Donna-Maria Pye has put together an absolutely fabulous collection of recipes that can be ready and waiting when you walk in the door from work. That means a lot these days, when everyone seems to be running in circles constantly.
Huge Range of Recipes
Although Donna-Maria is actually from outside Toronto rather than the South, she certainly knows her way around a slow cooker. She has recipes for a huge range of dishes – everything from Drunken Roast Chicken and Philly Beef Wraps to Oktoberfest Hot Potato Salad and Country-Style Sage and Bread Stuffing. She even has directions for roasting nuts and seeds, making cakes and bread puddings and even a tasty cornbread.
Some cookbooks that are touted as having a huge number of recipes include a lot that seem like the same recipes tweaked a little here and there. That’s not the case with 300 Slow Cooker Favorites. This is truly a diverse collection.
The dishes in 300 Slow Cooker Favorites are very family-friendly. Most items are right in the pantry but combined in ways that make them extra special. This isn’t just “meat and canned soup” stuff. It’s hearty, healthy and tasty.
Ethnic Slow Cooker Recipes, Too
There are some ethnic recipes in the cookbook, but they are simple to make. Cooks don’t have to run out to the specialty grocer to find ingredients they’re never heard of.
Sections include a great overview of the slow cooking method, breakfasts/drinks/beverages, appetizers/dips/snacks, soups, stews, chilies/beans, seafood/vegetarian main courses, poultry, beef/veal, pork/lamb, side dishes and sweet endings.
The extra tips make this cookbook stand out. Donna-Marie includes notes on the sides of the recipes that are really helpful. She, for example, notes that a recipe can be easily doubled if needed -- but that the cook should not double the orange zest as it’s overpowering. She explains how a tea or dish towel can be used to absorb extra moisture that might make breads or desserts soggy.
Indexed by Season and Topic
This book is indexed. In the front are interesting sections like winter, summer, book club, and kids. It’s helpful to glance at the lists by occasions and see a quick selection of ideas. All recipes are also indexed in the back by cooking ingredients. Cooks can flip to the back and look under potatoes to find the dishes that use those.
There are loads of crock pot and slow cooker cookbooks on the market, but there aren’t a lot of great ones. 300 Slow Cooker Favorites really is the best of the best for families. It would also be a solid book for a new cook, a newlywed, or a college kid.
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