I have bought a slow cooker, now I need advice. :)

[feeb]

I have never browned meat for slow cooker ( to me its pain in butt and dirty another pan lol)
I have known others to use frozen meat.

I have no made a rissotto in mine so not sure.

I do sausage casserole, beef stroganoff, chicken curry, lamb shanks are all favs here in slow cooker.

Not made soup as I do that on stove as make so much!!

Enjoy it makes life so easy when at 1700 you think hmm only need to cook rice or pasta to go with dinner!

[sloane]

i brown my meat, but it's just a personal choice you can def get away without doing it.
haven't tried a risotto but with most things in the SC you tend to use less liquid than with other types of cooking.
i have my first batch of soup in the SC at the moment. looks ok so far!
i do curries & casseroles mostly but also do a boned leg of lamb that i then pull apart & we make our own souvlakis - toomanyshoes had a recipe/thread somewhere for that. delish!!
i always heat the liquid first - i read somewhere that putting in hot/boiling liquid helps reduce the cooking time. no idea if it's true but i just stick with it.
chicken breasts can be tricky - you don't want to overcook them.
lamb & beef work beautifully.
there's an epic thread with SC recipes, def check that out

[~StarBright~]

I have a recipe book- 250 recipes for the slow cooker i will lend you!!!

Also DH buys the packet flavour things that you can put in them, and there is always a recipe on the back for what you put in to make it!! Good luck, they are a great thing to have!! And they make th ehouse smell devine all day long!!!!!

[Joeve]

I never brown the meat ever, I also chuck in frozen stuff too. Roast beef is lovely in there, just add water close the lid and open it 7 hours later
You get more adventurous the more you use it, i find rice and pasta anything doesn't work its too gluggy. Enjoy!

[LionsandBears]

I prefer to brown the meat first as I think that improves the flavour but you dont have to.
One of the benefits of a SC is you only need to use the cheaper, casserole type cuts of meat, which is a bonus
I've not made risotto in the SC (I'm about to make some in my TMX instead)
We do big cook up every few weeks then freeze. We're not particularly adventurous but it's amazing what you can produce with some tinned tomatoes, vegies and meat.

Enjoy experimenting.

[misty]

Thank you all so much for your replies everyone. Very appreciated.

SB - I will definitely take you up on that offer to borrow the receipe book.

I am ssooo excited, and DH just doesn't get it - he thinks I am crazy to get excited over a cooking appliance.

[~me~]

My favourite is Ossco Bucco..really yummy!
DH will brown meat before putting in.
I have made a Dublin Coddle, very easy and I always have the ingredients.
You can make golden syrup dumplings or those steam type desserts too.
Our favourite book is called The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. It has different recipes from 7 countries (Dublin Coddle being one of them). It also has an Artichoke Risotto, it uses 6cups of stock and 1 cup of dry white wine, so quite moist to start with. This book has quite few rice recipes..I have made the Red Beans and Rice one, it was delicious.
Chicken and Dumplings is a good one too!! Yummmmmm Dumplings

[nothing2lose]

Feel free to share the recipes Heather!

My favourite is Ossco Bucco..really yummy!
DH will brown meat before putting in.
I have made a Dublin Coddle, very easy and I always have the ingredients.
You can make golden syrup dumplings or those steam type desserts too.
Our favourite book is called The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. It has different recipes from 7 countries (Dublin Coddle being one of them). It also has an Artichoke Risotto, it uses 6cups of stock and 1 cup of dry white wine, so quite moist to start with. This book has quite few rice recipes..I have made the Red Beans and Rice one, it was delicious.
Chicken and Dumplings is a good one too!! Yummmmmm Dumplings

[sloane]

I am ssooo excited, and DH just doesn't get it - he thinks I am crazy to get excited over a cooking appliance.

i'm exactly the same - love a good appliance for the kitchen! i bought a cheapie SC & would love to upgrade - i've seen a one in the big w catelogue that i have my eye on, it comes with a recipe book as well. double the excitement!

and heather has reminded me - dumplings definitely do nicely in the SC. yum!