Creative Slow-Cooker Meals: Use Two Slow Cookers for Tasty and Easy Dinners [Spiral-bound]

Cheryl Moeller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2012

From the celebrated coauthor of The Marriage Miracle comes a new kind of cookbook and a new attitude toward planning meals. With an eye toward the whole menu, not just part of it, columnist Cheryl Moeller teaches cooks to use two crockpots to easily create healthy, homemade dinners.

Don't worry about your dinner being reduced to a mushy stew. Each of the more than 200 recipes has been taste-tested at Cheryl's table. Join the Moeller family as you dig into:

• Harvest-time Halibut Chowder
• Salmon and Gingered Carrots
• Mediterranean Rice Pilaf
• Indian Chicken Curry
• Apricot-Pistachio Bread
• Shrimp Creole
• Rhubarb Crisp

... and many more! Perfect for the frazzled mom who never has enough time in the day, Creative Slow-Cooker Meals gives readers more time around the table with delicious, healthy, frugal, and easy meals!

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Using two slow cookers to make dinner gave me back my life and it can do the same for you.  This plan is just perfect for a frazzled mom with no time in her day.  It also works for my single friends that just want to cook once a week.  In my book I not only give you perfect recipes, but I also plan your entire dinner menu.  I'm a wife, mom, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece, aunt, and friend just like you.  I can't make more time in my day; it just doesn't exist.  But, I can use Creative Slow-Cooker Meals to solve my dinner dilemma early in the day.

About the Author

Cheryl Moeller is a seasoned mother and a standup comic. She is also a syndicated columnist with her own blog (momlaughs.blogspot.com) and contributes monthly to several online parent websites. Cheryl has coauthored two books on marriage with her husband and has written for mops.org and Marriage Partnership. Cheryl does comedy for parenting classes, MOPS groups, wedding or baby showers, church retreats, women's conferences, and those in line at the grocery store.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvest House Publishers; Spi edition (February 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736944915
• ISBN-13: 978-0736944915
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Moeller is a seasoned mother and a standup comic. She is also a syndicated columnist with her own blog (www.momlaughs.blogspot.com) and contributes monthly to several online parent websites. Cheryl has coauthored two books on marriage with her husband and has written for www.mops.org and Marriage Partnership. Cheryl does comedy for parenting classes, MOPS groups, wedding or baby showers, church retreats, women's conferences, and those in line at the grocery store.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars nothing spectacular but good recipes February 11, 2012

By ReneeSuz VINE™ VOICE

Format:Spiral-bound

Pros: Pretty cover, spiral bound so it lies flat while reading, variety of recipes (includes breakfast, vegetarian, vegan, dairy free and gluten free), uncluttered pages

Cons: Doesn't say what size slow cooker was used in the recipes, no pictures, unusual matches (ie: ranch mushrooms and Hawaiian rice)

I have already tried two recipes - Tangy Peanut Soup and Apple, Grape & Walnut Chicken. The first was absolutely scrumptious. The recipe called for 6 hrs on low but experience has shown me that potatoes need either more time or more heat so I opted to cook on high for almost 5 hours and then an additional hour on low after adding the coconut milk. We didn't find it tangy so we added more cayenne pepper. My round slow cooker was filled almost to the brim (before coconut milk was even added) so I had to move it all to my larger oval slow cooker.

We were very disappointed by the chicken dish. The taste was very subtle, the grapes (despite not putting them in until the last hour) were soggy and the yogurt got all watery. Definitely not a recipe I'll be making again.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Yummy, Slow-Cooker Meals February 24, 2012

By Jolene S. Arrant

Format:Spiral-bound

Creative Slow-Cooker Meals by Cheryl Moeller takes a little different approach than other slow-cooker cookbooks I've used. The meal plans are designed for use with two slow-cookers. I was initially leary of having to use two cookers, but quickly realized that using two was not really necessary. Each meal plan is actually two recipes and it is perfectly acceptable to just make one of the recipes.

