More than 2 hours

It’s time to dig out the slow cooker and make the most of cheaper cuts of meat. Get it chugging away early in the day, so that by dinnertime the house is filled with gorgeous savoury aromas and you’ll have everyone clamouring around.

It’s time to dig out the slow cooker and make the most of cheaper cuts of meat. Get them chugging away early in the day, so that by dinnertime the house is filled with gorgeous savoury aromas and you’ll have everyone clamouring around.

These slowly cooked beef cheeks have been flashed up with a dollop of good balsamic vinegar.

Tender, juicy beef is beautiful marinated in a fragrant Moroccan seasoning and cooked to perfection. Serve your meal with sweet, caramelised cauliflower and steamed green beans for a flavour sensation that will leave you wanting more!

This hearty lamb dish is a classic of British and Australian cuisine. Immersed in a delightful red wine and cranberry sauce and placed on a bed of mashed potato this lamb shank dinner is a staple you can't go past.

Prepare this classic Chinese dish for your family for a tantalising taste bud experience. Slow roasted duck is cooked in a fragrant orange and herb sauce and served with steamed rice and Asian greens.

A lamb roast is heaven in a baking dish. We served ours with roasted pumpkin and peas. You can use any vegetables you like.

This is gorgeous – deep golden brown skin, plump and succulent. If you forget to soak the apricots, put them in a small saucepan with the water and cook gently for 10 minutes, until plump and tender.

This is hardly a pie – it’s really a stew with a crusty scone topping – but it does the job of a good meat pie; that is, it fills you up with warming inexpensive food.

They are so soft and unctuous that you will never want to buy marshmallow again and the kids just love getting involved. It really is such an easy sweet to make.

This classic winter warmer will fill your home with delicious aromas while it slowly cooks to perfection. Serve on its own, or with crusty bread.

Use a dark or “bitter” beer. Alternatively, substitute red wine for beer. Note

We take our hats off to this little winner

With our hectic lifestyles, the biggest luxury in life is simply time! A long weekend is a great opportunity to indulge in slow-cooking roasts

This French onion soup with gruyère croutons is a favourite at our place. It’s is easy to make and full of flavour.

An irresistible simple desert for chocolate lovers. Pair with cinnamon oranges for a perfect seasonal dessert.

A 250g packet of biscuits makes more crumbs than required. Use crumbs to sprinkle over ice-cream or add to crumble toppings. Biscuit crumbs can also be kept in freezer. Note

If crackling isn’t crunchy, slice away from cooked pork and lay on a baking tray. While pork rests, place crackling in a preheated 230°C oven until crisp and the surface is bubbled. Note

Popular Italian tiramisu dessert, meaning 'pick me up' because there's traditionally quite a bit of coffee in it! Espresso-soaked ladyfingers are layered with a light and airy filling.

This refreshingly tart yet sweet treat is also gluten-free.

Forget the breakfast club, have a sleep-in then get the crew together forJulie Biuso’s delicious vegetable-based brunch dish

This jelly should have distinct layers. The clear lemon jelly contrasts with the spongy honeycomb base. Don’t worry if the mixture curdles – it’s meant to. Note

Start the day or finish a meal with these sweet sensations.

This juicy lamb will melt in your mouth and take you back to the big family dinners you enjoyed as a child. Every vegetable is brimming with flavoursome stock while red chilli adds some spice.

This super-tasty pulled pork will be a go-to dish for sure

Use the cheaper cuts of beef for this recipe, such as chuck and blade. The slow cooking will make the meat wonderfully tender. Note

To french trim a lamb shank, rack or cutlet is to remove excess gristle, fat and meat from the end, exposing the bone. Make a quick gremolata to scatter over cooked lamb shanks by combining chopped parsley, a little chopped garlic and grated or finely chopped lemon rind. Note

Alexa Johnston bakes a classic fruit-laden pavlova.

If you intend to make ice-cream from fresh pineapple (or kiwifruit or pawpaw) cook them lightly first as these fruit contain an enzyme that breaks down milk proteins, causing the mixture to curdle. Note

Makes about 1L/10 cones Note

This rich beef casserole dish is a perfectly comforting and hearty meal for cold winter nights. The addition of potatoes means it’s a complete meal, serve some green beans or any of your favourite green vegetables on the side. What cut of beef should be used for this dish? Chuck, braising and stewing beef all […]

These sticky little morsels are delicious when dipped in the fragrant crushed nuts and chilli.

Thinly sliced belly is the most frequent way pork is served in Korea, but the piquant combination of gochujang, apple vinegar, garlic and ginger make an excellent pulled pork.

