The Slow Cooked Challenge September Round Up

 September turned out to be full of sunshine and, in Scotland, we had better weather than we had had all summer!  In saying all that, it has been chilly in the mornings and evenings so coming home to a slow cooked warming supper is definitely the order of the day.

We have a range of dishes to choose from in this month's Slow Cooked Challenge starting with Blackberry Pulled Pork with Blackberry BBQ Sauce.

This unusual and creative dish comes to us from the heart of rural France, from the blog of De Tout Coeur Limousin, that sauce looks so good!

Next up a hearty plate of Slow Cooker Chipotle Chilli Beans provided by Sarah at Tales from the Kitchen Shed.  I'm a sucker for chipotle chillies, so will be filling my slow cooker with these beans very soon.

Another vegetarian dish and one I think I may be making this week, as I have some portobello mushrooms that I didn't use at the weekend. This dish of Slow Cooked Portobello Mushroom Stew with Herb Dumplings comes from the lovely Dominic who cooks up all kinds of treat at Belleau Kitchen.

Back to Tales from the Kitchen Shed for some more tasty treats.  This time Sarah is serving up Spicy Courgette Chutney made in her Slow Cooker with a glut of courgettes.

This is real comfort food, a Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole from Lucy at Baking Queen 74 and my co-host for the Slow Cooked Challenge.  I hope you will join Lucy for the October Slow Cooked Challenge when it goes live on 1st October.  


Go to the Slow Cooked Challenge page for full details of the challenge and to find the current challenge. 

Labels: blackberries, Chipoltle Chilli Beans, chutney, courgette, dumplings, mushroom, Pulled Pork, sausage casserole, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, stew

posted by Janice @ 20:00 3 Comments

Spicy Tomato Pork Tenderloin and the Slow Cooked Challenge is back!

It's been a pretty miserable summer here in Scotland and I've been making many more Slow Cooked dishes than I would usually.  The Slow Cooked Challenge has had a bit of a break over the summer, but as we head into September, it's time think about slowly cooked stews, soups, curries and cakes.

I'm delighted to announce that I have a new co-host for this challenge, the very talented Lucy of Baking Queen 74. Lucy is the queen of baking in her Slow Cooker and will be hosting the Slow Cooked Challenge every other month.


If you are not familiar with the Slow Cooked Challenge, it is a monthly blog challenge dedicated to making recipes using a Slow Cooker/Crockpot or by slow cooking in the oven, aga or other slow method of cooking. Each month there will be a theme e.g. soup, dessert, vegetarian  or an open challenge.



This month it's an OPEN challenge, so you can enter any Slow Cooked recipe.

If you would like to take part, then please:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen and Baking Queen 74
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook @BakingQueen74 and use #SlowCookedChallenge and we  will re-tweet it to our followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 
• A round up of all the entries will be posted on the host's blog.

Rules:

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month and a round up will be posted on the host blog. 

Spicy Tomato Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
450g pork tenderloin (fillet)
Salt and pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1 clove garlic crushed

1. Place pork tenderloin in bottom of slow cooker 
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Stir together the canned tomatoes, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, soy sauce, chilli powder and garlic  in a small bowl and pour over the sauce.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
5. Check seasoning before serving. 

Labels: challenge, chilli, Pork, slow cooked, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, spicy, tenderloin, tomato

posted by Janice @ 07:00 14 Comments

Slow Cooker Lamb Ras el Hanout and the Slow Cooked Challenge for May/June

Apologies for posting a little late , I don't seem to have caught up with myself this month at all! Thanks to everyone who took part in the April Slow Cooked Challenge, you can see the recipes on the Linky at the bottom of the April post.

I'm keeping the Linky on this page open for two months this time and there is no theme, so anything you make in your slow cooker, or other slow cooked method, can be linked up.  After that there will be a break for July and August (I found last year that entries dried up when the better weather arrived!) and the challenge will be back with a bang in September.

Slow Cooked Lamb Ras el Hanout
Serves 4 

1kg lamb shoulder (or other braising cut)
2 tsp Ras El Hanout
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp honey
1 can chopped tomatoes
150ml lamb stock
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Cut the lamb into chunks and place into the slow cooker with all the other ingredients.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Serve with couscous

You can cook this succulent, tender lamb dish your oven on a low heat (140C) for 2-3 hours although you may need to add more stock as it will evaporate more quickly.






