Simple Slow Cooker Suppers

As so many of you have requested easy dinner ideas, below you'll find two super-simple, minimal-effort recipes!

For both of them, you just need to throw the ingredients in the slow cooker (no chopping or much prep to do) and wait a few hours before returning home to a cheap, delicious and warming dinner.

Some information on slow cookers:

• Slow cookers are a really easy and healthy way to feed a family or batch-cook to fill a freezer with enticing meals made of moist and tender meat – all without any hassle.

• It’s a really energy-efficient way to cook. Costing around 5p per hour, it’s a lot cheaper than roasting food in an oven or cooking on a hob. Generally, for the price of cooking one meal in the oven, you could cook five in the slow cooker!

• Slow cookers are suited to both cheaper cuts of meat and cheaper varieties of vegetables

I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Claudine xxx

P.s.  As there have been concerns about cooking in metal slow cookers, I use a ceramic one, which I find also cooks more evenly too. I use a 4.7 litre one for our family of five, but you can buy smaller or larger slow cookers as you need.

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Succulent Slow Cooker Lamb

This super tasty dish can be served with greens of your choice or in a flatbread.  

🍲 800g lamb leg steaks*

🍲 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

🍲 ½ tsp ground allspice

🍲 ¼ tsp ground paprika

🍲 1 tsp ground cumin 

🍲 1 tsp flaked sea salt

🍲 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

🍲 3 tbsp sugar-free ketchup (or tomato paste)

Place all the ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. If you’re cooking larger pieces, you can even cook it for up to 8 hours. Smaller pieces might dry out faster, so 3-4 hours should be plenty.

Serve with: 

🍲 80g feta, crumbled 

🍲 1 pomegranate, cut in half and seeds bashed out into a bowl with a rolling pin

That's it! Enjoy xx

*or shoulder, diced, but I prefer cooking larger pieces so that it doesn’t dry out. You can even cook half a leg on the bone this way.

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Pulled Pork with Apple

This tender and comforting dish is a winner for dark, cold nights. It’s so tasty yet incredibly simple and quick to make! 

🍏 2kg pork shoulder (cut off the fat and discard) 

🍏 80ml soy sauce 

🍏 3 apples, cut in quarters (discard the core)

Optional extras: 

🍏 2 garlic cloves, crushed 

🍏 2 tsp grated ginger 

🍏 3 star anise

These additions elevate the flavour, but the dish is delicious without them, so it's totally up to you.

Place all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with salad or greens of your choice, or in a bun.

You see, it couldn't be simpler!