Rating: 
Summary: If you can adapt recipes, this this book can work for you.
Review: I love using my crockpot, but have had a difficult time finding good recipes that don't call for a can of creamed soup or other highly processed ingredients. I like this book pretty well for reasonably healthy and varied meals, but I have definitely had mixed results. With a little bit of adaptation, I have been able to make most of what I tried work.
A couple of the most successful ones have been the Cheesy Tortellini Bake, the Rich Vegetable Broth w/Meatballs (though why it is called "vegetable broth" I do not know, because the recipe calls for beef stock!), and the Bargain Beef Stroganoff. They are delicious and I've made them several times each. I had high hopes for the salmon loaf but the only word I can use for that recipe is...vile. The crockpot does not treat canned salmon kindly. It was pale, wet and way too fishy. The "Thai Chicken Thighs" were also seriously underseasoned, but I was able to correct that. Last week I made the "Basic Spaghetti Sauce Italiano" which called for 2 pounds of ground meat to one 28 ounce can of tomatoes. Once I got it assembled, it clearly needed another can of tomatoes - without it, it would have been a sludgy mass of ground meat. Adding another can of tomatoes meant I had to adjust the seasonings. Once I did all that, it was delicious. Today I made "Fia's Pasta Sauce" which has the opposite problem - it calls for four 28 ounce cans of tomatoes AND a cup of red wine. I put three cans of tomatoes in my crockpot and saw that I would not have room for another, and the cup of wine. I just wonder if someone tested these recipes before this book was published?
In short, experienced cooks and people comfortable with substitutions and adaptations can use this book as a jumping-off point for crockpot recipes. A novice cook who needs to follow a recipe exactly and have a good result will want to look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: The BEST CrockPot Cookbook!!
Review: I purchased Donna-Marie Pye's "America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes" Cookbook along with two of Mable Hoffman's cookbooks. This cookbook is hand's down the best and our family favorite!! The recipes are simple, delicious, and soothing. It is so wonderful to come home to a cooked meal, having the entire house smell great.I found that this cookbook have a very nice variety of dishes to make, using a variety of ingredients. Most other crockpot cookbooks tend to have the same dishes, stews, soups, etc. Ms Pye's book has a larger, more tasty selection. She also includes some variations on the dishes, which we found to be interesting and delicious as well. Our family favorite is the Chicken in a Pot, using the curry sauce over noodles. If you are looking for a good crockpot cookbook with a good selection of recipes, then this is an excellent choice!
Rating:
Summary: The Jury is Out
Review: I recently got this book because it seemed like an excellent starting point for my new slow cooker. While the intro gave me some spot-on advice about the art of slow-cooking, I find the recipes seem to have been a bit neglected by the author. I made the Burgundy Beef with Wild Mushrooms, and although it turned out reasonably well, it was only because I altered the ingredient quantities when the stated amounts were obviously wrong. It was painfully apparent that this recipe had NOT been tested prior to publication. I think this book could be useful to the seasoned cook who will be able to see when the recipe is noticeably unbalanced, but it might cause some heartache for the less experienced cook who will surely end up make some very unappetizing dishes through no fault of their own. I'll try a few more recipes, and update this review accordingly.
Rating:
Summary: The Jury is Out
Review: I recently got this book because it seemed like an excellent starting point for my new slow cooker. While the intro gave me some spot-on advice about the art of slow-cooking, I find the recipes seem to have been a bit neglected by the author. I made the Burgundy Beef with Wild Mushrooms, and although it turned out reasonably well, it was only because I altered the ingredient quantities when the stated amounts were obviously wrong. It was painfully apparent that this recipe had NOT been tested prior to publication. I think this book could be useful to the seasoned cook who will be able to see when the recipe is noticeably unbalanced, but it might cause some heartache for the less experienced cook who will surely end up make some very unappetizing dishes through no fault of their own. I'll try a few more recipes, and update this review accordingly.
Rating:
Summary: Good for busy families.
Review: I've made several recipes from this cookbook, and my 8-year old loved all of them. So did I, and so did her rather picky father, so this is the book for our family. (This is no surprise, since she is a working mother who seems to cook this way for her children.) It includes many recipes that are similar to ones I have, so that I can adapt them easily to the slow cooker. I had no success with Mabel Hoffman's original cookbook - the times didn't seem to be right, and things would come out scorched or funny tasting. The recipes I made from this book came out delicious. They're easy to make also, not requiring a lot of preparation. Many use healthy canned goods, such as tomatoes or beans. She also gives instructions for filling the pot the night before and keeping it in the refrigerator overnight. I didn't try this yet.
Rating: 
Summary: In constant use
Review: I've used this cookbook at least a couple of times a week since I bought it. It's a lot more than ordinary chili & stew dishes. I'm working my way through the poultry chapter (my family is nuts about chicken...) The recipies are easy to follow & don't have a lot of oddball ingredients, which makes it easy to put something together in the morning before I leave for work. It's mostly every-day stuff, not fancy guests-coming-over type dishes, but I really like this for a weekday cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: In constant use
Review: I've used this cookbook at least a couple of times a week since I bought it. It's a lot more than ordinary chili & stew dishes. I'm working my way through the poultry chapter (my family is nuts about chicken...) The recipies are easy to follow & don't have a lot of oddball ingredients, which makes it easy to put something together in the morning before I leave for work. It's mostly every-day stuff, not fancy guests-coming-over type dishes, but I really like this for a weekday cookbook.
Rating:
Summary: Slow but sure...these recipes bring the best from the crock
Review: If you work all day and are responsible for feeding everyone at dinnertime, it's so nice to come home to a cooked meal (even if you did it yourself.) That's the beauty of the slow cooker. Problem is, not every regular recipe works in the crockpot. The evaporation of water is less in a closed pot than in a rapidly boiling pan on the stove. That's is why your favorite stew recipe may come out watery when you make it in the crockpot. This book has two of my favorite recipes (stuffed cabbage and barbecued brisket) that my mom made for us when we grew up, but perfected for the slow cooker. This means I can make favorites in the crockpot but know they will come out correctly. The artichoke dip is great--and the slow cooker keeps it warm during a party. That's another great use of the crockpot. It can keep foods warm for parties and buffets. I can't recommend this book enough; it really helps me get more out of the slow cooker and better results, too.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL RECIPES!
Review: One of my most cherished possessions is my slow cooker. To me it is an indispensable commodity that makes life so much easier for the those of us who work outside the home. I can toss all kinds of nutritious goodies into that marvellous wonder and come home to a ready cooked meal! Readers will not be disappointed in the recipes contained in this book; they truly are some of the best I have seen for slow cookers. There is something about the rich, flavourful taste which comes from slow cooking that cannot be duplicated in quite the same way by any other cooking method. The pork roast with peach chutney was my favourite recipe, but all of the main meal recipes I tried were delicious. This is a fantastic book and most deserving of a five-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: They Really Are the Best Slow Cooker Recipes
Review: Slow cookers really do make great food and they allow you to manage your time and your life, but if the recipe doesn't work then you've just wasted 6 hours of cooking. I've tried easy cabbage roll casserole, texas-style barbecued brisket sandwiches, savory orange turkey breast and roast pork with tangy cranberry sauce-they were all easy to make and tasted great. But best of all were the desserts-I've made baked lemon sponge and cranberry apple cobbler. My family ate it faster than I could serve them. All the recipes I've made worked and my family loved how they tasted. This is a book I would recommend to all of my friends.
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