Some people think of slow cooking and Crock-Pots as throwbacks from a bygone era, but I’m here to tell you they are a busy modern mum’s best friend. Slow cooking is a quick and easy way to get a nice volume of homemade food on the table with minimal effort.
Unfortunately, many mums never get to experience this joy for themselves because they just don’t know enough about slow cooking to make it work for them.
Since my love for my Crock-Pot knows no bounds, let me fill you on 6 things you might not know about slow cooking that might help you get more out of this genius time-saving approach.
1. How little electricity it uses
Prices for everything are climbing, and we’re all feeling the effects. One way to reduce costs is to cut down our energy consumption. But if you’ve turned your nose up at using a slow cooker because you hate the idea of keeping an appliance running all day, you need to know that running your slow cooker for 8 hours on low, a typical setting for many meals, uses roughly the same energy as just 30 minutes in an electric oven.
2. How easy it is to make Instagram-worthy dishes
We’ve all had that sinking feeling that comes when you make something that looked totally amazing online, only to have it end up looking so unappetising you’re not sure your family will even try it. When you use a slow cooker, the final result often needs just a little tweak to make it look Instagram-worthy, whether you need to reduce it for a couple minutes at the end with the lid off so it doesn’t look like a soupy mess, or you need a sprinkle of fresh parsley across the top to make it more appealing and add a note of freshness.
3. It’s the best tool for batch cooking
Batch cooking is a sanity saver no matter how you do it, but when it comes to cooking methods, slow cooking is far superior to the oven or stove. I can make as many as 6 portions of food for my family of 4 in my six-litre slow cooker. It really doesn’t get any more convenient than that!
4. Opening the lid is a no-no
You know that slow cooking is going to take a while – the name gives it away! But every time you peek at your food by lifting up the lid, you’re adding on to the cooking time. This is one of the biggest slow cooker mistakes you can make. Trust your slow cooker to work its magic, and resist the urge to peek!
5. You can use your slow cooker to make desserts and bread
If you think that slow cooker meals are confined to stews and braised meat, think again. You can use your slow cooker to make a range of desserts, from bread pudding and mocha cake to cheesecake and fruit crumbles. It’s also a great choice for baking bread, which means you can get a homemade loaf without turning your oven on in the summer!
6. You’ll get better results if you brown your meat first
The beauty of a slow cooker is the fact that you can throw everything into it and let it do its thing. But if your meat dishes aren’t wowing your family the way you’d like, taking just a few extra minutes at the beginning of the process to brown your meat can make all the difference. A quick sear is all it needs to elevate the flavour. Pro tip: If you’re making something with a sauce, you can dust the meat in a bit of flour before searing it in oil as this will help to thicken the sauce in your slow cooker.
Slow cooking is a real game changer, and if you approach it with these facts in mind, you can make it an enjoyable experience that yields delicious results night after night!
If you need help with this – I’ve got you!
Our slow cooking course, ‘Slow Cooking & Fast Batching: How to get perfect slow cooker results,
and prep 4 delicious family meals in a maximum of 45 minutes’ – really teaches you all that it promises, in under 45 minutes.
If you’re not quite satisfied with the results your slow cooker has given you, or you need some inspiration to make better and more varied meals, give it a try! I also teach you how to batch cook, really quickly, using your slow cooker (this is guaranteed to save you hours every week!).
Just €25.00 – worth MUCH more.
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