Slow cookers

Spaghetti & Noodles

Spaghetti & Noodles

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Are they worth it?

Do they save electric/time?

Is a 6.5l big enough for a family of 4?

Have been considering one for the last couple of years but not made my mind up.
 
Absolutely yes, i wouldnt be without mine!
Chuck it on in the morning, head off to work and not have to worry about cooking when I’m tired!

6.5l is big enough for four.



I actually have three slow cookers. I have a 1.5 litre and two 3 litre. This is because I don’t eat red meat so if I’m doing red meat for the meat eaters it’ll go in one of the 3 litres and I’ll do mine in the 1.5 litre.
If it’s a chicken dinner then I eat that so will just use one 3 litre which is still big enough for four of us.
The other reason I have three slow cookers is so that I have one/two which I can use to make dinner and then the third is cooking a dessert (I love cooking sponge puddings or rice pudding in my slow cooker).
 
Piggies&buns said:
...and then the third is cooking a dessert (I love cooking sponge puddings or rice pudding in my slow cooker).
Click to expand...

I love the idea of a pudding cooker! Do you have any good recipes for either of those you could share, please? (Sorry for derailing slightly)

I can't comment on the energy efficiency, but there was once a time I lived in a flat with a kitchen so small there was no hob or cooker. You'd be surprised what you can do in a slow cooker - I even did pizzas once! We're having a slow cooker revival in our house at the moment; it's lovely getting dinner done while I still have energy in the mornings, and then at night I have one less job to do before I can relax ☺️ (in theory anyway)
 
poggle said:
I love the idea of a pudding cooker! Do you have any good recipes for either of those you could share, please? (Sorry for derailing slightly)

I can't comment on the energy efficiency, but there was once a time I lived in a flat with a kitchen so small there was no hob or cooker. You'd be surprised what you can do in a slow cooker - I even did pizzas once! We're having a slow cooker revival in our house at the moment; it's lovely getting dinner done while I still have energy in the mornings, and then at night I have one less job to do before I can relax ☺️ (in theory anyway)
Click to expand...

My rice pudding isn’t a recipe, I just do it by eye.
But I rub the dish the butter (mine are ceramic slow cookers), guess roughly how much pudding rice for four of us, a sprinkling of sugar and then add enough milk to cover it plus a little more. I cook it for around 2 hours on high. If it’s done before I’m ready, then I add a bit more milk and turn it down to low to continue until ready to serve.

I will dig out the sponge pudding recipe and post shortly.
If you search on the forum you will find a few threads regarding slow cookers and recipes already in here!

Ive cooked bread in mine before!
 
I used my slow cooker a lot while our Aga was broken. Some things are a bit nicer if you brown them quickly first in a frying pan, such as sausages, but I learned I could cook pretty much anything in it so long as it didn't need to be crispy. They are great for cooking cheaper cuts of meat for a Sunday 'roast' such as pot-roast beef, which would be tough if roasted in an oven, or for casseroles - throw the ingredients in before you go to work, switch on to low, et voila! you come home to a tasty warming meal waiting for you.

Pud wise I only ever did rice pud in it, but my recipe book for it (sadly now lost) had a recipe for pineapple upside-down cake, and this afternoon while oogling for a banana bread recipe I saw there was one for doing it in a slow cooker.

They are great for cooking food with minimal energy, none is wasted unlike in an oven or hob. Definitely worth using in these times of high energy prices and environmental worry.
 
Thank you, I might have another look.

My husband likes a stew but I do find, it seems, to get the best result is long and slow in the oven but I'm sure that is quite expensive.
 
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