A few months ago I took a circuitous ride to the Scholastic Book Warehouse in New Jersey. (Did you know there are 10 Washington Townships in that state?) They were having a sale and I picked up a number of interesting tomes, one of them being Fix-it and Forget-it: 5 ingredient favorites, Comforting Slow-Cooker Recipes by Phyllis Pellman Good. It is an amazing collection of recipes from around the country using no more than 5 ingredients and cooked in a crock pot. There are recipes that you would expect, like pot roast, chili and stewed chicken, but there are also some unusual ones like pizza fondue and apricot cider.
The table of contents ran the gamut from appetizers to desserts with a heavy emphasis on chicken, pork and beef main dishes. There were even recipes for breakfast oatmeal. (But I'm not sure how you would get the slow cooker going at 4 am for breakfast at 7.) What did disappoint me, however, was the inclusion of canned condensed soups and frozen vegetables in so many of the recipes. I am opposed to those kind of ingredients that are sodium laden and unnecessary for a healthy meal. I am also at a loss to use a slow cooker to heat up such items as smokie links and canned baked beans. Low and slow does nothing to improve their taste.
So while Ms. Good, from Lancaster County, may be a New York Times bestselling author, I believe she has sold us short on the benefits of a slow cooker. Even at 50% off the book was no bargain.
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