Customer Reviews

America's Best Slow Cooker Recipes

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been using a crock pot for years -- but this is the first crockpot cookbook that I have come across that has such simple recipes and instructions, and very helpful hints. Everything I have made so far is wonderful, and I love being able to prepare the recipes the night before. I started with the "Comforting Shredded Beef" (without the brandy and with red cooking wine)which was a real winner with my family, especially with my oldest son who is an extremely picky eater (he can't wait for me to make it again). I just can't get over that something with so few ingredients could taste so good. I served it on toasted sausage rolls with melted motzeralla cheese. I never had a chance to try the Philly Beef Wraps because my (picky) son kept eating the leftovers every day after school as a snack. Next I tried the "Chicken Stew with Rosemary Dumplings." (I used boneless-skinless chicken breasts.) The chicken was absolutely wonderful. But make sure the broth is bubbling when you add the dumplings - I was too impatient and the dumplings looked like pancakes (but they still tasted good). And yesterday I tried the "Southern Barbecued Pork on a Bun." And it was another winner (with the whole family)! I have just put together "Rich Vegetable Broth with Meatballs" and can't wait to try it tomorrow. To have everyone agree that a dinner was great is a miracle - and I've had three miracles in the past ten days (since I received this cookbook). I just want to keep trying recipe after recipe. Unfortunately, I can only try one recipe at a time in my favorite crockpot (a large oval that looks like a roaster). I hope that if you read this that you have as much luck has I've had. I wish to thank the other reviewers because this is why I decided to purchase this cookbook.

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.

There are so many mouth-watering recipes in this book that when my husband and I sat down to read "food poetry" to each other recently, this was one of the books we used. We both enjoy cooking and eating good food, so naturally we collect a lot of wonderful cookbooks. Besides reading a cookbook for a recipe, we might also read one as if it was a novel or a book of poetry. (If you have a significant other and love good food, try reading "food poetry" to each other...you might like it.)

Ever since I was a young adult when "crockpots" first came on the scene, everyone had a copy of Mable Hoffman's "Crockery Cookery". Slow cooking has always been a part of my cooking life. I still consider Hoffman's cookbooks the standard by which all other slow cooker cookbooks are compared. With this book, however, Donna-Marie Pye is giving Mable a run for her money.

Recently I purchased yet another slow cooker...this time a really BIG one. Of course when I purchase a new kitchen "toy", I have to buy a new book to go along with it. As I perused all the slow cooking books on the bookstore's shelf, I pulled Hoffman's newly revised "Crockery Cookery" book out by instinct. I looked over it and thought it was, as expected, very good. Then I reached for Pye's book. "Mmmm, this one sounds really good too" I mumbled. After much comparison, Pye's book won out and came home with me that day.

As the above title suggests, there are a lot of "comfort foods" in this book. That's one of the beauties of slow cooking. But there is more than this in Pye's book. She has put a lot of creative thinking into these recipes, giving slow cooking more versatility and flavor than ever before.

Slow cookers and crockpots are not just one of those "gimmicky" kitchen appliances, as some have suggested. It is here to stay thanks in part to people like Donna-Marie Pye.

Mable, I still love you too.

The recipies in this book are excellent; the novice can follow them with ease yet they are interesting enough for the experienced cook to not get bored. Many are very easily adaptable, and they run the gamut from well-known BBQ to a delightful curry dish most people don't often try for fear of complexity.

Slow cookers are the busy person's blessing. No time to cook? Toss it in the cooker, and head to work, school, wherever. Great for college students, who can't often have a toaster oven in their dorms, but a small cooker provides little trouble. It is also an excellent place to begin one's journey into the land of crock pot entrees.

A few regrets: I wish the spine was sturdier; mine is bent from reading and using and nearly falling apart. While the title says "America's Best Slow Cooker Recipies" interestly enough, the author was apparently either Canadian or has lived in Canada during the writing, and so the book talks about various Canadian holidays and such.

I have to say that out of all my slow cooker cook books this was money well spent. I use this one before any others. Since I am extremely picky about my cookbooks, I am sure that most folks will find this a true gem of their kitchen.

I know that I couldn't live without my crockpot; with this book you won't be able to either.

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.

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!

After trying several of the recipes, I found the majority to be very classic and fairly simple and very tasty. However, I didn't give it 5 stars because the book itself could be better. There are only pictures for about 10-15% of the recipes and the text is sometimes redundant (almost all the recipes say to add a salad and crunchy french bread (or roll, etc.). Don't see why this is necessary since it's repeated again and again. Also, the text is a very bland-looking font and black and white...this could be improved. The book also is difficult to lay flat. Here is an example of a great product that deserves better packaging.

Because this cookbook got such great reviews, I recently bought it. I am an experienced, fairly adventerous cook and I cook dinner every night. After a week of Donna Marie's recipes my family is begging me to quit. I made Black Bean Cassoulet soup (thin and watery), Moussaka, Morrocan Vegetable Hotpot (hot?), Drunken Roast chicken (falling apart, drunken), and No Fuss Chicken Stock. The last one is the only one I'll bother to repeat. The others were edible, but totally boring and overcooked by the time I got home, even though I followed the cooking recommendations (I even read the intro). I was hoping against hope that this book would allow me to come home to wonderful meals. One thing I can say is that the food I cooked was probably very healthy. It had that home-economist obviously-good-for-you taste. I haven't tried any desserts yet. The steamed puddings might be okay. The world is still waiting for the Julia Child of crockpots.

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.

You'd almost think I knew what I was doing! I'm a real Ellie May Clampet in the kitchen, folks, but I got this book because of the Amazon reviews I read, and I am so glad I did. I was getting tired of restaurant food, so I bought a slow cooker to experiment with. I made the "Bargain Beef Stroganoff", and it was fabulous. I made the "Aunt Beatty's Apple Betty" tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to try more of the recipes. They're easy but they range from comforting to elegant - and trust me - if I can do it, anybody can! Thank you, Donna Marie Pye! (My husband of thirteen years is amazed.) I have the Rival Smart Pot crock pot, with the auto-warm feature...so this couldn't be easier for me. I CAN COOK! I LOVE IT!