The slow cooker is an amazing tool to create amazing meals.
It is the perfect appliance if you find yourself rushing and needing a quick
way to cook meals for you and your family. You can simply put the ingredients
in the cooker, turn it on, and leave it on all day cooking your food. This tool
gives you delicious and flavourful meals every time.
What is a slow cooker?
To put it simply, the slow cooker is an appliance which
works at a low temperature to simmer food over a longer period than normal cooking.
You can cook a variety of things in a slow cooker such as meats, soups, or
drinks. Due to the nature of the slow cooking, cooking meat in the cooker
leaves you with delicious tender meat. For example, beef stew or chicken stew.
There have been some inventive uses of the slow cooker too. Recently ‘slow
cooker hot chocolate’ was trending on social media. This sounds delicious and
something we are going to try!
To help you with getting started with a slow cooker, we have
made a list of 8 ways which you can use your slow cooker!
1. Beef stew
Beef stew is a family favourite. It is a simple, hearty, and healthy meal for all the family. It is the perfect slow cooker meal as the beef will tenderise perfectly in the cooker. You can add any vegetables you like to bulk out the meal and add more flavour and texture. Your stew will be delicious on its own but a perfect accompaniment to the dish is a side of creamy mashed potatoes.
2. Chicken casserole
Another great dish for all the family. This dish is packed with nutritional value and the simplicity of making it in the slow cooker makes it the perfect meal. Most chicken casserole recipes have a small amount of ingredients and can be packed with vegetables. By leaving your chicken in the slow cooker for at least 4 hours, the results will be juicy and tender chicken for everyone to enjoy!
3. Lasagne
People do not often associate lasagne with
the slow cooker; however, it is the perfect match. Whether you prefer
vegetarian lasagne, such as lentil lasagne, or the classic style lasagne using
beef, you need to try this out. The slow cooker gives the lasagne sheets a
delicious soft finish and the perfect melt for the cheese on top.
4. Jambalaya
Jambalaya is a tasty rice-based dish
which can be created using your slow cooker. The dish is traditionally created
with sausage, chicken and shrimp which are the perfect combination. This is a
classic one- pot style dish so it suits the slow cooker perfectly.
5. Roast pork
Many people have their own styles and recipes for cooking roast pork. It is a great meal to be enjoyed for a Sunday lunch with the family and using the slow cooker you can put it onto cook in the morning, and by the afternoon your meat will be tender and flavourful. Just add your favouring spices and vegetables and enjoy with roast potatoes and gravy.
6. Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti and
meatballs is a favourite for all the family. If you want to serve your family
and friends a delicious meal which they will love, try this out! If you don’t
have time to make your own homemade meatballs, you can even buy them premade,
along with premade sauce and put them all in the slow cooker. If you are opting
for a vegetarian option, you can still do this but just add your favourite meat
free meatballs. Even the spaghetti can be cooked in the cooker too. Once you
are about 30-40 minutes from serving your meal, just add your choice of
spaghetti and cook that straight in the slow cooker. This is so simple and
turns out perfect evert time!
7. Soup
The perfect food for a cold winters’ day. If you enjoy a delicious warm bowl of soup with crusty bread, you need to try cooking it in the slow cooker. You can cook anything from tomato soup to chicken soup, and since there is little evaporation with the slow cooker you will gain rich and intense flavours. You can batch cook a large amount of soup in the slow cooker (depending on the size of it) so you can save it for lunches for the week or to serve to guests.
8. Bread
After mentioning the bread with soup, we
had to discuss making bread in the slow cooker. It is an easy way for beginners
to get into baking bread. The recipes for slow cooker bread are so simple and
will turn out perfect. You can use wholemeal flour or white flour depending on
your preference. Usually all you need is flour, yeast, salt, and water making
it the simplest suggestion on the list. Perfect to make and pair with your precooked
slow cooker soup!
These have been our 8 top ideas for slow cooker dishes.
Although we have given a great selection of dishes in this list, there are so
many more potential meals to be created in the slow cooker. We really hope you
create some of these dishes and enjoy the simplicity and results of them! If
you have any unique slow cooker ideas, we would love to know in the comments!
