Hmm. I’m starting to get kind of bummed here. I really, REALLY wanted this cook book to be amazing. I mean, it’s from a blogger so I kind of love her already & she has a witty sense of humor in the cookbook which keeps it fun but we’re now 0-2 for actual recipe results. No bueno.
Applesauce chicken was OK. I was so excited going in because it combined applesauce, onions, garlic, cinnamon, red pepper flakes…I mean, how could that NOT be good?!
But it wasn’t. It was eh. It was bland.
Which is shocking when you consider all those yummy ingredients simmering away for 7 hours. They only thing that saved us from another night of take-out was my beer & brown sugar carrots. I made them as a side dish and luckily they come with a lot of sauce which flavored up the applesauce chicken perfectly.
Beer & Brown Sugar Carrots (courtesy of Nana Samster Mommy)
1 pckg baby carrots, 1/2 cu brown sugar, 3/4 bottle of beer, s & p to taste
Over medium heat sautee carrots with a bit of butter for 3-4 minutes to give them a jump start. Pour in beer, drink remaining beer. Add sugar, s & p and 1 tbs butter. Continue to simmer/boil over heat until the liquid reduces to a caramelized sauce. It’ll take about 10-15 min so don’t worry, just keep stiring occasionally and before you know it you’re liquid will turn into into a yummy glaze.
Will I make this recipe again? Probably not. Although I do think a handful or two of raisins might have helped.
Good news? These two bummer recipes have given me a great idea for blog posts! I’m going to call it “recipe review” and the basic idea is I’ll buy a cookbook that looks good, cook from it for a solid week and then give a review as to whether or not it’s worth you purchasing. You like?
I’m making coq au vin tonight from slow & easy so I’ve still got hope. Tomorrow I’ll give you the finally review- thumbs up or thumbs down.
i am a full-time working mommy to a 5-month-old so i'm also really interested in crock pot cooking. anything to make after work easier! i have seen this cookbook and i like that you're going to add cookbook reviews to your site. i love the blog smittenkitchen and that she includes her recipe adaptations so we can all learn from her mistakes and make not-so-stellar recipes better!
Love the idea of a cookbook review! I am constantly buying cookbooks that look great but then end up being meh.
I love the cookbook review. I can always use recipes.
I'm always looking for new recipes. Crock pots can be so wonderful but I don't have a lot of recipes for them. I am actually loving your "Crap pot" posts, too funny!
So sorry to hear that the recipes aren't working out very well! I really liked her Apple Butter recipe. Hopefully she made the changes in the cookbook that she suggested on her blog- it had a little too much sugar. Off the top of my head I can't think of the full meals I made from her, but if I do and I liked them I'll make sure to let you know. Hope the new recipe works out!!!
I would love cook book reviews.
I have followed that author's site for a long time, and like you, REALLY wanted to like all of her recipes…honestly, I've had three or four that were crap pots too. I made that applesauce one and the chicken pretty much disintegrated. I did love her Pasta Fagioli soup and a Black Bean Soup as well as a couple of others, so maybe give those a try?
Im always looking for new recipes too, and I love my crock pot! Might I suggest my two favorites: (and VERY easy!) (sorry, this will be long)
Salsa chicken: 3-4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless) **must be thawed or it will be too runny and bland** cover witha a bunch of salsa in crock pot. Cook on high 3-4 hours until it is tender enough to shred. Shred it, put back in with half a cube of cream cheese, and more salsa if needed. Cook for another half hour on low stirring occasionally. Serve in tortillas with corn, black beans, cheese, or whatever else you want. (Thats what we are having for dinner tonight! YUM)
Roast: (this is so yummy, it will fall apart and melt in your mouth!) a pork roast, potatoes, carrots (however many you want, and however big of roast you want) one onion cut into slices. Put roast in, laying onion slices against roast. Add some veggies and more onion. Add one package of Lipton onion soup mix, 1/4-1/2 c water, salt and pepper to taste. Cook ALL day on low. (even after the self timer thing on the roast pops up I cook it for a few more hours). So Yummy! Hope you like them!
I love trying new recipes & I hate when they look promising & turn out horrible!!
I've been trying to use my crockpot more lately too. Today we had fabulous soup…I found the recipe on all recipes. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Chicken-Tortilla-Soup/Detail.aspx I just added a can of black beans and put in the chix breasts uncooked…it turned out fabulous! Perfect for the cold, rainy day. I'd love to see more recipe reviews…hopefully they all won't be so crappy!! 🙂
I'm sorry your recipes aren't turning out! I've got a couple tried & true crockpot recipes we love. Let me know if your interested & I'll email them to you. One of them is a variation of that salsa chicken posted above, very easy & YUMMY! Good luck with the rest of the recipes!