I love lamb … but it is seriously pricey! So as I continue my search for filling and inexpensive meals for my growing family, my slow cooker and stewing bones are getting more and more of a work out!

This curry is delicious, easy to make in very large quantities and it freezes well … and best of all for the budget, the stewing bones I used cost me under $5. Awesome!

• 1 tbsp rice bran oil
• 1 brown onion, finely diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 2 tsp minced chilli
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp sugar/honey/agave
• lamb stewing bones/offcuts, about 800g-1kg
• butternut pumpkin, about 1kg, diced into roughly 2cm cubes
• green beans, about 600g cut into roughly 3cm peices
• spinach, about 3 large handfuls, roughly chopped
• 800g tin of crushed tomatoes
• 200g coconut cream
• Cauliflower rice/brown rice to serve.

Place the pumpkin in the bottom of the slow cooker and turn on to low.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the onion until it is slightly translucent. Add in the dry spices and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the pan and stir until well combined with the spices. Add sugar and stir.

(For a Thermal Cooker: Chop the onion on speed 5 for about 10 seconds,scrape down sides and add oil. Cook on steam temp, speed 1 for 5 minutes. Add in dry spices and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add in Garlic, ginger and chilli and cook on steam temp, speed 1 for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir on speed 4 for 10 seconds, then cook on steam temp, speed 2 for 3 minutes)

Place the stewing bones on top of the pumpkin and pour the tomato and spice mix over the top of the lamb.

Return the lid to the slow cooker and cook on low for about 5 hours.

Remove the bones from the slow cooker and strip the meat. Dice the meat and return it to the slow cooker along with the green beans and stir well. Discard the remainder of the bones.

Place the lid back on and cook for a further 2 hours.

About an hour before serving, stir in the spinach and coconut cream (don’t shake the can, but use the thickest part at the top of the tin for a creamier sauce). Turn the cooker up to high but leave the lid off the slow cooker to allow some of the liquid to evaporate, stirring occasionally.

Serve with cauliflower rice. To make this I simply place the cauliflower in the food processor and process until fine, then steam and use in place of rice.

This quantity of curry serves about 10-12. I make it in my 6L slow cooker.

Freezes and defrosts well.

Enjoy 🙂

Another slow cooker favourite 🙂

This one uses the ‘satay’ sauce from here .

I make a double batch of the sauce, then pour it over 700-800g of diced casserole beef and cook in my slow cooker on low for 5-6 hours.

Delicious served on a bed of rice and with some steamed veggies.

Enjoy 🙂

We all really enjoy chicken in our family, so I am always on the look out for new recipes that are cheap, easy and healthy.

I know that they are significantly cheaper than pieces, but I haven’t really cooked whole chickens much, partly perhaps because my Mum didn’t, but honestly, it is mostly because I didn’t want to make a mess in my oven!!! So when I heard people talking about how they cooked chickens in their slow cooker I was keen to experiment and we have now been cooking this way for years.

This is a super easy way to cook a chicken, the flavour is lovely and gentle and the meat is delightfully soft and just falls off the bone – which means my kids ate it really well. And I can make both stock and gravy from the left overs – such a win for the budget!! See below the main recipe for these recipes.

• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 lemon or lime
• whole chicken
• Optional – a few sprigs of thyme

Grate the zest off the fruit and set aside.

Wash the chicken inside and out and pat dry.

Cut the ends off the fruit and place inside the cavity, then place breast side up in the slow cooker.

Sprinkle the zest and garlic (and thyme) over the chicken, then place the lid on and cook on low for 6 hours.

You don’t need to add a rack or any liquid as the chicken will cook in its own juices. It won’t have the browned crispy skin of oven roasted chicken but it is amazingly tender.

Allow to rest for half an hour before carving (or pulling apart with a fork like I did! 😉 )

To get the crispy skin of a traditional roast chook,  transfer to a baking dish and place it into a preheated 240C oven for about 12-15 minutes.

Serve with salad or veggies.

Enjoy!

If you are keen to use your chicken to the max, here’s an easy recipe for stock, using the carcass.

Remove the fruit from the cavity (or leave it in if you want to add a lemony flavour!), place the carcass in a large saucepan, add a pinch of black pepper and a couple of salt, a bundle of favourite herbs (I do rosemary and thyme from my garden), then  add a roughly chopped brown onion, 2 carrots and 3 or 4 sticks of celery. Add enough water to cover the chicken (just over 2L for my saucepan), bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer slowly for 1.5-2 hours. Strain the stock (just over 3 cups) and store for use in soup, risotto etc. Keeps well in the freezer for a month or two.

To make a delicious gravy for your chicken and make that dollar stretch even further….

Make a simple roux (1 tbsp of nuttelex and 1 tbsp GF flour), then gradually whisk in the juices from the bottom of the slow cooker. Yum!! The best part is that the flavours of your gravy will reflect and enhance the flavours of your chook!

Enjoy 🙂