One of my favorite things about this particular slow-cooker book is that the majority of the recipes are on the simple side. There are some complex recipes that require technique, but for someone with basic, not professional, cooking skills (like me), these recipes are perfect. Despite the simple recipes, the meals I tried tasted great. The first meal I made was the Salsa Chicken on page 44. The flavor was delicious, though it did have quite a bite. I've already picked out more recipes to try once I make a trip to the grocery store.

Other things to love about this cookbook include:
The basic slow-cooker cooking tips.
Chapters of recipes for specialized diets: Vegetarian, Vegan, Dairy-free, Gluten-free.

The only complaint I had was really very minor and it was that some of the recipes seem better suited to the oven than the crock-pot. For example: Little Piggies in a Blanket. Why would I cook it in the slow-cooker for 1.5 to 2 hours when I can make it much more quickly in the oven? One of the main reasons I use slow-cookers is because the recipes generally require longer (minimum of four hours) and can cook while I'm away at work. Again, that is a very minor complaint and I definitely recommend Creative Slow-Cooker Meals by Cheryl Moeller as a great resource for anyone who loves to use the slow-cooker....

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher as part of FIRST Wild Card Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising." Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Diet Friendly Yet Delicious! February 16, 2012

By RandomRamblingsof

Format:Kindle Edition

Sunday dinners are much easier with Creative Slow-Cooker Meals. This past Sunday we made Herbed Cauliflower - page 97. It was not only delish - it was South Beach Diet friendly!. Daughter-in-law #1 is on the South Beach Diet and she was able to enjoy this dish with us. My three daughters-in-law drool over the cookbook on Sunday afternoons and "suggest" what we should make next week. This is full of easy, family friendly recipes. Haven't tried one we haven't liked. Shhh - this would be a great Mother's Day gift for everyone!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative Slow Cooker Meals February 1, 2012

By Amy Deardon

Format:Spiral-bound

This is my kind of cookbook! The secret, according to Cheryl Moeller, is to use two slow cookers to prepare an entire meal. The book is laid out into meal category types: Breakfast; Passport to the Nations; Simple Meals; Vegetarian; Parties/Barbecues/Gatherings; and so forth. I found the categories somewhat arbitrary, and simply leafed through to find interesting recipes for my family. There were many to choose from.

Each entree gives two slow-cooker recipes, so for example, you can make French Countryside Soup along with Salmon on Gingered Carrots, or Swedish Meatballs with Gravy along with Savory Mashed Potatoes, or even Brownies in a Mug with Grapefruit Chicken. (I was skeptical of the grapefruit chicken but was so curious I had to try it, and it's fabulous!).

These recipes are easy to make: you just dump the ingredients into the cookers, then turn them on for a few hours. Some of the meals require cooking for only 3-4 hours so for these you will need to be at home to manage or use the timer. Most recipes especially for main dishes require longer cook times. The food preparation for these meals is minimal -- you may have to chop a few vegetables, or cut up meat, but you don't have to worry with sauteing or other pre-cooking strategies. At the end all you have to do is lift the lid, perhaps prepare a quick sauce or two, then serve.

What I liked about this book: The trick of using two cookers is genius. This allows you to move beyond pot roast to prepare some sophisticated and interesting meal combinations. The recipes in here are simple and the few that I've tried are sometimes unexpected but have all been good. The author includes a nice variety of dinner personalities.... This slow-cooking method allows food preparation with minimal time demands, and thus is helpful for busy people (aren't we all) and those with jobs who don't want to put in another hour preparing a meal as soon as they come home.

What I didn't like about this book: serving sizes are neglected. You can estimate how many people could eat a dinner from the amount of ingredients, but occasionally there was less meal satiety than I was counting on. Since the cookers can only be filled so high, if you have hungry boys or a large family you may need to get THREE cookers to double the main course. For my family of four it was fine, with leftovers usually available for snacks.

Overall, this is a great book to help a busy person easily prepare home-cooked dinners and other foods with little time investment. The recipes are practical, not gourmet, and use easily-available ingredients. A cook could use this slow cooker method several nights a week without a sense of repetition or meal fatigue.

I'm grateful to Harvest House Publishers for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. I really like this book! Read more ›