Slow Cooker Beef & Shallots in Red Wine Gravy

Once a week all 3 kids go to an after school sports activity on the same day, at the same time, and I really relish that additional hour to myself to potter around the house, or catch up on episodes of Neighbours. The kids come home absolutely starving though, so I try and have something cooking away in the slow cooker that's ready as soon as they walk through the door.

This week I made a hearty beef stew, which I served with mash, carrots and peas. I thought that a plateful of this would fill them up, but I was wrong - eldest had a bowl of cereal before his man size dinner, and youngest followed his big sister sized portion with cereal too - I think my boys have hollow legs! I guess the clean plates meant that they liked it, and I need to double my portions for next time!

If you're like me, and like doing most of your festive shopping online then you really must take a look at Premier Estates Wine, especially if your wine rack is in need of filling. They offer a case of single or mixed wine from just £24 (by using website discount code), or sparkling for just £36, and best of all it comes with free next day delivery, so you won't have to wait long!

I used just over half a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in this dish, which made the gravy really intense, along with some of my allotment shallots.

Slow Cooker Beef & Shallots in Red Wine Gravy - serves 4/5

tbsp olive oil

700g (approx) lean stewing steak, diced

2 heaped tbsp cornflour

salt & black pepper

400g shallots, peeled

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

400ml Premier Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

400ml beef stock

3 bay leaves

• turn the slow cooker on high & add the olive oil 
• toss the beef in the cornflour and season generously with salt & pepper
• add this to the slow cooker with the shallots and garlic
• give it a good mix before pouring in the wine, beef stock & bay leaves
• cook on high for 4-5 hours, until the meat falls apart

It really was as simple as that. There's barely any prep needed, and it can be popped in the slow cooker before school and work.

I was provided with a mixed case of Premier Estates Wine to use in my recipe, and over the festive period. This post contains a referral link.

Slow Cooker Marmite Chicken and Vegetables

Life has been getting in the way a bit recently, and almost another week has gone by without me sharing any recipes on this blog. I promise to try and improve things over the next few weeks, and share some delicious sweet treats, but in the meantime you're going to have to make do with another slow cooker recipe. It's a great recipe for busy families as it only takes a few minutes to prepare, which means it can be done before leaving for work in the morning.

Marmite is a great flavour enhancer, and I often add a spoonful here and there, but this dish was flavoured entirely with the lovely stuff - just don't tell the husband as he hates it! (mwahahahaha) It also makes a great gravy, and the cooking juices from this dish can be thickened with a little cornflour to make a delicious gravy to pour over.

Slow Cooker Marmite Chicken and Vegetables - serves 4/5

65g Marmite

2 tbsp boiling water
800g skinless & boneless chicken thighs

3 leeks, sliced

2 corn on the cob, sliced

1kg Charlotte potatoes

tbsp cornflour mixed with a little water

fresh Thyme

• Mix the Marmite with the water
• Place the chicken in a large bowl and add the Marmite & water, and mix to coat well
• Add the leeks, corn and potatoes to a slow cooker
• Add the chicken to the slow cooker and give it a quick stir
• Cook on medium for 5 hours
• Spoon everything into an ovenproof dish, setting the juices aside
• Place under a hot grill for a few minutes to give the potatoes some colour
• Bring the juices to the boil and add a little of the cornflour to thicken for your gravy
• Serve scattered with fresh thyme 

For more ideas for using Marmite in recipes have a look at my Pinterest board.

Follow The Crazy Kitchen's board Marmite recipes on Pinterest.

Staffordshire Lobby (Beef Stew) #AutumnWarmers

This month Waitrose have launched their #AutumnWarmers campaign, celebrating warming dishes from throughout the UK, to get us in the mood for those cooler nights when all we want is something warm and comforting to eat.

I've decided to share my recipe for a Staffordshire Lobby, which is basically a beef stew, traditionally eaten by poorly paid potters in the region, using cheaper cuts of meat along with root vegetables and pearl barley.

This can be cooked on the stove top, as per a traditional stew, but before I went to work for the morning I popped it into the slow cooker and was able to enjoy a nice steaming bowlful for lunch.

The recipe can be scaled down depending on how many you want to feed, but this quantity kept us going for a couple of days.

