Hi Danny! Nice to hear from you...
I've always wanted to get a slow cooker, though I admit I am wary of leaving the stove on while I'm out. But maybe if I know I'll be home the whole time it's cooking...

Last edited by dawnrigoni (Mon 27 Apr 09 3:38pm)

Farmhouse pot roast.

1 x 1.5 kg rolled beef roast.
3 tablespoons flour.
1 teaspoon dry mustard.
30 grams butter.
3 rashers bacon, rind removed and sliced.
3 carrots, finely chopped.
3 sticks celery, finely chopped.
2 cups beer.
¼ cup tomato puree. (I used one tin of Italian tomatoes)
2 tablespoons horseradish
½ teaspoon black pepper.

1.    combine flour and mustard and rub well into surface areas of rolled roast.

2 Heat butter in a large saucepan and cook meat on all sides until well sealed.
Remove and stand. 
Add bacon, carrots and celery to pan and cook, stirring, until bacon is crisp. Add remaining flour, stirring constantly until well browned.

3. poor in beer and stir until sauce thickens. Add tomato puree and horseradish and simmer 2 minutes. Add rolled roast, cover and simmer gently for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, or until meat is tender.

4. remove meat, slice and transfer to serving plate. Keep warm. Reduce sauce until thickened and pour over meat.

Here we are again as happy as can be, all good friend's and jolly good company.........da da di da...........

Sorry Danny, i'm being rude............let's get loads of slow cooker recipe's together this time. They are well worth it.


Honey Lamb Shanks

    * 4 lamb shanks
    * 6 shallots or 2 onions, peeled and sliced into rings
    * 5 cloves of peeled sliced garlic
    * 1 orange, juiced (grate the rind and set it aside)
    * 1 cup of red wine
    * 1 tble of Worcestershire sauce
    * 2 tble of honey (use regular or brown sugar if you have to)
    * 2 tsp of cayenne pepper (can substitute chili powder)
    * 1 cup of chicken stock
    * rosemary, a few fresh sprigs (can use dried if you need to)
    * salt and pepper
    * butter

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the lamb shanks and brown them on both sides. If you need to raise the heat a little to do this, that’s okay but be sure you don’t let the butter burn.

While the lamb is browning, start the slow cooker on low heat with the lid on so it will be warmed up when you add the shanks.

After the lamb shanks are browned, leave the juices behind in the skillet and add the shanks to the slow cooker. Place the fresh rosemary on top of them. (Note: If you are using dried rosemary, wait and add it with the other spices in a few minutes).

In the juices left from browning the lamb, sauté the orange rind, the garlic and the onions until the onions are starting to get a bit crunchy. When this happens, add the red wine, Worcestershire sauce, the honey, cayenne pepper, the chicken stock, the salt and pepper to your liking, and the dried rosemary if you chose not to use the fresh earlier. Mix all the ingredients and bring them to a simmer for about 5 minutes. When finished, pour the sauce over the lamb shanks in the slow cooker and cook covered on low for 6 or 7 hours.

After the allotted time, remove the cover from the slow cooker and increase the heat level to high. Continue to cook the lamb shanks and honey for another hour and a half so that the orange and honey sauce can thicken. Stir around from time to time if you need to.

To serve the honey lamb shanks, move them from the slow cooker to a serving platter and scoop equal amounts of the orange honey sauce from the cooker onto the lamb. These go well with rice and a fresh salad.

love the sound of this one Kye and the pot roast as well Sham....

Danny, my brother recommends pork loin because it's such a lean cut, but he cooked cabbage with it for 12 hours, said the house reeked of cabbage the entire time.

When I'm feeling less calorie conscious, I'll make some caramelized onions,  fill with onion slices and butter, cook on low for 10 hours and  use them on a pizza with duck confit.