The Slow Cooked Challenge is a monthly blog challenge dedicated to making recipes using a Slow Cooker/Crockpot or by slow cooking in the oven, aga or other slow method of cooking. Each month there will be a theme e.g. soup, dessert, vegetarian etc

If you would like to take part, then please:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules:

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: cous cous, lamb, Ras el Hanout, Slow Cooked Challenge, Spice Kitchen

posted by Janice @ 21:24 6 Comments

The Slow Cooked Challenge March Round Up and April Linky

So many of us love spicy food, curries and chillies, pastes, rubs and whole spices.  Here, to delight your taste buds, are some of the spicy dishes that were linked up to the Slow Cooked Challenge for March 2015.

If you would like to join me for the Slow Cooked Challenge in April, then scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions and the Linky.  There is no theme for April - any slow cooked dish can be linked up.
Ecosse-oulet - a Scottish Cassoulet - I love this play on words from Claire at Foodie Quine, and the slowly cooked cassoulet looks pretty good too

Slow Cooker Beef Curry  this looks like a lovely rich and flavoursome dish from Jane at Onions and Paper

Roasted Pork Belly with Spicy Sauce Reduction another slowly cooked winner, with an Asian twist,  from Cloud of CookMorphosis

Mediterranean Spicy Chicken we all need some great chicken recipes for the Slow Cooker and Deon at Food Jam has delivered a delicious combination of chicken thighs, tomatoes, chillis and olives.

Easy Slow Cooker Dal I could say the same about this dish in terms of veggie recipes as I did about the chicken.  I know I definitely need an easy Slow Cooker Dal in my repertoire, so thanks to Lucy at Baking Queen 74 for providing this spicy recipe.

Easy Slow Cooker Spicy Pork  Pulled Pork is very popular and Caroline at Caroline Makes has created this spicy version in her Slow Cooker, looks good!

Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Corn Chowder This lovely bowl of warming soup will heat you up in more ways than one, as it contains a little kick of chilli.  A beautiful bowlful from Dom at Belleau Kitchen 



The Slow Cooked Challenge is a monthly blog challenge dedicated to making recipes using a Slow Cooker/Crockpot or by slow cooking in the oven, aga or other slow method of cooking. Each month there will be a theme e.g. soup, dessert, vegetarian etc

If you would like to take part, then please:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules:

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: Beef Curry, Cassoulet, Easy Slow Cooked Dal, Roasted Pork Belly, Slow Cooked Challenge, Slow Cooker Potato Corn Chowder, Slow Cooker Spicy Pork, Spicy Chicken

posted by Janice @ 20:20 5 Comments

A Spicy Slow Cooked Challenge for March

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the February Slow Cooked Challenge. There were lots of great slowly cooked recipes so check out the ROUND-UP.

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules: 

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: Dhruv Baker, Slow Cooked Challenge, Spice Layers of Flavour, spicy

posted by Janice @ 20:08 3 Comments

From Pies to Puddings: The February Slow Cooked Challenge Round Up

 I'm always amazed by the variety of dishes that are entered to the Slow Cooked Challenge and as there was no particular theme this month, we have everything from pies to puddings with a side order of focaccia.  Thanks to all the cooks who entered this month, it's such a pleasure to visit your web sites and blogs to see what you have made.


1. Onions and Paper Buffalo Pie
2. Family Friends Food 5-grain and Onion Soup with Cheese Brulee
3. Baking Queen 73 Slow Cooker Spinach and Feta Focaccia
4. Searching for Spice Slow Cooked Pork in Peanut Sauce



5. How to Cook Good Food Game Pie
6. Belleau Kitchen Slow Cooker Brisket with Caramelised Onions
7. Chardonnay and Samphire  Leek, Sweet Potato and Aubergine Curry
8. Baking in Franglais Slow Cooker Rice Pudding
9. Cloud of Cookmorphosis Easy Peasy Delicious (Asian Style) Duck Confit

The new challenge will be open very soon, February doesn't give much turnaround time with it's meagre 28 days, so please bear with me.



If you would like to find out more about the Slow Cooked Challenge then please visit the page which has all the details.

