Balsamic beetroot

I haven't posted recently, but that's not because we haven't been using the slow cooker! On the contrary, we have used it probably at least twice a week since New Year. We've just been revisiting some recipes. The Best Whole Chicken has now been declared Ms Fussy Eater's favourite meal - to the extent that she requested it (with chips) for her birthday meal recently. We also return frequently to the chilli recipe, as well as Mexican Pork and also Pork and Pepper ragu.

But it's time to start experimenting again. On Sunday I was browsing in Eason and I came across a new recipe book called Slow Cooked by Miss South (who also has a food blog). I leafed through it, wondering whether to purchase or not. But then I came across this idea for cooking beetroot - and I was sold. 

I adore beetroot, it's definitely one of my favourite vegetables - but not the doused-in-vinegar kind. One of my favourite restaurants in Galway, Ard Bia, often has beetroot on the menu, and I will always go for it. I recently started making a beetroot hummus, which is healthy and tasty. This week, while grocery shopping, I found some fresh, uncooked beetroot, and bought it. I thought I might try roasting it, until I found the new cookery book. Cooking beetroot in the crock pot is a no-brainer. It's perfect for that long, slow cooking, which brings out the sweet flavour of the beetroot. 

Balsamic Beetroot

Preparation

I used about 500g of uncooked beetroot, stalks removed. It was already well-cleaned and didn't require any scrubbing. I cut the raw beetroot into quarters, with the biggest one cut into 8. This went into the crockpot, and mixed up with 1tsp vegetable oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and a good shake of dried thyme. 

While hubby and I went out to the cinema, I left the crockpot cooking on HIGH for about 4 hours. 

The Outcome 

When we got back from the cinema, there was a fabulous smell in the kitchen. I had forgotten about the beetroot, so it was lovely to be welcomed back to such an aroma. The beetroot was a beautiful deep red colour and it looked just gorgeous sitting at the bottom of the crockpot. I scooped the chunks out of the pot and let it cool a little before putting it in the fridge in a Tupperware container. Of course, I had to try a chunk, and it was just perfect. 

The Verdict

To be honest, I am really the only person in the house who appreciates this. Hubby could take it or leave it, while Ms Fussy Eater and Mr Teenager will actively avoid beetroot. All the more for me!

I took some slices today, with some homemade oat bread, for my lunch at work. What a treat! I might use some to make hummus, before the end of the week, but then again it might not last that long. 

Spiced beef

According to wikipedia Spiced beef is a cured and salted joint of rump or silverside beef, which is traditionally served at Christmas or the New Year in Ireland.

I remember eating spiced beef as a child, it was always a Christmas special, though not usually eaten on Christmas day. Downey's butchers in Terenure, near where I grew up, was known for its spiced beef, and it was a favourite of my father's. In the last few years, I have usually cooked a spiced beef in the run up to Christmas, and it is a special dinner. This year I bought it from James Whelan butchers, planning to cook it on the 23rd December, when the family (including my mother) would be together to enjoy it.

It was my mum who suggested I try cooking it in the slow cooker. I was afraid that it might get a little overdone, but since I was at work on the 23rd, and I didn't want her to have to cook it, I decided to give it a try - and I'm glad I did. This is definitely how I'll cook it in future.

Preparation

This took almost no preparation at all. I chopped up two onions and put them at the bottom of the crock pot, and set the spiced beef on top. I then poured over a 500ml can of Guinness. I put the lid on the cooker, set it to cook on low and left it for 8 hours.

Shortly before eating, we prepared some mashed potato and some peas - because we were too lazy to prepare any other vegetables.

The Outcome

The spiced beef was absolutely as it should be, and certainly not overcooked. It was tender and full of flavour - not at all dried out. The mashed potato was a perfect pairing.

The Verdict

If you can get your hands on a good piece of spiced beef, this is absolutely the way to cook it. Between the 5 of us, we finished off every piece. Ms Fussy Eater cut off all of the delicious spices, of course, but that's her choice. The Teenager had no such qualms and ate his dinner heartily.

No pictures, I'm afraid.

Beef curry II

A couple of weeks back, in mid-December, it was getting cold and dreary, with short days and not a lot of light even during daylight hours. I had a wanting for a decent beef curry and thought I'd see what I could do with the slow cooker. I looked up a few recipes, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I did consider the beef curry from back in September, but I wanted something different - good as that was.

