Slow cooker help!

[shellbell3]

I'm new to this whole slow cooker business.
Cooked in it 2nd time tonight and the chicken came out quite dry and the vegies not quite soft enough.
I followed a recipe but noticed the fluid only came up about half way, is that normal?
And because I was told the meat needs to sit on top of the veg it wasn't covered by any of the fluid.
Any tips or advice? It was a pretty average meal, quite unimpressive! Maybe I should stick to the packet mixes.

[BrightSparkles]

how long did you leave it in for???
I find chicken needs a while...
but yes... liquid coming only half way up isn't uncommon.

HTH xx

[sconeonamission]

I don't know about your tonight meal, but I borrowed books from the library and followed them.

That said, I tried to make some pesto bread (which tastes not too bad for a first attempt) in my slow cooker today. The recipe said 2.5hrs and it was in there for 3hrs and still wasn't looking like finishing. I took it out anyway and it tastes ok.

Did your slow cooker come with recipes?

[Tinks]

Sounds like it needed to be cooked longer with more liquid in it.

You'll get used to how your slow cooker cooks. They are all different. I find the bigger oval ones need a little more liquid than recipes state. It's pretty hit and miss while you're getting used to using the slow cooker. I have made some shocking stuff in mine lol.

[shellbell3]

Yeah it is a bigger oval one, had it on low for just over 7 hrs, can understand it needed longer for the vegies but the chicken was really dry if that was longer it would've been worse.
How do I balance it out? If I put more fluid would the end result be too liquidy?

[Muffy]

i never really put mine on low i find it doesnt cook as well as when i put it on high!!!

[Tinks]

I always cook on high too. What kind of chicken did you use?

[shellbell3]

Just chicken breast, 1st time I cooked in it I had it on high for 2 hrs then turned down, maybe I should do that next time.

[Tinks]

I've never done chicken breast in the slow cooker but perhaps it needed a fattier cut of chicken like drumsticks or thighs so it could ooze out and create more liquid.

[sconeonamission]

I always cook on high!! I never remember to cook til the afternoon, then it'd never finish in time!

[shellbell3]

Thanks girls, getting some good tips here.
I'm gonna use those packet mixes for next few trys I reakon, just til I get the hang of it all!

[Ryatha]

I've never cooked chicken in my cooker, but with other meats, they have always been covered by liquid. I also have found it is trial and error for the time required. Some recipies have siad it needed 9 hrs but was ready in 6 and vice versa...

We were given a slow cooker cook book which has all the times/temps for different types of slow cookers, could you get your hands on one of them from the library?

[sunshine_sieben]

Chicken Breast is pretty dry anyway, so I would always want it immersed in the liquid, especially if cooking for that long.
Sasa

[rikki]

I always find chicken breast dries out too Shell. If I do breast, I put it on low for only maybe four hours. I've also put chicken in frozen if I need to cook it for longer. Check out the recipes in the slow cooker thread... that's where i've got most of mine from and they are all winners! I've also passed them on to friends who have also loved them. The whole roast chicken and mexican chicken are favourites here!

Hope those gorgeous girls of yours are well xxx