This is a nice recipe that has a delicate flavor and is easy to make.  The three step preparation is all you need to do to have a lovely meal to serve tonight made in your slow cooker while you do something else you need to get done or just take some time out for yourself relaxing.

It's a recipe I have had for awhile and always enjoyed it so I thought I would adapt it to the slow cooker so make it tonight and see if it becomes one your favorites too.

Oregano Chicken with Lemon

1/4 cup plain flour

2 tsp smoked paprika

salt and pepper

2.5 lbs (1kg) chicken legs (about 8-10)

2 tabs oil

1 lemon cut into 4

8 garlic cloves

4 sprigs fresh oregano

1 large onion cut into 8

1.5 cups chicken stock

A little cornflour mixed with water

fresh oregano leaves for garnish

Mix the first 3 ingredients together and then coat the chicken in it.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken legs.  Place the chicken in the slow cooker and add the lemon, onion, garlic cloves, oregano sprigs and the stock.  Cover and cook on high for 3.5 - 4 hours.

Remove the chicken to the serving plate and thicken the remainder of the contents in the slow cooker with cornflour mix.   I like to do this so I have a nice thick sauce to pour over the chicken.  I also remove the lemon, the garlic and the oregano sprigs. Finally garnish with chopped oregano leaves.

Serve with rice, polenta or pasta and vegetables.  Serves 4.

Tags: chicken, Garlic, Slow cooker

Halloween is a great time of year when the weather is cooling down and hot foods are coming back in.  If you are having a party or special dinner then pumpkin soup made in the crock pot has to be on the menu.

Here is a recipe for pumpkin soup with a twist.  The addition of garlic and some other vegetables gives it a new taste to the traditional soup.  Make it in your crock pot and serve it in pumpkin shaped bowls or make your own by hollowing out a large pumpkin or individual ones.  Brush with a little lemon juice to stop discoloring and serve immediately you fill the shells.

Pumpkin and Garlic Soup

1/2 cup yellow split peas (soak overnight)

1 tab olive oil

1 chopped onion

2 cloves crushed garlic

20 oz (550g) small pumpkin pieces

5 cups chicken or vegetable stock

pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg

15 oz (42 g) can creamed corn

Heat oil in a pan and add the onion and garlic and toss until clear.  Transfer to the crock pot and add the peas, stock and the pumpkin.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.   Add the corn and seasonings and cook for another 2 hours.  Take out at least a cup of  soup especially some of the peas and blend, then add back to thicken the soup.  Serve with crusty bread and top with some chopped parsley.

How easy is that!

Tags: Halloween recipe, Pumpkin, Soup

Cooking on a budget is more often easier than you think.  Here are a few tips for cheap easy meals using your slow cooker. Don't forget to ask your mother and grandmother for their tips too as they had to be experts in the depression years.

Buy in bulk or when on special

You don't have to be a big family to benefit but you will need a big enough freezer or pantry cupboard to cope with this method of cooking on a budget.  This includes meat and vegetables and make sure to prepare them properly for the freezer or for bottling and canning.   When you find groceries you use often  ''on special' then buy them up too.  Items like canned tomatoes and beans are two that I stock up on.

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Tags: cheap easy meals, cooking on a budget, Slow cooker

This Beef and Red Wine Stew recipe is fairly easy to make and if you like big serves then it will feed 2 people.  It's not as easy finding recipes for two for the slow cooker so finding this one was like gold. You can vary it by adding mushrooms or bell peppers.  You can also swap the onions with leeks for a slightly different texture and taste.

Crock Pot Slow Cooker Beef with Red Wine Stew

1 lb (1/2 kg) steak cut into bite size pieces

flour to coat steak

2 tabs olive oil

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 medium onion chopped

1 large clove garlic crushed

1 tab each chopped chives and parsley

1 small bay leaf

1 cup red wine of your choice

1 cup beef stock cube

1 tab instant gravy mix to thicken if required but recommended

Coat meat in flour and brown meat in oil.  Remove and put aside.  Add to the pan the onions, carrots and herbs and toss until softened a little.  Remove the vegetables and put into the base of the slow cooker. Place the meat on top of the vegetables.

Add the wine and stock to the pan and mix well together as this then combines the juices from the pan as well.  Pour into the crock pot slow cooker over the meat and vegetables. Put the lid on and cook on low for 6 hours.  Thicken with the instant gravy mix combined with a little water if you think the stew is too thin.

Serves 2 large servings or 3 medium ones.  I serve it with sweet potato mash but you can serve with rice or just some of your favorite crusty bread.  Get out your crock pot slow cooker and start cooking.

Tags: beef and red wine stew, crock pot recipe, Crock pot slow cooker, Slow cooker

A digital slow cooker is the answer for super busy people who still like to eat in rather than out.  A slow cooker or crock pot is designed to make life a little easier for the chef on the run, as well as to give meals that savory taste of having been sauteing in their own sauces for hours.  So you are going to be busy at work or running errands all day but want to have dinner on the table at six o'clock?  When you have a crock pot this is not  a problem except for the times when you can't be home in time to turn it off.

Thankfully they have now invented the programmable crock pot or digital slow cooker, which not only can turn itself off when you aren't there but it can turn itself off once the allotted time has expired. The benefits of the programmable crock pot are convenience and perfectly cooked meals. It is common for roasts and other foods to be overcooked because the cook cannot be there to turn it off, set it to low or even to warm setting.

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Tags: digital slow cooker, programmable crock pot, Slow cooker

A friend of mine, Jane, loves her Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Slow Cooker so I have asked her to do a review to post here.  This is a family sized  6 qt crock pot and so I would not buy one this size so I am glad that she is happy to review it for us.

Here is her review:

I bought my Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker last year and I have cooked many meals in it.  I love the look of the attractive stainless steel outside and that it goes with my other kitchen appliances. You can get it in white too if you like.  It has a removable stoneware crock like most other crock pots but this one is very easy to clean and will go in the dishwasher.

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Tags: Crock Pot, Hamilton Beach Stay or Go, Slow cooker