You know those quart freezer bags? Slow cook stews or chili of whatever, cool, then put in those bags and freeze them lying flat. Then you can stack them frozen. Later put one in a bowl of room temp water to thaw, pour into saucepan, heat and eat. Slow cooked stew on demand. Great for camping, too, because a few of those frozen bags of stew can keep your cooler cold without needing a lot of additional ice. Once they thaw? You just eat em.