In the Australian Women's Weekly easy slow cooking I found a recipe for massaman beef curry which looks great in the accompanying photo, but it uses peanut oil and includes roasted peanuts in the ingredients. With two nut allergy sufferers in the house, it just isn't suitable. But I liked the idea of using coconut milk and I always have a selection of curry paste in the house. So, I decided to make my own version.

Beef curry served with rice

Preparation

I sliced up two onions and fried them until brown in a small amount of (olive) oil. They then went into the bottom of the crock pot. I then browned about 600g round steak, cubed, in the large frying pan and added 2 tbsp rogan josh curry paste. This I stirred for about 1 minute until the beef was well coated with paste. I added the beef to the crock pot along with 1 can of low-fat coconut milk, a chicken stock cube, a cinnamon stick and two bay leaves. Finally, I cut 3 medium potatoes into cubes and mixed them in.

The crock pot was left to cook on low for about 8 hours. After that time, the cinamon stick was discarded and I added 1 tbsp light brown sugar and 1 tbsp fish sauce. We served the curry, as in the picture, with some brown rice.

The Result

This was a really good curry. The meat and the potato both held their shape and texture, while the sauce was spicey with a good kick. The coconut milk gave a good balance without being sweet in any way. Eating it with the rice was probably a little bit carb-heavy, but given the miserable, wet, cold, dreary weather, I think we could do with a little more carbs.

The Verdict

Hubby and Mr Teenager really enjoyed this meal and both went back for more. Ms Fussy Eater was pleased to discover that the obvious chunks of vegetables were actually potato and not anything more sinister (such as squash or parsnip). The sauce was smooth without being creamy, so she was happy enough to mix it into her rice. We all appreciated the extra warmth of the sauce.

Chicken Burrito Bowls

I'm not a big Pinterest user. I created an account a couple of years ago, but have never found a real use for it. It seems quite useful as a bookmark tool, for interesting websites, but only if the site of interest has an image associated with it. More recently though, I've found a good use for it in collecting recipes of interest. I've created a board just for Slow Cooker Recipes, and whenever I come across an interesting recipe I pin it to the board. Then, when I'm planning meals for the week, I have a growing collection of recipes to try.

This recipe for Chicken Burrito Bowls I came across some weeks ago and have been meaning to try. The recipe is pinned from Slow Cooker from Scratch, but the full recipe is from the kitchn. The recipe involves two stages, with the rice being added later in the process. Normally I wouldn't be able to do this, so I noted that the version on the kitchn recommends cooking the rice separately if necessary.

On Wednesday, hubby and I took the day off to go Christmas shopping, so it was an ideal opportunity to try this out. The preparation was dead easy, no pre-cooking or browning, simply throw everything in. When we got in, later that day, I decided to just add the rice to the crock-pot and turn it to high for about an hour. This approach worked a treat.

Preparation

On Wednesday morning, I put all the ingredients, apart from the rice, into the crock pot. These were: about 5 chicken breasts, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a chicken stock cube, 2tsp hot chilli power, 1tsp each salt and cumin, a tin of black beans, a handful each of frozen corn and frozen peas. I gave it all a bit of a stir and left the crock pot to cook on low for about 7 hours.

When we came home, I considered cooking the rice separately, but I could see a lot of juice in the crock pot and thought it would be much nicer to cook the rice in that. So, I added about 240g brown rice, again stirred it up, then switched the crock pot to high. Less than an hour later it was ready.

The Outcome

As expected, the chicken was well cooked and could be easily broken up into chunks and shreds in the pot. The rice had absorbed all the juice, and so we ended up with something quite substantial. The beans, corn and peas added some colour and texture to the dish. The flavour was good and I think we were all quite suprised at how tasty it all was.

The Verdict

Three of us really like the dish: simple, easy and tasty as it was. We covered our rice mixture with grated cheese, and hubby and I added a little quacamole and sour cream. Hubby declared it all to be delicious, and just what was needed after a day's Christmas shopping in the cold and rain. Mr Teenager didn't utter a word as he finished off a large bowl and went back for more. He didn't seem to notice the black beans and corn, which he would ordinarily have turned up his nose at. Only Ms Fussy Eater lived up to her name. She had a cold coming on and was probably not feeling too hungry anyway. She picked a little at her chicken but wouldn't eat anything else.

