Slow Cooker Chicken Stew (with thanks to the Hairy Dieters)

I'm very fussy about meat. I hate skin and bones and gristly bits. However, I love saving money - not by buying cheap factory farmed meat, but by buying cheaper cuts of meat from local and ethical sources. Slow cooking cheaper cuts of meat helps to break down all the gooey bits and makes removing bones a nice, clean and easy task - perfect for squeamish people like me!

I'd seen this recipe in the Hairy Dieters Cookbook last year and thought it sounded good so, when I bought a pair of chicken leg quarters from Keelham Farm Shop this weekend, it seemed like a good candidate for a slow cooker adaptation.

The original recipe feeds four people and has quite a lot of liquid - a necessity when cooking it in the oven - so I made suitable changes to make the recipe in the slow cooker and to serve two people.

Tender and delicious

Mrs Roe's Hairy Dieters Old Fashioned Chicken & Veg Stew
Ingredients
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp dried thyme
2 good quality chicken leg quarters
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 rashers smoked back bacon, cut into 1cm strips
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stick, thinly sliced
150g chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters
250ml dry cider
100ml chicken stock
200g carrots, cut into large chunks
1 thin leek, sliced into 2cm pieces
Sea salt
Black pepper

Method

1. Mix the flour and thyme with some salt and plenty of black pepper. The original recipe says to use a plastic freezer bag, but I just did mine in a shallow bowl.
2. Break the chicken legs on the joints, and cut into two pieces - you'll have two drumsticks and two thigh pieces. Leave all the bones in, but trim off any excess fat. Remove the skin if you want to (I didn't bother).
3. Evenly coat the chicken pieces with the seasoned flour and shake off any excess. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Remove and place in the slow cooker.
4. Fry off the bacon, celery and onion for about 5 minutes, then add the mushrooms and fry for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining flour, then add to the slow cooker with the chicken pieces.
5. Deglaze the pan with half of the cider, then pour this into the slow cooker, along with the stock and the rest of the cider. Add the carrots and leeks and stir.
6. Cook the stew on low until the chicken is very tender and the bones can be removed cleanly. I left mine for about five hours, but the time needed will depend on your cooker.

• I didn't have any thyme in the cupboard, so I used oregano, which worked well and tasted good. I think rosemary would be worth a try as well.
• I didn't halve the weight of the mushrooms, as 75g seemed rather mean when I weighed them out.
• We ate this with a serving of lovely, fresh green kale. If you want to add potatoes, I think baked would be good.
• Make sure you choose a good quality cider for this recipe, as it really makes a difference to the flavour. Sticking half a can of Strongbow in it probably won't be a good idea. I used Samuel Smith's Organic Cider.

Bean and Pepper Chilli

We've been eating pretty badly recently, as I've been working on loads of job applications (soo time consuming) and, as a result, I have a fridge full of good stuff to use up.

So, in the mood for something spicy I concocted this chilli (chili) recipe last night. It was good, although it could have done with more heat for my tastes. We ate it with baked potatoes and some soured cream that was left from the weekend.

There's plenty left today, so I'd say this recipe serves at least 4 people.

Mrs Roe's Pepper & Bean Chilli

Ingredients

1 tsbp sunflower oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 tsp sweet smoked paprika

1 tsp chilli powder

1 large red pepper (capsicum), chopped

1 large yellow pepper (capsicum), chopped

50g red lentils

1 can chopped tomatoes

2 tsp soft dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 can kidney beans in water (drained and rinsed)

1 can chick peas in water (drained and rinsed)

100g closed cap mushrooms, chopped

3 pieces sun-dried tomato, drained thoroughly and chopped

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan (it needs to be a pan with a lid), then add the onions and fry gently for about 15 minutes. You need to get them really soft and they'll start to turn golden in colour. Keep the heat low to stop them burning.
2. Add the smoked paprika and chilli powder and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.
3. Add the red & yellow pepper and the red lentils. Mix everything together so the oniony mixture combines with the lentils, then turn up the heat and add about 125ml hot water. Stir and let the mixture come up to the boil.
4. Next, add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and put the lid on the pan. Simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the peppers are tender.
5. Serve with baked potatoes, rice or tortillas, topped with a blob of soured cream or a little grated cheese.

