Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I love using my slow cookers (I own four in various sizes!) during busy weeks so I can have a hot meal waiting when I get home from work. I already own The Vegan Slow Cooker: Simply Set It and Go with 150 Recipes for Intensely Flavorful, Fuss-Free Fare Everyone (Vegan or Not!) Will Devour and I really like it, but the recipes in that make a LOT of food, and, since it's just my husband and me, we sometimes get sick of having so many leftovers, especially if they don't freeze well. I was excited to get this new cookbook by Kathy Hester since I love that it focuses on smaller portion sizes that are perfect for just one or two people! The recipes are designed for using a 1.5-quart or liter crockpot, so they're perfectly proportioned for smaller households. The book is organized as follows: * Chapter 1 provides a nice overview about how to use your slow cooker effectively * Chapter 2 focuses on making what Hester calls "pantry staples" -- things like tofu sour cream and nut ricotta that you might want to have on hand for other recipes * Chapter 3 focuses on breakfast * Chapter 4 focuses on dips that can be eaten as appetizers or a main meal * Chapter 5 focuses on soups * Chapter 6 focuses on stews, curries, and chilis * Chapter 7 focuses on sandwich and taco fillings * Chapter 8 focuses on one-pot risottos, pastas, and pasta sauces * Chapter 9 focuses on full-meal dishes * Chapter 10 focuses on drinks, syrups, and desserts There is also a list of recommended shops to order your spices from. For any recipes that are soy-, gluten-, and/or oil-free, there is a designation at the top of each recipe page. It seems like quite a few are all three. What I also really like about this book is that hardly any of the recipes call for pre-cooking ingredients. When I use my slow cooker, I'm all about saving time, and I love that you can make most of these recipes by just tossing the ingredients into the pot. Hester does recommend that you pre-cook your onions, but, conveniently enough, she provides a recipe for how to cook them in your slow cooker, and then freeze them so you have them on hand when you need them. The directions don't involve a lot of steps, which is nice, too. Chapter 1 also gives some really useful pointers about meal planning on a smaller scale, and here Hester talks about how you should plan out your recipes so that you use up all your ingredients. For instance, if one recipe calls for using just half a can of beans, she encourages you to find a second recipe to make that week that will use up the second half. As I mentioned in my review title, I also really like how this book uses whole foods, with only a few processed ingredients. Last night, I made the Pumpkin Caramel Breakfast Barley, and it turned out great! Tonight I'm making the White Bean Quinoa Gumbo. I snuck a taste of it earlier, and it looks to be another winner. Also, if you need a small slow cooker recommendation, this one is great: Proctor-Silex 33112Y 1-1/2-Quart Portable Oval Slow Cooker. I also just got this Crock-Pot SCCPMD1-BL Hook Up Double Oval Connectable Entertaining System, 1-Quart, Metallic Blue and think it will be perfect to get two recipes going at the same time. As I use this book more, I'll be sure to update my review. For now, I can already tell that I'm going to get a lot of use out of this -- and my hubby won't have to suffer through endless leftovers! :-) Happy cooking!