Slow Cooker - Basics

[trixilator]

So here I am on my own - total stranger to the kitchen - can just about boil a kettle! I bought a slow cooker, diced casserole steak, carrots, potatos, onion, leek, parsnip, and am now ready to make a meal. Cant get past the simplest recipe referring to 'coating the meat in seasoned cornflour' 'searing the ingredients' 'gently simmer in the Cooking Pot' 'transfer to the Base Unit' 'add the stock (?)' etc etc. Would some kind soul tell me in the simplest terms how I can put my ingredients together to slow cook myself a meal - please?
Many thanks

[Ratty2E]

Firstly I would brown the meat on a high heat in a frying pan (unless you have the types of slow cooker with a metal insert that you can use on the hob, then no need for the frying pan) I don't always bother with coating it although the flour will help thicken the gravy and to be honest I don't always brown it either but it does give a better flavour. Fry off the onions a bit ( also not the law but again a better flavour) you could do the same with the leeks too it's up to you. The root veg needs to be cut up into small chunks but roughly all the same size. Chuck it all in the slow cooker, cover with the stock and any other seasoning it might need, turn it on medium (check with your manual), walk away and don't look back till tea time. Enjoy your meal

[friedgreentomato]

no need to brown it first - just stick it all in and let it get on!

[ummmm]

Agree with fgt....just put it all in with some water. The potatoes will break up and thicken the sauce. You can add a bit of gravy/browning/stock cube towards the end for a stronger flavour.

[Ratty2E]

Water or stock, it just depends on the flavour you want as with all cooking you adjust it to suit your own taste. Not wanting to sound argumentative, but I find potatoes usually keep their shape very well in the slow cooker, maybe it depends on the variety but veg done in the slow cooker usually doesn't tend to go mushy. You could always sprinkle a little Smash powder in just before serving if it need thickening but go careful as a little goes a long way.

[atalanta]

I'd do as Ummmm says, but add a tin of chopped tomatoes for the liquid component. An Oxo cube wouldn't hurt.

[grasscarp]

I always go for recipes in slow cooker cookbooks of which there are hundreds out there. I also make up my own eg vegetable soup where I just put in what I have with some stock and switch it on high for about 5 hours.
My daughter uses her slow cooker almost every day and recently produced a complete spaghetti bolognese in it without even having to cook the spaghettis separately!

[trixilator]

This Atalanta - you say "an oxo cube won't h

[trixilator]

(Sorry) Atalanta to illustrate my complete ignorance how and when do you introduce a cube?

[mccfluff]

when ever you like, you could use the cube to make a stock to use as the liquid, right at the begining, or at the end of the cooking, if you feel you want a thicker gravy you could crumble one in then

slow cookers are dead easy, it really is a matter of chucking it in, adding liquid and leaving it to cook,

i was super lazy with lamb chops the other day, just put them in, just covered them with stock and left them for 5 hours, they were lovely and tender

[ummmm]

I say put the cube in towards the end because you have more control of the flavour. If you put a whole stock cube in you might find it too meaty a flavour.

[hc4361]

Chuck the lot in the slow cooker, veg first then meat (strangely veg takes longer to cook than the meat).

Boil water. Put a stock cube, salt, pepper, garlic salt if you like it, paprika or chilli powder if you want a bit of kick in to a jug. Pour on boiled water and stir to dissolve the cube.
You can add a slosh of red wine or beer at this point if you want.

Pour into slow cooker. Add a tin of tomatoes if you want to. Put the lid on, turn on and forget it. There should be enough liquid to cover the food.

[seekeerz]

How did it all turn out ??

[Buenchico]

Recipe books have been recommending that you brown meat since they were first published. However Heston Blumenthal has shown, through a bit of basic science, that's it completely pointless. So that's one complication out of the way! (I wouldn't bother with the cornflour either!).

Need a sauce? Simply use soup! A can of oxtail goes nicely with some braised beef and carrots, etc.

Even cheaper though is to look in Poundland, 99p stores, etc for cheap cup soups. Leek and Stilton goes well with cooking bacon and a few mushrooms. 100g of Asda cooking bacon (based upon 86p for a 500g pack) costs about 17p. A 'cup soup' (based upon two packs of 4 for a pound) costs about 13p. A few button mushrooms (which is all you'll need when they're finely sliced) will cost no more than 15p. Put that lot in a slow cooker (or simply in a frying pan, lightly cooking the bacon before adding the other ingredients) and then serve with a microwaved jacket potato and butter (which shouldn't cost more than about 25p in total. Result: A hearty meal for about 70p!

I make loads of meals for under a quid; nearly all of them have been invented by simply trying things out for myself. (I've got a few recipe books but I've hardly ever looked at them). Be brave!