Our family has long relied on “Slow Cooker Revolution” by America’s Test Kitchen as our bible for slow cooker recipes and we have some definite favorites that we return to again and again, such as Moroccan Chicken Stew, Korean Braised Short Ribs, Vegetarian Black Bean Chili and Barbecued Baked Beans (Oliver’s favorite!). However, the ingredient lists for some of the recipes in the book seem a mile long and the prep involved can sometimes take as long or longer than just making a meal in the evenings.  The slow cooker can be an amazing tool for both working and stay at home parents, but not when the expense, time and effort involved is limited.

So, to help remedy our quibbles with the first book, we recently purchased their companion book, “Slow Cooker Revolution: Volume 2 The Easy Prep Edition”. The recipes in this book request far less ingredients and greatly reduce the prep time involved. In browsing through the recipes, I think there are some that will turn out great, while for others I remain skeptical that less ingredients (or the inclusion of canned soups and other packaged food) will translate to enough robust flavors.

Over the next couple weeks, I’m planning to test out a sampling of recipes, including a stew, a chicken and rice dish, a side vegetable dish and a dessert to see if easy prep and less ingredients really can translate to a delicious meal. I’ll report back on my findings, so stay tuned!