Karen Wright: Why I’m always quick to use tried and tested slow cooker

I made a delicious meal today!I made a delicious meal today!
I made a delicious meal today!
I think everyone I know has a slow cooker stashed away somewhere. Cooking fads and gadgets come and go but the slow cooker has endured for centuries.

The tagine is a North African dish named after the pot in which it is cooked. With its circular base that is flat and low sided and a large cone, like a chimney, it is a beautiful thing, I keep one on display as an ornament.

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The cover is designed to return all the condensation to the bottom to keep the ingredients moist as it cooks long and slow.

My gran Westwood was very old when I was born, and she cooked on one of those black cast iron stoves.

There was always a pot of something simmering away for hours on end, I think probably cheap cuts of meat which would become tender with slow cooking.

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My slow cooker has made its debut this Autumn already. As soon as the reality of the current energy crisis started to bite, I realised that the slow cooker would most certainly save me some money.

I think lots of people tend to make the same repertoire of recipes in the slow cooker and it can become very monotonous.

Going forward I will be trying out more unusual things and reporting back on my social media how they worked out.

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Follow me on Instagram on karenwrightbakes to see my progress!

First, I cooked a focaccia bread in the slow cooker, it worked out well!

Then I put a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes, sliced red peppers, red chillies, garlic, a little onion in the pot.

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To season I added salt, smoked paprika and chilli flakes. I made meatballs using equal parts pork and beef mince, breadcrumbs and seasoning. I browned them in a frying pan and then added to the pot.

This cooked for a couple of hours and then the dried pasta went into the mix, about forty minutes later it was ready to serve.

I recommend the slow cooker, it does save time, money and the washing up. Did you know you can cook jacket potatoes in the slow cooker? Not a crispy skin but very fluffy and tender.

You can cook a batch and freeze them individually in foil. Then defrost in the fridge and a quick ping in the microwave and it is ready to serve.

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