Slow Cooker Problems

Hi Connie, So sorry to hear you had bad luck with the slow cooker—I know sometimes it can be tricky. Your best bet when using a slow cooker is to use a recipe that is specifically developed for the slow cooker. I have a number of recipes that you might want to try (on my Slow Cooker page), including Hearty Beef & Beans (scroll down to Grandma's Secret Tip for the slow-cooker instructions). But if you don’t have a recipe for a dish you’d like to make in the slow cooker, have no fear! You can use a standard recipe, but you’ll have to make some adjustments to the timing and ingredients.  Here are broad guidelines for adjusting the timing: 1. Conventional cook time of 15 to 30 minutes: 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours on High in the slow cooker; 4 to 6 hours on Low 2. Conventional cook time of 35 to 45 minutes: 3 to 4 hours on High; 6 to 8 hours on Low 3. Conventional cook time of 50 minutes to 3 hours:  4 to 6 hours on High; 8 to 12 hours on Low In addition, you should make these adjustments to the ingredients: 1. The slow cooker needs less liquid because there’s not as much evaporation.  So use 1/2 to 1 cup less liquid. 2. Go easy on dried herbs as  they can become bitter with long cooking. You’ll probably want to use half the amount. On the other hand, fresh herbs tend to lose their punch after long cooking, so for the brightest flavor add them during the last few minutes of cooking.     3. Dairy products (milk, sour cream, cream, etc.) can break down during long cooking. Add only during the last  half hour, or use canned condensed cream soups or evaporated milk. 4. Rice and pastas don’t do well in the cooker—they become mushy. Cook them separately (on the stovetop) and then stir into the dish just before serving. 5. Dense vegetables (like potatoes, carrots, turnips) should be cut into small pieces, no more than 1 inch thick, to make sure they cook through. 6. When making soup, use only enough liquid to cover the other ingredients. You can add additional liquid at the end if you like thinner soup. So it looks like your problem was using too much liquid, so the stew came out too soupy, and also not cutting the potatoes small enough so they would cook through. If you try the recipe again, please let me know how it turns out!