Customer Reviews

350 Big Taste Recipes for the 1.5 Quart Mini Slow Cooker: All American Favorites Adapted for the Mini Slow Cooker with an Emphasis on Healthy Eating

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

 

 

Nothing about the title is accurate. The recipes are far too large for a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker - one of them, the Brunswick Stew (which was dreadful, by the way just barely fit in my 3 quart slow cooker.

The recipes make no effort to reduce fat, calories, carbs, or sodium - especially sodium, since nearly all of them use canned food as the main ingredients, and are therefore loaded with sodium. A few of the dessert recipes do incorporate sugar substitutes - but a typical dessert recipe instructs you, basically, to use half a box of cake mix along with half the ingredients the mix calls for anyway. Ever tried to use half a box of cake mix? It's not easy.

In fact, most of the recipes are not cooked in the usual sense at all: they use already cooked ingredients and employ the crock pot to heat them slowly.

The one minor virtue of the book is that you can read the recipes and then draw some conclusions about how to adapt regular recipes for the crock pot - but that is true about any crock pot cookbook.

I am sorry I bought it and recommend against your buying it.

When I ordered this book, I expected it to be full of recipes scaled for 2 people. I was surprised by the author's claim that you can cook dinner for 4 in a 1.5 quart crock pot. The author is wrong, you can't use most of these recipes in the 1.5 quart model unless you reduce them by half. The Rival 1.5 quart crock pot I own only holds 5 cups rather than the 6 cups you might expect, and the manufacturer warns the user not to fill it all the way to the brim. The author of this book should have recommeded a 2 quart crock pot for his recipes. I did find the recipe I tried easy and tasty. The cooking times are accurate, unlike other crock pot books. I would recommed that you buy this book if it interests you. Reduce the recipes that serve 4 by half if you are using a 1.5 quart crock pot or use a 2 quart crock pot if you need to cook for 4. I also recommed that you omit the water from stews using condensed soup as a base for the sauce because liquid excreeted from the meat and vegetables is enough.

For what the author is trying to accomplish this book works because it's geared toward small dishes. It's wonderful for empty nesters and busy people who like to keep things simple. Aside from some typo's it's a decent book. The recipes are very straight forward if you use some common sense solutions to following them. This helps you maneuver through each recipe better. I would've given the book 5 stars if the author had written the book like he was there in the kitchen with me going through each recipe. He definitely needs the rapport vs. report feel in this book.

I've tried the beef stew, turkey loaf, soup, braised ribs and oatmeal recipes and all have turned out well. The author likes to have his food on the firm side and I like mine on the tender side so I usually add 2 hours to some of the recipes where appropriate.

We are a retired couple and like to spend vert little time fixing food. This cookbook has offered us excellent recipes that we can put together very quickly and have a wonderful meal that cooks while we are out playing bridge, going to museums, and just enjoying the retired life.

We liked the book so well we gave a copy to friends in Des Moines who liked it so well they bought a copy for their bachelor son in Arizona. Everyone we've talked to about the book thinks it is excellent and a wonderful way to have a variety of very healthy meals.

Thanks to the author for putting it together!

I love the recipe ideas in this book, however the quantities for spices listed are WAY too high. Before I learned this, i would make a recipe according to the directions, and then I would have to make it again using no spices at all, and mix them just to make it edible. again, the ideas are good, just use caution when using their quantities of spices!

A friend gave me this book, and I thank her! I am enjoying using it in my Rival 1.5 quart slow cooker! Especially enjoy the Manhattan clam chowder and beef stew. The recipes often call for canned, sliced veggies. This is a time saver. I also like the fact that the recipe is ready in about 3 hours' time instead of the traditional 8-10 hours in the large slow cooker. There are times I need to cut back on the liquid the recipe calls for. Can always add more liquid at the end of cooking, before serving. It is nice to use a slow cooker which makes a smaller amount, just right for two!

Review by: Joan Iannone

Cooking for two is a lot different than for five, when my family was
home. These recipes keep me trying new ways of using left overs and I now
have new taste treats in my bag of tricks. (It's not good to get in a
rut.) My husband always looks forward to the next slow cooker meal. He really enjoys them. Two of my friends have this book and we get together and compare which recipes we've liked the best. If I feel the ingredients might be too much for the small cooker,I just scale down the recipe. I have never had an overflow.

Thank you Al Herbert for a great cook book for people like me!
Bon Appetite !!!

Book is small, but loaded with 350 recipes!..have tried 4 already with great success..something for everyone to make in a tiny little crockpot..perfect for a small family.

What a wonderful boon to college students! Now they can cook a decent meal in the slow cooker and not have to eat 'junk food' for survival. I highly recommend this book to all students, whether you live in a dorm or an apartment. Easy, simple and the food is available in most every supermarket. Buy it!

I like this book because it shows that someone is thinking like me! Is anyone cooking is this small slow cooker? I try to adapt some recipes to my liking. I still have not done a lot of recipes in this book but will do more in the near future since I am a slow cooker fan. Too bad there are no pictures! still it is not a problem for me. Thank you. P.S.: Some recipes say 3 hours, I had to cook 5 hours (I suppose this depends on you cooker)