Review of The Best Slow Cooker Receipes
The Best Slow Cooker Recipes is a cookbook by Cressida Elias, who also authored another cookbook reviewed by me called 30 Minute Meals. Being a health-wise cookbook author, you can expect to find a good variety of recipes that stray on the healthier side than not. This cookbook is focused on the crock pot, just as the title suggests. However, it is actually more than a collection of recipes. The beginning is actually a guide on the appliance itself. The first couple of chapters provide just a bit of history on the appliance as well as a description of the benefits, the features on slow cooker appliances, and a how-to guide on picking the right slow cooker for your purposes. There is even information on temperature settings as well as some extra tips for cooking with a slow cooker.
The recipes include chicken, beef, fish, and even some desserts. The ingredients too, as I had noted in my previous review, are those that you're likely to be familiar with. Some of the recipes, too, are spins on comfortable tried-and-true recipes like chicken soup, arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), chili, pot roast, and beef stew. The other dishes cover a wide variety of flavors from barbecue to Greek, Mexican, Italian, and even Indian. Of course, being the health-wise cookbook author that she is, Elias includes a nicely sized section on vegetarian slow cooker recipes which had my mouth watering. The best part about the vegetarian section is that these look like actual meals instead of something better suited for a side dish. The time investment required for these recipes varies with some meant for quick preparation and others requiring a bit more preparation time. None of the recipes are complicated and can easily be followed by someone who has no idea how to use a crock pot (and is learning how to do so from this book). At the very end, there are even some extra recipes like macaroni and cheese, banana bread, and applesauce. I didn't even know a person could make those kinds of things in a slow cooker.
If you're purchasing a slow cooker as a wedding gift for someone, consider giving them a copy of this book with it. That is immediately the first thing that popped into my mind as I had no idea how to even use a slow cooker when I received one on my wedding day. The book's informative and brief guide on the appliance is very helpful and simple to follow.
The recipes include chicken, beef, fish, and even some desserts. The ingredients too, as I had noted in my previous review, are those that you're likely to be familiar with. Some of the recipes, too, are spins on comfortable tried-and-true recipes like chicken soup, arroz con pollo (chicken and rice), chili, pot roast, and beef stew. The other dishes cover a wide variety of flavors from barbecue to Greek, Mexican, Italian, and even Indian. Of course, being the health-wise cookbook author that she is, Elias includes a nicely sized section on vegetarian slow cooker recipes which had my mouth watering. The best part about the vegetarian section is that these look like actual meals instead of something better suited for a side dish. The time investment required for these recipes varies with some meant for quick preparation and others requiring a bit more preparation time. None of the recipes are complicated and can easily be followed by someone who has no idea how to use a crock pot (and is learning how to do so from this book). At the very end, there are even some extra recipes like macaroni and cheese, banana bread, and applesauce. I didn't even know a person could make those kinds of things in a slow cooker.
If you're purchasing a slow cooker as a wedding gift for someone, consider giving them a copy of this book with it. That is immediately the first thing that popped into my mind as I had no idea how to even use a slow cooker when I received one on my wedding day. The book's informative and brief guide on the appliance is very helpful and simple to follow.