Unfortunately I didn't get a photo this time, but do take a look at the pin.

Chicken Tikka Masala

We have been using the crock pot quite a bit recently. Our daily lives are driven by work, school and after-school activites and there's just no time (most evenings) to prepare, serve and eat a family dinner. On Tuesday's, for example, Ms Fussy Eater has guitar from 5 to 6; Mr Teenager has guitar from 7 to 8; and Hubby has his music group from 8:45. Anything we start preparing from 6:15 (when we get in) won't be ready for us all to eat before 7, so usually we eat when Mr Teenage comes home, and before Hubby has to leave. It's a logistics nightmare!

Chicken tikka masala with rice

So, this recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly easy slow cooking look particularly easy and appealing. Both children have recently discovered a love of "chicken curry" and they both like the flavours and the spices.

Erin Dine-ins

When shopping for the ingredients, however, we couldn't get a jar of tikka masala paste! The supermarket was just out - an empty space on the shelf where it should have been. This was a drawback - using a different paste would make a curry, but it wouldn't be chicken tikka masala. As we progressed around the shelves however, we came across a new product from Erin called Dine-ins, which includes a tikka masala version. Basically it is a little pot (very small) of concentrated paste and another pot of spices. We decided to give it a try.

The recipe calls for 1kg skinless chicken thigh cutlets. We used 4 chicken oyster thighs and 4 chicken oyster thigh legs. This was more than enough for 4 people. In fact, hubby has been bringing it for lunch on at least two separate occasions.

Preparation

In the morning, between preparing breakfast and getting the kids ready for school, I skinned the chicken pieces. This was the most time consuming piece of the whole recipe. They were then put into the crock pot with 1 can tinned tomatoes; 2 onions sliced thinly; and the contents of the Dine-ins spice and paste. We stirred this together and then left it cooking on low for the rest of the day.

Later that evening, all we had to prepare was some rice.

The Outcome

This produced a really lovely curry, with great flavour, in a chunky sauce. The recipe added 60ml pouring cream, but we didn't think it was necessary. To get a creamier texture, you could certainly add it. The chicken was tender and came off the bones very easily.

There was more than enough curry for four of us, we could probably have fed six people. Mr Teenager went back to for a second helping.

The Verdict

This was a big hit with the whole family. Although it was really quite spicey, Ms Fussy Easter finished everything on her plate and said it was "very nice". Mr Teenager, as mentioned, had two platefulls and said it was delicious. Hubby was also very satisfied.

Since then, we've managed to procure a jar of tikka masala paste, but we've also purchased a couple of other Erin Dine-ins to try them out.

Beef Provencale

As expected, we've been using the crock pot more often as the weather turns colder, the evenings get darker, and we're all busy with work and school. Next week is mid-term break, the clocks will go back and it'll be Halloween before we realise.

At the moment, we are using the crock pot about 3 times per week - on Sundays and then two mid-week dinners. With the kids so busy with after school activities, hubby back at his musical society, me on the parents' association, and both of us doing mom/dad taxi, it's amazing that we all manage to sit down to eat together at the same time, most evenings.

Beef Provencale

Yesterday (Tuesday) we had this delicious beef stew, based on a recipe from a weightwatchers magazine. As usual, we prepared it all the night before, including browning the beef. That saved time yesterday morning, and by the time I got home from work the stew was bubbling and hubby had prepared his famous mashed potato.

Preparation

I browned about 500g stewing beef, cut into chunks. I put the beef, along with the juices left after I deglazed the pan with a splash of water. To this we added: 2 onions, cut into quarters; 8 peeled garlic cloves, left whole; a can of chopped tomatoes; 1tbsp tomato puree; 2 tbsp dried thyme; a beef stock cube; a red pepper, cut into strips; and a splash of water. This mixture was left overnight in the fridge.

Next morning I simply set the slow cooker to cook on low, and left it all day - about 10 hours in total. When hubby got home, he prepared his mashed potato.

The Outcome

I think I am getting better at judging the quantity of liquid to add into a dish like this. The reciped called for 300ml beef stock, but the only liquid I added was the little bit from the pan, the can of tomatoes, and the splash of water to rinse out the can. As a result, the stew was perfect in terms of its quantity and consistency of sauce. The meat was beautifully tender and there was a lovely flavour.

