I must be the only person I know who has really been looking forward to the autumnal weather. Normally I am such a sunshine girl but pregnancy and the heat we have had this summer don’t really mix very well so now that the temperature is dropping I couldn’t be more thrilled!
Warm socks, candles, crumbles and stews feature on my to do/wear list this week and I’m pretty excited about it.
I use my slow cooker LOADS more when its cold. I love casseroles, stews, soups and slow cooked joints of meat served with hunks of homemade bread or creamy mash. My meals are cheaper as I throw all my last bits of vegetable into everything, I use cheaper cuts of meat and it saves me a lot of time too. Lately I haven’t had the same energy and enthusiasm for cooking as I’ve been so worn out and slow cooking is ideal for when I feel this way.
You really can throw meat, veg and some stock into the pot..leave it untouched for 5 hours and somehow arrive home to a tasty meal. It’s magic I tell you.
Sometimes a (very) little bit more of an effort is required and can make a really special meal.
Today I decided to fiddle about with some spicy sausages, leftover veg and some tinned bits n bobs and woweee it worked well.
Spicy Sausage and Lentil Stew
You will need:
6 spicy sausages ( min 70% meat) I used Asda chorizo style sausages
1/2 red onion (diced)
1/2 red pepper (diced)
1/2 green pepper (diced)
3 inch chunk of courgette (diced)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of new potatoes ( drained and chopped)
3 tbsp red lentils
1 tsp of sweet smoked paprika
1tsp of season all (Schwartz) seasoning or salt/pepper/herbs
1 pint of stock
Brown your sausages and onions over a moderate heat in a dry frying pan before placing in slow cooker with the rest of your ingredients and stir well. Place lid on top and turn on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8.
I served mine with herby parmentier potatoes.. You can find the method to make these here simply replace the fajita seasoning with garlic and dried or fresh herbs as well as olive oil. I also served homemade flatbreads which were perfect for mopping up the sauce.
You could easily just serve this with crusty bread and it would still be a substantial meal.