I was really pleased to get a copy of this book as I find the slow cooker invaluable when I don't have much time.

I was a bit disappointed as I am vegetarian and the vegetarian section of the book seems to have mainly stews and soups, which I was hoping to avoid. I did learn some good tips such as baking sweet potatoes in the slow cooker, which I didn't know was possible!

Sadly I am in the UK and all the measurements for all the ingredients in the book are in American measurements, with no conversions next to them. This really put my off a lot of the recipes as I would have to go through and convert each individual measurement myself. I was also put off some of the recipes which called for ingredients which are not readily available in the UK - yes, we can get them, but not at every single supermarket and they are usually expensive, such as canned pumpkin and challah bread.

All in all, I do think this would be a really good book for those in the USA - just not for UK readers.

This was such a fun cookbook! I found plenty of recipes to try on my own, especially for busy days at school. I can't wait to try these recipes and use all of the helpful tips included.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I really wanted to love this book. I mean what's better than finding delicious slow cooker meals.

However, with the exception of several fish dishes, I wasn't overly impressed with the claim of fresh flavors. While I appreciate the author, Nicki Sizemore attempting to show us how to up our game by using fresh(er) than traditional slow cooker ingredients, I just wanted blown away.

I have four children all on different schedules so needless to say I live by the crock pot. I am always looking for new recipes to try so I was excited to read this book. I will say it has some old standards in it but there are new twists which are always nice. I really enjoyed trying the seafood section because I have to admit I have always been hesitant to do seafood in the slow cooker, however the salmon turned out fantastic and my family loved the fish tacos.

There are some unique twists on slow cooker classics here. I appreciated that and the make-ahead tips. I found recipes I could adapt to a dairy free diet, so that was also great. Some recipes require multiple steps, which ruins the ease of a slow cooker night for me. I also never cook the veggies on the stove top first and the recipes here ask you to do that. Thank you to Storey Publishing for the ARC.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone trying to shake up their kitchen routine. She breaks down the reasons behind the methods of slow cooking and why some foods need to be precooked before going into the slow cooker. And, most important of all, is that the recipes are delicious.

I am thoroughly enjoying this cookbook! The recipes are simple and I have found the ingredients to be things I can find in my pantry half, which I love!

Some of my favorite highlights include:
the simplicity of the recipes and that many of them include a side pairing recipe when appropriate
the diversity of recipes as it includes many diverse foods including curry and bibimbap
it has made it easy to prepare meals that we are interested in without feeling stressed

I am definitely going to be recommending this book to my friends!

I have always had a slow cooker since I first got married 34 years ago. Over the years I have pulled it out to use on occasion. But I'll admit, I don't use it as often as I should or could. In going through all my gadgets and appliances, I decided that I needed to start using them more often. So was extremely excited to get a chance to look over this new cookbook, Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker by Nicki Sizemore.

First I have to say this book has gorgeous photos! They say you eat with your eyes first, and with this cookbook, you'll get your fill. Lots of variety in the recipes & I have many marked to try. I'm especially looking forward to trying the fish recipes in the slow cooker. I haven't really seen a lot of seafood recipes in slow cooker cookbooks, but the photos looked delicious and can't wait to try them out! Fish Tacos with Sriracha Mayo with Lime & Cilantro Slaw, Moroccan Braised Halibut with Mint & Pistachio Pesto & Easy Bouillabaisse with Garlic Aioli Croutons are just a few recipes I'm planning on trying in the near future! Recipes also have "Slow Cooker  Jump Starts" to help you get ahead of the game by prepping in advance, which is always helpful. This is definitely a cookbook  I look forward to using.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

Frequently, slow cooker cookbooks are filled with ho-hum recipes. Not this book. The photos are bright and they make the recipes appear mouthwatering!
Along with the slow cooker recipes, the author includes recipes for taste tempting side dishes, homemade breads, and fresh salads, making for a complete meal. This makes the recipes great for company as well as a midweek dinner at home. Included in this book are chapters on vegetable dishes, breakfast/brunch recipes, and seafood, as well as the various meat recipes. I was especially interested in the seafood recipes and the use of a ‘foil
sling’ when preparing seafood in the slow cooker.
Several recipes I intend to try are: fish tacos, pulled pork, turkey meatballs, and
green and cheese lasagne. This is a great addition to the shelf of any cookbook collector.

