Why did it take me so long to get the slow cooker out of the back of my car?? It is amazing. Not only does it hugely help when we have a busy evening but it is so nice to come from work and smell dinner. And so far, everything has been delicious!
All it takes is a bit of forward planning and minor prep in the morning. And I’m nothing if not lover of planning. And looking up loads of recipes on Pinterest or my favourite blogs. Always fun!
So for a bit of WIAW fun, here are my latest meals thanks to my slow cooker.
This was very simple. The night before I chopped a white onion and fried it with garlic ready for the morning. Then in the morning I added that to the slow cooker with 400g/~1lb lean beef mince. I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste, herbs and crumbled a couple of beef stock cubes and gave it a good mix. Then I popped it on low and went on my merry way to work. It probably cooked for 8-9 hours.
My intention had been to pop it into a casserole dish with mash sweet potato on it and cook it for another 20mins but in the end I couldn’t be bothered. So Ben got his with garlic bread and I whizzed up some cheesey cauliflower mash for me. Done.
I’d suggest it could probably serve 4 with potato but for me and my monster appetite (and only having cauliflower mash) I finished off half and felt very satisfied. Ben struggled with his half!
Creamy Slow Cooker Chicken:
I used THIS recipe for this meal. It was unbelievably easy. Just chicken, a tub of cream cheese (I used medium fat), a tin of condensed chicken soup (I used Campbell’s), lots of Italian herbs and 1/2 cup of water. Mix and put on low for 6-8 hours.
Slow Cooker Roast Chicken:
Again, another simple chicken meal. I chopped up an onion and added it to the slow cooker with lots of garlic and herbs, then placed a whole chicken on top. 6 hours on low (until the juices in the chicken ran clear).
I then served the chicken with a bit of the drained roasted onion and lots of roasted squash (which I did in the normal oven) and vegetables. And half a bottle of BBQ sauce… You know it makes sense.
Squash Soup with Chickpeas:
Ingeniously I did all the prep for this the weekend before. I chopped up an onion, a delicata squash, a butternut squash and a sweet potato and popped it all into a freezer bag.
I popped the bag into the fridge ready. Then a couple of days later I in the morning I added the contents of the bag to the slow cooker, added some spices (I like cumin, paprika and a bit of curry powder), a crumbled vegetable stock cube, half a tin of coconut milk and a cup(ish) of water and stirred. Again, 6-8 hours on low.
When I got in from a run all I had to do was whizz it all up using a hand blender and then added a tin of chickpeas. I left it on high while I showered (20 minutes?) and then dinner was ready!
So I’m pretty chuffed with the slow cooker. It has really helped when we’re working late or I’m out running in the evening. It just means one less thing to worry about and a beautifully tasty meal! Also it means less washing up.
I’m looking forward to try out different soups, BBQ ribs (*swoon*), chilli…the possibilities are endless! Any suggestions are more than welcome too 🙂
What’s your favourite slow cooker meal? So far mine is the creamy chicken. Ben was a big fan of this one too (surprise, surprise…)
What are your time-saving tips for cooking in the week?
Do you do a lot of food preparation at the weekend? I try to but sometimes the weekends are so busy, just getting the normal stuff done is tight!