This is a very beautiful and well thought out cookbook featuring very good looking recipes. I mostly enjoyed reading through it, since I felt it was a bit too complicated and time consuming for me to actually use.

All in all,  I feel this would make a great gift for anyone, whether they use it or not!

I lovemy slow cooked in winter months! This book is amaxing! So many new ideas and food to cook.I've never found a bad recipe yet. (Just saying)
Thanks netgalley,author,and publisher for an early read in exchange for an honest review!

My slow cooker is my trusty sidekick & I'm always looking for new recipes & variations on old favorites. This book did not disappoint. 

I'm especially appreciative of the tips & techniques as well as the 'jump starts' that appear in most of the recipes. The more things I can do in advance, the greater the likelihood of my meal actually making it to the table. The recipes appear well thought out & written in a logical, easy to follow format. 

I'm looking forward to trying several recipes such as the chicken tikka masala, carnitas tacos, applesauce, & cheddar cheese grits, among others.

One of the reasons I love reviewing cookbooks is because it takes me out of my comfort zone and gives me a chance to see if a particular recipe can make me look like a genuine cook, which I am not.  I was especially excited about this cookbook as I love using my slow cooker.

I picked Carnitas Tacos for my test recipe.  The instructions were detailed and easy to follow.  The flavor of the pork was amazing and when topped with the avocado and feta cheese and folded into a corn tortilla, the first bite was sensational.  And who doesn’t love a recipe that takes 5 minutes to prep and cooks in a slow cooker all day.  Add another 15 minutes or so to prepare the sauce, tortillas, and the toppings and you have a quick and easy delicious meal with leftovers.

The author breaks the recipes down into 5 groups and I have included an example of the recipe in that section:  Vegetables (Garden Ratatouille), Chicken, Turkey, and Pork (Chicken Noodle Soup), Beef and Lamb (Best Beef Chili), Seafood (Fish Tacos), and Breakfast and Brunch (Spinach, Prosciutto and Gruyere Strata).  There is also a section full of tips and techniques for using the slow cooker and additions, as well as a metric conversion chart.

Each recipe includes prep time, slow cooker time, servings, slow cooker jump starts, prep, how to assemble ingredients in slow cooker, how to serve the dish, and how to store leftovers.  A definite plus in my eyes.  

Thank you to NetGalley, Nicki Sizemore, and Storey Publishing for a chance to review this 4 star cookbook.

I loved so many of these recipes. Very easy to read. Clear instructions & ingredients listed. I would recommend this to anyone who wants some tasty and flavorful meals.

Lots of great recipes in this book.  It was easy to follow and will definitely be used for years to come to cook for my family.

I’m new to using a crock pot or slow cooker, I cook 7 days a week for a family of 4 that includes 2 eighty year olds (my grandparents) - both that have trouble chewing and to different degrees handling utensils. Prior to jumping on the slow cooker bandwagon we had been down to about a dozen meals that they could easily eat and liked. I’ve been able to bring back roasts and other meals that were too unpredictable in an oven but it is a different way of cooking and that’s where Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker has come in.


Quick aside - in today’s day and age a cook book might seem unnecessary with the internet and millions of recipes at your disposal. It is very necessary. A general slow cooker search yields too many results to be quickly helpful. You need to have at least a general idea of what you want to cook i.e., chicken, beef, casserole, soup etc. and with that general idea you will wade through the same dozen or so recipes with slight variation for pages and pages of search results. I found myself stumped and disappointed in what felt like a lack of real variety.


Enter Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker. There is a nice variety of recipes for main course lunch or dinner with some easy side dishes, some you'll recognize and others a new twist (fajita stuffed sweet potatoes! What? Yes!) with notes on what you can easily and safely pre-prep. Some quick information on slow cookers in general, and easy to follow recipes. And no having to scroll through a 15 minute preamble like most recipes found on the 'net.


Right off the bat as I looked at the long list of recipes offered my mouth was watering! Not only that but my grandparents are picky and they have many many food restrictions but I saw a number of things that I knew they would love.


I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review and as such photos included in this ARC copy are not finalized though the images included at this point are well done, crisp, and delicious looking.

Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker is a collection of recipes by Nicki Sizemore featuring slow-cooker preparation. Released 29th Oct 2019 by Storey, it's 208 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

This cookbook provides a little twist on the usual slow cooker / one pot recipes. It provides a nice selection of main dishes but the author has also included coordinating sides and sauces to mix and match. The book includes a large number of meal planning tips which are highlighted in small sidebars throughout.

The introduction (~10% of the content) includes some general cooking tips and background. The following chapters are written around specific ingredient groups: vegetables, chicken turkey & pork, beef & lamb, seafood, and breakfast & brunch. There's also an index and conversion charts.

Each of the recipes includes a picture (some have several process pics also), prep and cooking times, and yields. Ingredients are listed in a sidebar, bullet style. The step by step cooking instructions are well written and easy to follow. Tips and time-saving info are listed in sidebars. The recipe ingredients are familiar and easily sourced. The ingredients are listed with US standard measures but there's a metric conversion chart included in the back of the book.

We tried several recipes and all were tasty and appealing. The Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatoes + Guacamole (p. 39) were mind blowing. Absolutely delicious and would have made enough for lunch the next day for work, but they didn't last long enough. I've been asked by my kids twice since then to make them again. This is one recipe which is definitely going into our regular rotation.

Four stars. Well presented tasty recipes. Well written directions, easily sourced ingredients.

As someone that only uses their crockpot occasionally I was intrigued by this cookbook and hoped it would inspire me to use it much more often. I really liked this cookbook. It delivered a array of recipes for many different occasions. There are many tips, tricks and short cuts offered which I found to be very helpful and informative. The book feature beautiful photos that had plenty of visual appeal. I really liked that these recipes used so many fresh ingredients as so many of the other recipes that I have come across rely heavily on canned/processed foods. My favorite recipes so far have been the Thai Curried Chicken, the french toast casserole and the sweet potato potage.

These are NOT your mother's crock pot recipes!  I have not been this excited about a cookbook in a long time!  I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring this book and trying the recipes!  My family's all-time favorite recipe in this book is Thai Curried Chicken and Rice Noodles.  I have made it at least 4 times since I received this book.  I've also enjoyed most of the breakfast recipes, especially the Overnight Pumpkin-Brown Rice Pudding.  There are few things better than waking up to a satisfying hot breakfast and it definitely fits that bill!  These are only two of the many recipes I tried from the book, all were tasty and eye-appealing.  I would not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone!

The slow cooker has to be one of my favourite appliances. This cookbook has all the recipes you need to make the most out of your slow cooker!

I really liked this cookbook. There were tons of recipes that caught my eye.  They were different from what I typically see in slow cooker cookbooks.  I'm looking forward to tackling them!

I enjoyed this cookbook for many reasons:
1) The book starts by giving some slow cooker tips and techniques. I found these tips helpful.
2) As a vegetarian married to a meat eater, I was happy that there are tons of recipes for vegetarians.
3) The ingredients are practical, stuff that I either already have or could easily obtain at my local grocery store.
4) The pictures are great and the recipes are creative.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance review copy.

Who doesn’t love a cookbook? I especially love the tips and techniques in the beginning of the book.  There are a lot of flavorful recipes I have not seen before. My favorite so far is the Greens and Cheese lasagna.  The directions are easy to follow. I really like how some recipes are broken down into the crockpot jumpstart’s because that is super helpful when meal planning for the week. I also like the storage recommendation on how many days you can keep a dish after cooking it. The measuring conversion chart at the end is super helpful as well.   I would recommend anyone looking for new slow cooker easy to read recipes pick up a copy of this book.

Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker by Nicki Sizemore is a recipe book that will help to give you confidence in using a slow cooker. There are a variety of recipes that will satisfy many different taste buds. It is one cookbook that will definitely give home chefs tips for simplifying the weeknight meal.

Whenever I dust off my slow cooker in an attempt to make light of a busy day ahead, I am always thinking that I should do this more often. Without a large repertoire of slow cooker recipes that are reliable and healthy, it is not a kitchen appliance that I often use. Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker is a book that has totally turned around my love/hate relationship with my slow cooker.

The recipes in the book are ones that use lots of fresh and healthy ingredients, including many different ideas for soups, stews, and special occasions. Sizemore gives quite a few tips as to how to prep and prepare the dishes, as well as some extra ideas to create some simple to more complex side dishes. Unique recipes, such as Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and Swordfish Spaghetti turn the slow cooker into a kitchen appliance that can create more than just your grandma’s pot roast.

