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I love it when my supermarket has best quality mince on sale, I only have a little freezer, but I always stock up!  When you have a slow cooker, you can make the most amazing dinners with mince - all while you do something else all day.  If you haven't tried the Porcupine Meatballs yet, do give that a go, I am still making it once a week - by popular request - we really love it! Another soon to be popular, I'm sure is this super easy slow cooker lasagna.  Tip - check the ready made  pasta sauce in jar area of your supermarket, on the bottom shelf do they have a cheap as chips 'own brand' tomato, onion type of basic pasta sauce in a 700-800ml tall glass jar?  That's what you need, grab it - actually grab two!  It's perfect for the Porcupine Meatballs and also for this dish. Slow Cooker Lasagne Serves 4-6 Cooks on low in 8-9 hours Beef Layers 500g best quality mince 700-800ml glass jar of pre-made pasta sauce 2 tsp mixed or Italian herbs freshly ground pepper...

It's like the old fashioned apricot chicken we all love, but this one is a little bit more special!  This recipe came about one week when the 'supermarket brand' of dried apricots was on special for an amazingly good price.  I grabbed them and started thinking about how I could make a slow cooker apricot chicken recipe without the packet mix. Then as I didn't have any chicken in the freezer, I waited for a bargain to come around on that, and the stage was set!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Tip:  Are you wondering why I put Worcester sauce in everything?  America's Test Kitchen taught me that trick - if you are not browning anything before popping it in the slow cooker, just add a bit of Worcester sauce and it pumps up the flavour. Spiced Apricot Chicken Serves 4 Cook on low for 8 hours 2 tsp cornflour 2 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp chilli flakes 2 tsp garlic granules freshly ground salt and pepper to taste 440g can apricot nectar 1 onion quartered and thinly...

Sometimes you just got to go with what is in your pantry - and this beautiful, tasty and easy slow cooker meal is one such creation!  My family loved it, so I hope yours will too. I always take the skin off chicken cooked in the slow cooker now, it lets the flavours get in and also cuts down the amount of fat in the dish - so it's more appealing visually, and it's better for us.  But if you are in a hurry, don't worry, you can skip it.  Use the amount of chicken you need to serve 4. If you think it's best, thicken by mixing 1 Tblsp of cornflour into 2 Tblsps of water, turn the crock pot up to high for the last 10-20 minutes, while you get the rest of the meal ready.  Otherwise, enjoy the tomato gravy with lots of mash, a crusty bread and with lots of fresh steamed greens. Chicken, Chickpeas and Tomato Casserole Serves 4 Cooks on low in 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours About 1kg of either drumsticks or legs (skinless but with bones in, preferably) 1 onion, peeled an...

As long as you make the meatballs the night before, this is a super quick slow cooker recipe to assemble before you head out the door in the mornings - and it has a nice long cooking time on low. I only had a choice of brown rice or risoni (a pasta that is a rice grain shape) in the pantry when I made this, so I used the risoni and it worked perfectly. If you don't have 2 tins of tomato soup concentrate on hand, as an alternative that is possibly cheaper, check the price of the tall glass jars of your supermaket's 'basic brands' pasta sauce.  You need 4 cups of tomato liquid to cook the meatballs in, and still have some sauce left to serve with. Porcupine Meatballs in Tomato Sauce Meatballs 500g best quality mince (any type you prefer or a mixture) 1 x onion chopped up finely fresh ground salt and pepper to taste either 1 tsp beef stock powder or 1 Tblsp Bisto or Gravox (latter is lower in salt) 1 tsp mixed herbs 1/2 cup of white rice or risoni, not cooked 1/4 cup milk ...