Investing in a slow cooker can really save you on those evenings when you don’t want to cook. Putting everything into this dish at the start of your day before going to work or your university studies, and then returning to a meal that is ready to serve up, is one of the best time-saving tools you can have.
The best thing about this is that, if you wish to split the price of the slow cooker with your house, you can cook family and household meals for all, without any of the hassle.
Online there are many recipes depending on what meat or flavours you like, but below are some of my favourite tried and tested results.
These are the ones that are the most traditional slow cooker recipes and easy for all to try!
I’ve included recipes with two different meat options, and a vegan one, to try to cover all dietary requirements.
Beef Goulash
This is personally one of my absolute favourites. It is extremely tasty after a hard day of work and can be really rich in flavour. All you need to get are the following:
- braising or stewing steak sliced into chunks
- flower
- paprika
- tomato puree
- beef stock
- sour cream or yoghurt
- ginger
- garlic
- kidney beans
- Peppers
Place all your vegetables in a pan until golden, add in the meat to this pan, and then place them in the pot with the meat and beef stock.
The next stage is to add all the other ingredients as well as the 400ML beef stock. Place your slow cooker on low and cook for six to seven hours. At this time your sauce will be thick and your beef will be as soft as anything.
See also: How To Reduce Your Student Food Waste
Chicken Curry
To stop yourself from splashing out on a takeaway, follow this recipe and be surprised by the amazing dish that you can create in such an easy way. Ingredients include:
- Large onions
- ginger
- skinless chicken legs
- brown rice
- sweet Peppers
- mild Curry paste
- chopped tomatoes
Add this all into the slow cooker, submerge in water with a lid, and keep in the fridge overnight. The next morning place on low for six hours as this will ensure your food is fresh and as soft as possible.
Ratatouille (Vegan)
Ingredients for this healthy and extremely tasty dish are as follows:
- chopped tomatoes
- sweet Peppers
- large over jeans
- sugar
- basil
- courgettes
- mushrooms
- red onions
- garlic
- olive oil
- red wine vinegar
Simply chop and slice the ingredients and put them into the slow cooker. You can fry the onion in advance, so make sure that it is nice and soft.
Then place into the slow cooker your vegan stock cube and this tomato, vegetable, tasty dish will be ready, if cooked on low in about five to six hours.
This can be served with extra basil on top and sourdough bread just to add even more flavour to this vegetable-packed dish.
Read next: How To Jazz Up Potatoes On A Student Budget