Staffordshire Lobby - feeds a crowd

1.2kg beef (brisket, shin, skirt) - I used brisket

4 medium carrots

2 large parsnips

1 small swede

8 shallots

3 medium potatoes, peeled

2 tbsp plain flour
salt & pepper
1 litre beef stock

500ml beer

200g pearl barley

• cut the beef into bite sized pieces
• peel & chop the vegetables into bit sized pieces
• add the flour to a large zip lock bag, and season with salt & pepper
• add the beef to the bag and shake to coat
• add the beef, vegetables, stock & beer to a large pan and bring to the boil
• transfer to a slow cooker and add the pearl barley
• cook on medium for 4-5 hours, until the beef is tender

Serve with thick slices of freshly baked bread, and butter, and maybe a little brown sauce on the side!

recipe commissioned by Waitrose

Bank Holiday Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Bank holidays are usually a time to get together with friends and family, and this weekend we did just that. On Friday night we attended a football presentation for my eldest and then went onto the local pub with friends for a few drinks (and discovered yummy buffalo wing flavour pretzel pieces). On Saturday we had friends over, who brought with them some lovely sweet peas, and we spent time catching up over a few drinks whilst the kids played football in the garden.

Sunday was a family day, spent celebrating the 2nd birthday of a special little boy (and a new bike, chocolate cake and a game of Pictionary).

As I didn't want to spend the day cooking I went to my go-to meal that enables me to spend as little time as possible at the cooker whilst guests are here, but never fails to impress. Slow cooker pulled pork is so easy to prepare, and I usually cook it the day before we need it and then reheat it in a shallow dish covered with foil, in the oven alongside baked potatoes.

I usually cook the pork on a bed of onions which I then blend with some of the juices and bbq sauce to make a gravy, however this time I added apples along with the onions and then added them to the pork once it had been shredded.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork - serves 8

1.5kg - 2kg pork shoulder joint

pulled pork seasoning (you can find my recipe for bbq seasoning here) 

3 eating apples, cored & sliced

5 onions, peeled & sliced

400ml cider (or cola, dr pepper or apple juice)

bbq sauce

• remove any netting or string from around the pork joint
• pat the pork dry and rub the seasoning all over
• add the apples & onions to the bottom of a slow cooker pot
• place the pork on top
• pour the cider into the pot 
• cook on high for approx 5 hours, or until the pork falls apart easily
• remove any fat & discard
• using 2 forks, shred the pork
• drain the apples & onions from the cooking liquid & stir into the pork
• stir some bbq sauce into approx 200ml of cooking liquid and pour over the pork
• serve with soft bread rolls, baked potatoes & coleslaw

I made a little video showing how I made the pulled pork, just please excuse the poor sound quality & the annoying beeps from my GoPro!

More delicious pulled pork recipes can be found on the Love Pork website here.

This post was commissioned by Love Pork. 

Follow the #AchieveLazy hashtag for more pulled pork ideas.

Slow Cooker Chinese Beef

For a few months I was without a slow cooker, after I overloaded my extremely small one with a joint for pulled pork and burnt all of the inside. I now have two large 6.5 litre slow cookers that I use to feed my son's football team (and opponents) sausage and bean chilli on a budget - 60 sausages + numerous cans of beans = 30 happy boys.

I now use my slow cooker as often as I can to make fuss free dinners for the family. This Chinese beef is one of those easy meals that takes very little preparation, and if you use a large joint (I used 1.6kg) it can easily stretch to two meals for a family of 4/5.

Slow Cooker Chinese Beef

Beef roasting joint (1-2kg)

200ml Hoisin sauce

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbsp honey

75ml dark soy sauce

bunch of spring onions, sliced

sesame seeds

• Heat a frying pan and place the beef in it to seal all sides
• Transfer the beef to the slow cooker
• Add the the Hoisin, garlic, honey and soy sauce
• Spoon the sauce over the beef and cook on high for 4-5 hours until tender, basting with the sauce every so often
• Remove the beef from the slow cooker and pull apart with two forks & set aside
• Add the sauce to a saucepan and bring to the boil and simmer until reduced in volume and thickened
• Add the beef into the sauce and toss to coat
• Serve over a bed of steamed rice and scattered with spring onions and sesame seeds

Serve any leftovers with noodles and stir fried vegetables.

