My slow cooker was dusted down and brought out from the back of the cupboard when I started Slimming World and I really have no idea why it was put there in the first place. I think its ideal for busy people who want to eat well, but without the fuss of preparing a meal at the end of the day. Okay, you've got to be organised and disciplined to plan that far ahead when the average cooking time is 8 hours, but the results are worth it.
Maybe its because we don't know what to cook? I know I just used to chuck a few ingredients in and see what happened, sometimes it worked, mostly it didn't. But I invested £5 on slow cooker recipe book and it gave me the confidence to try all sorts of different things, sweet and savoury, although I stay away from the sweet stuff now!
Anyway, here is one of my favourites from 200 Slow Cooker Recipes from Hamlyn and it's works out at about 3 Syns a portion
Rancheros Pie
Takes about 20 minutes to prepare and 8 - 10 hours to cook
Serves 4
Ingredients
Low cal spray
500g of lean minced beef
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon if cumin seeds, crushed
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of crushed dried chillies
1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice
2 stems of oregano roughly chopped (I used a teaspoon of dried)
3 tablespoons of sultana's
tin of chopped tomatoes
2 beef stock cubes
8 fl oz of water
500 g of thinly sliced sweet potato
Spray a large frying pan with low cal spray and add the beef to brown, pour away any of the fat. Add the onions and continue to cook for a minute or two. Add all the other ingredients apart from the sweet potato and bring it to the boil stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon it into the slow cooker and cover with overlapping slices of sweet potato. Spray with the low cal spray, salt and pepper and sprinkle with some dried chillies.
Put the lid on and cook for 8 - 10 hours, until the potato is soft. It's the potato which takes the time! It can be browned under the grill if you want to.
I serve this with broccoli, carrots and cabbage and it's delicious!
