Crock Pot Q?

Hi Ladies,

Lets face it, I can't cook. Not really interested in learning, it's a chore but I can do the basics.

I'm a vegetarian so can do all my canneloni and Lasagne's etc but i'm hopeless when it comes to meat. I'll buy it, cook it and serve it, just wont eat it. Hence I don't think my steaks are ever going to win any awards lol.

So, I went and bought a crock pot for DH's dinners as I thought it would be easy to throw the stuff in the morning and forget about it.

Anyway, i've tried it a few times just with beef and vegies etc but it keeps coming out watery. I've tried less water but the vegies dry out on top, i've tried soup mixes to try to thicken it and god knows what else. How so I make it more of a casserole consistancy rather than beef and potatoes floating around in a bowl of water?

Poor DH is so nice and never insults anything I cook him but I can tell he's not convinced. He wouldn't dare say anything negative at the moment but i'd rather he liked what I was dishing up.

It's the George Foreman one and it came with a little book. I'm sure i'm doing it right but it's just so watery!! Surely it's not supposed to be like that?

Got the spuds in there too. What if I mashed some spuds and put them in? Kind of defeats the purpose though doesn' t it.

lol i've just pot on a casserole. i use gravy mix. and half the amont on water it says to add. i also sneakily stir half way through although your not suppose to coz it loses the heat but if you do it quick as it doesnt seem to matter much.
Adding a bit on flour helps too.
i have 2 of the alison holst books they are great. tells you what to add. etc.

From the Holst's book:

Thickeners. Sauces may be thickened in various ways. Cornflour is useful because it is always on hand, but it is not as efficient as arrowroot and potato starch (sometimes called potato flour). You need less of these and they thicken sauces almost immediately, whereas cornflour thickens liquids more slowly, needing up to 15 minutes' thickening time. Arrowroot is available in many supermarkets, but you need to hunt for potato starch in specialty stores. Sago works really well when added earlier... Meat floured before browning thickens gravy slightly too - I always do this - Well cooked kumara or pumpkin will thicken sauces, too. Some cooks use dried potato flakes as a thickener. Dumplings thicken stews. Experiment to see what you find best.
...
Liquid in a slow cooker does not boil away - you usually finish with more than you started with. If you are modifying an existing recipe for a slow cooker, use about half the liquid called for in the original recipe (except for soups). You can also cook food in the slow cooker with no added liquid at all.

I think i'm adding way too much water. I thought that's what I was supposed to do but obviously I was wrong!!

Yeah thats the other thing I do to Kate - put it on low at 8am and turn it off at 5pm.

Even if we dont eat until around 6ish - I just leave the lid still on it and it will keep warm for hours - as long as you dont take the lid off!

So Id give it a go without water!

Its all trial and error though, just have a wee play around - maybe add a drop of honey, a bit of soy sauce, bit of this and that and you will be all good!

I seriously dont bother with any water though and ours always turns out yummmy

Beef in particular generates a lot of water. Most crockpot recipes do suggest thickners, as outlined above, at the end of the cooking process.

There's a lovely curried chickpea recipe in the Alison Holst book that we've just done - and at the end you could get DH to chop up and cook some chicken breast and add it to his portion if he desperately needs meat (though he may not even notice - it's THAT nice). Let me know if you want the recipe.

Edited by Bobbie

Use half the liquid you would usually at most, but it takes a bit of experimenting I've found. I'm still getting used to my crock pot and the first few meals were very watery!

Success came the other evening. I cubed the steak and coated it in seasoned flour (which helps thicken). Browned it off quickly first then chucked it in the pot with a crumbled oxo cube, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a dash of worcester sauce, diced carrots and onions and some fresh herbs. Still a little watery but I mixed up some cornflour to a thick paste in a little cold water then stirred that in.

Bobbie wrote: There's a lovely curried chickpea recipe in the Alison Holst book that we've just done - and at the end you could get DH to chop up and cook some chicken breast and add it to his portion if he desperately needs meat (though he may not even notice - it's THAT nice). Let me know if you want the recipe.

Ooh, I love that recipe! I also like to make it with half pumpkin or kumera, and stir some silverbeet in just at the end. I don't usually like recipes that use curry powder, but this one's SO good