Weekend Cooking: Fix-It and Forget It Cookbook
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, by Phyllis Pellman Good, is all about using your slow cooker. The book starts out with tips on maximizing your slow cooker and it follows with over 700 recipes just for that handy appliance. Also included are equivalent measures, substitutions, kitchen tools and an index. The recipes are divided into some categories that might surprise you:
- Appetizers, Snacks and Spreads
- Breakfast Foods
- Breads
- Soups, Stews, and Chilis
- Main Dishes
- Vegetables
- Desserts
- Beverages
The recipes have been sent in by individuals, so there are lots of duplications – for instance, there are at least 13 different chili recipes included – and no photos. Overall, this cookbook reminded me of the fundraiser cookbooks that you can buy. I would like to use my slow cooker more, so I decided to see what I could find and finally settled on Hearty Beef and Cabbage Soup. Carl and I both enjoyed it and Carl said it was even better warmed up for lunch the next day.
Hearty Beef and Cabbage Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
40 oz can tomatoes
2 cups water
15 oz can kidney beans
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp chili powder
½ cup chopped celery
2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
- Sauté beef in skillet. Drain.
- Combine all ingredients except cabbage in slow cooker.
- Cover. Cook on Low 3 hours. Add cabbage. Cook on High 30 – 60 minutes longer
Notes: I used canned diced tomatoes, and couldn’t find a 40 ounce can, so I used a 28 ounce can and a 14.5 ounce can. I forgot to turn the slow cooker on at first, so I cooked it on high for 2 hours instead of low for 3. I added the cabbage for 45 minutes and Carl and I both felt like it would have been better if it had cooked a little bit longer.
Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.
I have this cookbook too, but haven’t cooked out of it recently for some reason. Yes, it does have that fund-raiser feeling about it, but the recipes are generally easy and work. Not all appeal to me, but enough do. This one looks good. I’ll have to give it a shot, cooking the cabbage a bit longer than stated.
Euwwww, cabbage! But mum and dad would LOVE this soup
My mom loves these cookbooks. I do love the crock pot, especially during football season, but when I flipped through this one at the bookstore, I decided against it for some reason. Lack of pictures? I don’t remember.
I have had this cookbook for years and it is a good one. I don’t think I have used this recipe yet but it does look like a recipe I would love. I love cabbage and hamburger in soup. It reminds me of stuffed cabbage which I love to eat but hate to make. I’ll have to try this recipe soon. It looks like a bowl of deliciousness!
I’m hopeful to start cooking more (got a fab new crock pot and breadmaker for xmas) so I’m really appreciating and enjoying all the cookbook reviews and suggestions.
Sounds delicious! I’ve been looking for slow-cooker recipes that cook on one setting for 8+ hours, so we can turn it on when we leave for work and have dinner by the time we get home. Maybe I should investigate the possibility of a timer, but I’m also intrigued by the promise of 700+ recipes in this title!
I love using a crock pot. Gosh, you all must have a ton of cookbooks!
I have this cookbook, as well as the one for entertaining. You are right, there are many duplicate sounding recipes, but since I had never used a crock pot, I didn’t really mind. I chose the ones that I thought would best match our taste buds
this is perfect soup weather and this one sounds perfect and hardy for a cold winter day.also I agree with beth’s comment above…it reminds me of stuffed cabbage, which I love.
and I am another one who needs to use their slow cooker more.
I love my slow cooker, and this sounds like the perfect extension for my cookbook shelf.
I love soups reheated the next day – they seem to tasted even better. I may give this a try – since it passed the Carl test
I use my crockpot all the time; my husband loves stews, soups etc., so it makes my cooking life easy
I don’t have this particular cookbook, altho I do have other crockpot ones.
I am curious about the desserts section; that’s something that I have never done in my crockpot.
I love my crockpot. I don’t have this version, but I do have the 5 ingredients or less one. My favorite thing to do is check out recipe books from the library and then decide if it’s worth owning it.
This is pretty much the season of the slow cooker. I could live on soups and stews in weather like this.
Looks wonderful! Sometimes those fundraiser cookbooks have
the best recipes even if the production values aren’t very
high.
I used to use my slow cooker a lot but then quit. I’d love to get back into using it. I loved the smell of the food cooking all day. I love this recipe for the soup – it sounds yummy!
This is the most used cookbook in our house. I do adore the simplicity of crockpot cooking.
My husband would love this! Thanks for the recipe, Kathy.
I got a new slow cooker recently and haven’t used it yet. I’m not a slow cooker, so it’s funny contemplating if I should use it. Maybe I should get hold of a book like this and put my slow cooker to use.
Had to comment on book and recipe. That recipe is going to be tried in my house this week, if nothing stops me. I love cabbage. It looks perfect for a winter day. I need, need that cookbook badly. The title is my thoughts in print.
O.K. it’s printed out. Thank you.
I think I have this one on my shelf…it doesn’t hold my attention quite as much as other cookbooks bc of the lack of photos…I really need the visuals. I’m trying to get back on track with menu planning though and I’ll think I’ll pull this one out and see if I can find something to make for dinner this week
I love slow cooker recipe books and have quite a collection of them. It’s great to be able to set it all up and then go about your day and have dinner made at the end of it. I am going to have to put this on my cook book wish list, because even if there are upteen recipes for chili, it sounds like the book has a lot of greatness inside! Thanks for sharing this great review, and I also have to admit that that cabbage soup recipe looks wonderful!
I have this one!!!!!!!! Now I should make something right???
My husband’s doing the vegetarian thing now, which leads to the question: can I eat a whole pot of this by myself? Should I?
My family probably wouldn’t touch this meal although cabbage is one of the ten food you need to eat!
I have this cookbook too and have actually cooked this same soup (or one similar to it). My book may be an older version as I’ve had it for quite a few years. The soup is very good, especially for this time of year.
I love slow cookers, because they make the house smell so delicious and are so forgiving. You can adjust the heat according to your needs. Your soups looks great!
I am a fan of the Fix It and Forget It cookbooks!
Oh I must have this book – for my lifestyle this is exactly what I need… food I can prep ahead of time and leave it. I am a big fan of crock pots! I am looking for this book now to purchase.
sounds like the perfect cookbook for me–i love my crockpot. i do have to ask, though, what kind of desserts could i possibly make in it??? i never would have thought of dessert in a crockpot!
I love my slow cooker. As a matter of fact I should get soething started for dinner right now!
I made a lot of bean dishes in the crockpot, and also use it to soak beans over night and then cook them the next day. It is such an adorable little appliance, don’t you think? :<)
Oops, should have said ‘make’ not ‘made’
I should check this one out from the library. We have a slow cooker and only use it once a year..if even.
Great photo, my husband would love that soup.
I need to start using my crock pot more as it really does help me get other things done during the day. I’ve got that cookbook too, a lady in my book club just gave it to me… I put it aside as it didn’t have pictures, and for some reason these days I REALLY like the pictures. LOL Maybe I’ll give it a go though!
Me and my sweetie both love cabbage so this recipe would go over very well in my house!
Yum!! Scott LOVES stew/soup so I might have to try this one for him. Sadly the only thing I really know how to cook in my crock pot is Pot Roast. And I agree that soup seems to taste even better the second day!
PS–in response to your comment about personal type posts, I worried about the same thing but I’ve learned to realize people will take and leave what they want–and often times the personal stuff gets just as much love as the bookish stuff. I personally love when bloggers get a little personal on their blogs–we spend so much virtual time together that it’s nice to get to know the blogger a little more through this and that. Anyway…
Just a small ramble.
I have been wanting to use my slow cooker more, so this looks like a great way to do that! Thanks for the review!