• The lentils help to thicken the dish slightly so you don't get a watery consistency. You could use rice, cous cous or other grains instead, but I'm not sure whether the results would be exactly the same... 
• I used kidney beans and chick peas as this was what I had in the cupboard. You could use any combination of beans you like, but they need to be in water, not sauce. Canned sweetcorn would also be a good addition.
• If you don't have smoked paprika, just omit it from the recipe.
• I would definitely add more chilli powder next time, but adjust the amount to suit your own tastes.
• Feel free to throw in any combination of veg. Even frozen mixed veg would do at a push.

Chilli con Bolognese

The last of the Bolognese sauce became a chilli tonight and it was good. So easy, I think posting a recipe is a bit of a cheat, but you might like to try it, so read on if you do...

You can't beat a good chilli on a cold winter's day.

Mrs Roe's Chilli Bolognese

Ingredients

1/3 Bolognese sauce (here's the recipe)

1 x 400g can kidneys in chilli sauce

1/2 tsp smoked chilli flakes

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce

Method

Easy! Put everything in a pan, mix it all together and heat thoroughly. Simple as that.

We had it with rice, but it would be good with bread, or chips, or as a filling for enchiladas, or a topping for nachos... You get the idea!

I used Encona West Indian Hot Pepper Sauce, because it's what I had in the cupboard. It's good, because it adds a slightly tangy flavour as well as heat. You could use Tabasco, or leave it out completely if you don't want it too hot.

The smoked chilli and paprika give it a lovely flavour, but it can be hard to get hold of them so just use ordinary chilli flakes and paprika if you can't find the smoky stuff. I am on the last precious flakes of smoked chilli (which I bought from a Greek herbs and spices stall on a European market). I am dreading the moment when I run out.

Villetta Pasticcio (or Bolognese Cottage Pie)

We had a LOT of Bolognese sauce left after last night - I reckon we only used about a third of it - so I needed to think of something to use it for today. I decided to do some mashed potato and make a cottage pie. Easy, tasty and perfect for the miserable weather we're having.

Ready to eat!

Mrs Roe's Villetta Pasticcio

Ingredients

1/3 Bolognese sauce (see recipe here)

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 dsp olive spread or butter

Salt & pepper

50g cheese, grated

Method

1. Spoon the Bolognese sauce into a shallow, heatproof bowl. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Boil the potatoes until done, then mash with the spread until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and spread over the surface of the Bolognese sauce. Don't smooth it out - you need spikes and bumps so it'll crisp up nicely.
3. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, then place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.

I used a good, mature Red Leicester cheese for the topping. You need something strong that melts well, so cheddar would work perfectly.

If you wanted to up your veg intake, you could add some thawed peas to the Bolognese.

Crock Pot Bolognese Sauce

I've been fancying spaghetti bolognese for a while now, so I thought I'd try making the Bolognese sauce in the Crock Pot. One word can sum it up... Success!

This is my own recipe, give it a go and see what you think. I'd love to hear how you get on. It made A LOT of sauce - two generous portions for tea with wholewheat spaghetti, enough for tomorrow's experiment and a cereal bowl full to the brim (will have to think about what to do with that bit). I'd say that you could get maybe seven or eight portions of spaghetti out of it easily.

After about seven hours, lovely rich
and tasty Bolognese sauce.

Mrs Roe's Crock Pot (Slow Cooker) Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, quartered lengthways and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 rashers back bacon (smoked, unsmoked... whatever), chopped
500g lean minced beef steak
Beef stock cube
1 dsp oregano
200g mushrooms, chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
Ground black pepper

Method

1. Add the sunflower oil to a frying pan and heat for a bit, then add the onion and fry until beginning to soften. Add the carrots and continue to fry until the onions are starting to colour slightly. Stir in the garlic, then remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into your Crock Pot bowl.
2. Return the frying pan to the heat and add the bacon. Fry until the fat has browned, then add to the veg in the Crock Pot.
3. Now, brown off the mince in the frying pan before adding it to the Crock Pot.
4. Crumble over the stock cube, add the oregano, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato puree and black pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine.
5. Cook in the Crock Pot on low for 7-8 hours, then turn the dial to the 'keep warm' setting if your Crock Pot has one.
6. Cook some pasta (spaghetti is traditional, obviously), divide between bowls and top with the sauce to serve.

You'll note that, apart from the tomatoes, I didn't add any liquid. It really didn't need anything and the sauce was a lovely, thick and rich consistency.

You could easily add other veg if you wanted to make it go even further - I would have used celery if I'd had any in the fridge.

It could have been improved with some Parmesan over the top of it and maybe some garlic baguette for juice mopping, but it copes perfectly well without these.