Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Family Favorites by Beth Hensperger

Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Family Favorites by Beth Hensperger

I love the idea of slow cookers. Put in the ingredients, it cooks while you’re at work or doing chores or whatever and then “ta-da” – a delicious meal. It’s great for game night pulled pork sandwiches and Italian sausage for parties. Lately though, this hot, humid summer, it’s been perfect to turn to because it quite simply heats the kitchen up way less than the stove or oven, and with no air conditioning it’s hard enough to keep the house bearable.

This cookbook is chock-full of delicious sounding recipes, from standard pot roasts, stews and chilis to more unusual fare, like Chinese Apricot Pork Roast with Buckwheat Soba Noodle Salad and an eggplant parmesan. We’ve tried a few of the recipes and so far we’ve been pleased. I do wish there were photos with the recipes or nutritional information.

The first thing I tried was the oatmeal with cranberries and apple. I love the idea of waking up to a hot breakfast without doing any work in the morning. (I hate waking up.) This was really good.

1 cup steel-cut oats.

1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries (I used dried.)

1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped apple (I used Granny Smith.)

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 cups water

1. Combine the oats, cranberries, apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and water in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, or overnight.

2. Stir well and scoop into serving bowls with an oversize spoon. Serve with milk and maple sugar or syrup.

The recipe says it serves 2, but it was more than enough for the three of us. I preferred it without the syrup, a little tangy but delicious. David liked it with some syrup and Amber (10)  said it was okay, but she’ not much of an oatmeal fan in general.

I also made the jambalaya which was yummy, although next time I’ll put a little more spice in it. It’s got to be better for you than the box mixes, though.

David made salsa with tomatoes from our garden using one of the recipes too, and it got eaten up when we had some friends over.

Overall this is a useful cookbook. It uses ingredients I’m familiar with and can find locally. Like the title says, the recipes are family friendly, which is necessary at our house.

Published August 15, 2009 by Harvard Common Press
272 pages