Labels: Brisket, Buffalo, curry, Duck Confit, Feburary Round Up, Focaccia, Game Pie, Pie, Pork, Rice Pudding, Slow Cooked Challenge, Soup

posted by Janice @ 09:26 8 Comments

Butternut Chicken Thai-Style and the Slow Cooked Challenge - February 2015

This recipe was inspired by Lucy's (Baking Queen 74) recipe for Malaysian Style Veggie Curry with Lime, from the January Slow Cooked Challenge, you can find it in the January round up.  The other influence was the large box which arrived from Knorr on Saturday morning.  A box packed with vegetables, some tins and dry goods and the full range of  Knorr Flavour Pots   The Slow Cooked Butternut Chicken Thai-Style was delicious with the flavours from the Knorr Flavour Pots, shining through and still fresh after long slow cooking.


Knorr Flavour Pots have just collected first prize in the Sauce and Seasoning category for this year’s Product of the Year awards. Knorr Flavour Pots allow you to easily infuse your cooking with the flavour of fresh herbs and spices but with the handy convenience of dried. The range features nine different tantalising flavours, including Mixed Herbs, Three Peppercorn, Curry, Garlic, Mixed Chillies, Garden Herbs, Ginger & Lemongrass, Paprika, and Mexican.

Labels: butternut squash, Chicken, coconut milk, garlic, Knorr Flavour Pot, Lemongrass and Ginger, Slow Cooked Challenge, Thai

posted by Janice @ 19:11 21 Comments

Three Slow Cooked Citrus Recipes and an Omelette Arnold Bennet (don't ask!)

There's something rather nice about the sharp flavour of citrus after the rich foods eaten in December.  Many thanks to the four bloggers who joined the Slow Cooked Challenge for January, even though one naughty blogger cheated (no change there then!)


Slow Cooking champ Lucy from Baking Queen 74 brings us a lovely fresh Slow Cooker Malaysian- Style Veggie Curry with Lime

I would describe this, Slow Cooker Pork with Star Anise and Orange from Gingey Bites, as a hug on a plate.  A rich slowly cooked meal with warming spice and the sweet zing of orange, just perfect for the cold weather we have been having recently.

Lamb Shanks have such an amazing flavour and are made for slow cooking.  Sarah has been busy in her Kitchen Shed (Tales from the Kitchen Shed) again and brings us a recipe featuring that January citrus favourite the Seville Orange!  Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks with Seville Oranges and Marmalade could easily grace a dinner party plate or make a great alternative to a roast for Sunday lunch.


This is Dom's Omelette Arnold Bennet here is what Dom said on his blog Belleau Kitchen:

" I am entering this recipe into the Slow Cooked Challenge hosted so beautifully by Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen. The theme this month is soup but i've bent the rules of this challenge so many times I think Janice has given up caring... I will no doubt be making a soup at some stage this month but until I do..."

Soup?  No, Dom it was 'Citrus', even a wee squeeze of lemon on your smoked haddock would have done it, and then you didn't even add it to the Linky!!  You might wonder why I don't disqualify Dom, well it's because (shhh don't tell anyone) sometimes I cheat at Random Recipes ;-)

Next month there will be no theme, so bring me all and any slow cooked recipes, the linky will go up on Sunday. 

Labels: Citrus, Lamb Shank with Seville Orange and Marmalade, Omelette Arnold Bennet, Pork with Star Anise and Orange, Round Up, Slow Cooked Challenge, Veggie Curry

posted by Janice @ 07:30 4 Comments

Slow Cooked Spiced Ham

It might seem like a bit of an extravagance to buy a ham in January, but you can get an awful lot of eating out of a large ham like this eating it sliced, warm and cold, then stretching the rest into several meals using rice, pasta, quiche, bakes, pies and pasties.

Adding some spices and citrus fruit to the cooking liquid just adds a little extra flavour to the ham.  It's not overpowering and is more obvious in the cold ham than when it is served warm.

Slow Cooked Spiced Ham
1 ham or gammon joint (2.5 kilos)
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
3 all spice berries
1/2 lemon
1/2 orange
1 litre of liquid (you can use apple juice, cider, white wine or water or a combination)

Place all the ingredients in your Slow Cooker or Crockpot,  put on the lid and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Farmersgirl Tips

• If you are using a smaller gammon joint, simply reduce the liquid, spices and cooking time, it's a really that simple.
• If you want to glaze your ham, remove the rind, then using a sharp knife, make a criss cross pattern in the fat.  Make a mixture of  50g dark brown sugar and 1 tsp dried mustard powder and rub into the fat.  Heat the oven to 180C and bake until the rind is bubbling about 10-12 minutes.  I would recommend lining your tin with foil as the sugar mixture is really sticky and difficult to remove.