How often do use your slow cooker, and what's your favourite slow cooker recipe?

I have lots more slow cooker recipes on this blog, and Aly from Bug, Bird Bee runs a Slow Cooker Sunday linky, where you can find some great recipes, such as this slow cooker vegetable lasagna.

recipe created for Tesco

FIFA World Cup Feijoada - Brazilian Black Bean Stew

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

With the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil well under way I have decided to share a recipe for a traditional Brazilian black bean stew, known as Feijoada. I have researched many recipes, all with slight variations, and have come up with my own variation. The basics include black beans and at least two cuts of pork, along with plenty of onion and garlic. I've used pork shoulder and pork belly, along with chorizo and a smoked sausage, which gives this beautifully rich stew, which is perfect for a World Cup get together.

  

I've used Coca-Cola in cooking before, to make 'Ham in Coke', which was a great success, so I decided to add some to the stew as I figured it would make the gravy much richer than water would. Coca-Cola is also a great accompaniment to a salty dish such as this stew, and what better way to celebrate the World Cup than with promotional World Cup 2014 bottles of Coca-Cola, found right in the middle of the Carbonated Drinks aisle in my local Tesco in Rugeley.



I used the slow cooker to make this, but it can be made in a large pan just as easily, over a very low heat. If you're having friends over to watch the football just pop it all in the slow cooker first thing in the morning and you will have a beautiful stew by early afternoon. 



Feijoada - Brazilian Black Bean Stew - serves 8-10

500g Black beans
700g Pork shoulder
500g Pork belly
100g Chorizo, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
bulb of garlic, peeled & crushed
200g Smoked sausage, sliced
400g tin of tomatoes
150ml Coca-Cola

• Place the beans in a bowl and cover with water and leave to soak overnight
• Drain the beans and add to the slow cooker
• Cut the pork shoulder and belly into 1" pieces and fry in batches until browned, add to the slow cooker
• Fry the chorizo, onion and garlic until lightly browned and add to the slow cooker
• Add the smoked sausage, tomatoes and Coca-Cola to the slow cooker and give everything a good stir
• Cook on high heat for approximately 4 hours, until the beans are tender

Serve with boiled rice and fresh coriander

Follow all the excitement on twitter with the hashtags #BigMatchPlanner & #CollectiveBias

5:2 Diet & Family Friendly Vegetable Curry

It's been a long old week (on Tuesday I thought it was Thursday) and it feels like the kids have been off school forever. Two weeks of Easter holidays plus a week beforehand where they took it in turns to be ill adds up to a Mum whose eardrums are about to burst. We've not done a lot this week, husband has been off work with a bad knee, Jack has Impetigo and Hanna has had a routine hospital appointment so trips out have involved sitting in NHS waiting rooms.

Today there wasn't anything exciting in the fridge for dinner and I didn't fancy one of my usual fast day stir frys, and instead wanted something hearty and warming, but not soup. I decided to chop up the veg that was left and throw it in the slow cooker for a curry that we could all eat as I couldn't be bothered with making two different meals. I weighed all the vegetables as I added them into the pot and calculated the calories. The total calories of all the ingredients added up to around 472 (I wasn't too sure about the spices) so if you wanted to you could cook up a batch of this and munch your way through it the whole day if you're doing the 5:2 diet. Alternatively you could add a big spoonful of peanut butter, for a whopping additional 272 calories, and share it with the family. The peanut butter not only adds extra flavour but it also thickens the sauce - I often add the odd teaspoonful to a stir fry (not the 5:2 ones though).

If you're doing Weight Watchers I'm pretty sure that if you leave the peanut butter out it would be a no point curry.

