I could live on cottage cheese and tomatoes. Throw in some chocolate, and I'm good. But for some strange reason my family doesn't think that cuts it. So every night I have to come up with something to feed the family. I don't mind cooking but I hate thinking up menus. And nothing makes me happier than when I remember to throw something in the slow cooker in the morning so that when that crazy busy dinner hour arrives, I've already got something ready to eat.
I was excited to try out The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook by Christina Dymock. Since I'm not really a foodie, I was relieved to see that the recipes were pretty simple and that I could use plenty of ingredients already in my pantry.
The design of the book is very nice. The type is large enough for me to read while I'm in the middle of preparing food and there are lots of pictures included. I'm visual so I really like to see a picture of what I'm preparing. The book is divided into sections such as beef and poultry for ease and even includes an entire section on chili. I'm anxious to try one of the desserts.
We decided to try a few of the recipes for things that we knew we already liked. First, we tried the French Onion Soup recipe. The preparation was simple and it tasted as good as any I've ordered at my favorite restaurants.
Last weekend we tried "Granny's Potatoes". They were much like cheesy potatoes or more commonly known in Utah as "Funeral Potatoes". They cooked up deliciously in the slow cooker.
Today, I've already loaded the slow cooker with chicken and rice to try a recipe for Cajun Chicken and Shrimp Rice. I have high hopes for dinner tonight.
The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook includes basic instructions for using the slow cooker to brown ground beef or baking potatoes. But it also has some unique and interesting recipes to mix it up. I'm excited to try the Lemon Pepper Butternut Squash and the Crab Stew.
The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook by Christina Dymock is published by Cedar Fort in March 2014.
**I received a complimentary copy of The Hungry Family Slow Cooker Cookbook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received.**
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2 comments:
My problem with slow cooker recipes is that they're always 6 or 7 hours on low. I need recipes that go for 9 hours, since that's how long I'm out of the house on a workday. And that's assuming that I finish it up and turn it on as I walk out the door. I know I can leave it in longer, but I really hate dry meat. I guess an option I haven't tried is using a timer to shut it off after the right amount of time, and hoping that it doesn't turn into a gross, cold mess. :-)
Some slow cookers have a timer that you can set for it to turn on 6 or 7 hours before you get home. So it's still hot but not overcooked when you get home.
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