Slow-cooking a shoulder of lamb makes the meat so tender that it virtually falls from the bone in large pieces. the juices from the lamb also impart a delicious flavour to the potato. Lamb shoulder is particularly sweet and moist, and is an economical cut. To prevent the garlic burning, leave it unpeeled. After roasting, […]

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. To make tea, pour 1 cup of boiling water into a heatproof jug. Add 2 earl grey tea bags; stand for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags. Note

Not suitable to freeze or microwave. The chilli jam recipe will make about 2 cups (500ml). It can be made a month ahead and kept refrigerated. Note

The recipe is best cooked close to serving. Not suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

This dish has a number of steps. You can make it easier by making the filling the day before. Rest assured, though, it is completely worth the effort – this is one of those memorable meals you’ll want to make again. If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook the lamb, in a covered ovenproof dish, in a 180°C (160°C fan-forced) oven for about 2 hours, or until the lamb is tender. You may not need to reduce the sauce if you cook it in the oven

Raid the strawberry patch, take the ripest, freshest, reddest berries, mix them with sugar and cream, perhaps a little alcohol, a little citrus zest, and create desserts that will send everyone into raptures

Fresh oregano leaves add their unmistakeable flavour to this succulent lamb stew served on a bed of pillowy gnocchi. A classic winter warmer if we've ever seen one!

Honey, Cointreau and berry sauce is the perfect finishing touch to this melt-in-your-mouth-delicious baked cheesecake.

Recipe can be prepared several hours ahead. Reheat the fruit in the syrup before serving. Note

Do not wash mushrooms-simply wipe over with a damp paper towel is necessary. Note

Enjoy this warming, fragrant chicken broth as the base for your next casserole or risotto, or simple enjoy on it's own as a light soup on a cold Winter's evening.

Cover cake with foil during the last 20 minutes of cooking if the cake starts to get too dark. Note

This recipe is dependent on good quality glacé fruits. The pale fruit on top of the cassata here is cedro, which looks like a large lumpy lemon with a very thick pith and little pulp inside, making it perfect for candying.

Slow cooking duck is the best way to ensure every last scrap of meat is deliciously succulent and falling off the bone.

Your guests will be intoxicated by the smell and fall in love with this dish at first bite, begging for the recipe. Sunday roast lamb will never be the same again.

Pork loin is a beautiful cut of pork for roasting. Like most premium cuts it’s expensive but there’s no waste; roast pork looks special when served whole at the table, and it slices wondrously.

To avoid the pan boiling dry, check it every 10 to 15 minutes. Try putting a few five-cent coins in the pan -if you can’t hear the coins jiggling, the water has evaporated or stopped boiling. Pudding can be made up to one week ahead. Note

Good to make it ahead. Kid friendly Note

3 of 5-a-day, next day’s lunch The cooking liquid from this dish makes tasty stock for soups and stews. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 clays, or freeze for up to 3 months. Note

Whether you're celebrating a friend's birthday, engagement, or career milestone this decadent salted caramel three-tier cake will show just how much you care.

Alexa Johnston bakes European-inspired savoury vegetable tarts. Like many people I have a bit of a love affair with savoury pies, but tend not to make them very often. The time that goes into making and resting pastry, making and cooling a filling, then putting it all together, is a bit daunting – and yet I’d happily spend just as much time making a complicated cake or sweet pastry. Lately, however, I have been making savoury tarts inspired by the vegetable tarts of northern France and northwest Italy.

The beef stock can be made well ahead. It will freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. To make it easier to slice the beef fillet thinly, freeze the beef for 1-2hours, until half-frozen. Note

To transport, leave pudding in the basin and cover with baking paper and foil. Place sauce in an airtight container. To reheat, invert onto a plate. Microwave at 50% (medium) for 5 mins, until heated through. Microwave sauce at 50% (medium) for 2 mins, stirring halfway, until heated. Note

Chicken stock (makes 2.5 litres or 10 cups) Note

Ginger aids digestion and is useful in the treatment of nausea. Note

Big-flavoured, soul-satisfying food has been the basis of European country cooking for generations. Here, Julie Biuso’s rustic recipe continue the tradition. When the mercury drops there’s nowhere better than the sanctuary of a warm kitchen with pots and pans bubbling away on the stovetop, emitting tempting wafts of spices and herbs, garlic, red wine and onions. But don’t have a fit when you see the cooking times of these dishes and think that there’s not enough hours in a day to make them. Most of the preparation times are short and they just cook along happily while you do other things. Even better, prepare or part-prepare them the day before serving.

Get a flying start to your day with a nut-free, nutritionally rich granola, packed with super foods and tasting sensational

Follow these simple directions from Sarah Bowman and your destination will be dining delight

Big-flavoured, soul-satisfying food has been the basis of European country cooking for generations. Here, Julie Biuso’s rustic recipe continue the tradition. When the mercury drops there’s nowhere better than the sanctuary of a warm kitchen with pots and pans bubbling away on the stovetop, emitting tempting wafts of spices and herbs, garlic, red wine and onions. But don’t have a fit when you see the cooking times of these dishes and think that there’s not enough hours in a day to make them. Most of the preparation times are short and they just cook along happily while you do other things. Even better, prepare or part-prepare them the day before serving.

This beef bourguignon recipe is full of flavour and cabernet melot - the ultimate winter dish!