Tag: cooker

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

My husband always looks so disappointed when I tell him we’re having soup for dinner!  However, after his initial moan, he really liked it.  It’s a hearty meal, great for those cold and dark winter evenings.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
  • 1.5 litres of chicken stock
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 stalks of celery, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 1 TBSP of dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Tagliatelle

 

Method:

  1. Put the chicken, stock, onion, celery carrot, herbs in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
  2. When the chicken is tender fish it out of the slow cooker and shred it using a couple of forks and put it back in the slow cooker to keep it warm while you make the pasta.
  3. I used Tagliatelle, however, you could probably substitute most types of pasta.  Cook enough, following the instruction on the pack, so that you can almost half fill your soup bowls.  Then ladle over the soup.  I served with crusty bread.

Enjoy.

Click here for more Slow Cooker Recipes.

Disclosure:  That is not a picture of my soup as I forgot to take one.

The Best Slow Cooker Recipe Books Ever!

I’m always waffling on about my slow cooker as I use it at least 3 times a week and couldn’t live without it as a working mum.  People are often asking me for my recipes.  I do have a selection of tried and tested Slow Cooker Recipes here on the blog but I can’t recommend these two books enough as I use them weekly as  you can see by how tattered they are.

In fact, the two books are one in the same the larger one, weirdly, only has 100 recipes while the smaller has 200 but they’re by the same author and overlap.  However, if you’re buying it for a gift the larger one would be nicer.

They’ve completely opened my world up to the possibilities.  Slow cookers aren’t just for making beef stew.  Here are a few of my favourite recipes from the book.

  • Spiced Lamb Tagine
  • Abruzzi Lamb
  • Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs)
  • Lamb Rogan Josh
  • Sausages with Onion Gravy
  • Grean Bean Risotto with Pesto
  • Swordfish Bourride
  • Thai Green Chicken Curry

The smaller one is currently on sale on Amazon for about £4.

Disclosure:  Being completely cheeky but I’ve used my own affiliate code so if you do buy it I get a few pence.  Why not as I’m giving them a bit of free advertising!

 

Slow Cooker Curry Laksa Soup

This recipe was originally sent to me from the lovely folks at Blue Dragon but I’ve modified it to use it with a slow cooker.  It was incredibly easy and gorgeous.  It’s definitely gone on the ‘have again’ list.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 4 tbsp Blue Dragon Laksa Paste
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 200 ml chicken stock
  • 500g boneless chicken thighs, chopped into thin slices
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 100g green beans chopped into 2.5 cm pieces
  • 1 tbsp of fish sauce
  • 100g bean sprouts
  • Coriander
  • ½ a cucumber but into match sticks
  • Straight to wok fine rice noodles

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and then add the curry paste and fry for about a minute.  When it’s aromatic add the coconut milk and chicken stock bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Add the chicken, onion and fish sauce for 4-7 minutes and simmer till the chicken is sealed.

2. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Approximately 1 hour before it finishes add the green beans.  This will stop them from getting too mushy.

3. Prepare the noodles as per instructions on pack.  Put a large handful in the bottom of each bowl.  Now top the noodles with a few generous ladle-fulls of the soup.

4. Garnish with the bean sprouts, coriander and cucumber.

I served it with bread but really didn’t need to as it was an entire meal in itself.

 

 

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Pork Chops in Mushroom Gravy

I normally don’t post my recipes until I’ve tried them but this one smells so good I’m confident it’s going to be delicious!  I’ll let you know otherwise.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

  • 2 TBSP of Oil
  • 4 medium pork chops
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1 tin of Baxter’s Cream of Mushroom Soup (295g)
  • ½ tin of Baxter’s French Onion Soup (415g)
  • 1 TBSP of butter
  • 200 grams of button mushrooms sliced

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan, season the pork chops with salt and pepper and brown on both sides (approx 3 minutes per side).  Transfer to the slow cooker.
  2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan and sauté the mushrooms for a few minutes until they begin to soften.  They still have hours in the slow cooker so you don’t need to cook them fully.  Place on top of the chops in the slow cooker.
  3. Mix the Mushroom and French Onion soup in a jug.  Pour over the mushrooms and pork chops.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

I tend to serve mine with rice and green beans.

Enjoy!

You can find a full list of my slow cooker recipes here.

Slow Cooker Shiitake Mushroom Risotto

I love Risotto but I hate making it.  I have the attention span of a goldfish and can’t bear to stand in front of the cooker ladling and stirring, ladling and stirring for 30 minutes.  So, I was over the moon when I learned that you could do it in the slow cooker, no stirring required!  Here is the recipe and I’m sure you can adjust it to whatever recipe you normally use.  I think the trick is the amount of liquid to rice ratio.

Ingredients

  • 4 TBSP of olive oil, divided
  • 250 ml of finely chopped onions
  • 65ml of white wine
  • 315g of Arborio Rice
  • 1 litre of chicken stock
  • 1 TBSP of butter
  • 120 grams of shiitake mushrooms
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons of single cream
  • 30 g of freshly grated parmesan

Method

  1. Heat 3 TBSP of the oil in a frying pan.  Sauté the onions until they are soft (approx 3 minutes).  Add the white wine and stir continuously for 1 minute.  Add the rice and stir and cook until it starts to become transparent, about 3 minutes.  Put into the slow cooker and add the chicken stock.  Cook for 2 hours on high.  No need to stir.
  2. 30 minutes before it is finishes, melt the butter and remaining TBSP of oil in a frying pan, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and sauté until they’re soft (Approx 5 minutes).  Stir into the Risotto in the slow cooker.
  3. 5 minutes before it is finishes stir in the parmesan cheese.

Now, how easy is that?  If you do ever try any of these recipe, please fell free to blog about them and link back here!  I’d love to see you’re variations.