Slow Cooker Stew
This is a nice one dish meal that keeps for a few days in the frig and freezes well. It’s the main dish I eat most in the winter.

Choose a protein source - either beans, lentils, or poultry/stew meat. If using dried beans put them in a pot with a lot of water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and let soak overnight. In the morning remove the water (remember you can use a cup to remove it a little at a time rather than trying to pick up the whole heavy pot). This will make the beans cook in a reasonable time in the slow cooker and also will prevent them from causing gas. If using meat or poultry, get them pre-chopped or chop them at the end of the cooking when they're very soft.

In the morning put in all the ingredients that have to cook for a long time, the protein source and your choice of the following ingredients: frozen chopped onions, canned chopped tomatoes in juice, baby potatoes, baby carrots, bag of pre-chopped root vegetables, bag of pre-chopped squash, bag of pre-chopped cauliflower. Add water to cover.

Add seasonings. I strongly recommend getting vegetable bouillon cubes made by the company Organic Gourmet. I found this made a big difference in the flavor.
Use at least two for one to 2 quarts of stew. If you want garlic or ginger, you can find jars in the ethnic food section that have them pre-chopped. A good rule of thumb for seasonings comes from Alice's restaurant cookbook: "Don't be intimidated by foreign cookery. Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French; sour cream makes it Russian: lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes a Chinese; garlic makes it good. Now you are an international cook"

Midway through the cooking add broccoli or green beans if you're using them. If you want to add rice, you need to use converted rice (sometimes labeled easy-cook rice or parboiled rice). Add it about an hour before you want the stew to finish. At the end of the cooking add in winter greens (they turn bitter if cooked to long) , frozen corn, frozen peas, or other frozen vegetables if you're using them.

I have given some examples of combinations you can try with this recipe below. Slow cooker cookbooks will have lots of other combinations you can try if you get bored with these. Two books I particularly like are “Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker” by Robin Robertson and “The Slow Cooker Recipe Book” by Catherine Atkinson.


Italian Bean Soup
Follow the above directions for slow cooker soup with the following ingredients:
1 ˝ c dried navy or cannelloni beans, 2 T olive oil, one onion, one stalk celery, one carrot (slice all vegetables thinly in the food processor), 1 - 14oz can diced tomatoes, three or four cloves worth of pre-minced garlic, two cubes of Organic Gourmet vegetable bouillon cubes, 2 bay leaves, 2 t dried rosemary, 1 t dried sage, 1 T dried basil leaves.

Many Bean Soup
Follow the above directions for slow cooked stews with the following ingredients:
20 ounces mixed beans (supermarkets usually sell packages of mixed beans of this size), one onion, two carrots, two stalks celery all sliced in the food processor, ˝ t garlic powder, 1 t chili powder, one lemon's worth of lemon juice, 1 – 15oz can of stewed tomatoes, one box Imagine brand creamy tomato soup, 2 Organic Gourmet vegetable bouillon cubes, and cooked sausage if you wish

Carl’s Lentil Soup
Follow the above directions for slow cooked stews with the following ingredients:
one half pound red lentils, handful converted rice, 4 carrots, one onion ( both thinly sliced with a food processor), canned diced tomatoes, fresh spinach, oregano, basil, Spike brand seasoning salt, pinch cumin seed (about 15 seeds) a little sage, pepper.

Lamb Stew
Follow the above directions for slow cooked stews with the following ingredients: one package lamb stew meat, one onion’s worth of frozen pre-chopped onions (if you're up for chopping two or three shallots instead that will give a better flavor), a package of peeled baby carrots, some small new potatoes or fingerling potatoes (not too many as they are high carb), some green beans, one bay leaf, three tablespoons dill weed, 2 Organic Gourmet vegetable bouillon cubes, 1 T olive oil, and water to cover.

Ginger Beef or Chicken
Follow the above directions for slow cooked stews with the following ingredients: either a package of chicken tenders or beef stew meat, lots of minced ginger from a jar, a little bit of crushed garlic from a jar, some low sodium soy sauce and vegetables. For vegetables you can use a fresh or frozen package of stir fry vegetables or some combination of the following: pre-chopped broccoli, pre-sliced mushrooms, baby carrots, snow peas, canned baby corn. Add some converted rice towards the end of the cooking. Serve with cashews if you used chicken or lots of sesame seeds if you used beef.

Tamarind Fish
Mix the following in a slow cooker: 3 T tamarind paste, 1 line’s worth of juice, 4 t chile powder, 1 t ground pepper, pinch cloves, 5 cloves worth of crushed garlic from a jar and some minced ginger from a jar. Add a pound firm fish and cook for a number of hours. Either serve with rice and Dahl curry (recipe given above) or towards the end of the cooking add enough water to cook rice and add some converted rice.