Slow Cooker Sunday – Chinese Food (Beef and Greens)

Since we’ve started using our Slow Cooker regularly we find that we are having way less Take Aways than we used to. Back in the day, by the time I got home from work, collected my daughter from childcare, bathed her and got her into bed.  It was getting late and I couldn’t be bothered starting to cook, so we’d find ourselves whipping around the corner to McDonald’s or ordering in.

Last week I was inspired by Cabinet Stew to have a go at making Chinese Food in the Slow Cooker.  It was a lovely change to the MSG filled ones that we were getting delivered and no more waking up in the middle of the night dying of thirst.

 

Slow Cooker Sunday – Chinese Food (Beef and Greens)
 
Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Chinese
Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • 500g Stewing Beef
  • 1 small onion, sliced
  • 2 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 TBSP of Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 2 tsp of brown sugar
  • 1 cm grated ginger
  • 80 ml reduced salt soy sauce
  • 1 tsp of orange zest and the juice of the orange
  • 1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
  • 160 ml of beef stock
  • Black Pepper
  • 1 TBSP of Corn Flour dissolved into 2 TBSP of water
  • one small head of broccoli cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 tin (225g) of Bamboo Shoots and Water Chestnuts, drained.

Instructions
  1. Place the beef and the onions in the bottom of the slower cooker season with pepper. In a mixing jug, combine the garlic, vinegar, sugar, ginger, soy sauce, orange zest, orange juice, spice and beef stock. Mix well and pour over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  2. An hour before serving stir in the cornflour, this should help it thicken and place the water chestnuts/shoots and broccoli on top. Replace the lid and cook for another hour. Gently mix before serving and serve on a bed of rice or noodles.

Don’t forget Slow Cooker Sunday is all about sharing recipes and being inspired.  Please add your favourite recipes by using the Linky below.  They can be old or new and don’t have to be your own.  As long as you have a web address they can be added. Alternatively, you can always add them in the comments section.
For more recipe inspiration check out our Pinterest Board, with over a hundred slow cooker recipes or join our Google + Community ‘All Things Slow Cooking’

 

And if you subscribe to my blog, using the form in the sidebar you can get a free copy of my first ever eBook ‘There’s More to Slow Cooking than Stews – 10 Recipes to get you going’.


Disclosure:  The meat was Courtesy of www.farmison.com;  a one stop gourmet shop selling food and produce sourced from over 75 of the UK’s leading farms and producers. All the best quality, most popular and rarest cuts of award-winning meats, cheeses and greengrocer goods are all selected for their superior taste can all be delivered directly to the door of the home cook. 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Creamy Chicken Pasta


Yes, you can cook Pasta in a slow cooker!

I must admit that this isn’t the normal type of thing I cook.  However, it is school holidays, our daughter eats at the childminders for the majority of the week, so I was conscious of making child friendly meals.  We’ve had Sausage and Mash, Macaroni and Cheese and this Creamy Chicken Pasta.

I do wish she had a wider palate, but I have tried and it’s difficult to persuade her to eat slightly spicier food.  I’m fairly confident I couldn’t get her to eat a Lentil Dahl.

I originally, came across this recipe on Chic Pins at first I was a bit flummoxed by the measurements, I couldn’t locate the egg noodles and I prefer to use chicken thighs as I find they don’t dry out as much as breasts do.

So I’ve anglicized it a bit, even though I’m Canadian.

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Creamy Chicken Pasta
Recipe Type: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Child Friendly
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 500 g of Chicken Thighs, skinned and cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1.2 litres of Chicken Stock
  • 2 tins (295g) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 50 g of butter
  • 320 g of tagliatelle
  • Parsley to garnish
Instructions
  1. Place the chicken, stock, soup and butter in the slow cooker. Mix well. Cook and cover on low for a minimum of 6 hours.
  2. An hour before you are going to serve put the Tagliatelle in, replace the lid and cook for another hour.
  3. It’s that easy. Serve with garlic bread and greens.

