I Need Some Help With Everyday Dinners......

[Little Chicken]

My slow cooker stew is carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes all chopped, aboutv1kg diced casserole beef, 1 can chopped tomatoes, dreied mixed herbs, minced garlic, couple of bay leaves, salt and pepper. Stir and leave to cook. I add some for flour at the end to thicken the sauce

[LionsandBears]

Gigi - I learnt the biggest trick to slow cooker meals is get cuts of meat that are good for casseroles, which are normally the cheaper cuts, and brown them before adding to slow cooker. Add root vegetables and a can or two of diced tomotoes. Add different herbs and spices depending on your taste and leave to cook. If you have stock add that. It's a good idea to make your own stock using vegie scraps and bones, then freeze in batches. Tastes nicer than the powder stuff but also takes up freezer space. A tip I got off Rouge was to keep adding vegie scraps to a freezer bag and keep frozen. When you have enough, make stock.

Tonight's dinner was a meal Mum made for our freezer- oyster blade beef casserole made in the slow cooker. Sooo yummy with mash. It included onions, carrots and probably tomato.

A cheap, healthy filler for casseroles are lentils. Buy dried lentils, soak overnight and add to a casserole. Other nutritious fillers include barley, brown rice, quinoa etc.

[Gigi]

so, sounds like, very little liquid needed for the slow cooker.

when you talk about adding stock, would that mean a small amount, like one cup?

it's the amount of liquid, and the spices/herbs part that puzzles me the most, so it's good to see how other people do that. I have fresh garlic, fresh ginger and a reasonable supply of dried herbs/spices.

about the veg, if a slow cooker might be on for say, five hours, would you cut up the veg chunky, or small?

sorry i have so many questions, prolly obvious to everyone else.

[alish]

aldi souvlaki kits... yummmmmmm! and quick & easy!

[LionsandBears]

I cut up the vegies quite chunky. You need enough liquid to cover the other ingredients. Just adding water can mean there's not enough flavour which is where the tomotoes, stock or wine comes in. I've tried doing a non-tomato base a few times but havent had much luck flavour wise. If you're just doing vegies, add the hard ones together first. I dont actually put green vegies in unless I'm making soup as thet just get too mushy.

Put the biggest/ densest items at the base of the slow cooker and the lighter things at the top. Try not to stir too many times. You lose heat each time you take the lide off.

Google some recipes. Standard items we always try to have are tins of diced tomatoes, bacon, carrots and potatos. Add lentils or meat.

[Gigi]

Gigi - Have you joined the Facebook group "Stay at Home Mum - The Secret to Living on One Wage"? It has some great ideas for making inexpensive meals/snacks and other great money saving ideas

no, but i will now, thanks for telling me about it.

i have joined the FB "$120 grocery challenge" one (it was on tv). and i'm subscribed to "simply savings" website, with the vault of tips. I bought the "$21 challenge" book connected to the simply savings site, haven't understood it enough to meal plan (to meal plan is my goal).

[Gigi]

thanks Tashybabe, Nothing to lose, i'm going to print out your tips, they sound do-able to me. Thanks for sharing your tips with me, i really appreciate it.

i think i have messed up prior, as i've done things like add a can of soup, add too much stock, - too much liquid basically.
The slow cooker sachets - i get put off by them, because they expect you to buy quite a bit of meat, to make up their recipes.

[nothing2lose]

No problems Gigi.

I posted quickly from my ipad on the train. I have quite a few yummy and nutritious budget recipes if you want me to send them to you.

[Olive]

gigi i dont often buy the slow cooker packets but if i do i usually only use half the packet as i find them too salty, save the rest for another time