There was easily 5 good helpings of stew - 6 at a stretch. Only three of us ate (see below) and we all had second helpings. There was plenty left over, which hubby will take to work for his lunch on two days.

The Verdict

Ms Fussy Eater had been sick earlier in the day, so she just had mashed potato. Mr Teenager wolfed his helping down and then demanded more - so that's a good sign. Hubby said it was delicious, and just the thing for a damp, dark night.

This definitely goes on the list for repeating.

Slow cooker cheesy lasagne

The other evening, I found myself in a twitter chat about using a slow cooker. This is not something that I usually discuss on twitter, but somebody had tweeted a question about suitable recipes and a number of people responded. I found myself in a small group chat about what can or can't be cooked, and one person said that they liked to make lasagne. Now, lasagne isn't something that I'd considered making in my crock pot, I thought it was largely reserved for stews and dishes with a sauce, or else long, slow cooking of meat, so I have to admit that I was quite intrigued. I asked if the person (who tweeted) had any hints, and she pointed me to this recipe for Slow Cooker Cheesy Lasagne on allrecipes.co.uk.

At this point, I should say that I make a damn good lasagne, the conventional way. I was taught by a fellow student, many years ago, who had an Italian girlfriend at the time. I don't have a written recipe, but my version is really good, and my family Loves it (with a capital 'L'). But, for my first time, I didn't trust myself to use my own recipe and instead I decided to follow (more or less) the slow cooker recipe.

However, I did notice that the slow cooker recipe contains a LOT of cheese. I do like cheese, but in general I try to stick to a low fat diet, so I had to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe to bring the fat content down. I used low fat cottage cheese (rather than the full fat recommended) and I halved the amount of mozarella. I also used about half the quantity of lasagne sheets. The lasagne still filled my crock pot almost to the brim, so it was plenty for 4 of us.

Slow Cooker Cheesy Lasagne

I made this on Sunday. It takes just 4 to 6 hours in the crock pot, and I didn't want to overcook it, so it wasn't suitable for making on a weekday. But on Sunday I just prepared everything and switched it on at about 1pm. Our delicious dinner was ready to eat at 6:30pm, giving me plenty of time to get out to the Galway BakeFest in Leisureland with Ms Fussy Eater.

Preparation

I browned about 450g lean minced beef with a chopped onion and 2 cloves of garlic, minced, in a large pan. Once browned, I added about 800g passata, a large tablespoon of sundried tomato paste, a pinch of salt and a decent sprinkling of dried oregano.

In a separate bowl I combined 350g low fat cottage cheese, about 40g freshly grated parmesan, and 200g grated mozarella cheese. This is quite a thick, sticky mixture.

I put a layer of the meat into the bottom of the crock pot and covered this with a layer of (wholewheat) lasagne sheets. I had to break the sheets up to get them fitted into the pot, because it's an oval shape. I used about 3 sheets, so the lasagne was in a double layer in some spots. Then I spooned about 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of the lasagne. I repeated this twice more, finishing with a layer of cheese.

I then switched the crock pot on low and left it for about 5 and half hours.

The Outcome

This looked very odd as it was cooking, especially with the lumps of cottage cheese on top. Ms Fussy Eater looked in at one stage, about an hour into cooking, turned up her nose and exlaimed "Eugh, I'm not eating that!".

Later that evening, though, the aroma was too delicious for her to turn up her nose. On opening the lid of the pot, it was clear that the lasagne was quite saucy, and it didn't come out in clean layers (see the picture above). The pasta itself was very well cooked and the cottage cheese had transformed itself, somehow. The recipe fed the full family of 4, with generous portions.

The Verdict

Despite appearances, the lasagne was very good. The whole family devoured it in about 15 minutes and there were no leftovers.

Mr Teenager, on first seeing it, asked if he could put it into a sandwich (he was recently introduced to Sloppy Joes). He declared it to be delicious. Ms Fussy Eater also finished off her portion very quickly, leaving nothing on the plate. She also agreed that it was very good, but said she preferred the "normal" lasagne. Hubby, who has always enjoyed lasagne, was very pleased with the result of the experiment.

I think I will probably make this again, especially if I want the time during the afternoon to do something else. It was great to put everything together early in the day and then forget about it. I might try adapting my own recipe to see how that works out. But in the meantime, another success story.