Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two: For Your Small Slow Cooker

These are exotic gourmet recipes with lists of ingredients that fill the page. Plan on trips to Asian markets and expect to search for esoteric ingredients my friends and I have never even heard of. So, plan a day or more to assemble the ingredients....then the slow cooker is only part of the recipe. Most recipes require additional pots, pans, and cooking time. You may need to sauté ingredients before they are added and then cook specialty rice (heavens, not plain rice!) to pour it over. Out of over 120 recipes maybe 10 are ones I COULD try- but they require a larger cooker than I have. Heads Up: if you want to use your 1 1/2 or 2 Qt. cooker, these recipes are mostly written for the 3 Qt. cooker.

As someone who lives alone and works extremely long hours, I don't always have a lot of time to cook. Unfortunately, I had begun to rely on either fast food (unhealthy) or convenience foods from the supermarket (expensive). Purchasing this book and a $15.00 dollar oval slow cooker has done wonders for my schedule, my budget, and my LDL cholesterol.

This book is great for two people: it's the perfect amount for my boyfriend and I. We bought the 4-Quart Rival slow cooker (I wanted the option to cook for more people) which is a little larger than the ones she recommends, but so far, everything has tasted great. Some dishes we have tried: Vegetable Chili con Carne: This tasted great and it's a great way to get your day's worth of veggies (also includes lean ground beef). Usually chilis are all meat, beans, or veggies--this is a little bit of everything for a well-balanced meal. Vegetable Polenta: Made this last night with some grilled pork and a salad--it was excellent! The mascarpone cheese adds a creamy flavor, which makes this polenta perfect. Orange Teriyaki Chicken- The flavors of this chicken are so flavorful and they compliment each other well. Be careful not to overcook as I did, but still the chicken is so moist and flavorful that it almost didn't matter. Hot Pepper Cornbread (non-slow cooker recipe): This bread accompanied our veggie chili and was good but it turned out a little flat--next time I would add a little more baking soda than the pinch it calls for. Overall, this book is easy enough for a beginner cook and for those who don't want to prepare an army's worth of food.

I got this cookbook, along with a couple of others, to be able to prepare smaller sized meals for my husband and me. This has been, by far, one of the best cookbook investments I've made. We have enjoyed several recipes from this book, including the Lasagna (with a few modifications...made the Italian Meat Sauce the night before and added two layers of fresh ricotta cheese/egg mixture), which is now one of my husband's favorites. Now, I'm using the slow cooker almost continuously. For you working people, here's a huge helpful hint: Do as much prep work as possible the night before and put it away in the refrigerator. Then, in the morning, it only takes about 15-20 minutes max to put all the prepared ingredients in the slow cooker. Turn it on and come home to a freshly prepared meal that is just the right size for a couple plus a little bit of leftovers for the next day's lunch. If you are planning to give a slow cooker to newlyweds or daughter/son in college, definitely add this cookbook along with it. The slow cooker will get a lot more use and not wind up in the closet or sold in a garage sale.

This cookbook was favorably reviewed in the San Francisco Chronicle, so I decided to buy it and a small slow cooker. Of course, I bought a round slow cooker, before I read the cookbook (she recommends an oval one, so that turkey breasts fit nicely.) I've tried three of the recipes so far - the Beef Stew Classico - one of the best beef stews I've ever had. The Tomato Lentil Soup was very tasty. I like my lentil soup thicker (this one was broth-y), but that's minor. The Pulled Barbeque Chicken was just wonderful - we all but licked out the pot. There are another 30 or so recipes in the cookbook I'm planning to try, and I'll bet all of them will be worth making again.

These two authors know their stuff. Everything I have made from this book has come out much better than I expected. Every single recipe works just the way they say it will!! Yes, some are a little time-consuming, but all use fresh ingredients, no canned soups. I live in rural Hawai'i, no fancy gourmet shops here, yet I have no trouble finding all the ingredients called for. My husband and I are both astonished at how delicious our meals have been lately. Since I boght this book a few months ago I have used it exclusively. And I too have become a slow-cooker addict. Thank you Beth and Julie!