5:2 Diet & Family Friendly Vegetable Curry - serves 4

1 onion (94g) - 36 cals
1 1/2 courgettes (269g) - 48 cals
mushrooms (161g) - 26 cals
1/2 small Butternut squash (226g) - 101 cals
2 Green peppers (208g) - 62 cals
Carrots (226g) - 77 cals
1 can chopped tomatoes (400g) - 90cals
1 tsp Garam Masala - 5 cals
1 tsp ground coriander - 5 cals
1 tsp ground cumin - 5 cals
1/2 tsp turmeric - 3 cals
1/2 tsp chilli powder - 3 cals
1/2 tsp paprika - 3 cals
1 tsp garlic paste - 4 cals
1 tsp ginger paste - 4 cals
1 heaped tbsp of smooth peanut butter (44g) - 272 cals

Total : 744 cals / 186 per portion (1/4)

• Chop all the veg into small pieces
• Add all the spices along with the ginger & garlic paste to a small bowl & mix to a paste with a little hot water
• Add everything to the slow cooker with 1/4 empty can of boiling water and give it a good mix
• Cook on high for a few hours until everything is cooked to your liking
• Stir in the peanut butter before serving

I had mine with cauliflower rice, whilst everyone else enjoyed it with Basmati rice and home-made Naan bread...

and this little man couldn't get enough of it, and ate the lot, including thirds of naan bread!

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Sausages

It's now month 3 of the Swallow's Recipe for Life challenge on Banger's & Mash, and this month the 3 ingredients to use in a recipe are pork, sweetcorn & tomatoes. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be rustling up any cakes with those ingredients but there are lots of tasty meals that are going around in my head.

First up (as I'm sure I'll be entering more than one recipe again) is a nice & easy one, perfect for a midweek meal for the family. It's also a great way to stretch a pack of sausages without the family realising that they're only eating just over 1 sausage each!

It seems like there's a lot of ingredients but it's far from difficult to prepare, I don't even brown the sausages usually (saves on washing up), but you can if you prefer. You may also like to add some pineapple, but I don't as my children aren't keen on it.

Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Sausages - serves 4/5

1 large onion, chopped
1 courgette, sliced
3 small carrots, sliced
1 tsp garlic puree (or 1 clove of fresh)
1 tsp ginger puree (or 1cm of fresh, grated)
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp cornflour, mixed with a little water
100g sweetcorn
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
454g pork & leek sausages, each cut into 4 pieces
1/4 empty can of water or stock

• Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker & give it a good stir
• Cook on high for 3-4 hours (or follow your instruction manual)
• Serve with boiled rice

Slow Cooker Steamed Fig Pudding

As figs are in season and so cheap at the moment I decided to buy some more and try them in a cake, well a steamed pudding actually. I used the Summer Fruits pudding recipe I'd previously tried and adapted it slightly to produce this Autumn pudding that could also be a great alternative to a Christmas Pudding - yes I dared to mention the 'C' word!

Slow Cooker Steamed Fig Pudding

115g Stork Baking Liquid

115g Caster Sugar

2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

140g SR Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Mixed Spice

30g Dark Brown Sugar

4 Figs, chopped

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

• Beat the Stork, caster sugar,eggs & vanilla together
• Stir in the flour, baking powder and 1tsp of the mixed spice, until smooth
• Place the dark brown sugar, other tsp of mixed spice, chopped figs and cinnamon together
• Tip the figs into a greased heatproof bowl (one that fits into your slow cooker and large enough for the ingredients with room for rising)
• Pour the batter over the figs
• Cover the bowl with foil and place into the slow cooker
• Pour boiling water around the sides of the bowl until halfway up the sides of the bowl
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours until the cake is cooked through
• Turn out onto a plate and serve with ice cream, cream or custard

I'm linking this up to Working London Mummy's & How to Cook Good Food's One Ingredient Challenge, which for September is Figs.

and also Ren's Simple & in Season which is being hosted on Katie's blog

One Chicken 3 Ways

Last week I bought a couple of chickens, froze one and decided to use the other one to see how frugal I could be and see how far it would spread rather than just roasting it and sharing it out at one mealtime.

Firstly I slow cooked the chicken for around 3 hours with just a few herbs on it and a stuffed with a lemon. I then separated the meat into two - breast meat and dark meat. The carcass then went back into the slow cooker in the juices and some extra boiling water for another few hours to make some stock, which I then froze until I needed it.

I used the dark meat to make a Chicken Biryani which was served with a Butternut Squash and coconut curry and accompaniments, plenty enough for all 5 of us.

The breast meat was then sliced and layered with cumberland sausage to make a large Chicken & Sausage Pie, using the same pastry recipe as I used in my Turkey & Apple Picnic Pies, just increasing the quantities. It can be eaten hot with vegetables and gravy or (like I served it) with jacket potatoes and salad.

