Slow cooker....Am i really missing out?

[alioops]

Kind of the spaghetti bolognese, but DH forgot the pasta sauce and tomato paste, so I did it with 4 diced tomatoes and some tomato sauce, not as tomatoey as it should be so it might become the base for shepherds pies, even with the pasta in it.

[briggsy's girl]

poor dh = he seems to forget one thing each time doesnt he??

[Frangipani]

Good thread Kas...I've been wondering the same things as you. But most of my questions seem to have been answered now thanks to this thread.

Can I then ask a final question, what brand do you's have or recommend?

[briggsy's girl]

i have a 7L breville (with rectangular crock pot) and a 6.5L Kambrook - i'd choose the Kambrook any day. the rectangular one just seems to be too hot even on low, and lots of stuff sticks to it. we use it for making soup though - so much room for vegies in there! and enough fluid that it doesn't stick

mum has a sunbeam 6.5L and it's pretty good as well. i think maybe it's just the rectangular shaped pot (the breville was a cheap one we were given when we'd bought our other one so we now use both when doing a cook up - the other day we got a heap of them together and had half a dozen on the go at once!)

ETA - sounds good Ali - hope it turns out ok. i love our spag bol (we make with home made sauce for us - the recipe was done for my aunt who wouldn't make her own sauce if her life depended on it!) - so much veg - tastes sooooo good

[alioops]

he is doing a good job though, there is enough veggies to make it at the moment, and we havent had any more 'creative' attempts at dinner. By the time I am back on my feet he probably wont let me do the grocery shopping, saying I spend too much but getting it all at once actually is cheaper than him going multiple times per week. I think I left just enough space in the SC to mix the pasta in it, but if there isn't then I will partially mix it in the pasta pot and then carefully add it bit by bit.

[alioops]

Mine is a cheapie form Big W, Abode brand. I dont find it sticks and it doesnt seem to get too hot, most things take the length of time specified on the recipe.

[Meo]

I bouth mine at Aldi - it's their Lumina brand. It's quite big, about 6L I think from memory. Would do a family of four no worries except that DH is a BIG eater! And I rarely fill it more than half full (shouldn't go above 2/3 full anyway). I find the oval shape cooks well and it's got the ceramic lift out bowl which you can serve from (is quite nice) and then chuck in the dishwasher, so very handy.

TBH, mine doesn't get the workout I planned for it, but that's because I'm not as organised as I'd like to be. I quite often have SC jags where I'll want to cook a couple of meals in a row in it, usually on weekends! Leftovers freeze well too.

I have no problems leaving mine on overnight or when I'm out of the house. Homemade baked beans for breakfast is a favourite around here

[Phteven]

Homemade baked beans for breakfast is a favourite around here

Please post your recipe in the SC recipe thread if you have time

Netix I think that you have to take the step of leaving it on while you are out. It uses the same amount of power as a lightbulb and if it is sitting on a bench with a clear space around it it isn't a fire hazard. Do you put the veges at the bottom with the meat on top? That is how they recommend doing it.

[christy]

Oh Netix that doesn't sound good.

I use my SC on Tuesday & Thursdays while I'm at work, Tuesdays is soup night and Thursdays is curry night or casserole etc etc...

I turn the SC on around 7am and I put my meat in frozen and my veges frozen. I turn it off at 4pm (or MIL or DH). I've always had everything cook through.

Sometimes during summer I do a roast chook where I actually put a partially frozen chook in the SC for the entire day and it comes out perfect! I serve it with salad and mashed potatoes for the kids. We love it.

[briggsy's girl]

netix - i'll post the stuff i made at the weekend tomorrow - almost fool proof! all made with base ingredients that i knew my aunt would buy (she has a disablity so i had to simplify the stuff heaps!) not a single failure (and we tested them all at the weekend!)

[Visitor8]

I only just got mine a couple of months ago. I love it! I made the BEST roast turkey in it... I have never had it so tender. I had it on low and it took 8 hours.
I left it on while I went out for an hour. Didn't even cross my mind actually...
There is a thread on here with recipes?!? I am off to hunt it down!