I must admit that for the first few years of owning a slow cooker I used it for nothing other than soup.
I am discovering that there is so much more than just soup that can be done in the slow cooker. I regularly make dried beans and love that on the high function it takes only 2-3 hours to cook them from scratch, even without pre-soaking if I haven't had the chance to do that.
Here's a way I make a complete meal that isn't soup:
SLOW-COOKED MEXICAN STEW
You'll need:
1 cup brown rice1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 onion
1 green capsicum
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can tomatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon taco spice mix of choice
Chop all the vegetables and drain the beans.
Add all ingredients to slow cooker.
If you have the option, saute the onion & garlic first. If not, don't worry because it will still work out and be delicious.
Cook on slow for 6-8 hours.
Serve.
The rice will fluff up to be lovely & thick. It will absorb all the liquid so that this isn't the consistency of a soup.
