Reviewed by:  Marty Martindale

 

This is an interesting collection of more than 700 recipes gathered by Good from home cooks all over the country, said to be, “flexible, forgiving and absolutelyt scrumptious.” It’s a great book for busy young people who’ve never really learned to cook and need to stick to a budget.

Good has set herself up with firm ground rules for the use of the term, “5 ingredients.” First water doesn’t count as an ingredient, salt and pepper count for only one, optional ingredients do not count against the 5. Also things “served with” do not count, as well. 

She hastens to offer the fuller the slow cooker, the longer the cook time, so also is it this way with densely-packed contents and large chunks.

Each recipe has a heading which includes home cook’s name, number of servings, preparation time, cooking time and ideal slow cooker size for amounts given.

·       Mountain Bike Soup:  Chicken broth, V/8, barley, pepperoni and green beans 

·       Chili-Taco Soup:  Stew meat, stewed tomatoes, taco seasoning mix, pinto beans and whole-kernel corn 

·       Greek Chicken Pita Filling:  Chopped onion, chicken thighs, lemon pepper, oregano and yogurt 

·       No-Peeking Beef Tips:  Stew meat, onion soup mix, lemon-lime soda and cream of mushroom soup 

·       Reuben Casseroled:  Corned beef, Sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing and stuffing mix 

·       Fruity Meatballs:  Frozen meatballs, brown sugar and crushed pineapple with its juice 

·       Pork and Sweet Potatoes:  Loin chops, Salt and pepper, sweet potatoes, onions and apple cider 

·       Tangy Port Tenderloin:  Add honey, Dijon mustard chili powder and salt 

·       Creamy Cooker Dinner:  Shredded cheese, uncooked macaroni, milk mushroom soup and cooked meat

·       Corn Pudding:  sugar, cornstarch, beaten eggs, evaporated milk and cream-style corn 

·       Flavorful Fruited Rice:  Onion, long-grain rice, chicken broth, dried cranberries and dried apricots 

·       Mushrooms in Red Wine:  Garlic, onion, olive oil and red wine. 

·       Hot Ground Beef Dip:  Beef, Velveeta, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce and diced green pepper 

·       Mexican Cheese Dip:  Velveeta, taco seasoning and canned tomatoes with green chilies 

·       Revved-Up Chili Dip:  Salsa, canned chili with beans, ripe olives and American cheese 

·       Peanut Butter Cake:  Yellow cake mix, crunchy peanut butter and water 

·       Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding:  skim milk, long-grain rice, sugar, salt, melted butter and raisins