I REALLY wish I liked Slow Cooker Meals

[ducdebrabant]

Check out a book called Secrets of Slow Cooking by Liana Krissoff. It's a little different from other slow cooker cookbooks, because it doesn't treat the cooker as a convenience tool but as a specialized piece of equipment, and the recipes are all for things that can't easily be cooked AS WELL in some other thing. For example, making ghee for Indian cooking is a snap in the slow cooker, since it requires maintaining a very low temperature for the butter. Another recipe, for vanilla rice pudding made with coconut milk and served with sauteed papaya, gives an idea of how wide-ranging and unusual the recipes are. Slow cookers don't do very lean meats as well as fatty ones, but there's nonetheless a venison recipe -- an adaptation of Iranian "koresh" -- where food (usually lamb) is cooked with fruit. In this case the venison is stewed with apples and split peas and seasoned with vinegar and cinnamon and sugar and a little saffron.

[notjustamom]

I've tried about 4-5 recipes in our crockpot, and only about one dish did we really like. It's definitely a different flavor, we ordinarily grill a lot of our food. I think soups and stews do best in crock pots. Large cuts of beef like a roast, yes, it can be dry. My MIL gave me a slowcooker cookbook called "Fix it and forget it", I'm not really impressed with it. It's a compilation of reader-submitted recipes. The last recipe I made from it the past weekend was just nasty, not fit for a dog, lol. I will look into the cookbooks some of you recommended.

[bowlingshirt]

Dry meat is usually a result of overcooking, regardless of method. Try using your slow-cooker for chili or spaghetti sauce...you don't have to always use cuts of beef.

FWIW, my wife did a whole chicken in a slow cooker one time, and the meat was very tender, juicy, and falling off the bone. Kinda messy, tho.

[lyndalou]

I love my crock pot.

[YT2095]

IMO, I always figured the whole idea Was to get the best blend of flavors possible?
then it`s served with something else as a Contrast, Soup is such a dish that has all the flavors blended well or a Chili even.
I agree that just a bowl of stew alone could get a little boring, so serve it With something :)

as for the pot roasts, I always take the roast out and let it cool, bag it and fridge it, then carve it up (it`s easy when cold) and make sammiches with it., these ate Then dipped in the stock I cooked it in, again it provides a Contrast.


I must admit I Also have stopped eating a dish before, not because I was full or I didn`t like it, but simply because I got Bored!
a Contrast will help prevent that :)

[suzyQ3]

Originally Posted by Jeekinz

I always start my crockpot meals in a pan/stock pot on the stove first. This is where I brown the meats and veggies to give that flavor you can only achieve on a stovetop. I'll finish the whole dish on the stove, then transfer to the crockpot for the 'long haul'.

I also add certain items hours later to the crockpot. Like canned beans and potatoes that could turn to mush. Also, other ingredients that would add freshness, like corn or fresh herbs are added toward the end as well.

I think you must have the right idea here, but IMO, if these steps are what makes slow-cooking pass muster, they also negate the whole idea of ease and convenience. Once you start doing all the above, I just don't understand the need for the slow-cooker as opposed to a good braising pan and an oven or stove-top.

The only thing that was attractive about the appliance was the idea that you could throw some food in before leaving for work, flip a switch, and come home to a ready-to-eat meal. But the recipes for that type of meal don't generally appeal to me. So I totally agree with the OP here.

[YT2095]

it doesn`t have to be Stews though, Curry or Soups are great too :)

[licia]

I agree that some things are great in a crock pot, but I do not like ham cooked in a crock pot. It is much better roasted in the oven. Items that don't need other items cooked with them are better cooked otherwise to me. I like a chicken roasted in the oven too - no crockpot chickens for me unless it is a recipe that requires other ingredients in the dish.

[Caine]

For me, it was never a case of making something fantastic to write home about, it was about getting a healthy, home cooked meal on the table as a working single parent. Convenience ruled the weekday. Fancy, schmancy, a whole lot of work meals were for week-ends, if it wasn't hockey season.

[Gossie]

Fine!!! If you all hate slow cookers, send them all up to me!!!! I LOVE THEM!!!!! LoL I made a boo boo a while back. I gave my daughter-in-law my medium size crockpot cuz I was in need of a very big one. I got the big one, but I should have kept the medium one too. hehe

Someone mentioned the stews. EXCELLENT!!!! SlowCookers make the best stew. :-)