Customer Reviews

Slow Cooker Magic: A Seasonal Selection of Family Favorite Recipes

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have more slow cooker cookbooks and recipe booklets than I can count. This one is by far the best. I found it at the library, had to buy my own copy, and now I've given it as gifts to everyone I know. The recipes don't use processed foods, there are suggestions for variations, many recipes can be made without meat, and they are just plain delicious! Quite a few of the recipes have quickly become family favorites.

I recently bought a slow cooker and needed a good slow cooker book. I looked at lots of books out there. There's one for just about everything, but this book was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted minimal prep work on the food before it goes into the cooker, and recipes that were NOT made with boxes and cans of highly-processed foods. This book achieves both, with a very nice variety of recipes including desserts. Many of the recipes give tips on how they can be made light or vegetarian. It has all the recipes you've heard about over the years and includes some very interesting new ones. I truly appreciate the German recipes they've adapted for the crockpot like Gulaschsuppe and Currywurst which are family favorites. Every recipe I've tried, I've liked. I guess the only possible drawbacks are the way it's set up, and the lack of calorie information. I think it's nice that the recipes are categorized by season, but I don't use the book that way since I think it makes things hard to find. I use the index to find what I need and then dog ear the pages so I can find them again. The Cauliflower soup is fantastic by the way.

I borrowed this book from the library after reading all the good reviews. After going through it myself, I agree with the reviewers.

Here's what I like:
In the beginning, they have a section of Helpful Hints which give you the low-down on slow cooker usage, e.g. what ingredients work well in slow cookers and what don't, browning meats is recommended for flavor and appearance but it's not necessary, each time you lift the lid to peek it add 15 minutes cooking time, how to adapt your own recipes, etc.

Overall, the recipes use fresh, easy to find ingredients. Some recipes do call for processed foods such as cans of condensed soup and cake mixes, but those are few and far between.

As far as prep work goes, some recipes require more than others - some are chop, dump, start, while others require additional steps.

In the margins of each recipe are Serving Suggestions, Variations, and Tips which are actually informative and helpful.

The recipes are written for 4 quart cookers, but they tell you how to adjust them for 6 quart cookers.

Here's what I don't like:
The recipes are arranged by season. In theory, it's a great concept -it makes sense to have "chili" and "beef stew" filed under "Winter" and recipes calling for fresh vegetables filed under "Summer." However, I noticed that several recipes didn't seem season-specific to me and could easily be made and enjoyed in a season other than the one it was listed under. The Recipe Index in the back is only helpful if you know the specific name of the recipe you want. It would have been more helpful if they would have had an index where the recipes were listed under sections, i.e. "Meats", "Vegetables", "Soups", etc.

Despite the flaw with the organization & lack of helpful index, I still plan to buy a copy of this for myself. Yeah, the recipes look that good.

What a disappointment!

I bought this book based on all the 5 star reviews extolling the lack of processed foods in the recipes. The first two entrees feature 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup and a package of dried onion soup, and a can of Dr. Pepper and a package of dried onion soup, respectively. This isn't processed food? Really? The first potato recipe features cream of potato soup and Ore-Ida hash browns. Why not just go to McDonald's?

With a couple notable exceptions it goes on like this for 240-odd pages. Every recipe but one involving beans uses canned beans. If we're going to cook this for 8 hours why not use dried beans which are cheaper, healthier, and tastier?

As to the "seasonal" recipes, I guess different veges must be in season at different times of year wherever the authors are than they are here in northern California.

Also note that most of the recipes are designed for 4-quart cookers, so if you have a 6-quart you are instructed to multiply the ingredients by 1.5. That gets to be a real pain when you have a lot of ingredients, and what are you supposed to do with all those half cans of soup and Dr. Pepper? Of course if you have a 4-quart I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with the 6-quart recipes...

This is 'hands down' the best slow cooker cookbook I have ever used- I have made about 10 things from this book and everyone has been Awesome!

I have made a handful of recipes from this cookbook. My family has been pleased with each one. I like the convenience of the recipes being broken down by seasons. I own several slow cooker cookbooks and am quite pleased with this addition to my collection.

I found the recipes in this book were not as simple as others I have seen and called for ingredients that I did not have "just around the house." I purchased it for a gift and did not give it for those reasons.

I have tried some good recipes and have a lot more on my list I look forward to making. I find recipes all cook a great deal faster than the time given in my 6-qt slow-cooker but am learning to adapt. I appreciated the Helpful Hints section in the beginning but I found the organization of the book by seasons difficult in that I could not easily find a recipe that I knew was in the book somewhere - couldn't remember if I saw it in the Autumn chapter or winter. One would have to remember the actual name on the recipe to find it in the index so I have used a lot of "sticky tags" to mark recipes I like to avoid some of my frustration.

I found a number of very tasty recipes in this cookbook. I would highly recommend it!

No surprises and was shipped quickly. Since this was a Christmas present, it was important to receive it soon. I am happy with my purchase.