When you said slow you meant SLOW

From what I understand you just have to adjust the temperature to coordinate with the amount of time your leaving it. My wife does a pretty good job using one.

I usually start my crock pot out on high if I am home then turn it down on low after a few hours. If I'm going to gone all day I set it on low. Check it when I get home and turn it up on high if it needs to cook longer.

Wow, you slow cooker is really slow LOL. I have a crock pot that I used for stuff, rule of thumb on low – if it has meat – is 6-8 hours, on high 4-6. I don’t use my crock pot that much because I find that it kicks off more heat than the stove and it drives out electric bill up. I have used it for chili, beans, stew, meatballs, chicken casserole, cranberries…I know there are a ton of recipes out there for crock pots.

I slow cooker is a great gadget to have. You have to learn how look your specific slow cooker works. I have one that cooks on three levels. I have a high, low and keep warm setting. Once you make your first few meals with the slow cooker you will see actually how long the food takes to get done. I am partial to high. I very seldom use the low setting. I put a piece of beef in the slow cooker at about eight and by six dinner is usually ready. I bought my first slow cooker when I was working. It was easy to throw frozen food in, turn it on and go to work for eight hours. If you get a book about recipes for slow cookers they will tell you that how fast or slow the food cooks depends on the heat in your specific cooker. This can be a trial an error thing till you get the hang of it. Once you get the time down you will find that a slow cooker can make your life so much easier. I also will recommend that you try slow cooker bags by Reynolds Wrap. These bags will help cut down on clean up as well. I spray the slow cooker with pam and then put the bag in. Once the slow cooker is empty just toss the bag in the trash and wipe out the slow cooker. Easy. Do not give up on your slow cooker keep working with it. Remember if you have a recipe you really like write down on the recipe page how long the meal actually took this will help you later. Good luck with your cooking.

we use our slow cookers all of the time, we have at least 3 of various sizes. We usually prepare at night and put it in the refrigerator until sometime in the wee (5 or 6 AM) hours of the morning...when we put it in the crockpot. Then we have it dinner, if we plan on skimming the fat off, we start it at night, put it in the refrigerator the next morning, skim off the fat, then put it in individual bowls to heat in the microwave. Get a cookbook, there are loads of them, this will help you get a feel for times and methods. Also, depending on how the crockpot is made, veggies have to go into the crockpot first, because they take longer to cook. If the book that came with the crockpot says to put them in first, make sure you put them in first.

I have a slow cooker, but it's not that slow. I'll put a roast with potatos and carrots in the morning - say 8:00am and it will be falling apart by dinner at 5:00pm. So, 10 hours for veggie soup seems a little extreme. Did you put any frozen veggies in? That could be one reason for it to take so long.

Try heating any liquids you put into your slow cooker before adding them. I always zap the liquid in the microwave. It speeds things up dramatically as it all starts cooking straight away, not spend an hour or two just heating stuff up. I love my slow cooker.

I've done the same thing as you. I like the idea of throwing together the soup in the morning and then letting it go until dinner. However, my veggie soup wasn't cooked either after going all day. I think the crock pot has to start out on high for a while or at least be preheated and the water or liquid you add has to be hot, not cold. I usually prefer to use a pot on the stove (if I'm not gone all day) bring it to a simmer on high then turn it down and keep it on lowest setting for a few hours. That's how I usually make my veggie stews...I just did today as a matter of fact.

Geez, that sounds impossibly slow. Is there some settings like microwave ovens? The house in my house was broken long ago and we didn't see a need to get a replacement - so I can't go check against mine. But 10 hours and still not cooked is really too long.

I agree I did that once too. I turned it on low because I was going to be out all day. Will that is what it is for right? Will the next time I did it I cooked on high and everything was way over cooked. So now if I use it I am at home for the most part of the day. I cook it on high then leave it on low until we are ready to eat. I am not convinced these slow cookers are a great thing yet. Maybe just for sauces for something. Maybe it is just a matter of us getting use to this machine and actually using a slow cooker cook book?

I love my slow cooker I use it a lot espically in the winter. One way to make things speed up is putting hot water or near boiling water in it and getting the crock part hot before putting the food in. Another thing I do is turn it on while putting the food into it. I turn it on and start putting the meat and veggies in. Another thing is try to keep from getting into it. You need to keep the lid on them as much as possible you lose a lot of heat from the top when lifting the lid.

I think we use the Low setting if we're setting something up to cook all night. The High setting (which will still take a few hours) should be good for daytime meals.

wow. 10 hours should have been plenty long enough. Next time try it on high for a couple of hours. I have a crock pot and use it all the time. I love it for spag.sauce and soups. I get up in the morning and throw everything in it and don't worry about it. I guess they are all a bit different so you may have to experiment a bit.

I always start out with it on high and turn it down to low to let it finish cooking. A crock pot to heat up, so turning it to high gives it a good start. Also, try not to take the lid off unless you have too. Every time you take the lid off you are letting out the heat that has built up and it will take awhile for the crock pot to recover that heat loss.

I was reading here on mylot, different discussion - LOL, to place a dish towel over the lid to keep the steam in. I haven't tried it yet but I am the next time I cook in it. This might help. I love making pot roast in the crockpot but my husband always insteads that it is too dry. I personally think he is crazy.

i love my slow cooker.what a life savor and time savor for me.if you want your meat or stew to cook faster pput it on high for a few hours and then turn it down on low.i have to thaw out my meat first.susu22