I created the Sweet Potato Potage which was inspired by the author’s time spent in France. The smell of fall is intense while this one cooks. Also, the combination of sweet potato, leeks, and apple are simple, yet comforting.

If you are searching for a way to make hearty and simple weeknight meals, Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker is a must-have cookbook. These recipes aren’t your typical slow cooker fare.

This book contains tips on when to use a slow cooker versus a multi-cooker, when to saute or seared meat or veggies before they go on the crockpot, and which quick-cooking veggies to add last.
Recipes for Side or vegetarian dishes such as 
-White bean and vegetable minestrone
-Greens and cheese lasagna
-Squash curry
-Fajita sweet potatoes and homemade guacamole

Main meat dishes such as 
-Garlic lemon whole chicken
-Sticky ginger spareribs
-Pulled pork sandwiches
-Carnitas tacos
-Best beef chili
-Easy ground beef bolognese 
-Lamb gyros (including a recipe for homemade tzatziki sauce)
-Lamb ragu
and other fun ethnic dishes including Korean, Thai, and Indian recipes.
Seafood dishes (yes, with tips on how you can cook fish to perfection in a slow cooker!), such as
-Easy lime cod with tomato corn salad
-Ginger glazed salmon with quinoa cucumber salad
-Fish tacos with sriracha mayo
-Easy bouillabaisse (a delicious fish and shrimp stew) with garlic croutons
Of course, the best for last, some of the breakfast recipes include
-Overnight pumpkin brown rice pudding 
-Cheddar cheese grits with bacon greens and fried eggs
-French toast casserole 
-Spinach, prosciutto (or bacon),  and gruyere (Swiss) cheese strata

With two bonus recipes for peach butter and homemade applesauce! This book is a perfect gift for busy moms, newlyweds, or anyone who owns a slow cooker! There are sure to be recipes here they’ve never tried before!

I just love this book I use my slow cooker often because we usually get home so late so I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try. I am incredibly happy and I love this book! I expected to see the normal range of all casseroles and stews but this book is filled with new and inventive meals to enjoy and even includes recipes for sauces and sides. The Overnight Pumpkin-Brown Rice Pudding with crunchy pecans is a healthy and a delicious breakfast.

This book is very well organized with tons of detail and starts off with a general introduction followed by some slow cooker tips. These weren't all new to me but if you’re new to using a slow cooker these tips will certainly be useful.

Each recipe is laid out fantastically with an overview of the dish, followed by the ingredients and when you use them (most dishes are slow-cooker focused but some require stove work or other elements). Beneath this is a little box which contains information about which ingredients or steps you can do ahead of time. I found this incredibly useful as I am often short on time. This information is followed by fridge/freezer instructions and additional tip. I really can’t say enough about how much time and effort went into the organization of this cookbook.

I really love content of the recipes because I am often disappointed to just get cannibalized recipes of casseroles and things of that nature but not so with this book. And it is a solid win.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and will certainly be looking for more from this author. I received this book for an honest review on NetGalley. Highly recommend this cookbook it is excellent!!

Interesting and informative resource book. It is evident that the author put a lot of effort into educating the readers about this subject. Highly recommend.

Slow cookers are a working cook's best friend.  Whether you work in an office or on a farm, having dinner ready when you come through the door is a blessing anyone can appreciate.  I have a running rotation of recipes, family favorites, but I'm always looking for new ideas and recipes to up my crockpot game.  Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker includes many good recipes that will appeal to cooks in a hurry but who still want to give their families a quality meal at the end of the day.  I've already family tested 10 of these and my family has voted which ones are next.   Great reviews from all!

Who doesn’t love using a slow cooker to make meals? Fresh Flavours for the Slow Cooker provides 77 great new recipes for your to try.

There is a quick intro with “tips and tricks” then the book is divided by chapters that separate the recipes by categories like Breakfast and Brunch, Vegetables and of course specific meats.

Easy to follow, well describe instructions and lots of color photos, which is a must for me with any cook book.

I received this ARC copy of Slow Cooker Showstoppers: Fresh Recipes for the Full and Flavorful Meals was provided by Storey Publishing, LLC. This is my honest and voluntary review. Slow Cooker Showstoppers: Fresh Recipes for the Full and Flavorful Meals is set for publication October 01, 2019.