100 Great Ways to Use Slow Cookers and Hot Pots

By Simon and Alison Holst

Beef and Beer Casserole with Parsley Dumplings

It may come as no (some) surprise but I do often use a multifunction cooker.  The purchase was not planned and at the time I wondered whether I would use it. 

It is used at least once or twice a week.  Often the recipe is one I have used before on the stove/oven/microwave but adapted for use.

Yet, I did buy some specific cookbooks (thank you Lifeline) for this device.

As my cookbook collection continues to grow it seemed a good opportunity to test this one.

I like dumplings, as long as they are not too dry, too wet or too heavy.  I like beef casserole as long as the sauce is tasty and the preparation is not too involved.

As usual I did not follow the method as specified.  The onions, garlic and bacon were cooked in the multi-function cooker first and then the rest of the ingredients were added.  The meat used was topside or skirt steak.  The bacon was purchased from the local Farmers Market. 

Harper was kind enough to donate a can of German beer for the casserole.  (Would this be a matter for regret?)

After waiting the requisite time, I tasted the casserole.  It was not bad but the brown sugar was required.

Mixing the dumplings was the usual fun of sticky hands, some of the dough taking up residence on my apron, the bench top, but fortunately not in anyone’s hair.  Why the dumpling dough is more contrary than scone dough, I do not know nor comprehend. 

As can be seen from the pictures, the dumpling dough completely concealed the casserole below it.  After waiting the half hour required it was time to eat.

The dumplings were bland and felt heavy and a little dry, despite the sauce of the casserole.  which was not very tasty, too thick and not fun to eat. Harper regretted the beer sacrifice.  The meal was edible but it saddened me to use good ingredients to eat a meal I did not really enjoy.

In the spirit of fairness, I have attempted another meal from this cookbook which will be featured soon.  Everyone deserves a second chance, unless they are a corrupt politician, mass murderer, etc.  Hrmmmm.

Note: My other disappointment was the cook book did not suggest using either the slow cooker/crock pot as an attractive hat, or a vase for a large bunch of flowers etc.  (Yes, I am being silly, but it is my blog (as attempting to gain others input usually involves thumbscrews or hypnotism) and being silly is more fun than eating this casserole was.

I would also like to thank those who have subscribed to this blog (or bolg as I mistyped.) Apologies for the lag between updates.

Rice Pudding from “Traditional Puddings” by Unknown

Yes, I know, choosing rice pudding to review a cook book is different. It is something from my childhood and memories of it can be good, bad or indifferent.

Rice Pudding is something I avoided since I left home. My father loved rice pudding but as he was a diabetic the sweetener used always made the pudding taste slightly bitter.

Rice pudding is considered old fashioned unless it is revised to include fruit, jelly, jam, meringue or avocado (for all I know). But why should be fashionable? My main interest is if it tastes good.

Harper loves rice pudding. So, as I needed to review another cookbook, this one was chosen and I deferred to Harper’s wishes (for a change).

Melting butter has become quick and easy due to microwave ovens. Measuring the sugar and rice as very simple as was warming the milk, though of course it had to be watched so it did not boil but simple enough and then stirring it to dissolve the sugar and mix with the rice was again very easy.

The most difficult part was grating half of the whole nutmeg. Next time I would grate it over a plate to make sure the distribution was a little more even.

After putting it in the oven, I confess I was distracted by something or other and was only reminded to check the pudding due to the timer chiming.

Harper was in the kitchen, awaiting the removal of the pudding and immediately claimed a serve, unadorned by any additional items and insisted I have a taste.

Unfortunatley I did not photograph the final product but it did look something like this, whithout the artistic effect of the used nutmeg grater.

I tried it and reversed my opinion of rice pudding. This recipe was good and Harper ate it happily and requested the book be retained while hinting heavily that it should be made regularly.

As the book contains a lovely and possibly simple version of a golden syrup pudding, Tate au Citron etc, I am willing to bestow it a place on the bookshelf. (By now it should be apparent, I have a sweet tooth.)

Traditional Pudding be glad that you are not expelled and do not need to attend remedial classes.

Youvarlakia (Meatballs with Rice in Garlic and Tomato Sauce) from “Recipes from a Greek Island” by Susie Jacobs

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After the lovely meal we had in Darwin, I was inspired to attempt a Greek recipe.  The book is one of the more recent purchases from the Lifeline Book-fair and the attempts to remove the clutter from the cookbook shelf have resulted in only a few removals. 

Harper has made Greek Meatballs previously but due to the recipe or the amount of rice, they were very bland and I wanted something which reminded me of the pleasure of eating Greek meatballs.  The recipe requires honey, which seemed odd, as well as cinnamon but I was determined to stick to the recipe, and not do my own interpretation. 

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Admittedly I did not grate the onion due to a desire not to cry.  In case anyone does not know, apparently putting an onion in the refrigerator prior to cutting or grating does prevent the onion from producing the vapour, but I’d conveniently forgotten, (which meant straying from the recipe, sadly.)  However, all the other ingredients were available.  One suggestion, if you buy fresh basil or mint, it is best to use it the same day. 

