What could be more welcoming than the aroma of perfectly cooked beef stew or chicken casserole after a long, hard day at work?

Yet again, I find myself with lamb chunks ready to slow cook and a plethora of delicious recipes to choose from, so I was trying to find something different from my usual lamb stews bulked out with beans or grains. All pressure cookers tested can be used on a gas hob; usable capacity is the maximum amount of food that can be cooked in one go. Antony has also written numerous bestselling books, including Real Family Food, Fast Family Food and Antony Makes it Easy for Mitchell Beazley. There are pot-roasts, stews, braises, curries, breads and puddings from all over the world - from India, through the Middle East and the Mediterranean, to Eastern Europe and Russia. I'm nervous about cooking pork particularly in the slow cooker, as I can't believe the 'high' setting is high enough to cook the meat thoroughly.

So, this is post number 9, which means I’m nearly a third of the way through these books – where has that time gone? But if you’re so inclined, add in 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream at the end of the cooking time, cover and cook on high for 20 minutes. Just place the ingredients into the casserole and just leave them to cook while you get on with something else, simple as that. This is one of three cookbooks that I read recently where there wasn't one recipe I would consider trying.

Please tick if you would like to receive news, offers and information from our trusted and carefully selected partners that we think you might like. Some pressure cookers have a quick steam release valve to reduce pressure quickly at the end of cooking; with the others, you need to either wait five minutes or run cold water over the pan. The Good Housekeeping Institute assessed seven pressure cookers (using gas and electric hobs) and four electric slow cookers. Good Housekeeping's new book, Good Housekeeping One-Pot Cooking, is ideal for keen cooks who hate washing up. I can almost smell the aroma of a beautiful, steaming bowl of stew – my favourite of all comfort foods.

After all the hanging, gutting and skinning was out of the way, all it took was long slow cooking with cider and apples to make them deliciously fork tender. I was looking more for techniques (still not sure about the amount of liquid I should be adding) rather than recipes but there’s plenty of both here. When you’re ready to cook, whisk together the yogurt, ginger and garam masala, pour over the marinated chicken and mix well. So, in a bid to combine fitness with frugality, I've rounded up 20 ways you can exercise and get fit without spending a penny, both outdoors and at home.

Using the slow cooker as a steamer did work really well, especially since it was in a pudding basin rather that cake tin so I’ll keep that in mind for future recipes too. It’s perfect comfort food for this time of year,” he explains, “summer food is harder to do in a slow cooker; casseroles and stew type dishes work best and you can get lots of flavour from adding veg. Some of my favourite dishes are shoulder of lamb and belly pork – both cheaper cuts of meat which are fantastic when slow-cooked. Once you have put the ingredients into the casserole, you just leave them to cook while you get on with something else.So far I’ve made a Cauliflower and Potato Spice Soup which, with a little less liquid, did double duty as a curry with rice, a take on Beef Bourguignon and, most controversial of all, a self-saucing chocolate pudding. I checked out each of those books with the idea I would attempt "something" and I do have cooking skills, but I walked away with nothing.