Book ~ "Canada's Slow Cooker Winners: 300 Easy and Satisfying Recipes" (2010) Donna-Marie Pye

From Goodreads ~ Slow cooking is the perfect mealtime solution for anyone who wants to enjoy delicious food with a minimum of effort. The premise is simple: 

• Assemble and prepare the ingredients at your convenience, either the night before or earlier in the day 
• Place the ingredients in the slow cooker 
• Turn on the appliance and let the food cook unattended 

All of the recipes are easy and convenient to prepare yet provide incredibly satisfying results. 

"Canada's Slow Cooker Winners" includes dozens and dozens of tips and techniques for slow-cooker success, as well as general kitchen counseling and serving suggestions. The "make ahead" advice helps make these easy recipes even more convenient. Each of these dishes will tantalize and inspire the busy home chef. 

We have a slow cooker and I like checking out different recipes for it.  I tend to use it more when the weather gets cooler for some reason.

The author starts with slow cooker know-how explaining the different parts of the slow cooker and essential tips (preparing what you can ahead of time, the cuts of meat to choose, using whole herbs and spices, etc.).  Then she helps you adapt conventional recipes and provides a list of ingredient essentials (canned diced tomatoes rather than whole, using large eggs, crumbled dried herbs rather than ground, etc.)

The recipes in this book sound delicious and include:

• Breakfast, breads and beverages
• Appetizers, dips and spreads
• Soups
• Stews
• Chilis and beans
• Vegetarian mains
• Seafood
• Poultry
• Beef and veal
• Pork and lamb
• Sides and grains
• Big-batch dinners for a crowd
• Meals for two
• Double-duty dinners
• Desserts

The instructions are easy to follow and I like that there are tips listed for all the recipes ... like putting onions in the freezer for a few minutes before you cut them so you won't cry or to get the most juice from a lime, let it warm to room temperature, then roll it on the counter, pressing down withe the palm of your hand, before squeezing it.  Plus there are lots of full-colour pictures ... here are a couple examples:

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Book ~ "Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes: 200 Recipes" (2014) Donna-Marie Pye

From Goodreads ~ Whether cooking for two or serving a crowd, this book makes easy work of creating delicious, soul-satisfying slow cooker meals.

In this gorgeous, full-color book with more than 80 photographs, there are 200 recipes to explore and experiment with, featuring the best of North American regional cuisine, as well as globally inspired dishes from cultures around the world.

Each recipe is created with convenience in mind with a good balance of those that require a few extra minutes of preparation versus others where all the ingredients can be added at once.

Most of the recipes serve from four to eight people and can be adapted to every slow cooker size. There are also many recipes that will suit any family from chapters such as Meals for Two and Big-Batch Dinners. With a bit of advance planning, the inspiring recipes in Double-Duty Dinners will turn tonight's dinner into tomorrow's feast, simultaneously banishing that dreaded remark "that again?"

We have a slow cooker and I use it quite often, though not as much in the summer.  I like using it so cookbooks with recipes for slow cookers always catch my eye.

The author starts with slow cooker know-how explaining the different parts of the slow cooker and essential tips (preparing what you can ahead of time, the cuts of meat to choose, using whole herbs and spices, etc.).  Then she helps you adapt conventional recipes and provides a list of ingredient essentials (canned diced tomatoes rather than whole, using large eggs, crumbled dried herbs rather than ground, etc.)

The recipes in this book sound delicious and include:

1. Soups - Lentil Soup with Italian Sausage and Greens, Tex-Mex Tomato Rice Soup, Adobe Sweet Potato and Chile Soup, Manhattan Red Clam Chowder, Kale and Chickpea
2. Stews - Sausage, Spinach and White Bean Stew, Pesto Meatball Stew, Pork Paprikash, Country Italian Beef Stew, Lemony Veal Milanese, North African Chicken Stew
3. Chili and Beans - Holy Mole Chili, White Bean and Toasted Cumin Chili with Lime Cream, Canadian Maple Turkey Chili, Touchdown Beer Chili and Nachos
4. Poultry - Sweet Butter Chicken, Chicken Sausage and Bean Casserole, Chicken in Orange Sesame Sauce, Turkey Bolognese with Spaghetti Squash, Turkey Osso Buco
5. Beef and Veal -  Pot Roast with Dill Sauce, Mexican Brisket, Beer-Braised Beef, Pizza Meatloaf
6. Pork and Lamb - Saucy Pepper Pork, Vietnamese Sticky Pork Chops, Mexican Fiesta Pork, Sausage Lasagna, Uptown Pork and Beans
7. Big-Batch Dinners for a Crowd - Layered Cheese Ravioli Lasagna, Barbecue Burger Sliders, Pork Carnitas, Pass-the-Hot-Potato Bar
8. Meals for Two - Pantry Corn Chowder, Roasted Pepper Soup, Petite Pot Roast, Pineapple Ginger Pork
9. Double-Duty Dinners - Honey Mustard Chicken/Asian Chicken Salad, Chili-Glazed Meatloaf/Italian Meatloaf Parmesan, Cubano Pork Roast/South Beach Pork Panini
10. Desserts - Snickerdoodle Cheesecake, Thai Coconut Tapioca Pudding, Almost Cherries Jubilee, Creamy Caramel Blondies, Warm Chocolate Lava Cake.

With each recipe (which look easy to follow), there is a description, the amount of servings and tips.  There are lots of colourful pictures.  What's missing, though, is the nutritional content ... it would be nice to know the calories, fibre, etc.

Here are some sample recipes ...

 As I try the recipes, I'll be sure to blog about them.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.