Midweek Meals: Five hearty, nourishing dinner recipes to make in your slow cooker 

Give the airfryer a break and try these slow-cooker recipes for dinner this week

Midweek Meals for your slow cooker

Slow Cooker Bean Chilli

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

By cooking up a slow cooker meal I will have a pot of hot dinner on the go for when the kids eat.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 3 hours 31 mins

Total Time

 3 hours 41 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• salt and pepper

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 500ml passata

• 1 tin kidney beans

• 1 tin chickpeas

• 300g broccoli, finely chopped

• 1 yellow pepper, sliced

Method

1. Place the onion, garlic, spices, seasoning, carrots, and passata into a slow cooker. Stir well.

2. Add in the beans and chickpeas and stir so that they are coated in the sauce.

3. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook at high for 3 hours.

4. After 3 hours, add the finely chopped broccoli and sliced pepper then stir well. Cook for a further 30 minutes on high. This stops the softer vegetables from getting too soggy.

5. Serve with cooked rice or crusty bread. If you have any leftovers they will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for over a month.

Slow-Cooker Honey Chilli Beef Noodles

recipe by:Nathan Anthony

This is a quick and lean version of one of my favourite local Chinese takeaway dishes, and one of the most popular recipes I have ever shared with my online followers.

Servings

3

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 2 hours 20 mins

Total Time

 2 hours 30 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Chinese

Ingredients

• 400g (14oz) beef steaks, thinly sliced

• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 5 tbsp light soy sauce

• 2 tsp rice vinegar

• 5 garlic cloves, crushed

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce

• 3 tbsp orange juice

• 4 tbsp honey

• 2 tsp chilli flakes

• 1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp water

• 1 red pepper, sliced

• 200g (7oz) dried egg noodles

• 350ml (12fl oz) hot chicken stock

• chopped spring onions and sesame seeds, to garnish

Method

1. Place all the ingredients, except the red pepper, noodles and stock, in the slow cooker and stir.

2. Cook on high for 2 hours.

3. Add the red pepper, noodles and stock, stir and cook for another 15-20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

4. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds.