Tag: slow

Slow Cooker Sunday: Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

This isn’t the normal type of meal I would cook.  I tend to lean toward fresh ingredients but I do love a cheat sometimes.   A while back I was in Ikea and got caught up in the moment and bought a 1kg bag of their frozen meatballs.  They’ve been clogging up my freezer ever since.

Last week I came across this very simple recipe from Six Sister’s Stuff for Tangy Meatballs which only has 3 ingredients!  The only challenge I had was finding grape jelly here in the UK.  So, I substituted Reduced Sugar Black Currant Jam.

It may not sound appetizing but it was really nice and most importantly the 5 year old loved it.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Recipe Type: Main
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A very easy family recipe with only 3 ingredients.
Ingredients
  • 500g of Frozen Swedish Meatballs ( I think any pork or turkey would do)
  • 100ml of Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce (Blue Dragon)
  • 200g of Reduced Sugar Blackcurrant Jam
Instructions
  1. Preheat the slow cooker on low. Add the Dipping Sauce and Jam to the Slow Cooker and mix well.
  2. Add the meatballs and stir to coat.
  3. Cook on low for 2-5 hours
  4. Serve with rice and greens.

How it’s your turn to share some of your favourite recipes using the Linky below.

You can also find us on Pinterest if you need some Slow Cooking recipe inspiration with over 90 recipes.



Slow Cooker Sunday: Boxing Day Hearty Vegetable Soup

I’ve eaten so much I won’t have to eat again till 2013!  We didn’t have a turkey this Christmas as we’re only a small family of 3, we opted for beef,  so luckily we aren’t dealing with the ridiculous amounts of left over bird.

However, on Boxing day we planned a day out, Geocaching and building forts and if I’m honest I couldn’t face more food so I thought I’d put on a hearty soup to come home to.

NOTE:  LENTILS NEED TO BE SOAKED THE NIGHT BEFORE!  The reason I put that in capitals is because I missed this step.  However, I managed to salvage dinner.  I put it all on and then noticed that they needed to be soaked.  I got around it by turning the slow cooker onto high and cooking for about 8 hours.  However, in future, I may by tinned lentils.

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Boxing Day Hearty Vegetable Soup

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Soup
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP of oil oil
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 50g of yellow lentils
  • 50g of green lentils
  • 50g of red lentils
  • 1 tin (400g) butter beans drained and rinsed
  • 80g pearl barley
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 parsnip, peeled and diced
  • 1 litre of vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dried Parsley
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onions for about 3 minutes until soft.
  2. Transfer to the slow cooker
  3. Add lentils, butter beans, barley, carrots, potatoes, parsnip, stock and season with salt and pepper. Stir, cover and cook for 8 hours on low. Add a pinch of dried parsley, ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread.

 

It was a lovely, thick hearty soup.

Do you have any recipes to share?

Slow Cooker Sunday: Eva’s Slow Cooker Mince Meat Pies

slow cooker mince piesI was inspired by @utterlyscrummy to have a go at making mince pies using my slow cooker.  I’ve never made mince pies in my life and I almost chickened out when I saw you can buy a box of them for a £1.  However, the end result was much better than I expected and we all had fun making them.

I roped in my neighbour ‘Eva’, an aficionado in the kitchen, to give me a hand.  We’re very different in the kitchen.  I tend to follow recipes like a science experiment but she just bungs everything in similar to the Muppet’s Swedish Chef.

However, this is the recipe we cobbled together in the end.

Makes:  12 Mince Pies

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 tsp of Clementine Zest (approx ½ a Clementine)
  • 5 small dessert apples or 2 large cooking apples.  Cored and roughly chopped.  We used Royal Gala.
  • 2 Cardamon pods (Big Brown ones) cracked to release the flavour
  • 1 tsp of cinnamon
  • 2 tsp of mixed spice
  • 4 cloves
  • 500g of Dried Mixed Fruit
  • 1 TBSP of Light Muscovado Sugar
  • 1 TBSP of Dark Muscovado Sugar
  • 125 of Apple Juice

Pastry

  • 500g Dessert Pastry Block you could also use regular shortcut pastry.

