REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY – Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes Cookbook – With Golden Lentil Stew Recipe

We'd love it if you shared it!

The product(s) featured in this post was provided free of cost to me. Please note that any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Some of the posts on this site, such as this one, contain an affiliate link. This means I MAY get paid a VERY SMALL commission if you purchase the product or service.

Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes: 200 Recipes

• Author: Donna-Marie Pye
• Publisher: Robert Rose (June 26, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778804836
• ISBN-13: 978-0778804833
• Cover price $24.95

Whether you’re cooking for two or serving a crowd, this book makes easy work of creating delicious, soul-satisfying meals.

In this gorgeous, full-color book with more than 80 photographs, you’ll find 200 recipes to explore and experiment with, featuring the best of North American regional cuisine and globally inspired dishes, representing cultures from around the world.

All of the recipes have been created with convenience in mind, and there’s a good balance between those that require a few extra minutes of preparation and those where all the ingredients can be added at once.

While most of the recipes in this book serve from four to eight people and are perfect for families, there are also chapters like Meals for Two and Big-Batch Dinners, and a range of recipes for any slow cooker size. And with a bit of advance planning, the inspiring recipes in the Double-Duty Dinners chapter can turn tonight’s dinner into tomorrow’s feast, simultaneously banishing the dreaded question, “Are we having that again?”

Along with the recipes, there are also extensive handy slow cooker tips and time-savers, as well as information on general slow cooker know-how.

DONNA-MARIE PYE is a bestselling author whose slow cooker books have over 500,000 copies in print. She is a food writer and recipe developer and, in recent years, has opened her own successful cooking school.

Chapters in this cookbook include:

• Soups
• Stewes
• Chilis and Beans
• Poultry
• Beef and Veal
• Pork and Lamb
• Big-Batch Dinners for a Crowd
• Meals for Two
• Double-Duty Dinners
• Desserts

The beginning of this cookbook includes a section on slow cookers explaining  types, sizes and shapes of slow cookers as well as tips to use them and make recipes work in them. Then come the recipes. Each recipe includes a brief description of the dish or a little background on it. The recipes also include tips on storage, prep, cooking, shopping and serving. The recipes are very easy to understand and contain amounts called for using the US customary measurement system and the metric system. Prep time is not listed unfortunately, and you have to read through the recipe to find out the cooking time. I much prefer it when those things are highlighted outside of the recipe, as they help me decide what I’m going to try to make. For the record, there aren’t many photos in this cookbook.

Recipes that I’d like to try include Jack’s Smashed Potato Soup, Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup, Nonna’s Mini-Meatball Soup, Canadian Maple Turkey Chili, Turkey And Cranberry Cobbler, Low And Slow Turkey Joes, Braised Brisket With Cranberries, Ranchero Steak And Beans, Italian Pot Pie With Pamesan Mashed Potatoes, Italian Pork Roast Braised With Beans, Pork And Potato Poutine, Abruzzi Style Spaghetti, and Blueberry Orange Coffee Cake.

This cookbook would be great for people that are just getting started with a slow cooker as well as those who already have one and just want to expand their recipe collection for it.

Here’s a recipe, courtesy of Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes by Donna-Marie Pye, 2014 © www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission.

Golden Lentil Stew

page 56, vegetarian
Courtesy of Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes by Donna-Marie Pye, 2014 © www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

This slightly sweet Moroccan lentil and chickpea stew is brightened by mixing a combination of sweet and savory spices in the stew and adding a twist of lemon at the end.

Minimum 4-quart slow cooker

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil 15 mL
• 1 onion, finely chopped 1
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 3
• 1⁄2 tsp sweet paprika 2 mL
• 1⁄2 tsp ground turmeric 2 mL
• 1⁄2 tsp ground ginger 2 mL
• 1⁄2 tsp ground coriander 2 mL
• 1⁄4 tsp ground nutmeg 1 mL
• 4 stalks celery, finely chopped 4
• 1 can (19 oz/540 mL) diced tomatoes with juice, 1
• 2 cups vegetable broth 500 mL
• 2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas 500 mL
• (see page 84), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed 250 mL
• 1 tbsp tomato paste 15 mL
• 3 whole cloves 3
• 1 3-inch (7.5 cm) cinnamon stick 1
• 1⁄4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 mL
• 1⁄2 cup cooked orzo or other small pasta 125 mL
• 1⁄2 cup chopped pitted dates 125 mL
• 2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley 30 mL
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro 30 mL
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 15 mL
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges 1

Instructions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for 3 to 5 minutes or until tender and translucent. Add garlic, paprika, turmeric, ginger, coriander and nutmeg; sauté for 1 minute or until fragrant. Transfer to slow cooker stoneware.
2. Stir in celery, tomatoes with juice, broth, chickpeas, lentils, tomato paste, cloves, cinnamon stick and pepper.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours or on High for 4 to 5 hours, until stew is bubbling.
4. Stir in orzo and dates. Cover and cook on High for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in parsley, cilantro and lemon juice. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

Make Ahead

This dish can be assembled up to 12 hours in advance. Prepare through step 2, but don’t add the lentils. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, stir in lentils, place stoneware in slow cooker and proceed with step 3.

Tips

• If you have any leftovers, this stew stores very well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store in an airtight container and reheat as necessary, adding a little water if the stew is too thick.
• Broth (or stock) is one of the most indispensable pantry staples. Commercial broth cubes and powders are loaded with salt and just don’t deliver the flavor of homemade stock or prepared broth. I like to keep 32-oz (1 L) Tetra Paks on hand, especially the sodium‑reduced variety. They come in handy when you’re making soups and stews.
• Tomato paste is now available in tubes in many supermarkets and delis. It keeps for months in the refrigerator.
• Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta. You can substitute any small pasta for the orzo or break spaghetti noodles into short pieces.

What’s your favorite slow cooker meal?

WIN IT!

ONE winner will receive a copy of Easy Everyday Slow Cooker Recipes Cookbook.

HOW TO ENTER.

Enter using the Giveaway Tools widget below. The winner will be selected by the Giveaway Tools widget. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that you must complete the mandatory required entry, and that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. US and Canadian addresses only please, no PO Boxes. Good luck to everyone!