Slow Cooker Meat Loaf

We wanted to see if a meat loaf could be made in the slow cooker.  Deciding to have a go with things we had in the house, we made use of a pack of sausagemeat (ours was from Marks and Spencer because it was gluten free), an egg, a tablespoon of gluten free Worcestershire sauce, some unsmoked streaky bacon, one chopped red onion and half a red pepper, also chopped.

Whilst the slow cooker was switched onto HIGH, to warm through, the egg and Worcestershire Sauce was mixed together.

This egg mix was then added to the sausagemeat, peppers and onions.

The meat mix was then combined thoroughly - we used a fork, but by hand would be best.

Once the slow cooker had warmed through (this took ours about 10 minutes) the crock was lined with half of the bacon rashers to form a base layer.

On top of the bacon layer, we placed the sausagemeat mix and patted it down, before layering the remaining bacon rashers on the top.

The slow cooker was left on high for about an hour, then turned to low (ours only has 2 settings) and left for about 5 hours.  At this point, we carefully turned it out of the crock and placed it on a baking sheet leaving behind the cooking juices.









It was then placed under a hot grill.....

... and this is what it looked like after about 5 minutes crisping up.

We sliced the meat loaf and served it with mixed root mash and peas.

Speedy Salmon Supper

Another long standing recipe to share with you today.  This meal has been something I have cooked for many, many years... and, luckily, it's something Sous Chef J likes to eat.

The ingredients were assembled, as usual... 

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
300g salmon (poached/steamed and skin removed if fresh - or drain a 418g tinned salmon)
Juice of one lemon
400g can of chopped tomatoes

This time we were using fresh salmon, so it was steamed whilst the onion and peppers were being cooked.  To start with, the oil was heated in a large frying pan and the onion was gently fried for about 5 minutes.   At this point, the salmon was removed from the heat and left to cool.  Then the sliced red pepper was added to the frying pan with the onion and the mix was cooked for a further 5 minutes. 

Having flaked the salmon, it was added, with the lemon juice and tomatoes to the frying pan. 

After generously seasoning the mix with freshly ground black pepper, it was cooked for another 5 minutes. 

We served it with green salad and a few potatoes but you can also serve with rice.

It's a great dish to 'make salmon go further' and can be expanded to feed more than 4 people by the addition of more sliced peppers and a couple more salmon steaks.  As Sous Chef J observed "if you multiply the salmon pieces by 2, you find out how many you can feed".... and if we make it using yellow and orange peppers instead of just red ones, we call it Colourful Salmon Supper.

Chilli Con Carne

 We needed an easy slow cooker meal so, having checked the ingredients available, decided on Chilli.  This is a bit of a 'make it up as you go along' recipe at the best of times.

The ingredients we used were

1 Tablespoon oil 
2 onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon tomato puree
2 tins chopped tomatoes
450g pork mince
1 green pepper, deseeded and cut into large dice
dash of tabasco
slop of red wine
tin red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

To serve -
Taco trays (we use Discovery ones)
Grated cheese (cheddar for us)
Guacamole and Sour cream dip - from a prepacked Tex Mex trio.

First of all, the oil was heated in our wok over a medium heat.  The chopped onion was added and left to soften for a few minutes.  Then the tomato puree was added, mixed through and the heat was reduced for about five minutes to allow the paste to cook through.  At this point, the slow cooker was switched on to the high setting.

Then the green pepper was added to the wok and left to cook for a minute. Next the mince was added and browned, the tinned tomatoes, wine and tabasco was stirred through.

Once the chilli was mixed, it was transferred to the slow cooker and the setting was reduced to low.  It was then left for about 5 hours.

When we were almost ready to eat our meal, the red kidney beans (which had been drained and rinsed) were added to the slow cooker mix and stirred through.

The taco trays were warmed under a low grill and the dips were placed on the table.

Finally, it was a case of 'self assembly' and eating without cutlery (always the mode of choice for Sous Chef J).

This made enough for 4 generous or 6 smaller portions.  Half of the chilli was cooled, transferred to a pyrex dish and put in the fridge for a midweek meal.  It could easily be frozen but make sure it's reheated thoroughly after defrosting and, more importantly, MARK UP what you put in the freezer! (It's my New Year's Resolution to only put things in the freezer that have been labelled... so far I am sticking to it)