Method:

1.)  Throw all of the ingredients into the slow cooker, mix well and cover and cook overnight.  Approx 10-12 hours.
2.)  Roll out the pastry block on a lightly floured surface until it is 2-3mm in thickness.  Try not to handle the pastry too much or it becomes tough.  Use a fluted edge cutter to make the bases.  It should be a 2-3 cm bigger in diameter than the openings in the muffin tins.  Gentle encourage them in.flutedcutter
3.) Fill the bases about 2/3 full of the filling.

4.) We used a selection of star cutters to make our tops.

starcutter

5.) Pop in the oven for 20 minutes at 160 degrees.

startops

6.) Remove from tin while still warm and place on a cooling rack.

7.) Use a sifter to sprinkle icing sugar on top.

Mince Pies

They tasted so much better than store bought ones!  Enjoy!

Will you be using your Slow Cooker over the holidays?  Pop your recipes below.

Don’t forget we’re also on Pinterest with over 80 Slow Cooker Recipes to inspire you.

Merry Christmas and All the best in 2013!



My Top 5: Slow Cooker Recipe Books for Christmas

If you’re looking to buy someone a Slow Cooker Recipe Book for Christmas, these are my all time favourite 5.  I have quite a collection of Slow Cooker Recipe books but I always find myself going back to these ones again and again.

Slow Cooker Recipe Books

1)      Ultimate Slow Cooker Book Over 100 simple, delicious recipes by Sara Lewis

2)      200 Slow Cooker Recipes by Sara Lewis

3)      200 More Slow Cooker Recipes by Sara Lewis

You’ll notice the first 3 are by the same author Sara Lewis, I would recommend absolutely any book written by her.  I’ve rarely had a duff recipe and she’s given me the confidence to go beyond Stews!

There is a little overlap between the first two, but if you’re buying a gift the first one is much nicer looking but has half the number of recipes.

4)      DK The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney

The reason I love this book is because for each recipe there is a slow cooker method and the traditional method.  So, if I forget to put food on in the morning, there is still time to rustle up dinner.  I also love the fact that it has a Recipe Chooser at the beginning of the book, choose the type of meal Vegetarian, Chicken, Pork etc and it lists, with pictures a selection of meals.

And finally,

5)      Soups for your Slow Cooker by Diana Peacock

We’ve tried quite a few recipes out of this book; Chinese Pork and Noodle, Mixed Fish and Vegetable and Chargrilled Red Pepper and Tomato.  What we found is that many of the recipes are more substantial than soups and are meal in themselves.

Happy Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Sunday: Mixed Fish and Vegetable Soup

Fish Soup

We’re very good at eating at least one portion of fish a week.  However, there are many benefits for having it twice a week.  This week we’ve had Fish soup at the beginning of the week and have a Fish Pie penciled in for Friday.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Mixed Fish and Vegetable Soup

Recipe Type: Main
Cuisine: Fish
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Total time: 3 hours 20 mins
Serves: 4
Three Fish and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP of vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 stick of celery, chopped
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 6 florets of broccoli, but into bite sized pieces
  • 3oog of
  • mixed white fish
  • cut into small pieces (we used hake, haddock and cod)
  • 1.3 litres of fish stock
  • 1 tsp of dried parsley
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 100g of frozen peas
  • 50g of fresh beans cut into 2cm pieces
  • 175 ml of dry white wine
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan.   Sauté the onions, celery, carrots and broccoli for 15-20 min.  Transfer to the slow cooker.
  2. Add the fish, stock and parsley.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
  3. Cover and cook on high for2.5-3 hours.  Add the peas, beans and wine halfway through the cooking time.
  4. Ladle into large soups bowls and serve with crusty bread
3.1.09

 

Disclosure:  Our Fish was compliments of DelishFish

 Now it’s over to you to share what you’ve had bubbling away in your slow cooker.  For a full list of recipes shared over the week pop over to our Pinterest Board.  Thanks for joining in.