The secret to a stress-free Mother’s Day meal

So you’ve been tasked with cooking Sunday lunch or dinner for Mother’s Day - joy of joys you’re feeding the whānau this weekend.

So what’s the secret to a stress-free and relaxed meal, one that will give you plenty of time to actually enjoy your mum, grandmother, or other important maternal person in your life?

That secret is the often underrated and humble slow cooker. Cooking and preparing ahead also leaves you time to do something special with mum before the meal, such as heading out for a family walk at the local beach or park.

Dust off that crock pot because we’ve picked our favourite slow cooker recipes, one’s that will wow the family, be super easy to prepare ahead and tick the box for deliciousness. We’ve also included some dessert ideas to really impress mum.

Lamb Tagine Stew

If you're looking for something a little different, how about a Moroccan Mother’s Day? Team up this tagine with some tabbouleh made ahead of time and finish the meal with a simple but pretty platter of Middle Eastern sweets such as dates, grapes, persimmon slices, halva and Turkish delight all decorated with mint leaves.

Slow-Cooked Beef Cheeks

Looking for something a little bit special to treat Mum with, but don't want to cook something too complicated? The creator of this recipe, Kathy Paterson reckons these beef cheeks are minimum fuss with maximum impact. If you’ve not made polenta before, don’t be put off, it’s so very simple, just watch a YouTube video and you’ll be sweet. We reckon a made ahead dessert, such as a seasonal fruit crumble of feijoa or tamarillo with apple, will go down a treat for afterwards.

Pulled Beef 'n' Beer Tacos

Who doesn’t love tacos!?! The joy of this recipe is the meat is cooked ahead of time and then everyone can assemble their own taco. If Mum likes it hot and spicy she can have as much chilli sauce and jalapeno’s on her taco as she likes. Finish with another 'assemble ahead dessert', the often overlooked banana split, served with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with a chocolate ganache, and sprinkled with toasted macadamias....yum.