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

[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!)

[Netix]

Goodness! I feel as if I really have hijacked this thread! My apologies!

Thanks for the hugs Brontide, makes me feel a little better. I do put the veges at the bottom. So far have tried with sliced potatoes, another time with carrots, and another time with onions. Several attempts with both the potato and carrots actually, including making stews, where the meat and veg were both waaaay underdone (meat was cooked, but not tender, and it was on low for about 6-8 hours).

Hang on, I did once make a pea and ham soup that turned out well. Which didn't end up being that great, seeing as the Man doesn't actually eat pea and ham soup. Again .

Christy; you put frozen things in your SC? Waaaaaaaaaa!

BG; thank you. But you know what they say about things being idiot proof don't you.... (me idiot, no one else)

[briggsy's girl]

netix, no offence, but if my aunt can make it, anyone can (she has an intellectual disability and never progressed beyond about 12!) the recipes we did up for her are THE most basic we could find - so we cheated and used jars and things rather than making from scratch as i would for DH and I - she didn't manage to stuff any of them up on the weekend which i'm mighty impressed with!

will go post in the SC recipe threads now - these are truly simple recipes!

[ladybird11]

Great thread Cas - with baby # 2 due in July I've been debating about getting a slow cooker!!

You ladies sold me!! No more 5pm rush hour for me!!!!

[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!