I received a copy of Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes from the publisher to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.

Stars: ****

Robert Rose (August 2014)
Cooking
352 pages

I love using my slow cooker. When I know it will be a busy time during dinner I prepare ahead and get a meal into the slow cooker/crock pot to cook all day. However I was running out of ideas so I’m glad I got my hands on this book for new ideas.

Slow Cooker Recipes

The book has 200 recipes for your slow cooker separated into such logical categories as Soups, Stews, Chilis and Beans, Poultry, Beef and Veal, Pork and Lamb and Desserts as well as other categories depending on who you are cooking for such as Big-Batch Dinners for a Crowd, Meals for Two and Double-Duty Dinners.

Slow Cooker Know-How

Most interesting is the slow cooker know-how section at the beginning. I have learned most of what I know about the slow cooker myself from either using it or searching the internet but it was nice to have all the information together in one place. I was able to check that I was using it right and learned a few new things as well.

Included: Types of slow cookers, cleaning and storage, Tricks of the trade, adapting non slow-cooker recipes to the slow cooker, food safety considerations, limitations and ingredient essentials for the recipes in the book (e.g. when it says dried herbs it means crumbled whole leaves, not ground)

Recipe Layout

Each recipe includes the obligatory ingredients list and steps but also includes what the minimum size slow cooker you can use for it is, how many servings it makes and tips, variations and info on tools. The tips range from general tips you could use in more than one recipe to tips specific for that recipe.

Here are some of the general tips you’ll find throughout the book:

• Foolproof way to chop an onion
• Storing leftover roasted garlic
• How to ripen tomatoes
• Best types of rice to use in the slow cooker
• How to zest and orange
• What to add to your pot roast to tenderize it while it cooks

The only reason the book got 4 stars instead of 5 is because I think cookbooks should have photos of every dish and this book doesn’t. It has photos of some of them, but not everyone. I understand that can be hard and take up a lot of room but I really do pick what I cook based on photos.

I tried a recipe from the book and it was so simple and yummy, I will definitely be making it again. As with all recipes I “follow” I didn’t follow it exactly. I love my creative license for cooking. I didn’t even measure anything. As long as you can eye ball it, you’re good. If you are a strict recipe follower though, don’t worry. All the amounts and steps are laid out for you.