to be able to use one of those cast iron stove top to oven casseroles but far too heavy for me now.

My new slow cooker is here. Unfortunately, there’s a flaw in the coating of the dish so it’ll have to go back for a replacement, which could take three weeks. How annoying!

Well, you wanted a slow cooker..

Mine has a metal inner so, I sometimes sear the meat but, rarely. I just put everything in, pour on the stock and leave it.
I saw a recipe yesterday for making bread in the slow cooker. Has anyone tried it and, if so, was it a success?

I'm not sure how that would work as bread needs a high temperature instantly.

That's why it is better in the oven than a breadmaker.
(Ducks for cover)

Tweedle
A couple of years ago a gransnetter posted how she made bread in her slowcooker.

I have successfully made several types of bread (wholemeal, white, ciabatta etc) as per the Gners instructions.

I use bread mixes from aldi that are suitable for a bread machine.

Just follow the instructions, but and this a plus for me, miss out resting/proving stages.

Put mixture into a prepared loaf tin (that fits comfortably into your slowcooker)

Screw up several balls of tinfoil and place on bottom of slow cooker.
Add couple inches of water
(I use hot water)
Place loaf tin on top
Cover with lid.
Cooking time about 3hrs.

I didn’t want one so slow we’ll have starved to death by the time anything is cooked, MissAdventure!

Searing is a myth in that it doesn't seal in the juices. What it does do is brown the meat so that it looks more appetising. If you don't do it before putting it in the slow cooker, it tends to be greyish and unappealing.

absent I do not sear and have not had any problem with the meat looking any different. Searing just caremelises the juices from the meat on the surface of the meat - and as soon as they are in the casserole with the gravy and cooking that is all dissolved off the meat and into the gravy.

Thank you everyone for your replies. Well I cooked my beef stew in my new slow cooker (Cookworks £15) But I wasn't impressed with the cooking time. I had it on low for about 10 hours overnight and the meat was still a bit tough and the potatoes not soft (I placed the veg in the bottom too) So turned it up high for a further 2 hours. I've noticed the lid just sits on the ceramic insert and is loose. Is that the case with them all? I know it was cheap but it has good reviews.

Oh, that is a long time for it to be cooking.
The lid on mine just sits, I think they all do.

Did you lift the lid at all during cooking? That adds to cooking time (although I have to fiddle, if I'm around)

My last slow cooker was the cookworks one, and I've never found it to cook too slowly.

MissAdventure I lifted the lid once in all that 10 hours. Tried it again at 10 hours, that's when I turned it up high.

Maybe mine is faulty ....

That's really not good.
What a shame.i wonder if something is amiss with it, too.

I think I would try and get a refund or replacement if I were you.

It's not fit for purpose if it's taking that long, unless it was maybe a tough piece of meat?

I bought a Morphy Richards Sear and Stew last year and it is much faster than my old one which had a ceramic pot.
It was more expensive but I had a voucher for some reason and I think it's the same price in the Black Friday sale this year as the normal price I paid last year

I dont think I've ever cooked anything on low in either.

To make the cooking quicker put a towel over it.
In the old days they even put a piece of duvet over it.
Another idea - seal the lid with thick flour and water paste.

I don't sear (though I did when I first got the slow cooker).
I don't pre-heat the cooker.
I only add a small amount of liquid unless making something that would also need a lot of liquid if cooked in the oven.
The lids are loose, and food actually spits out once it is hot enough.

I have two slow cookers of different sizes.
Both are Cookworks, OP, so I was surprised to hear how slowly yours cooked, as mine are the opposite - even on 'slow', they both get hotter than I ever expected. In fact, if I was, say, out at work the whole day, I would be very reluctant to put them as the food might be cremated by the time I got home again!
Perhaps that was a design fault that they have since tried to correct, but now gone too far the other way?