These are new and inventive recipes! I love how the book starts out teaching about slow cookers with tips and techniques. The Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatos are wonderful. I can’t wait to try more of the recipes.
Many thanks to Storey Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a really good cookery book. I use my slow cooker a lot. This book sets every step out really clearly and gives invaluable ways of speeding up the cooking. I now have some new curry recipes and a chilli recipe that I am looking forward to trying. I have not cooked salmon in a slow cooker but I might try it after reading how to do it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Anyone who knows me in real life or on Facebook knows that I adore my InstantPot and will proselytize on it’s wonders at the drop of the hat. I am the Kool Aid Man of the electric multicooker. As much as I love my InstantPot, it does not slow cook well, and I would be happy to use my slow cooker more often. I like my kitchen toys. When I saw Nicki Sizemore’s Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker: Reinvent the Slow-Cooked Meal offered on Netgally, I was excited to put my slow cooker back in rotation. This is an honest review.

Sizemore says she wants to refresh our love for the slow cooker by jettisoning the bland, watery recipes full of canned goods and replacing them with fresh ingredients and bold flavors. I personally have never used canned goods in my slow cooker cooking, but I am all for flavor packed meals that are also low maintenance. I picked out 5 different recipes to try. After being disappointed in the first two recipes I tried, I decided two was enough. I don’t have the money or patience to make more bad food.

One thing I like about Sizemore’s recipes is the way they are laid out. She breaks down ways elements of the recipe can be made ahead of time and then put together. I didn’t always make things ahead of time, but I followed the recipes as exactly as possible. I am not a trained chef, but I am a home cook who has cooked professionally and has a lot of experience cooking. I felt like Sizemore’s instructions are clear and would be easy for most home cooks to follow. If you do buy this cookbook, I recommend seasoning the food more aggressively.

Garlic-Lemon Whole Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes & Fennel + Parsley Pesto

I chose this recipe first because I liked the idea of cooking a whole chicken without the oven. I am the only person in the house who likes crispy skin, so the lack was not a deal breaker. I thought a fairly basic recipe would be a good place to get an idea for the overall quality of the recipes in the book. I hope I am wrong, because this was a disappointment.

The elements to this recipe were: herb butter, a 4 – 5 pound chicken sliced fennel bulb and fingerling potatoes, and a parsley pesto. I bought a barely 4 pound chicken, seasoned it with salt and pepper and made the herb butter. The butter had lemon zest, fresh garlic, fresh thyme and tarragon, and more salt and black pepper (I would make the butter again). I rubbed the butter under the skin, focusing on the breast and thigh areas, and then I put in the fridge over night. About 7 hours before I planned to serve dinner, I pulled the chicken out of the fridge and let it come closer to room temperature. No fingerling potatoes were to be had, so I used baby red potatoes. I sliced the potatoes and the fennel bulb and tossed them into the slow cooker with garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, salt and pepper and then some white wine. I nestled the chicken, breast down, into the vegetables, put of the lid and then turned the slow cooker to low as directed.

Five hours later, the chicken back and legs, which were facing up, did not look done, but the breast registered 165, so I pulled the chicken out. We let the potato and fennel continue cooking. and I made the parsley pesto. I love parsley pesto, so I knew this part would be good. The breast was tender and juicy, but the thighs and legs were too raw. We sliced off some breast meet and put the rest of the chicken in the oven at 375. In addition to the under cooked meat, the potatoes, fennel, and juices were very bland, and also watery. There was nothing lemony, garlicky, or herbal about the dish.

I wouldn’t make a whole chicken in the slow cooker again. I would make the recipe and cook it in the oven in a cast iron dutch oven. I think that would bring out a lot more flavor.