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(There are a number of very interesting and informative blogs which provide various suggestions on how best to store basil or even better grow it, but snails eat any basil I attempt to grow outside.) 

I rinsed the rice a few times before pouring the hot water over it, to ensure that it did not contain too much starch.  The attempts at forming sausage shapes was quite fun, though some did not really resemble sausages so much as misshapen fingers or bad modern interpretive art. 

Frying them in the hot oil resulted in a few acquiring an even more peculiar appearance, but this is not the fault of the book, but rather the cook.

Cooking the sauce in the pan and oil used for the meatballs appealed to me as it meant less washing up and less waste.  The onion was cooked until it was transparent and it was astonishing to see how quickly it caramelised with the addition of the cinnamon, garlic and honey.  The smell produced made me swallow a number of times and resist the temptation to eat it as it was.  With determination I added the tomato and some pepper and watched it reduce. 

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Adding the water and the meatballs, I followed the directions and waited “patiently” (with an ‘Im’ in front of it) for it to cook.

The meatballs looked a little stranger than I’d hoped.  I served and annoyed Harper by taking pictures and then we ate. 

The meatballs were good.  Better than the recipe Harper had used previously, but not as good as the ones I’ve had in Greece or Darwin.  There are many other recipes in this book, which is safe from being given back to Lifeline, which I look forward to cooking (and eating).

So, rejoice Recipes from a Greek Island! Thanatos will not be dragging you to Hades soon.

(Apologies for the quality of some of the photos.)

Chicken Divan from “Weight Watcher’s Microwave Cookbook”.

(The author’s name is not included anywhere I can find in the book, hence the omission.)

I was curious what the meal containe and how it differed from the Women’s Weekly similar recipe which was not a success. This is normal as whenever I hear, read, watch a person praise a recipe or meal some investigation is warranted. Often there is disappointment; for example when you find out a cookie is a biscuit, a biscuit is a scone, Oreo’s are not as good as Delta Creams, etc. (A Delta Cream is made by Arnott’s and, in my opinion, is better. Oreo’s actual biscuit is gluey and the filling reminds me of the filling of Tootsie Rolls or Twinkies, which were another disappointment.)

Random Recipes: Stuffed Zucchini (Hobakseon) From “Korean Home Cooking” by Soon Young Chung.

Korean food can be very good, if you like octopus, kimchi, seafood or potato chips with sweet cheese. Unfortunately I am not fond of any of the previously mentioned food but do enjoy some recipes from Korea e.g. Bibimbap.

This cookbook has been on the shelf for some time and in the immediate queue of 5 cookbooks which are due for the Random Recipe test.

The people tasting this meal, Lindsay and Harper were not averse to the idea of this recipe (which is good as Lindsay did not show any interest in one of the previous choices. In that instance Lindsay was correct.)

Random Recipes: Marinated chicken with red pepper (capsicum) From “Chopsticks on Tour” by Pamela Chen Moore.

This is the second dish taken from the cookbook last reviewed. For those people who have been experiencing stress or distress from the suspense, hopefully this will bring some closure.

Random Recipes: Egg and Tomato Stir Fry from “Chopsticks on Tour” by Pamela Chen Moore

There will be two recipes reviewed from this very small cookbook. There are only 12 recipes and is a recent addition to the cookbook library as I had the good luck to watch Pamela Chen Moore cook some of these recipes.

Malaysian Hot Noodles with Tofu (Mie Goreng) From “Great Vegetarian Dishes” by Kurma dasa

Warning: The format of this review will be slightly different because I want to change the style.

This book is written by a chef of the Hare Krishna movement.  He had a television show in Australian a number of years ago which is why this book ended up in my cookbook library.  At the time I had aspirations of becoming a vegetarian and this book did not really help with that aspiration.

The use of asafoetida is very evident in the recipes and I recall keeping the powder in a glass jar as the smell is very pungent.  In my opinion the taste did not compare with the use of garlic, onion etc. which are not used by the Hare Krishna movement.

I used the book on a number of occasions and can remember all too well the attempt to create Polenta (Italian Fried Corn Bread).  Briefly the process took over an hour and the result was disappointing.

This is a long preamble but it seemed wise to give some background on this book as it was given one final chance to remain on the cookbook shelf.

(Impatient people who cannot stand the intolerable suspense of the fate of the cookbook may skip to the final decision, if they so wish.)

Random Recipe: Curried Vegetable Pie from “Perfect Pies and Pastries” by Robyn Martin

It is Winter in Australia because we are located in the Southern Hemisphere. While some countries in the Northern Hemisphere are suffering extreme heat, in the ACT it is cold. (It may shock some people to be told that parts of Australia can indeed be cold and that snow falls in some areas.)

When it is cold, warming food: pies, stews, cake, casseroles etc, become a focus. For one of us, as you may know, cake is always a focus. There is nothing wrong with cake (until it becomes an obsession).

Random Recipe: Turkish Cookery by Inci Kut

I believe this cookbook was purchased overseas by a family member who knew of my love of Turkish food. It took up room on the bookshelf, basically untouched for a number of years.

Turkish food can be wonderful, with a lovely play of flavours and interesting ingredients. I looked forward to using the book and finding new recipes which could become favourites.