Simply place the whole chicken in a pot with onions, carrots and a bay leaf and leave your slow cooker to do the hard work. We've produced hundreds of meal ideas over the years and this collection rounds up 150 of our favourites. Infused with Mediterranean flavours, this slow-cooked centrepiece is great for entertaining and can be served with a range of Greek meze dishes.

Cheaper cuts of meat benefit from long, slow cooking, and it's always great for making thrifty one-pot meals. Our slow cooker cookbook round up has something for everyone – whether you're a newbie to the game, are looking for healthy recipes, meal plans to use your machine every day or specific vegetarian or vegan recipes.

Lemongrass, ginger and lime give this slow cooker Thai chicken curry a wonderfully fresh and zingy flavour.

In this book, all recipes are short and simple with easy-to-follow steps, and are accompanied by a full-colour photograph of the finished dish.As slow cookers have increased in popularity, there's plenty of new slow cooker cookbooks to choose from with modern recipe ideas. Lots of the recipes are actually very similar to that book, too, but with more flexibility due to the ability to use dairy. Each meal plan includes six dinners (leaving one night for some flexibility or leftovers), a breakfast for the weekend and a treat to bake.

Once I got the hang of it the recipes I have used delivered delicious meals and have made a few batches for the freezer. Try our slow cooker beef topside, doused in a rich red wine gravy and marinated in a porcini mushroom mix. They can help your broaden your slow cooking horizons and open up a new world of recipes you can use your machine for – from breakfast ideas to curries, pies, pasta bakes and even puddings.Use this cut to make a rich and creamy pot of slow cooker beef goulash, complete with fresh tomatoes, peppers and smoky paprika. It isn't just high calorie, high fat recipes that you can make though - this essential guide from the experts at Good Food will show you to make delicious, healthy and balanced recipes in your slow cooker. Roasts aren't just for chilly winter days – this summer slow-roast lamb is beautifully succulent, light and singing with gentle spices.