 

Don’t forget Slow Cooker Sunday is all about sharing recipes and getting inspiration from others.  Feel free to add your own recipes below.  They can be old or new and don’t even have to be your own.  Just one you’ve tried and liked.

And if you need extra inspiration, don’t forget to check out our Pinterest Board, with over a hundred recipes.

Google+ fans, we also have a Community ‘All Things Slow Cooking’ feel free to join in.  Thanks to Aly Hodge it’s now starting to grow legs.

And if you subscribe to my blog, using the form in the sidebar you can get a free copy of my first ever eBook ‘There’s More to Slow Cooking than Stews – 10 Recipes to get you going’.



Slow Cooker Sunday: Sausage and Puy Lentil Stew

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Sausage and Puy Lentil Stew
Recipe Type: Pork
Cuisine: Slow Cooker
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Serves: 4
This recipe originally came from Sara Lewis, but she called for Venison Sausages and Cranberries.  I only had pork sausages and don’t really like fruit of any description  (e.g apricots, raisins, apple) in my dinner so I just omitted them.  The picture doesn’t do it justice but I can’t stress enough how amazingly good it was.
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 6-8 good quality pork sausages (we get ours from the local butcher)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, mince (I buy frozen portions of garlic)
  • 2 TBSP plain flour
  • 900ml chicken stock
  • 3 TBSP light or dark brown sugar
  • 2 TBSP tomato puree
  • 2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • 200g puy lentils
  • 2 bay leaves
  • salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Place the lentils and bay leaf in the bottom of the slow cooker
  2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the sausages on all sides.  No need to cook through as they will be in the slow cooker for 6 hours.  Set aside.
  3. Add the onion and garlic to the frying pan and saute for approx 3 minutes until they soften.  Sprinkle over the flour and mix well for about a minute.  Gradually add the stock, then stir in the sugar, tomato puree, vinegar and season with a bit of salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
  4. Pour the mixture over the lentils and place the sausages on top.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves and serve with crusty bread.

Don’t forget Slow Cooker Sunday is all about sharing recipes and getting inspiration from others.  Feel free to add your own recipes below.  They can be old or new and don’t even have to be your own.  Just one you’ve tried and liked.

And if you need extra inspiration, don’t forget to check out our Pinterest Board, with over a hundred recipes.

Google+ fans, we also have a Community ‘All Things Slow Cooking’ feel free to join in.  Thanks to Aly Hodge it’s now starting to grow legs.

And if you subscribe to my blog, using the form in the sidebar you can get a free copy of my first ever eBook ‘There’s More to Slow Cooking than Stews – 10 Recipes to get you going’.



Slow Cooker Sunday: Black-eyed Bean Soup with Peppers and Coconut Milk

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Black-eyed Bean Soup with Peppers and Coconut Milk

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Slow Cooker
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Weirdly, when I first came across this recipe I was attracted to the coconut milk, but when I thought about the combination of tastes I wasn’t sure, but it really did work well.
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP of Sunflower Oil
  • 1 large leek, trimmed and sliced
  • 1 red pepper, chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp of cumin seeds crushed
  • 500ml of vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp of light brown sugar
  • salt and pepper to season
  • 2x 400g tins of black-eyed beans, drained and rinsed
  • 400 ml tin of light coconut milk
  • Dried Coriander
  • lime wedges to serve
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the leek and peppers and sauté for 3-5 minutes until the onions soften. Add the chilli flakes and cumin seeds and mix well for about a minute.
  2. Add the stock, stir in the brown sugar until it dissolves and season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
  3. Put the beans into the slow cooker and pour over the stock mixture. Add the coconut milk, stir, cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
  4. Serve with wedges of lime, garnish with dried coriander and some crusty bread.

 

If you have any recipes you’d like to share, please do add them to the Linky below.

And if you need extra inspiration, don’t forget to check out our Pinterest Board, with over a hundred recipes.

Google+ fans, we also have a Community ‘All Things Slow Cooking’ feel free to join in.

And if you subscribe to my blog, using the form in the sidebar you can get a free copy of my first ever eBook ‘There’s More to Slow Cooking than Stews – 10 Recipes to get you going’.