• 

This is my entry for my #SlowCookedChallenge, the theme for January is CITRUS, why not join me?

Labels: all spice, bacon, Cinnamon, crockpot, Gammon, ham, lemon, orange, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, spice, star anise

posted by Janice @ 19:30 10 Comments

Happy New Year and the first Slow Cooked Challenge of 2015

It's been a year since I got my Slow Cooker for Christmas in 2014 and launched this challenge to learn more about slow cooking and share recipes with other slow cooking fans. So if you got a Slow Cooker as a gift or nabbed one in the sales, please do join in the rules are simple:

• Make your recipe in your Slow Cooker or use other slow cooking method and post a photograph and the recipe, or a link to a recipe, on your blog
• Link to Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Use the Slow Cooked Challenge logo in your post
• If you use twitter, tweet your post with @FarmersgirlCook and #SlowCookedChallenge and I will re-tweet it to my followers AND post your picture on the dedicated Pinterest Board. 

Rules: 

• Please do not publish recipes from cookbooks on your blog without permission, they are copyright.
• If you are using recipes from another website, please link to the recipe on the website rather than publishing the recipe.
• One entry per blog.
• Recipes must be added to the linky by the 28th of each month.

Labels: challenge, Citrus, Cooking, Food, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker

posted by Janice @ 09:00 18 Comments

Slow Cooked Christmas Round Up

I hope you all had a very Happy Christmas.  Unfortunately, I was rather unwell with a terrible cold and cough throughout the festive season, but managed to enjoy it in short bursts!

The Slow Cooked Challenge for December was to make a festive recipe using a slow cooked method, here are the entries.

Ema at De Tout Coeur Limousin cooked up  Bigos Polish Stew   made with pork and sauerkraut and s traditionally served around Christmas time, a lovely warming dish with a great story of it's origins and significance to Ema.


Lucy at Baking Queen 74  is the Queen of Slow Cooker cakes and does not disappoint with her Christmas offering of  Slow Cooker Christmas Cake 



Nasifriet at By the Way  shared some Christmas lore from Belgium along with this intriguing Slow Cooked Turkey Stew with Speculoos and Abbey Beer I really must make this, it sounds so good.




Claire at Foodie Quine provides a host of delicious Slow Cooked recipes featuring Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork, all quality assured Scottish meat products.  I'm featuring the  Slow Cooker Scotch Lamb with Red Wine and Butter Beans but please visit as there are more delicious recipes to choose from.



It's always nice to finish a meal with something sweet, and Sarah of Tales from the Kitchen Shed is supplying this very festive Black Forest Chocolate Pudding as our finale, this one isn't just for Christmas, it would make a great Sunday Lunch or dinner party dessert.

Many thanks to all those who took part in the Slow Cooked Challenge, both this month and throughout the year.  I'll be back with a new linky on the 1st of January.

Labels: Bigos, Black Forest Chocolate Pudding, Christmas Cake, crockpot, Scotch Lamb, Slow Cooked Challenge, slow cooker, Speculoos, Turkey

posted by Janice @ 18:49 4 Comments

Chardonnay Poached Pears and a Slow Cooked Christmas

Christmas cooking doesn't have to be rich and heavy, full of sugar and fat.  I love a lush sugary treat but sometimes it's also nice to have a lighter fruity dessert like these poached pears.  The recipe, and the wine, were supplied by Eisberg wines and I've replicated the recipe in it's original form below.  However, I used my Slow Cooker to poach the pears instead of a pan on the stove.  I've added the slow cooker instructions below the stove recipe. I would also recommend removing the core of the pear from the base which is not mentioned in the original recipe.

I stopped drinking alcohol for 'Stoptober' and carried on into November, I did have one glass of wine when I was out for dinner recently, but really didn't want any more.  I'm definitely on the look out for alternatives to wine, but I'm afraid this one didn't do it for me.  I'm not a huge fan of Chardonnay and found that this non-alcoholic version was not dry enough for me, however it was very good in the recipe.

Eisberg Chardonnay Poached Pears

Labels: Christmas, Eisberg, honey, Pears, Poached Pears, Slow Cooked Challenge

posted by Janice @ 08:00 9 Comments