I've tried a number of methods from essentially boiling it when you add a bottle of something or too much liquid and you wind up fishing around in this sludge to find the shrunken tough meat to sauces to other methods. Less liquid is better. The key, as Jim said is the proper meat. I like a chuck roast or a pork shoulder roast. They'll give off plenty of fluid. I like to put some onion on the bottom so it's not all gray on the bottom and it gets some flavor. Some put sacrificial veggies in there as a rack thinking it flavors the gravy, OK, maybe it does. But I like the taters on top in a drier atmosphere so it'll brown those babies and they're delicious. They'll give off moisture too so again, adding liquid is a recipe for soup. I definitely vote to brown the meat. Onions & garlic should be sautéed too if you want it better. People think a "slow cooker" is a magical chef that can make a lousy cook a good cook and eliminate basic cooking techniques a thought with which I don't agree but I digress. If you want it simple, put a can of mushroom soup on top of a piece of roadkill, sprinkle it with onion soup mix, make up some instant mashed potatoes and open a can of gravy. Serve with leftover green bean gasserole. (shudder) And of course if this is what you like, go for it and enjoy it, no need to bother bellyaching about it. I also firmly believe that you can easily overcook things in a slow cooker. You can easily boil/steam all the moisture out of meat, turn the vegetables into mush and I really think it's important to realize it's an appliance that needs to be properly used to achieve best results. I've had delicious meals from slow cookers and I've had what I wouldn't feed as dog food that was made in a slow cooker. Cook's Country this weekend did a show about using a pork roast in a slow cooker. Their emphasis was what I've found. Less moisture is better. Here's an adaptation using a beef roast

My crock pot does not hold very much water, and so covering the ingredients with water did not amount to very much. The broth came out fairly intense, and so it actually needed more water. I took the turkey thighs out after 3-1/2 hours (approximately) and let them cool enough to handle, removed the meat for later use, and returned the bones and skin back to the pot for another four hours or so. I whacked the thigh bones in half before returning them. I made the split pea soup with in my pressure cooker with some of the stock, half an onion, 1/2 pound of dried split peas, one clove of garlic, about a cup of chopped celery, a couple of cayenne chilies (from my yard), some of the small pieces of turkey meat, and some vegetable soup base. After 12 minutes, they were more than done. The cayenne from my yard this year is particularly hot - it is a volunteer plant growing in a pot that used to have a Habanero chili in it, and I think it must be a hybrid of cayenne and Habanero. The chilies look like cayenne, but they are hotter than Habanero, and so I have to be careful when I use them. They dry on the plant, and so I can just harvest all of them and store them inside for later use, but I will have to label them as extra spicy. The good thing about the crock pot is that I can store the pot in the fridge, and so the excess stock is still in the pot. I'll probably freeze it, since it takes me a while to get around to using it, and I need to wait for cooler weather, which is not due for a while.

This one is good - I think it was a Southern Living recipe, tweaked a few times before being passed to me Chicken, Sausage, White Bean Stew 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 to1 lb pork or Italian sausage crumbled 2 onions, minced 1 fennel bulb, sliced thin (it's fine without, I don't always have a fennel bulb on hand) 6 garlic cloves, minced 1 Tbsp tomato paste 2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme 1/3 cup all purpose white flour 1/2 cup dry white wine 4 cups chicken broth 2 bay leaves 2 15-oz cans cannellini beans, drained (or not drained, up to you) 6 oz baby spinach 1. Brown chicken lightly on both sides, season with salt and pepper, (you'll need to do in two batches in the Fagor) Set aside 2. Brown sausage well. Set aside w/chicken. Add onions, fennel, garlic, tomato paste thyme, cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned. 3. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits. Whisk in 1 cup broth smoothing out any lumps. Stir in remaining broth and bay leaves into slow cooker. Add back the chicken and sausage. Cover and cook until chicken is tender, 6 hours on low (longer is fine if you're going out). 4. Stir in beans and spinach, cover and cook on high until heated through, about 10 minutes. (you can use your browning unit function again here instead of slow/high and speed it up)

I'm going to post my grits recipe, as you might like it for another time. I also hope that everyone gets to feeling better soon. My sister in Texas has been sick also - maybe she has the same thing. Spicy Grits with Sausage 2 cups water (or chicken stock) 2 tsp vegetable or chicken soup base (use 1 tsp salt instead if using stock instead of water) 1/4 cup butter or olive oil 1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp dried basil 1/2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp dried sage (optional) 4 cloves garlic (can substitute 1 Tbsp garlic granules), minced 1 Habanero chili (or cayenne, Serrano, or Jalapeño, depending on heat you want), minced 1/2 red bell pepper (or a whole one, if you want more bell pepper flavor) 3/4 cup chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped onion 7/8 cup quick grits (be sure not to use “instant”) 2 cooked Italian sausages (cold), cut into 1/4" pieces 6 oz. grated cheddar cheese (save some for topping) 2 eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup water Put the 2 cups water in a medium saucepan on high heat. Add the soup base, butter, herbs, and garlic. Stir to mix all the ingredients and make sure the soup base has dissolved. Add the chili, bell pepper, celery, and onion and continue to heat. When the water begins to boil, remove pan from heat and add the quick grits while continuing to stir. The vegetables will prevent the grits from making lumps. Return pan to heat on simmer and stir for about one minute. Cover and cook five minutes more, stirring occasionally. After the six minutes, add the sausages and cheese. This will cool the mixture down so that the eggs can be added. Add the 1/4 cup water to the eggs, to temper the eggs. Add the watered down eggs to the grits and stir to combine thoroughly. Pour this mixture into a casserole dish and add more cheese on top. I use a Corningware dish, which has a lid. Cover and bake at 360° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. After removing from oven, recover the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 4 servings Note: Sometimes I sauté the onion in the butter first, but it is not necessary, unless you want an extremely mild onion flavor. I also use dried bell pepper if I do not have fresh on hand. I make this recipe frequently, as it reheats well, and so we can have it on two days, since there are only two of us.