Rating: Summary: Good All-Around Slow-Cooker Cookbook Review: This cookbook is my favorite slow-cooker cookbook. The recipe selection is varied, and the recipes are neither too difficult/strange, nor too simple. I appreciate that each recipe tells you what size cooker it is for, and there are enough different recipes for each size of cooker to keep you busy no matter what size cooker you have. I have a 5-quart, and some of the recipes for the 3-1/2 quart cookers look so good that I am considering buying a smaller cooker as well.
Rating: Summary: Thorough slow cooking for larger groups Review: This is a beautifully presented book with a multitude of delicious-sounding, well-crafted recipes. They seem satisfying and are done in enough of a gourmet style that you'll be proud of yourself at the next dinner party, but the recipes are not intimidating or difficult to make because of ingredients that seem impossible to find. I like that very much. I also like the bonus section which gives wonderful recipes (many quick and easy) for more traditional cooking (stovetop and oven). My concern is that I have a 3 quart slow cooker. The recipes list the size of slow cooker needed for each recipe (that's very clever) and the smallest listed is always 3 1/2 quart. Most recipes in this book are meant for much bigger slow cookers. So now I'll have to take my chances with my cooker, or scale down the recipes. Readers should just be aware that the authors had families in mind, not single people with small slow cookers. That's a bit irritating, I must say.
Rating: Summary: Best book I have found yet for crock pots Review: This is a good book. Not exceptional, but good. The book covers all the meats, veggies, and even some deserts as well as good tips here and there. It's one of the better ones I have seen to date for crock pots. If you are loooking for an all around slow cooker book, pick this one up.
Rating: Summary: What the?!? Review: Well, the reader from Texas was quite right to expect recipes for slow cookers, given the title of the book and the picture on the cover. I just received it as a gift and I haven't cooked from it, but I've read it cover to cover (that's just what I do with new cookbooks). I was pretty dismayed when I turned to the one-dish dinner chapter to see that none of the recipes involved a crock pot in any way. I actually thought it was a printer's error or something, but now I'm thinking they just threw it in to live up to their claim to be the "biggest."When you've read and used as many cookbooks as I have, you can almost taste the recipes just by reading through them. There doesn't seem to be anything special about them - they're not interesting or authentic enough for me, but I'm sure they would be perfect for a hard-to-please group. I do plan to try some of them and I could envision these types of recipes to come in handy when I don't feel like doing anything special or the pantry is getting bare. On the plus side, I thought they did a good job with the little hints at the top of each page, usually suggestions on what to serve with the dish. That's something I wish more cookbooks would do.
Rating: Summary: LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! Review: What can I say, I just love this book! First of all, I must admit that I am NOT a gourmet food eater! I just want normal, everyday foods to feed my family. The kids are incredibly picky, but they actually eat things from this cookbook! That is a TOTAL miracle! :)
Rating: Summary: Like having a genie in your kitchen. Review: When things are really hectic, the crock-pot seems to take on a life of its own, slowing simmering away while the garlic and artichoke chicken, or vegetable curry, or pork roast with apricot/mustard glaze do their own thing, unattended. And there's nothing quite like coming home after a busy day to the down-home aromas of a dinner already cooked and ready to serve! The Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes, like most Better Homes and Gardens products, is full of reliable, well-tested recipes, but this book seems to have more interesting recipes than the stews one finds in the average crock-pot cookbook. I was surprised to see a dozen recipes calling for parsnips in place of carrots, for example, while nine include artichoke hearts and six suggest eggplant. Several recipes are enhanced by a variety of gourmet mushrooms-shitake, crimini, and oyster mushrooms-while the pasta selections range from mostaccioli to orzo and tortellini. The herbs and spices are well chosen, and most recipes call for more than one seasoning, giving interesting highlights to these dishes. I did find that I needed to use more of these than the recipes called for in most cases, though there are some curry recipes that call for a hefty tablespoonful of curry powder. Many of the recipes are heavy on tomatoes, tomato sauce, or tomato paste, and these sometimes seemed overpowering--in the Beef and Borscht Stew, for example--but adjusting downward to suit your own taste is not difficult. Though the book calls its 59 pages of "one-dish" casserole dinners a "bonus," I was mystified as to why these were included here--none of them use the slow cooker at all! By contrast, only 24 pages of vegetarian main dishes for the crock-pot are included, despite the fact that beans, lentils, and chickpeas are at their best when cooked slowly. Over all, however, this is a tasty and unusual collection of recipes, many of which are sure to become family favorites. Mary Whipple
Rating: Summary: from SherriAllen.com Review: When you open a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, you expect to find delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes with readily available ingredients and that's exactly what you get with "Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes". With over 400 recipes, there are dishes to suit every occasion, from elegant parties to potluck dinners to meals for your family.
The book is organized by type of dish: Appetizers & Beverages, Soups & Stews, Side Dishes, Beef, Pork & Lamb, Poultry, Meatless Main Dishes, Five Ingredients, One-Dish Dinners and Desserts. The meals in the One-Dish Dinners chapter are not prepared using a slow cooker, which I found odd at first, but their convenience really merits their inclusion in a cookbook designed for busy cooks.
The variety of recipes is wonderful. The culinary style ranges from traditional slow cooker recipes such as Super-Simple Beef Stew and Country-Style Pork Ribs to more exotic, trendy dishes like Thai-Style Coconut-Chicken Soup and Spicy Chorizo Sandwiches. My family (including a picky toddler) became instant fans of the Brisket in Ale and Chicken & Rice Stew Gone Wild and we are looking forward to trying Decadent Raspberry Brownies.
Every recipe includes accurate preparation time, cooking time and number of servings. Comprehensive nutrition information is provided, making meal planning easy for people following special diets. There are tips covering topics such as purchasing and preparing ingredients and serving suggestions. The index is comprehensive and logical and the binding is extremely functional (the book stays flat when you open it and lay it on the counter).
Better Homes and Gardens "Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes" is a must-have for anyone who wants delicious home-cooked food but doesn't have a lot of time to prepare meals and, of course, owns a slow cooker (or will soon own a slow cooker).
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