I forgot to add the second layer of chicken in the pie so I instead used it to make a couple of Waldorf Salads (Marco Pierre White style).

The third meal was a lovely Chicken and Mushroom Soup made from the stock. The stock was brought to the boil with mushrooms and an onion and then blended until smooth. A tablespoon of cornflour was added to thicken it up as no cream was used. This was then served with large chunks of tear and share bread, which this time I added rosemary to the dough.

It just shows how far you can stretch a chicken if you need to, and apart from the addition of the sausages most of the other ingredients used in these dishes are just from the store cupboard. Pastry is actually easier than you think to make, especially if you're lucky enough to own a food mixer or processor, and adding rosemary to the pastry makes it so much tastier.

I would also thoroughly recommend investing in a meat thermometer to enable you to check when your chicken is cooked, without overdoing it and running the risk of it drying out.

Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup with Tear & Share Bread

I'm going to get back into weekly soup making and I've started with my usual, simple, Butternut squash. Instead of adding any cream (or milk as I usually do) I added creamed coconut to give a different flavour. The Knorr stock pots are also a great way to add flavour easily and I really like the Herb Infusion which I add to quite a lot of dishes.

Butternut Squash Soup

Large butternut squash

1 Knorr Herb Infusions stock pot

1 Knorr Chicken stock pot

50g sachet of creamed coconut 

boiling water

• Peel and deseed the squash and cut into large chunks
• Add to a slow cooker with 1 pint of boiling water and the stock pots
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours until squash is soft
• Stir the coconut cream into boiling water to dissolve & add to the slow cooker
• Blend with a stick blender until smooth, adding more water if necessary

Tear & Share Bread

200ml water (room temp)

150ml milk (room temp)

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 tsp salt

475g Strong White bread flour

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp fast acting dried yeast
grated cheddar cheese (optional)

• Add ingredients to your breadmaker in the order relevant to your breadmaker & set to 'dough'
• Remove the dough from the pan and place onto a floured surface
• Cut into 16 equal pieces and roll each into a ball
• Place the balls into a greased baking tin, evenly spaced apart - I used a 10" round tin
• Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for around an hour
• Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with grated cheese (optional)
• Bake in a preheated 200 degree (C) oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown - I was distracted by the telephone and left mine in the oven a bit longer than I would have liked!

Slow Cooker Summer Fruits Pudding

When I was made aware of The Boy and Me's Slow Cooker Sunday Linky, which she is hosting on behalf of Mediocre Mum, I didn't think I had the ingredients to make anything in the slow cooker this week but as I saw it as a challenge, and I'm not one to dismiss a challenge, I decided to try a pudding, something that I haven't yet tried in my slow cooker.

 

115g Stork Baking liquid

115g Caster sugar
2 Eggs
140g SR flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
150g Frozen summer fruits
2 tbsp Homemade gooseberry jam (or any other jam)


(basic recipe for the cake taken from the back of the Stork Baking liquid)

• Beat the Stork, sugar and eggs together
• Stir in the flour, baking powder and lemon zest until well combined
• Mix the jam and the frozen fruit together in a microwaveable bowl
• Microwave for approx 1-2 minutes until just thawed
• Place the fruit mixture into a well buttered suitable bowl that will fit into your slow cooker
• Top with the cake batter
• Cover with foil and place into the pre-heated slow cooker
• Pour boiling water around the bowl until it reaches around halfway up the bowl
• Cook on high for 2-3 hours, until the cake is cooked

Tip: if you don't have much room around the bowl when it's in the slow cooker it's a good idea to make 'handles' to lift it out - either tie some string around it making it into handles or fold a length of foil over until it's about 2 inches wide. Place the foil into the slow cooker first and the bowl on top - you can use the excess parts of the foil to lift the bowl out.

Serve with custard, cream, ice cream ....or all three. 

ReGGae ReGGae Sausage Casserole

Last month we were sent some Reggae Reggae sauces to try out and I blogged about it here. We've since been using the sauces a lot, the ketchup has been used with chips, wedges and bacon sandwiches, the extra hot sauce has been added to dishes to give them a bit of a kick after the children's portions have been served up.