I hope next week’s turkey meatballs work better.

Turkey Meatball Subs + Spinach, Shaved Fennel & Parmesan Salad

Obviously, these did not become subs, and the salad didn’t happen. That’s fine, the recipe also suggested the meatballs and sauce could be served over pasta. That was my plan, but then we lost power after the meatballs were done, but before I cooked the pasta. As for the salad, my housemates thought it sounded weird and they weren’t going to eat it. They are now wary of fennel after last week’s flavorless, soggy fennel. I planned to saute the spinach with garlic and then make parmesean fennel chips (which only I would eat) but the power loss ended that plan. Fortunately, I had already baked a loaf of rosemary bread and made basil pesto.

This recipe was less of a disappointment than the Garlic Lemon Chicken, but was still a disappointment. So far we are two for two on dishes that come out bland and watery. I was concerned when the tomato sauce recipe called for 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. It tasted like lightly seasoned tomato, which is ok, but not really what I wanted. The meatballs had a nice texture, but no flavor. All of the flavor in this dish came from the fresh pesto and the bread – which were recipes that came from elsewhere.

I like the idea of this dish. It’s a good way to cook turkey meatballs, which can get tough, but I would not use this recipe again. I had a lot of left overs and the meatballs were even more noticeably flavorless the next day.

I am disappointed in this cookbook. I have made meals in my slow cooker that were neither bland nor watery. I have used Lynn Alley’s The Gourmet Slow Cooker for years and never had a recipe turn out bland or watery. The ideas here are great, and I like the way she breaks down the recipes into do ahead steps. I wish the final products had been better. There is always the possibility that I picked the only two recipes that don’t work.

I thought the recipes were complicated and time consuming for the busy mom. I really wanted simple, quick and tasty recipes and did not think this book accomplished that.

I love this book and want a hard copy as this is definitely a media form which lends itself best to physical pages rather than digital in my opinion. However as a way to review an as yet unpublished title, a PDF has had to suffice.
Often cookery books focusing on one piece of kitchen equipment are dull and container mediocre recipes with poor photography. Not this one! I will be making good use of the ideas provided including all the useful tips given even before the actual food is dealt with. I also love having side dish recipes which naturally can be 'mixed and matched'. This has inspired me to get out the slow cooker again despite it being summer as I write. (I usually only have my slow cooker out for winter stews) Definitely recommended.

This is a great book for encouraging you to dust of the slow cooker and create some new recipes. The layout of the book is very good, and there are lots of pictures which is encouraging. It is aimed at an American market but there are still lots of great recipes to try. Personally I prefer the recipes with the least amount of preparation and effort (the throw it all in the slow cooker and leave it type). Overall a good and inspiring book

I really enjoyed this cookbook. Not only does she share slow cooker main meals but you also get recipes for sides, which sound equally delicious! There are lots of pretty pictures of the recipes and good tips throughout the book. I’m looking forward to making the Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Noodle Soup & French Toast Casserole.

I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. This book may become my new favorite slow cooker title. There are great recipes that I am so looking forward to trying. I plan to purchase a copy for the library and for my own collection.

Fresh flavours indeed - this book was full of great, and importantly, easy recipes for me to follow and use my slow cooker for. Thanks for letting me read and review. Will definitely be recommending.

When I think slow cooker I think easy. I want to be able to whip something together quick, throw it in the pot, and go on with my day with no stress.

Unfortunately, this book kind of seemed like the opposite of that. It was very detailed and in depth which I appreciate, but nothing about a lot of these seemed easy. Some took days to prepare, or just had way too many steps. I have no doubt that almost all of these would taste phenomenal, they just didn't seem really practical to me.

The layout and look were also a little off to me but maybe it was because I was reading the ebook verison?

This is one of the better books I read aboit slow cooking. The recipes in this book not only look appetizing but in fact they do taste better than most of the recipes I tried in slow cooking category of cookbooks. Nice photos. Tips. Descriptions. It has only below 100 recipes bit let that not scare you. The recipes are really good!