Just last weekend I bought a book called Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook (by Beth Hensperger & Julie Kaufman). It's 350 recipes using fresh and simple ingredients, and nary a one calls for cream of anything soup. I've test-driven none of them, but will be happy to post a few recipes if you name some ingredients you have on hand. I'd recommend buying the book (or borrowing it from a library) based on what I've read in it so far...

Several years ago I bought one of those little crock pot cooking magazines you see at the checkouts. BH&G published it back in 2004. I've used it frequently, love some of the recipes, and find others vile beyond belief (invariably, the more processed foods they call for, the nastier they end up tasting). There was a handy chart in the front of the publication (see below) that served as a good basis for improvising.

The BH&G publication said to select either a 2.5 - 3 lb boneless pork shoulder or beef chuck roast (cut into 1-inch cubes if you want to), and put the following into a 3.5- or 4-quart slow cooker:

• the veggies

• the meat

• combine the liquid, seasoning, and 2 TBSP quick-cooking tapioca, and pour over meat

Cover & cook on low for 9-10 hours, or on high for 4.5 - 5 hours, skim fat, serve over side dish, and sprinkle with topping.

Using their formula is a good starting point for improvising.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of crockpots, but boy do they come in handy sometimes. Like Michelle says, some foods are perfect for that type of cooking, and some not. I'd be asking people what works for them, as well. Good idea.

My crockpot gets used a lot when I am canning to get/bring veggies up to the proper temp for hot packing. But, when I am super busy in the g'houses it is wonderful to use for a nice slow cooked pot roast. The slow cooking is great for the cheaper (or should I say thriftier) cuts of beef with less marbling. I put a little beef broth in the bottom, let it rip on high for a couple hours, turn it down to low and add whatever veggies I want to go around it. Usually it ends up very traditional with carrots/celery/onions/spuds. You can make a great stew with a crockpot, btw. Geesh, you can even bake in them.

Thanks for the great information! The chart is a nice jumping off point.

We just bought a new crockpot as our old one is 'somewhere in storage' LOL, and doesn't have a removeable liner -a real pain to clean.

My MIL's comment on all the work we've been doing was "Tell him to take you out to dinner!" I just groaned.

Seriously we have an empty refrigerator, a large unopened box of new spices and two frying pans. Our cupboards are bare and we'll be buying ingredients as needed since all our cabinets will be ripped out in the very near future.

The beef roast sounds right on target.

Pork..slathered with dijon
chopped onions
sauerkraut..drained
1 bottle of beer

Welcome back to PA Lynn. Bet the kids are really happy.

I think you should add a sliced apple or ½ cup applesauce to that sauerkraut to smooth the sharp flavor.

For those who like a BBQ-flavored meal:

2 cups dried lentils, well rinsed, stones removed.
½ cup minced fresh onion
optional: 1 carrot minced or grated
1 clove garlic, minced or smashed [or 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic]
2 cans [or 1 heaping quart fresh] diced tomatoes, including the juice
2+ cups water
¾ cup [or more] tomato-y BBQ sauce such as BullsEye.
5 chicken boullion cubes dissolved in 1 cup water [or 1 can chicken stock] -- or not: the chicken just adds a bit of flavor to the lentils.

My crockpot is extremely slow to heat, so I usually dump everything into a regular pot, adding enough more water to cover the lentil mixture. Over medium heat, bring lentils to a gentle boil while the crockpot heats. As soon as both pot and lentils are hot [20 minutes or so], transfer the lentils into the crockpot. Check every couple hours, if needed, add more water to cover. Cook on high until tender [4 to 6 hours] and then on low until you are ready to eat.
If you like a very BBQ-y taste, add more sauce to taste, and then serve mixture over cooked rice.

I serve with cornbread on one side and a crisp salad on the other side; chocolate mousse or lime cloud-pie make a good dessert.

For a skillet meal, spray large frypan with 1 tablespoon oil, sprinkle heavily with garlic powder plus ½ teaspoon salt. Brown porkchops on both sides. Lift chops out and cover pan bottom with sliced (¼") redskin potatoes, cover with paperthin onion rings, put chops on top, add enough water or chicken broth to be about ¼" deep. Put lid on pan and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 20 mins). Serve with steamed broccoli or a hot wilted spinach salad. A fruit dessert such as peach cobbler or strawberry pie goes well.

I love dry beans of any kind cooked over night with hotlinks and a small amt. of onion. Sometimes i slice the hotlinks, othertimes i put them in whole. I use 4 hotlinks to a pot of beans.
I serve with cornbread and sometimes a salad. When it's just me eating i eat cornchips with it.

I tend to make soups and chili in mine. This weekend though I pulled it out to eat meatballs and sauce (a white fettuccine-type) I was in a hurry. I had just got back into town and had a function to be at in a couple of hours.

I JUST got my hardwood floors refinished (while I went on vacation :) ) I had to completely move out since my whole house, except the kitchen and bathroom, has hardwood flooring. It looks beautiful, but the clean up is not very much fun :)

Lisa

Lisa..how long did you have to stay away in order for them to finish the job? We need this done but I get tired just thinking of it..especially with 2 cats.

I was gone a week. I went on vacation since I had to find a place to sleep anyway :) They warned me they were having trouble getting the varnish to dry because we've had 100% humidity all summer. But, it was dry by Sunday, at least dry enough to walk on. I'm not planning on putting the furniture in there until next weekend...and no rugs for a long time. I want to make sure the floors are good and dry.

The floors look gorgeous, but it was hard work! I'm not looking forward to unpacking either. Of course, it was probably a good time to do it, I'd been living there for 10 years. Packing gave me a chance to dig out corners and find boxes from the original move!

I would suggest covering your ceiling fans and chandeliers! I spent two hours last night cleaning a ceiling fan, a chandelier and a toilet :) If I could have gotten to my dishwasher I would have let the d/w do some of that work! Unfortunately one set of mattresses and an armoire is setting in front of the d/w :)

Lisa