The FastDay Forum

Might I just add, that I have a 30 year old slow cooker, (A corden bleu make, I don't know whether you can still get them) and it is like an original earthenware pot and no temperature control, only that it is either plugged in or it isn't! My instructions tell me to preheat the cooker, before adding foodstuff.
However, I was staying with my sister in Engand and was making a chilli, in her much more modern slow cooker. I preheated the device, brought the chilli up to the boil and poured it into the heated vessel. All I heard was a loud cracking noise. Unbekown to me, hers was a slow cooker that you did NOT reheat. Whoops! That made that a more expensive din[color=#8000BF]ner than anticipated.
Just saying, you don't always have to preheat them

So here's the verdict of my first use ever of a slow cooker

It was on low but I find it quite hot, does anybody knows what is the temperature for low and high ?

There's no difference in temperature between low and high - both settings reach about 210 degrees Celcius or so. The difference lies in how quickly they get there - low takes longer.

I love my slow cooker and use it fairly often; at the very least once a week. A little over a year ago I got a new, larger one that has more bells and whistles. Things I make most often are roast chicken, a beef roast with mushroom soup for gravy, meatballs in tomato sauce for pizza subs, cheesy potatoes/loaded potato soup, and ground turkey. I like to cook up 2 or 3 pounds of ground turkey with onions, green peppers, julienne carrots, garlic, flax seed and plenty of seasoning. When it is all done I use measuring cups to divide it up into snack and sandwich size ziploc bags and freeze to be used later in soups, spaghetti sauces, casseroles, chili, chili con queso dip, etc. I can make a meal so much faster without having to brown the meat first. Also, you would be surprised how many recipes call for a pound of ground meat; but turn out as well with just 1/2lb. saving you both money and calories.

I always put my slow cooker on to slowly cook a meal on Wednesday before we go Bushwalking at 10 am and it beautiful when I return at 7:10 from Pilates. I cook lamb curry, turkey or chicken and vegetables. I do cut my sweet potato small as it's quite dense, but I find pumpkin is fine as it breaks up and makes for a nice sauce. I use garlic, onion, ginger or curry paste and stock and find about .5 cup of liquid is all I need? It's a 8 cup cooker so I often cook a bit extra and if I can persuade my husband to leave it use it Friday or the weekend. I always use lots of vegetables and always cook it on slow unless like last week I actually forgot to put it on so I put the chicken cooked on with veg not cooked on high at 3pm and it was just perfect at 7:10. Just shows it still works but I like to cook it slow.

I don't think it would be a good idea, for mine, to preheat it, one of the reason being I prepare the dish in the evening, put in in the fridge for the night and put the slow cooker on early in the morning.

Did some chicken again yesterday, without the skin on this time and it was really amazing. The meat fell off the bones and was tasty and the vegs were really as well. I just need to find something else do make with it than chicken and soup...

I originally bought a slow cooker for my husband's meals but he has such a poor appetite I hardly use it. He is a meat eater, but I don't eat meat or dairy products and was wondering if anyone has tried to cook beans in a slow cooker? I usually buy tinned beans but would like to try different types of beans which I can't find canned.

I love doing pre-soaked green lentils and veg in mine. Also have done a nice cooking apple, raisin and spice dessert too.
Would like to know what fish anyone uses in theirs please?

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/slow-co ... cipes.aspx

The slow cooker is also fantastic for steamed puddings, especially suet puddings. Either use a dish, or with something like roly poly, wrap securely in foil and place in the cooker seam side up. A cup of water is all thats usually needed, but a top up of boiling water can be added if it seems to be boiling dry. Anyone for Xmas pus?

Edit: PS. For roly poly scrunch up some foil and place in the bottom of the slow cooker (in the water) to provide a base to lift the roly poly out of the water, or use steamer equipment.

Azurblue, I don't know what fish the others used but I think fresh tuna would work great

I saw a recipe for rice pudding, I will try it tomorrow. I love that kind of comfort food that reminds me of my childhod

For how long do you cook the lentils ? I have dry green lentils and I was thinking of doing something with them