300 Slow Cooker Favorites
by Donna-Marie Pye
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.49 You Save: $13.46 (54%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.50 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of 300 Slow Cooker Favorites
Book Review: Great Recipes.... If You Have The Time...
Summary: 3 Stars
I am a self confessed crock pot lover. I actually consider it the best invention since peanut butter. Lots of people that use crock pots work outside of the house, and they are definitely making good use of a slow cooker under those circumstances. I happen to work from home and have discovered that the only thing better than coming home to a house already smelling of a delicious meal, is being home all day to enjoy its aroma. Most crock pot books are pretty much the same as to soups and stews, and the usual chicken, pork, beef meals. Just different variations on a series of themes most of us are well familiar with. And a lot of books also tend to keep the recipes fairly simple figuring that the majority of us work away from home and neither have the time, nor have an interest in making the meal complicated. This book is definitely more of the gourmet variety to be sure. The recipes in it so far have been very good tasting, and there are certainly enough of them to make the cost worthwhile. But make no mistake about it, this is not a book for those interested in avoiding the meal being a major production. You get some scrumptious recipes to be sure, but the majority of the truly Food Channel worthy ones are a lot of work. A lot of ingredients, preparation, browning, soaking, etc. Hardly an entrée recipe in this book will see you being able to totally avoid the stove top. There are even some where you have to remove the meal and tend to it in some manner before returning it to the cooker. The work and preparation is worth it for the meal you get in most cases, but in my opinion this book is just a little bit top heavy on time for the average working crowd. I guess it all depends on how much you enjoy a rare gourmet style meal out of your crock pot, and how much time you are willing to offer to it.
As mentioned before, this book is choked with recipes of all kinds and varieties. Most of them being excellent in taste, and there is no shortage of just about any food group being presented for sure. And it is very reasonably priced for the sheer number that you get. However unless you really like a slow cooker meal that really does expect you to do your fair share, I would suggest a more basic book that doesn't take so much time. The recipes I have tried so far are all great. But then again, I have the time for them. Recommended only if you do too...
Book Review: My Favorite Slow Cooker Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a cooking/food writer, and I love to read cookbooks. Yes. I really do read them as well as use them.
This is the best crock pot cookbook I've ever owned. These are real recipes for real people. There are old favorites (but with helpful tips) as well as new dishes that still don't require multiple trips to the grocery store and hours stirring and doing other things to the crock pot that make it more bother than help.
Donna-Marie covers everything from making roasted nuts in the crock pot to cheese cake. Her directions and details are excellent, so it's really hard to mess up one of her dishes.
As the title suggests, there are 300 recipes here. It's not just the same thing over and over either. I made the cheese potatoes last night. Excellent. This book will keep me busy for a long time. I marked pages of ones that I can't wait to try. All the ones I have tried were fabulous.
I have a bunch of crock pot cookbooks, but this one is, by far, the best.
Book Review: I Like This Cookbook
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's why I really like this slow cooker cookbook. It has a wide variety of recipes that go from easy (throw it all in the pot) to more complex (a number of steps involved.) So, some are great for workdays and some are great for weekends when you have more time. I would not consider it a "gourmet" slow cooker cookbook but for the most part, the recipes call for high quality ingredients: fresh and frozen vegies, canned tomatoes, canned or homemade broth, salsas, and such, but rarely call for canned soups and other over-processed,over-salted or "instant" foods. I have particularly enjoyed many of the chili recipes, chicken recipes and vegetarian recipes. For work days, if the recipe calls for chopped up vegies, or sauteing the vegies, or browning the meat before putting in the pot, I do all that the night before and then put in the pot the next morning. Adds a little more cooking time to bring the cold ingredients up to speed. I recommend this book for good home cooked meals for busy people.Book Review: Too Many Ingredients
Summary: 2 Stars
This cookbook makes the same mistake as many newer books--the print is just too faint--attractive rather than functional. Especially when cooking, having the quantity and ingredients in the darkest print are most important--these are a light gray, but with words such as the name of recipe, Serves 8, or Tips in bold. Next, most of the recipes require too many ingredients such as 13 ingredients to make Polynesian Chicken, 15 for Lumberjack Ribs, or 12 to make Good Morning Granola. Speaking of the Granola, recipe calls for cooking on High for 3 hours STIRRING EVERY 30 MINUTES, then cooking on Low for an additional 4 hours or so. In the Pork and Lamb section, 19 recipes for Pork but only 4 for Lamb. Gave it 2 stars: one for the sheer number of recipes (over 300 pages) and the handy size which lies relatively flat for ease in following the directions.Book Review: Slow Cooker Favorite Recipes
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this cookbook for my son and daughter-in-law for Christmas. While we were sitting around after Christmas, we took turns paging through the recipe book and at first, I thought the author was really searching for things to put in this book. But that section was the simple soups and broths.
Then, I sat up and found more than 3/4s of the book fun to page through and wanted nearly every recipe. The photos looked great and the ingredients and instructions looked easy to follow. Whether for a slow cooker, pressure cooker or on stove, I'd like to try these recipes myself. I have TWO slow cookers, too, so why not? I thought I'd just copy the ones I wanted, but there were too many. I'm going to buy another one of these cookbooks for myself.