The Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbook

From the time I grew up, started working, and got married, my slow cooker became my appliance of preference for food prep. If you could see the first crockpot cookbook I got (as a wedding shower gift...thank you, Krista) with its splattered and crumpled pages, you would know immediately how much I love a slow cooker.

I was happy to agree when Calisto Publisher offered to send me this book. 

I am glad to tell you that The Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbook is everything you want in a slow cooker cookbook. The author, Karen Bellessa Petersen, is a busy mom herself, and she has learned the many values of a slow cooker. 

Here are the amazing features of the recipes in this book:

• Petersen has included only recipes that contain only five primary ingredients, though the recipes may also include a few pantry staples and simple spices. 
• Each recipe is meant to be a complete meal. 
• The recipes require no more than fifteen minutes of preparation time. 
• The recipes cook for eight hours, the time one is generally away from home. 
• There are no processed foods used in the recipes.

I tried two recipes from the book. Both were a hearty success with my family. Here is one of the recipes:

Mexican Corn Chowder

1-16 oz. package frozen sweet white corn

1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup picante sauce

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled

4 bone-in skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1. Put the corn in the slow cooker. Sprinkle in the salt, pepper, and cumin. Pour in the broth and the picante sauce. Submerge the potatoes in the liquid. Nestle the chicken thighs in among the potatoes.

2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. The meat should practically fall off the bones. Discard the cartilage and bones. Shred the chicken with two forks and return it to the slow cooker.

4. Transfer the potatoes to the cutting board. Smash two of the potatoes with a fork and stir into the slow cooker. Cut the remaining two potatoes into cubes. Gently stir the cubed potatoes and lime juice into the slow cooker. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

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