In recent times both the slow cooker (or crockpot) and pressure cooker have enjoyed a revival.  The reasons are simple - they both save time, reduce mealtime hassles and can save money if used correctly.

However, it is interesting that these two appliances operate in totally opposite ways.  One slowly, tenderly and gently cooks the food aaaalllllll day long, so when  you return home in the evening, dinner is waiting to be dished out and enjoyed.  Plus, if you’re lucky enough to have a big slow cooker, you might even have enough for leftovers for another night.

In contrast, the pressure cooker’s great advantage is speed.  Once you’re home, throw in a casserole and its done in less than an hour – cooked to perfection and ready to be consumed.

The Tortoise or the Hare?

So which do you prefer the tortoise (slow cooker) or the hare (pressure cooker)?

I must state my claim here – i’m a slow cooker person.  I remember stories of pressure cookers from years gone past blowing their lids off and causing untold damage, chaos and messiness in kitchens.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t get that image out of my head.  I know the modern versions have supposedly fixed that problem but for me (being klutzy and all) it is a recipe for disaster.

That is not to say I can’t see the great benefit of a pressure cooker.  I think another way to look at it is are you are morning person or a night owl?  If you are the former, the slow cooker is definitely your type of appliance.  You can prepare dinner in the morning when you are up and getting on with the day, before heading out to work, school or other activities.  Then you can kick back in the evenings when you get home, knowing dinner is taken care of.

Alternatively, if you are a night owl, coming home and preparing a meal to throw into a pressure cooker won’t be a drama.  And the beauty is you can enjoy meals that normally take too long to cook on a weeknight such as casseroles, stews etc.

What is the Difference?

So what actually is the fundamental difference between a slow cooker and pressure cooker?

The slow cooker works on a low, slow gentle heat of about 80C.  Food is brought up to temperature slowly and allowed to simmer gently for a long period of time – up to 10 hours.

A pressure cooker brings the temperature up to 120C quickly and with it the internal temperature of the food elevates quickly.  Moisture inside the cooker builds the pressure and simulates the effects of long braising or simmering in a much shorter time.  For example, a casserole can be cooked in under an hour.

Both have benefits in terms of economy (eg using cheaper cuts of meat), energy efficiency and of course in providing yummy meals.

In summary, either a slow cooker or pressure cooker is a great addition to any kitchen.  It is likely that most people will  have a preference for one over the other based on their lifestyle and preferred style of cooking.

I’m definitely a slow cooker.  What about you? Please leave your comments and thoughts below.

It is only in the last few years I have ventured to make Christmas Pudding.  Christmas cakes were my specialty and the pudding was left to Mum.  These days Mum doesn’t make pudding anymore, and I don’t blame her.  Listen to the video below and you’ll understand why.

So there you have it, cooking the Christmas Pudding in the slow cooker is the answer to all your “pudding making dreams” (well it is for me anyway).  The result is as good as any other method and the benefits are huge – no pot-watching and no hot kitchen (although I know in some parts of the world this isn’t an issue).  Here’s the recipe I use – a lovely blend of citrus and spices really brings this pudding to life.

Christmas Pudding

Christmas Pudding

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups currants
1 ½ cups raisins, chopped
1 ½ cups sultanas
1/3 cup finely chopped mixed peel
¼ cup rum
250g butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
Grated rind 1 orange
Grated rind 1 lemon
4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

Method

Combine dried fruit, mixed peel and rum in a large bowl.  Cover and set aside overnight.

Choose a heatproof bowl or pudding basin that will hold about 6 cups and fit in your slow cooker.  Grease the bowl or basin (non stick spray is good) and line with microwave proof plastic wrap.

Cream butter, sugar and rinds together until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well between additions.  Stir in soaked fruit.  Fold in sifted flour and baking powder, followed by spices and a pinch of salt.  Finally fold through the breadcrumbs.

Spoon the mixture into prepared bowl, leaving about 1cm from the top, and level with the back of a spoon.  Cover with foil, folding the edges down over the bowl.

Christmas Pudding Into Bowl

Christmas Pudding Covered with Foil

Place into the slow cooker and pour in enough water to come two thirds of the way up the sides of the pudding bowl.  Put on the lid and cook on HIGH for 5-7 hours.

Christmas Pudding into the Slow Cooker

The pudding can be turned out and served immediately or stored for Christmas Day.  To store the pudding, it should be allowed to cool completely, wrapped well and refrigerated for several weeks or frozen (it’s OK to leave the pudding in the bowl).

To reheat the pudding on Christmas Day, thaw (if necessary) and use one of the following methods:

Microwave – Cover the basin with microwave proof plastic film, or if it is a metallic basin, completely remove the pudding and wrap.  Microwave at 55% power (Medium) for around 5 minutes, or until pudding is hot.  It should be moist and steaming.  Alternatively heat single serves at 70% power in 1 minute bursts.

Slow Cooker – Place pudding bowl into slow cooker and pour in water as before (two thirds of the way up the sides).  Reheat on HIGH for 2-3 hours prior to serving, or on LOW for twice this time.

