Review: Apparently Still Problematic
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 02 11, 2013
This review was written after the statement from the author indicating that the book has been heavily revised and previously noted problems have been addressed.I find it odd that at the beginning of the book, the author says "I know you've just started! But it would be greatly appreciated if you could Please Take A Moment To Review this book on Amazon as you go through this book."  Common sense would normally dictate that one writes a review after one has finished the book in question.There is a TOC.  However, it does not work with the Go menu on Kindle for PC, meaning once I go look at a recipe, I can't "go to" the table of contents again.  In addition, many of the lines that appeared to be hyperlinks did not work when I clicked on them.The ingredient list is given in ingredient - amount format, which I can't say that I care for, personally, but that may be a matter of personal taste.  The lists also don't seem to be written in order of use, which can be somewhat confusing.In many recipes, potatoes are listed but it is not specified whether the potato is to be peeled or not. Most cookbooks (at least the ones I have found reliable) don't leave such things to be guessed at.  Many recipes also don't specify a temperature setting for the crockpot and don't give time guidelines for high versus low settings.  At least one recipe calls for a medium temperature setting, which my crockpot doesn't have.Onion-Flavored Chicken:  "Chicken breast - 2 pieces."  What does this mean?  Two breasts?  One breast cut into two pieces?  "Curd - 1 cup."  No clue what is meant by this ingredient.Chicken Curry also calls for curd, and it also calls for "potato powder."  Another recipe calls for "starch powder."Crockpot Boiled Chicken Meatballs:  I found this pretty questionable.  First off, a lot of slow cookers don't reach a "boiling" temperature.  The first line of instructions says to heat the slow cooker and melt the butter.  It is not necessary to preheat an empty slow cooker, and most manufacturers don't recommend heating when empty.  It gives ingredients and instructions for a stuffing of minced chicken and vegetables, and then calls for 2 cups of flour to be mixed with water and "a pinch" of baking powder to be mixed into a dough.  "Take small amount of dough, and Spread out it into a small pocket.  Pour the small stuffing into dough.  Roll round meatballs into your hands."  It then says to cook the meatballs in water in the crockpot, but doesn't suggest how much or give a temperature setting.Crockpot Chicken Roast:  1 cup of curd again and "butter - 1 spoon."Chicken Salad:  This recipe calls for a spoon of lime juice and has instructions for frying chicken in the slow cooker.  I have never owned a slow cooker that was capable of frying in oil.  The last two lines of this recipe for chicken salad say:  "Cut the potato in slices and mix in the slow cooker. Serve it with chicken salad."  Okay, first off, there's no cooking time for the (raw) potato.  Serving "it" with chicken salad doesn't make sense because this is a recipe for chicken salad.Chicken - Chickpea Dish:  This calls for sautéing ingredients in butter in the slow cooker.  Again, not something any slow cooker I've ever owned can do.Crockpot Chicken with Green Vegetables:  4 chicken nuggets.  Um, what?Crockpot Chicken and Beans:  1 cup beans (baked).  Not enough information to be certain of what's meant, especially given the indications that this collection is not necessarily from an American perspective, and clues that English is not the author's first language.  Then there's the fact that the recipe calls for sautéing ingredients, boiling the result, and never says specifically what to do with the beans.  (It says "add the all vegetables" but that doesn't necessarily include baked beans as I know them.Crockpot Barbecue Chicken:  The BBQ sauce is tomato puree, "2 spoons" butter, and 1 tablespoon of white pepper.This book has several strikes against it.  I don't care for the ingredient list format.  At least some of the ingredients called for are unknown to me.  There are language/grammar problems.  The quantities given are questionable or confusing in some recipes.  The instructions are, in many cases, either not complete (no temperature/time guidelines) or not appropriate for slow cookers (preheating, frying in oil, sautéing).Not recommended at all.  There are far better crockpot cookbooks available and I just wouldn't trust this one.