[.ca] Busy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook: 7 Ingredients or ... (ISBN 1401601073)

Very Very Disappointing:
I was sooo excited when I got this book. I was really getting into cooking with my slow cooker, as I'm a busy mom, but wanted something more than stews and one-pot meals. When I got this cookbook I read it cover to cover and went out and spent probably $100 on ingredients to make a bunch of the recipes. Let me interject that I consider myself a good cook -- I am a stay-at-home-mom and take pride in having home-cooked meals every single night. After studying the book I was disappointed to see so many preprepared ingredients and frozen vegetables, but I realize it's a "Busy People's" book and she's trying to save time. However, keeping that thought in mind, I was surprised to see many recipes that had cooking times from one to five hours. If people are "busy", aren't they likely at work for eight to ten hours (including commute time)? Also, many of the dishes have the same ingredients with just an ingredient or so different. Perhaps they should have been listed as an alternative rather than a totally separate "recipe" that seemed just to pad the book. Also, many many of the recipes use cream soups which have dairy that one of my daughters is allergic to, so those are out... cream of mushroom soup is used a ton and my husband hates mushrooms, so those are out. Since so many of the recipes are so similar and have an ingredient my family doesn't like, we're out of luck on a good portion of the book. I may have to make my own dairy-free "cream" of chicken soup stock and try using that. But even with all those problems with the book, I was really excited to get cooking. So far I've been disappointed with every single thing I've cooked from this book. The cakes are mostly the same -- canned pie filling as the top of the "upside down" part, then cake mix with water, applesauce and a million egg whites for the cake part. I made the cherry upside down cake, it uses yellow cake mix. The cake part came out the look and exact consistency of a yellow kitchen sponge. Wet and thick and spongy. Not bad tasting but odd enough I'd be embarrassed to serve it to guests. I also had to cut off the entire outside of it because it was overdone, though I cooked it the minimum time recommended and did not leave it in the crock to cool, as I could see it was too dark already. I made the honey-mustard chicken next. The sauce simmering for hours sort of separated and got grainy and the chicken came out weirdly dry even though it was swimming in liquid. It was sort of nauseating, quite frankly, and I threw out the leftovers even though I try to never waste food. Yuck. I made the blueberry coffee cake next. The outside was overdone and the underside/middle was uncooked -- I ended up finishing it in the oven and it was quite overdone by the time the middle was cooked enough to be safe. Still determined to make this book work, I made the "sweet and sour teenie weenies" for a family cookout. The idea of grape jelly mixed with mustard was intriguing, and the taste was interesting, but the reason nobody mixes purple jelly with yellow mustard is because it turns out the exact green color of infant diarrhea. I was embarrassed at the results and ended up abandoning the foil tray I brought them in so I wouldn't have to claim this green glop as mine (no one ate a single bite, nor do I blame them, it looked absolutely wretched!). I will probably try some other things, I do tend to perservere. But I no longer have high hopes and with every failure I am tempted to throw the book out. The only good thing about it is the idea of the foil packets to make side dishes instead of everything being in the same liquid. I never thought of that before. Now, it is certainly possible that my cooker is off in some way, which would explain the overdone/underdone problems. But I've been using it for years to make stews and soups and marinated meats without any problems whatsoever. Even if the done-ness issue was my problem only, I would not recommend the book. I have not enjoyed anything I've cooked from it yet.

Disappointed:
I returned this book. I tried the turkey and stuffing recipe, and the stuffing was soggy and mushy. Alot of the recipes call for fat-free ingredients that aren't available in Canada.

Quick and easy, but sometimes bland:
I bought this book looking for a quick and easy crock pot cookbook. And it is! All of the ingredients are very easy to find at your local supermarket. The recipes have virtually no prep time because a lot of the ingredients are pre-packaged, pre-cut, etc. So, if you enjoy "true" cooking, i.e. preparation and "from scratch" ingredients, this may not be the book for you. It is the book for busy people who want to enjoy the smells and flavors that a crock pot dish can create. I've tried several recipes in this book and have been satisfied with about half. Some are excellent (Beef Roast Excellente and Chunky Chili come to mind) and some are not good. The "not goods" don't taste bad, per se, but they are very bland (Chicken and Dumpling Casserole). Perhaps they could be made better with some experiments with different spices. Being a beginning chef, I did find this book pretty useful.

Worth every penny!!!!!!!!!!!:
I am a very busy mom and Dawn Hall's cookbooks have been a lifesaver for me. My family has loved everything I have fixed in the Busy People's Slow Cooker Cookbook. I can look up a recipe at the last minute and have all the ingredients 95% of the time. THis is rare for me with other cookbooks. Most of the time there are so many odd ingredients I just don't fool with it. Therefore those books are a waste. I have all of Dawn's cookbooks and belive me, they get used. Everyone who sees my slow cooker cookbook has to have one. The bonus is they are healthy and low in fat. One of my families favorite recipes is the Hot Fudgie Spoon Cake. THis recipe is a hit with anyone who tries it.

WOW! This book is FANTASTIC!!!:
I absolutely love this cookbook! As a mother of 2 young children, I don't have a lot of extra time to cook. We were so tired of eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese! Luckily, I happened to stumble upon this book. These recipes are so simple and delicious! You throw everything into the crockpot and in a matter of hours, you have a terrific meal! I love the fact that I don't have to spend hour in the kitchen browning the meat, making a side dish, and dirtying tons of pots and pans. I feel better about being able to make a good meal for my family while spending more time with my kids!