Serve the pudding with custard, whipped cream, brandy butter (my Mum’s favourite) or all three!

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• The fruit can be soaked for longer if you like – no rush.
• Leaving a bit of room at the top of the pudding allows for a little expansion.   However, if some of the mixture bubbles over the side and into the slow cooker don’t worry it won’t affect the end result.
• While the suggested cooking time is 5-7 hours, it doesn’t matter if it’s longer – up to 12 hours it will still be fine.

You might even find this method so easy you decide to make more than one pudding – like I did!

If you have any comments or questions regarding Christmas Pudding in the slow cooker, please leave them below.

This Chicken, Chickpea and Tomato Bake recipe has appeared regularly on our menu for the last few years.  The latest adaptation is done in the slow cooker, my favourite kitchen appliance.  Although my “favourite” appliance can change at the drop of a hat, depending on what cooking mood I’m in.  And with summer coming up, the ice cream maker is likely to find its way back onto the scene very soon.

Although this recipe is done in the slow cooker, it is still called a ‘bake’ because it can just as easily be done in the oven.  But I guess it could also be called a chicken casserole recipe.  The combination of chicken, chickpeas and tomatoes is very delicious.  It’s also a lot of fun, albeit a little messy, tackling the sauce covered chicken legs.

Cooking this recipe last week (Menu Plan #5) something major happened.  I had a huge lightbulb moment as I watched my family devour the meal.  I realised that I will need to start increasing the quantities for a lot of my recipes now.  My kids seem to have doubled their intake lately, particularly when it’s a meal they enjoy (like this one).  A recipe that used to be a good sized meal for everyone, with a little leftover, is now being totally devoured!  There goes the grocery bill!

Chicken, Chickpea and Tomato Bake

Chicken, Chickpea & Tomato Bake

Adpated from Super Food Ideas

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
300g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 onion, finely chopped
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
½ cup chicken stock
75g feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Method

Heat 1 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Cook the drumsticks for 5 to 6 minutes, until golden.  Place them in the bottom of the slow cooker and pour over the chickpeas.

Heat remaining oil in the frying pan and cook the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, stock and season to taste.  Bring mixture to the boil and allow to simmer for 10 minutes until thickened slightly.

Pour over the chicken in the slow cooker and ensure drumsticks are coated.  Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.  If using, sprinkle feta over for the last half hour of cooking.

Serve with couscous.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• This recipe can be done in the oven too.   Simple add the chicken, chickpeas and tomato mixture (as cooked above) to a suitable capacity baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 180C.  If adding feta, remove foil and sprinkle over then bake uncovered during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
• Other chicken cuts can also be used – wings, thigh cutlets, thighs – adjust cooking times accordingly.

If you have any comments or questions about this recipe, please leave them below.

Here is a quick and easy slow cooker recipe that was on Menu Plan #3.  This Chicken & Corn Chowder is really a super chunky soup.  It is a great way to use up leftover chicken and is really easy using the slow cooker.

The recipe comes from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbookwith just a few tweaks.  I used fresh corn which gave the dish slightly more crunch, but frozen corn works well too.

Chunky Chicken and Corn Chowder

Chicken & Corn Chowder

Recipe adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 5 cm dice
2 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Pinch of paprika
2 cups milk
3 cups corn, fresh or frozen
1 -2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and celery for a few minutes.  Place the potato onto the bottom of the slow cooker scrape over the onion and celery mixture.

Add the stock, bay leaf, paprika and season to taste.  Stir the top layer of ingredients ensuring the potatoes stay submerged.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours – the potatoes should be tender.

Add the milk, corn and chicken.  Stir well, cover and cook on HIGH for around 1 hour to heat the chowder through.  Remove bay leaf and season to taste.

Please feel free to leave your comments on this recipe below.

Some other Slow Cooker recipes you might like:

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks with Red Wine & Honey

Pea and Ham Soup

Slow Cooker Beef Curry

Of all soups, Pea and Ham Soup is undoubtedly my favourite and has been all my life.  My Dad has always made a mean version of this soup and nowadays, I still use his recipe with a few of my own tweaks.  Also, I make it in the slow cooker, but it is just as good done on the stove top.

Every Christmas I freeze the bone leftover from the Christmas ham so that at the first signs of winter, I’m ready to make a batch of Pea and Ham Soup.  I leave a bit of the meat on the bone so there are some chunky bits for the soup.  Obviously, this only allows for one batch, so as winter progresses, I buy some ham hocks and use those.

This winter, my local supermarket had a fantastic supply of really meaty ham hocks (see pictures) that delivered huge amounts of ham chunks for the soup.  My family was in soup heaven – thick, chunky Pea and Ham Soup mopped up with big wads of bread.

Since our winter has come to an abrupt halt this year (temperatures have escalated this last week of winter to +30C), this will probably be my last soup post for a while.  It is therefore only fitting that I finish the season, as I started, with Pea and Ham Soup.

