Cracking out my slow cooker … 5 new recipes

Wow it’s been a shocker weather-wise. Both my parents and DD were left without power. Mum would only talk to me for the briefest moment because her phone was running out of charge, but luckily I got DD a Sprout charger brick thingy for Christmas – since we are such mad texting fiends – so he was OK to keep tapping through the long, dark, powerless night.

I’ve spent a lot of time working from home this week with two fur babies on my lap, which is annoying as there’s not really enough space for them both, so they keep sliding off and fighting with each other … but I suppose it saves on electricity as they do keep me quite warm …

I’ve also become a bit obsessed with my slow cooker during these damp, chilly times.

Here’s the second recipe I’ve cooked up (the first was Mexican Chilli Beef) over the past week, plus five more I’m planning to try in the coming weeks. Forgive the photography, the light in my kitchen is terrible at the moment due to the storms.

Recipe: Mongolian beef with noodles

• 1.2kg diced stewing beef
• 1 tablespoon rice bran oil
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup beef stock
• 3 tsp minced ginger
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 4 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 1 green capsicum, chopped
• 500g Evergreen Lamein Noodles

METHOD: There’s all this talk about tossing the meat in flour and stir-frying it first, but that kinda defeats the purpose of a slow-cooker  meal being easy if  you ask me. So I just chucked everything in at once, thickened it a bit on high at the end with some cornflour, then boiled my favourite noodles and chucked them in the mix. Bit sweet if that’s not your thang, but nice flavour to it all, which I’ve also been enjoying as leftovers with rice.

Next on the to-make list …

>> Oxtail, chorizo & red wine stew from Taste … except I’ll substitute the oxtail for something less … taily … And adapt the recipe for the slow cooker with less liquid.

>> Spiced Duck & Date Tagine from BBC Good Food.

>> Malaysian Lamb Shank Curry from Adam Liaw.

>> Easy Crockpot Carnitas from Pinch of Yum.

What’s your favourite meal when the weather turns nasty?

Song of the day: Eurythmics “Here comes the rain again”