Slow cookers - Aussie style

[aMrsin09]

Our pressure cooker developed a crack in the pot lip so we had to get a new one.

We ended up with a Bellini 6-in-1 electric pressure cooker.

Now, I have never used a slow cooker before (one of the 6 functions) because I was taught to never leave a small appliance plugged in while you weren't home. Even if I use this feature when I am home, how do I accept the electric usage? Please tell me it isn't going to send my electric bill through the roof.

I already used it but I am starting to think I should have just bought the $$$ traditional ScanPan pressure cooker (it was the only stove top one we saw)

Please help me not be such a cheap ass. :-(

But since we have to keep it now, anyone have any low-carb pressure cooker recipes? I WILL get my $69 (love Boxing Day Sales) out of this thing!

[aMrsin09]

How does the chicken brown?

For the record, I never used a pressure before H either. I was always afraid of it blowing up. Now that it is so hot here, I converted so I can make stews/soup without the stove running for 3 hours.

But to deal with the heat I just plug the DeLonghi bench top oven in OUTSIDE on the patio table.

[aMrsin09]

as an aside, we realized last night that our pressure cooker was a Baccarat. And the SS cracked. The other Baccarat casserole that I have also cracked.

I have no receipts for either item. Think there is anything that can be done?

[crimsonandclover]

I just asked for a slow cooker for xmas and it's on its way here. I don't anticipate a spike in electricity costs since our oven and stove are also electric. As with you, I'm paranoid about leaving an appliance plugged in while we're gone, but the first few times I use it I am definitely planning on being home just in case. Plus each one cooks a little differently and you may have to adjust recipe times accordingly, so you should be there the first few times anyway until you figure cooking times out. However, I have a lot of problems getting lunch on the table in time for DD's nap after church, so I am definitely planning on turning it on on Sunday mornings and then leaving it on while we're at church.

As for low-carb recipes, for xmas I got a cookbook called "Parents need to eat, too" with a chapter on slow cooker recipes. Let me know if any of the following sound good to you and I'll post the recipe:
moroccan red lentil stew, ratatouille, vegetarian frijoles negros, lazy Italian chicken, overnight french onion chicken, "roast" chicken, basalmic beef stew, red wine-braised short ribs of beef, barbecued brisket, ropa vieja

I don't want to post too many for copyright reasons, but I'd be happy to post one or two of them for you.

[mrsukyankee]

I use one quite often. The slow cooker doesn't use a large amount of energy - thus the slow cooking. I have never worried about leaving it for hours...most of the time it's used while the husband and I are at work. For meats other than poultry, I pre-brown it on the stove. I LOVE my slow cooker, especially when it's cold or rainy outside (yeah for stews!)which happened often this year, and when I know I'm not going to have time to cook a meal. I tend to use it on Mondays, so I'll have a few meals ready for the week.

[mrsukyankee]

Best website I found for slow cooking: crockpot365.blogspot.co.uk/

[Cheesecake]

I'm new to slow cooking too (got my slow cooker this year) and I love it. The fact that I can safely leave it on while I'm away and my food still gets cooked is one of the main reasons I love it.
When I worried about leaving the house, the response I got was 'you don't turn off the fridge when you leave either, do you?', apparently the way slow cookers work and the chance of fire are literally the same as the chance you have of a fire because you didn't unplug your refrigerator when you left the house. That calmed my nerves sufficiently :-)

Can't help you with the low carb recipes though, I'm an absolute carbivore!

[clogged]

The appliance will have it's wattage or ampage or whatever on it. You can use that to figure out how much electricity it uses and how much it will cost you per month.

My slow cooker is just a slow cooker (not sure if your pressure cooker parts up the ante), uses less electricity than my coffee maker, and if I use 8 hours a day, 3-4 days a week, it will cost me less than €10 a month. By comparison- I was using about €40 in gas for my Dutch oven on my gas stove for the same days/hours. My electric went up by 10, but gas down by 40. So worth it.

[blushing]

I have had my slow cooker for 2 years now and I am still struggling to 'get along' with it. I only have 2 good recipes for it. Pulled pork or red lentil dahl. The one thing I have learnt with the slow cooker is to always add less liquid than you would when cooking on the stove top or oven. My slow cooker seems to make more liquid instead of less so most of meals at first came out like watery soup.

[crimsonandclover]

Dec 30, 2012 20:02:14 GMT -5 blushing said:

I have had my slow cooker for 2 years now and I am still struggling to 'get along' with it. I only have 2 good recipes for it. Pulled pork or red lentil dahl. The one thing I have learnt with the slow cooker is to always add less liquid than you would when cooking on the stove top or oven. My slow cooker seems to make more liquid instead of less so most of meals at first came out like watery soup.

I read this on some slow-cooker blog this week and was surprised because for me it seemed counter-intuitive at first. If something cooks for a long time, I would expect to need to add more liquid. But then I thought about how a slow-cooker works (doesn't allow any moisture to escape), and it made more sense.

[aMrsin09]

Crimson, would it be possible to get the French Onion Chicken recipe?

[crimsonandclover]

No prob. She notes that this recipe requires a few steps, so it's more for a Saturday or day when you'll be around the house as opposed to one you can pop in before you leave for work.

6 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 tbs olive oil
3 fresh thyme sprigs, or 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme, divided
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry sherry (or cognac, brandy, port, or wine of either color)
salt and pepper
3 1/2 lbs chicken parts, skinned
12 slices Italian bread (day-old is better, but fresh will work too), about 1/2-inch thick
4 oz Gruyère cheese, grated

1. Combine onions, olive oil, and 2 sprigs of the thyme (or 1 tsp dried) in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 12 hours. Once cooked, the onions can be kept safely on the warm setting for up to 4 hours.
2. About 4 hours before you'd like to eat, add the broth, sherry, and reserved thyme to the onions. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and add to the slow cooker. Stir gently, so that the chicken is just about covered with the onion mixture.
3. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
4. About 30 min before serving, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a baking sheet, arrange the bread slices on it, and bake until bread is lightly toasted, about 10 min.
5. Set oven to broil. Sprinkle the Gruyère over the toasted bread. Broil just until the cheese is melted and lightly brown, 3 to 5 min.
6. Serve the chicken and onions with the Gruyère crostini.

Most of the other slow-cooker recipes have less steps than this one, and just off the top of my head I think it would be difficult to time this one properly, but I haven't given it much thought :-)

[clogged]

I just discovered you can steam bake in a slow cooker. An inch or so of water at the bottom, pop in the baking dish of bread pudding (resting on a few chopsticks to keep it elevated), cook on high 4 hours-ish.

This is HUGE to me because (a) I cut all my crusts off and continually have a zillion crusts I feel guilty tossing out, so this takes care of some of that waste and (b) it doesn't tie up my oven so I can have dinner AND dessert. And be all "damn I am good". At least until my family gets sick of bread pudding all the time.

[aMrsin09]

Clogged, mine came with a steam rack and "cake" is one of the 6 functions!

[clogged]

*jealous*

[bail229]

I love using the slow cooker! I usually use it in the winter for soups, stews, etc but now that I thinking about it, it makes sense to use it in the summer so the house doesn't get too hot.
I am so jealous that yours has a steam rack. Next one we get I want a steam rack and a timer on it!