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This book was reviewed at MostlySensible.com.
Recommending this kitchen essential is easy for me. It’s a New York Times Bestseller, and it’s no wonder. I will never get rid of this cookbook! It’s been updated since I bought this on a whim at Sam’s Club for a little more than $10.00. During a very busy stage in life with little time for meal preparation, my slow cooker was a life-saver, and not just for Sunday dinners but for every occasion. When the day is going to be a busy one, a crockpot meal is the way to go. It’s easy and most recipes are hearty and filling and I didn’t have to worry about burning anything.
These recipes were compiled from real favorites from avid slow cooker users. You get to see the name of the contributor and where they’re from at the top of each recipe. Many of them are Amish or Mennonite recipes, so you know they are good! Not only was it a help to me to get some meals started, but it also educated me! As I look back on my cooking skills now (10 years removed from being a newlywed), the book has helped me learn how to make a big hunk of meat taste good. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.
Fix-it and Forget-it is different from most cookbooks in that many recipes use very similar ingredients that it almost seems redundant. More than 700 recipes from appetizers, breakfast food, breads, soups, main dishes, side dishes, beverages, and desserts. It seemed odd to me at first to have five or ten recipes for beef stew and thirty recipes for baked beans. How many ways can you make stew? Well apparently, there are several ways. The author helps you out by grouping similar recipes together. There have been many times that I didn’t have much in the pantry, but I knew a bit about how to throw the ingredients together because of this cookbook.
So for me, when I’m searching for a recipe for the crockpot, I look for the ingredients I have on hand and go from there. Let’s say I have ground beef and some carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, a can of beans and some other pantry basics. I look in the main dish section where the beef recipes are, and I would also look in the Soups & Stews & Chilis section. Then I’ll look to see what kinds of foods go well with those ingredients and in what portions. I look at what kinds of seasonings are used. I look for what kind of thickener is used, what kind of starch, etc. Often, my own recipe is not exactly like any one recipe in the book, but it’s a compilation of several.
A HINT: To adjust amounts for your family size, just remember that a slow cooker works best when it is filled at least 3/4 of the way up. Most of the recipes in the book are for large slow cookers for large families. You could halve most of the recipes to fit in a medium sized crockpot, which is what I do for us often.
Get the book and use it. The book comes in a Kindle version, but I really like my comb-binder edition. I’m planning to purchase the other editions as well. There’s one for diabetics, one for light-cooking, one that is just with 5-ingredients or less, and more. Definitely worth the money, and I don’t usually say that about cookbooks!
Recommending this kitchen essential is easy for me. It’s a New York Times Bestseller, and it’s no wonder. I will never get rid of this cookbook! It’s been updated since I bought this on a whim at Sam’s Club for a little more than $10.00. During a very busy stage in life with little time for meal preparation, my slow cooker was a life-saver, and not just for Sunday dinners but for every occasion. When the day is going to be a busy one, a crockpot meal is the way to go. It’s easy and most recipes are hearty and filling and I didn’t have to worry about burning anything.
These recipes were compiled from real favorites from avid slow cooker users. You get to see the name of the contributor and where they’re from at the top of each recipe. Many of them are Amish or Mennonite recipes, so you know they are good! Not only was it a help to me to get some meals started, but it also educated me! As I look back on my cooking skills now (10 years removed from being a newlywed), the book has helped me learn how to make a big hunk of meat taste good. And for that, I’m eternally grateful.
Fix-it and Forget-it is different from most cookbooks in that many recipes use very similar ingredients that it almost seems redundant. More than 700 recipes from appetizers, breakfast food, breads, soups, main dishes, side dishes, beverages, and desserts. It seemed odd to me at first to have five or ten recipes for beef stew and thirty recipes for baked beans. How many ways can you make stew? Well apparently, there are several ways. The author helps you out by grouping similar recipes together. There have been many times that I didn’t have much in the pantry, but I knew a bit about how to throw the ingredients together because of this cookbook.
So for me, when I’m searching for a recipe for the crockpot, I look for the ingredients I have on hand and go from there. Let’s say I have ground beef and some carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, a can of beans and some other pantry basics. I look in the main dish section where the beef recipes are, and I would also look in the Soups & Stews & Chilis section. Then I’ll look to see what kinds of foods go well with those ingredients and in what portions. I look at what kinds of seasonings are used. I look for what kind of thickener is used, what kind of starch, etc. Often, my own recipe is not exactly like any one recipe in the book, but it’s a compilation of several.
A HINT: To adjust amounts for your family size, just remember that a slow cooker works best when it is filled at least 3/4 of the way up. Most of the recipes in the book are for large slow cookers for large families. You could halve most of the recipes to fit in a medium sized crockpot, which is what I do for us often.
Get the book and use it. The book comes in a Kindle version, but I really like my comb-binder edition. I’m planning to purchase the other editions as well. There’s one for diabetics, one for light-cooking, one that is just with 5-ingredients or less, and more. Definitely worth the money, and I don’t usually say that about cookbooks!