Pea and Ham Soup

Pea and Ham Soup

Ingredients

1 Ham Hock or Bone, preferably with some meat on it
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
440g packet (2 cups) of split green peas, rinsed and drained
4 cups (1 litre) reduced salt chicken stock
4 cups (1 litre) water
2 bay leaves

Method

Trim any excess fat from the ham hock or bone.  Put everything into the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Remove the ham bone and once cooled, remove meat from the bone.  Cut the meat into chunks and return to the soup.  Serve with fresh bread.

Pea and Ham Soup Ingredients

Ingredients into the slow cooker

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• The Pea and Ham soup can also be cooked on the stove top.  Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan or stockpot.  Bring to the boil (skim any scum off the surface) then reduce to low and simmer for 1-1 ½ hours.  Remove bone and meat as above.
• My Dad used to serve this with some sliced pieces of Frankfurt on top.  This is ideal if you don’t have much ham meat to return to the dish.
• If you prefer a smoother soup, blend the soup in batches after the bone is removed and don’t return the meat to the dish.
• Seasoning can be added at the end, but check for saltiness first.  The ham bone can make the soup fairly salty.
• If there is extra, freeze it in an airtight container for another night.

Enjoy this recipe and if you have any comments about the soup, please leave them below.

Whether it’s beef or lamb, these days I really do prefer my curries done in the slow cooker. That long, slow cooking process makes a great curry dish and this Beef Curry is no exception.

Every time I’m cooking this recipe, it seems I have people over during the cooking process, and this time was no exception. While we were sitting down to morning tea and chatting, the aromas filled the house and everyone left with the recipe in their hands.

Slow Cooker Beef Curry

Slow Cooker Beef Curry

Ingredients

1kg diced chuck steak
½ cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup Massaman curry paste
4 medium potatoes, cut into quarters
2 large carrots, cut into 3cm lengths
1 cup beef stock

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Dust the chuck steak in flour. Shake off excess flour and cook one third of the beef until browned. Remove and place in the slow cooker. Repeat with remaining beef using a little extra oil if required.

Heat the remaining oil and sauté the onion and garlic until softened. Add the curry paste and cook until fragrant. Transfer mix to the slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients.

Cover and cook on High setting for 3-4 hours or Low setting for 6-8 hours.

Serve with cooked rice.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Any favourite curry paste can be used – Massaman is a type of Thai curry that includes potatoes and goes perfectly with this dish.
• I have actually sacrificed some meat for extra vegetables in this dish, you can add more meat if you wish.

Please feel free to leave a comment below about this recipe or ingredients.

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks are the ultimate in comfort food.  The meat just falls of the bone and tastes sooooo good.  It’s sometimes hard to believe that something that is relatively inexpensive in the meat department, and looks pretty unappetizing, can taste this good.  Ah, the beauty of the slow cooker.

What I love about this recipe is that there is no need to brown the shanks first.  So this is literally one of those recipes that you throw on in the morning and when you come home at night, dinner is ready.  Just cook up some potato mash or other accompaniment and your done.  Not only that, the smell of the lamb, red wine and honey is absolutely divine.

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

4 large lamb shanks, or 8 smaller ones
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2 cups tomato pureed tomatoes
250ml chicken stock
250ml red wine
¼ cup honey

Method

As I said, this one is easy – put everything into the slow cooker, ensure the lamb shanks are coated in mixture.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Serve with rice, vegetables or mashed potato.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Any type of lamb shank can be used.  French trimmed lamb shanks are less fatty, but you can also buy the normal shanks (usually cheaper) and trim any excess fat and sinew off.
• Dried oregano can be used instead of fresh.
• For the pureed tomatoes use tomato passata or puree up a couple of tins of tomatoes.

Enjoy

Sago Pudding is a real old-fashioned dessert that has made way for many newer, funkier and spunkier rivals.  It deserves a place alongside its modern counterparts as not only does it taste delicious it looks fantastic with those little balls rolling around in yummy custard.

This slow cooker version of Sago Pudding is easy to make and is wonderfully smooth and creamy.  It tastes just as good cold the next day and is a great addition to lunchboxes.  This recipe is suitable for a medium sized slow cooker.

Sago Pudding

Slow Cooker Sago Pudding

Ingredients

Adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook

4 cups milk
1 cup sugar
½ cup sago
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Method

Grease the slow cooker bowl with butter.  Combine milk, sugar, sago and vanilla in the slow cooker and whisk well to combine.  Cover and cook on low setting for about 2 ½ hours – the milk will be absorbed and the pudding thickened.  Most of the sago balls should be transparent with some still having a white dot at the centre.

Beat the egg well and stir the sago to break up any lumps.  Spoon a few spoonfuls of the sago into the egg, stir well and then pour into the mixture in the cooker.  Stir well to combine, cover and cook for another 30 minutes.

Turn off cooker and let the pudding cool partially covered for another 30 minutes.  Serve the pudding warm with fruit or whipped cream.  The remaining pudding can be stored covered in the refrigerator.

The Klutzy Cook Notes

• Tapioca can be substituted for sago.
• The recipe can be halved – use a small cooker and reduce initial cooking time to 1 ½ hours.
• Once cold, the pudding ‘sets’.  If it is to be served as a cold dessert, pour into individual bowls before refrigerating.

Enjoy