# Pasta/rice dishes in slow cooker??



## lucy123 (Oct 9, 2010)

Hi All

I am getting very short on time lately with my new found fitness regime, and was wondering about slow cookers. i have cooked all sorts of casseroles and curries in mine and think they are fab.

My question is can you cook pasta and rice in them at the same time as cooking the rest of the meal - i.e not just pasta or rice on its own.

I think i am aiming at having a complete meal ready when I get home?

If anyone has any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.


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## gail1 (Oct 9, 2010)

i use my slow cooker all the time and have put rice in it at same time as everything else just make sure you have plenty of liquid in there as well Nothing better than going out then coming home to a fully cooked meal


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## HelenM (Oct 9, 2010)

Personally I wouldn't do it  as  I think that the rice/pasta would be liable to end up overcooked  and become too soft for my taste
 I also think that most tests on rice and pasta show those  cooked longer have higher glycemic indices.
I would cook it when I came in whilst I was winding down with an aperitif!


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## Copepod (Oct 9, 2010)

Personally, I don't like soggy pasta, so wouldn't cook it in a slow cooker.  I don't like overcooked rice, either, but it can be OK in a slow cooker. I cook pasta or rice in a few minutes, especially when I've left rice to soak, so I can discard starch that leaches out. As an alternative type of carbohydrate, pearl barley is lovely when slow cooked / stewed.


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## ukjohn (Oct 9, 2010)

Agrees with Copepod...Pearl Barley is lovely..


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## Copepod (Oct 10, 2010)

Scottish maternal grandparents, too, perhaps? Food culture is often passed down maternal line.


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## ukjohn (Oct 10, 2010)

Copepod said:


> Scottish maternal grandparents, too, perhaps? Food culture is often passed down maternal line.



Sorry Copepod, Welsh Grandparents  My Gran used to make lovely soups and stews using pearl barley and I have carried on the tradition.


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## lucy123 (Oct 10, 2010)

Will try a bit of the pearl barley then with casseroles?? Thanks for comments.


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## FM001 (Oct 10, 2010)

My wife bought a slow-cooker around  8 years ago, and all was fine and dandy and made some lovely meals using it.  One day she was in the kitchen and the slow-cooker had been on for 2-3 hours, all of a sudden there was a almighty bang and glass was flying everywhere, the lid had exploded and showered her in glass, luckily she was not hurt and only shaken.  We took this up with the shop where we bought it, and they suggested we contact the manufacturer which we did, to compensate they apologised and refunded our money and sent us a ?50 high street voucher.  After this my wife has never wanted another...................I wonder why!


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## latvian horse (Oct 11, 2010)

toby said:


> My wife bought a slow-cooker around  8 years ago, and all was fine and dandy and made some lovely meals using it.  One day she was in the kitchen and the slow-cooker had been on for 2-3 hours, all of a sudden there was a almighty bang and glass was flying everywhere, the lid had exploded and showered her in glass, luckily she was not hurt and only shaken.  We took this up with the shop where we bought it, and they suggested we contact the manufacturer which we did, to compensate they apologised and refunded our money and sent us a ?50 high street voucher.  After this my wife has never wanted another...................I wonder why!



How about doing your stew or whatever and cooking and freezing batches of rice or pasta and microwaving it when needed.  If you are super organised you could take it out of the freezer at the same time as you start the slow cooker and it will be defrosted in time when you come home.  Couple of minutes in the microwave and you are ready to eat!  Potatoes will go mushy as will rice and pasta if put in the pot at the same time.  Pearl barley is good in a slow cooker, just need to experiment with the liquid.
I am a


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## latvian horse (Oct 11, 2010)

latvian horse said:


> How about doing your stew or whatever and cooking and freezing batches of rice or pasta and microwaving it when needed.  If you are super organised you could take it out of the freezer at the same time as you start the slow cooker and it will be defrosted in time when you come home.  Couple of minutes in the microwave and you are ready to eat!  Potatoes will go mushy as will rice and pasta if put in the pot at the same time.  Pearl barley is good in a slow cooker, just need to experiment with the liquid.
> I am an avid slow cooker user!  I live alone and usually end up too tired to eat after cooking a meal from scratch.


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## Copepod (Oct 12, 2010)

*Pearl barley as magic ingredient*

Great to discover so many fans of pearl barley!


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