Today I was making a sausage casserole in the slow cooker and decided to finish off the bottle of mild sauce and add it to the casserole. It was a very simple yet very tasty dinner.

You will need :

750g Sausages, each chopped into 4 pieces & browned off
2 onions, chopped
4 peppers, cored & sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 bottle of mild Reggae Reggae sauce
can of chopped tomatoes
100ml water
tbsp cornflour, mixed with tbsp cold water

• Throw everything except the cornflour into the slow cooker.
• Cook on high for 4-5 hours
• Towards the end of cooking add the cornflour paste to thicken the sauce, a little at a time until the desired consistency is obtained

Serve with boiled rice or pasta

Cream of Butternut Squash & Tomato Soup

I used to make soup every week but these days it's a lot less often, I'm not sure why as it's easy to make and everyone (even Jack) loves it. I had a butternut squash to use up but with the addition of the tomatoes I could fool Jack into thinking it was cream of tomato soup, which he has no problem eating. I had no intention of blogging this recipe but after my husband said it was quite possibly the best soup he'd ever eaten (I think he said that last time too) I thought I would share it, although the quantities are a bit of guesswork.

Large butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded & cubed
2 cans of chopped tomatoes
onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
dried Rosemary
2 tbsp tomato puree
water - I filled an empty can up twice
200ml double cream (I am sure about this quantity as it was what was left over out of a tub of 600ml cream after I'd made my Pavlova)

• Throw everything (except the cream) in the slow cooker & cook on high for 5 hours (or until squash is tender)
• Add the cream
• Whizz to a puree with a hand blender, adding more water until it's the desired consistency
• Add salt & pepper to taste

Serve with fresh homemade (breadmaker) bread

Slow Cooked Barbecue Pulled Turkey

Pulled Pork is a popular dish in certain states in the US, usually slow cooked over a barbecue and then pulled apart and  mixed with a barbecue sauce. In my quest to discover new ways to use turkey I decided to try and make a pulled turkey and enter it into the competition in conjunction with Lean on Turkey that BritMums are currently running. I only really used to use turkey mince or breast but I'm now realising how versatile turkey can be and turkey thigh, which I'd rarely used before, is great in lots of dishes, including this one.

Slow Cooked Turkey
800g Turkey Thigh Joint
2 red onions
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
8 Cloves
330ml can of Cider (I used pear cider)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Barbecue Sauce
1 can Chopped tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp mixed spice
30g muscovado sugar
2  tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tbsp white wine vinegar

• Slice the red onions in half and lay in the bottom of the slow cooker with the peeled whole garlic cloves
• Stud the turkey joint with the cloves and spread the mustard over & place onto the onions
• Pour the cider around the turkey and sprinkle with the pepper
• Cook on high for 4-5 hours
• Whilst the turkey is cooking make the barbecue sauce by adding all the ingredients to a saucepan
• Simmer over a medium heat for around 45 minutes until thickened
• Use a stick blender to blend to a smooth puree, or allow to cool before blending in a food processor
• When the turkey is cooked remove it from the slow cooker & remove the cloves and any excess fat and skin
• Shred the turkey with a fork
• Discard the contents of the slow cooker and place the shredded turkey in, along with the barbecue sauce, reserving a small amount for dipping
• Heat for approx 10 minutes until warmed completely through

Serve in a pitta bread with potato wedges, corn on the cob and homemade chunky coleslaw

Slow Cooker Five Bean Chilli

I posted a recipe for a bean chilli last year but this one has more beans in and less vegetables. I just bought a few different cans of beans and threw them in the slow cooker, I used :


1 Can Black Eye Beans, drained
1 Can Pinto Beans, drained
1 Can Butter Beans, drained
1 Can Borlotti Beans, drained
1 Can Baked Beans (which are Haricot beans)
1 Can chopped Tomatoes
1 Can tomato Puree
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 whole red chilli (de-seeded, leave the seeds in if you want it hotter)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1/2 empty baked bean can of boiling water


It seems like a lot of ingredients but there's not much chopping, and if you buy frozen chopped onion and peppers as well as lazy garlic & chilli then there is no chopping at all.


I cooked on high heat all day and then served with grated cheese on the top along with home-made potato wedges and salad.


Bean chilli is a very popular meal in this house & was eaten 2 days running with another portion put in the freezer.

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