Slow Cooked Challenge Round Up for October

Many thanks to everyone who took part in the first 'Slow Cooked' Challenge.  Despite having opened up the challenge to any kind of slowly cooked food, it is the Electric Slow Cooker or Crock-pot which still dominates the entries for the challenge which is fine by me, but I'm glad to welcome anyone who wants to enter a slow cooked recipe to the challenge.

The first of two Apple Butter recipes.  Stuart at Mr Cakeyboi brings us Easy Apple Butter.  I've never made Apple Butter but I can see the attraction and I will add it to my recipe bucket list now I've seen how easy it is to make in the slow cooker.

Caroline of Caroline Makes enjoyed a simple baked potato in her Slow Cooker, deliciously topped with a blue cheese dressing and parsley combo.  A perfect lunch or light supper.

Deon at Food Jam made this Paprika Beef Stew before she went off on holiday, freezing some for when she returned.  What a lovely comforting dish to come home to.

Dominic at Belleau Kitchen was the trigger for the Slow Cooker Challenge becoming the Slow Cooked Challenge.  He kept telling me he wanted to enter but didn't have a slow cooker, so what happened when I changed the rules?  Dom got himself a Crock-pot just in time to enter this month's challenge!!  I am going to forgive him though because Dom has created this glorious Slow Cooked Lentil and Vegetable Stew with Polenta Dumplings.


Laura at "I'd much rather bake than..."  gives us a very unusual combination it's Slow Cooker Apple Pie Chilli I rather intrigued by this recipe and Laura certainly sells it well, describing the joys of this tomato free chilli dish. Check it out!

Now time to head from Mexico to North Africa for this 'fall apart' Slow Cooked Harissa Spiced Beef Stew  I just love the look of this warming dish created for us at De Tout Coeur Limousin

Now this is the perfect dish for Bonfire night: Bonfire Bangers and Barbeque Bean Casserole This warming dish comes to us from Karen at Lavender and Lovage, it looks so good.


Nessie was Shaheen of A2K's neighbour when she lived in Glasgow and this is Nessie's Apple Butter, it's so nice when good recipes are handed on and now Shaheen is passing it on to us.


Lucy of Baking Queen 74 is always surprising me with the recipes she manages to produce from her Slow Cooker, I'm learning a lot about Slow Cooker baking from Lucy.  This entry of Slow Cooker Plum and Almond Cake looks like another winner.

Just in case you missed it, this is my own Slow Cooked Challenge entry of Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons. 


The November Slow Cooked Challenge will be published on  Monday 3rd November,  I hope you will join us as we move into the true season of slowly cooked food.

Labels: Apple Butter, Beef, Beef Stew, cake, chilli, Harissa, Lentil stew, Plum, Polenta, potatoes, sausages, Slow Cooked Challenge, tagine

posted by Janice @ 08:24 13 Comments

Crock-pot Chicken Tagine for Crocktober

As my regular readers know, I am slightly obsessed with my slow cooker and use it pretty much every week to make all kinds of slowly cooked recipes. There are many different brands of slow cooker but the original Crock-pot is still has a certain cachet, if slow cookers have cachet!  I was delighted to be invited by Crock-pot to try out the Crock-pot Countdown Slow Cooker  join them making some recipes for Crocktober over on their Facebook page.


My sister-in-law gave me a jar of preserved lemons that she had made and everytime I open the larder I see them there, so it seemed like the ideal opportunity to make a Tagine in the Crock-pot.

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons
Serves 4

300g  hot chicken stock
pinch of saffron
6 chicken thighs
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ras el hanout
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 large preserved lemon (two quarters)
1 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g green olives
50g chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Soak the saffron in the hot stock to bring out the colour.
2. Heat the oil and brown the  chicken thighs and place in the bottom of the Crock-pot
3. Cook the onion until it starts to become transparent.
4. Add the garlic, ras el hanout, ginger coriander and cinnamon stick and cook for a minute.
5. Add the stock and bring to the boil, add to the Crock-pot and cook on Low for 5 hours.
6. Add the chickpeas, the olives and the preserved lemons, roughly chopped.
7. Cook on Low for a further 1-2 hours.
8. Check the seasoning and adjust to taste.

If you are not ready to eat, the Crock-pot will keep the Tagine warm for a couple of hours without coming to any harm.

Serve with couscous, I added some sultanas to the cous cous and used some of the juices from the Tagine, with some added boiling water, to swell the grains.

The Tagine was much lighter than the usual lamb recipe that I make, I missed the sweetness of dried fruit in the dish, which was why I added sultanas to the couscous. I would probably add some dates or apricots if I was making it again.  I would recommend that you don't add any salt to the dish while cooking as I found that the preserved lemons (preserved in salt or brine) and the olives added enough salt without any additions.



So how did the Crock-pot perform?  

• I really liked the solidity of the Crock-pot, it feels substantial and looks attractive
• The 'stay warm' feature is really valuable as you know that if you are a little later getting home, your meal will be kept warm without being over cooked. 
• My other slow cooker has a metal 'pot' which can go on the hob, I did miss that but not as much as I thought I would. 
• The electronic timer means that you can be accurate with your timings.
• Best of all for me, the Crock-pot bowl and lid can go in the dishwasher - woo hoo!

If you would like to try to win a Countdown Slow Cooker Crockpot and Crockpot Warmer (I'll tell you about the Crockpot Warmer in another post) my friend Karen is running a giveaway over at her blog  Lavender and Lovage - Crockpot Slow Cooker and Crockpot Warmer Giveaway ending 9th December 2014.


I'm adding this to my own Slow Cooked Challenge, anyone is welcome to join in with a slowly cooked recipe whether in a slow cooker or by other slow cooking method.


Thanks to the people at Crock-pot for providing me with this Countdown Slow Cooker Crock-pot, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own. 

Labels: Chicken, chickpeas, couscous, Crock-pot, Crocktober, olives, Preserved Lemons, slow cooker, tagine

posted by Janice @ 21:40 7 Comments

Lamb Tagine

I bought a pomegranate last week and then wondered what to do with it!   So I thought I'd make a Lamb Tagine, I used the recipe from my Good Housekeeping book but bumped up the veg content to make it go further and make it healthier.  I topped it off with chopped coriander and the pomegranate seeds which I loved by were not so popular with my husband!

coriander leaves to garnish

5. Discard the cinnamon  and bayleaf. Add the dates and honey and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Garnish with coriander and serve with couscous.

Labels: carrots, celeriac, couscous, lanb, Parsnips, pomegranate, tagine

posted by Janice @ 21:34 9 Comments