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Slow Cooker Dump Dinners: 5-Ingredient Recipes for Meals That (Practically) Cook Themselves
Busy moms and dads will appreciate these quick, simple, classic recipes, all of which can be popped into a slow-cooker early in the day so it’s ready to eat by the time everyone is home from school and work.
Getting a nutritious dinner on the table is one of the top everyday challenges for most families—busy cooks are always eager for healthy, quick, and delicious options that their families will eat. Slow Cooker Dump Dinners offers 50 recipes for hot, homemade meals that can be made by “dumping” a few ingredients into a slow-cooker. And the best part? Each dump dinner is made with just 5 ingredients or less! Talk about quick and easy!
Getting a nutritious dinner on the table is one of the top everyday challenges for most families—busy cooks are always eager for healthy, quick, and delicious options that their families will eat. Slow Cooker Dump Dinners offers 50 recipes for hot, homemade meals that can be made by “dumping” a few ingredients into a slow-cooker. And the best part? Each dump dinner is made with just 5 ingredients or less! Talk about quick and easy!
- GenresCookbooksNonfiction
129 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 18, 2016
I thought I would love this book but I only got a few recipes to try, in the beginning of the book. The further I went, the less appealing the recipes were. I also realized the photos are all stock photos, and the photo on the chicken page is for a recipe not even in the book!
Update! I'm planning to make the country style mac and cheese, and the ingredients seems way off. Two cups of already cooked macaroni with FIVE CUPS of cheese? I think it's supposed to be two cups uncooked, then cooked before slow cooking. Plus, the cheese is listed as "5 cups grated cheddar cheese, grated". Am I supposed to... grate the grated cheese? I don't think so.
Update! I'm planning to make the country style mac and cheese, and the ingredients seems way off. Two cups of already cooked macaroni with FIVE CUPS of cheese? I think it's supposed to be two cups uncooked, then cooked before slow cooking. Plus, the cheese is listed as "5 cups grated cheddar cheese, grated". Am I supposed to... grate the grated cheese? I don't think so.
April 18, 2018
The recipes are easy, the food is delicious, and the ingredients are easy to find. This cookbook is one I will use again and again. Who knew that making stuffed peppers or shepherds pie could be so easy?
March 20, 2017
A little book of slow cooker "dump" dinners (just dump in the ingredients and go) with 5 ingredients or less (not including seasonings). The pictures were nice, the recipes sounded good, and the one that I tried turned out really good. I am looking forward to cooking more. However, I didn't give it full five stars for 2 reasons. First, the recipes were sometimes unclear-especially in cases using ground beef. Typically recipes call for ground beef to be precooked and drained, but none of those recipes include that step. I wasn't sure, so I went ahead and precooked and drained the beef for the Shepherd's Pie recipe I tried. It turned out great, but it bothered me that I had to guess. The second star was deducted due to the ingredient lists. In a couple of cases the ingrient list either included an ingredient that wasn't mentioned in the instructions, or the instructions included an ingrient not listed in the ingredient list. Still, despite the flaws, I enjoyed this cookbook and am looking forward to trying out more of the recipes.
Recomendation: if you like using your slow cooker check this out from the library, and buy if you like.
Recomendation: if you like using your slow cooker check this out from the library, and buy if you like.
January 17, 2016
I loved that this book was thin and promised meals made with 5 ingredients or less. What I didn't love was that it needed better editing/proof reading. Some of the bodies of the recipes call for ingredients or spices that aren't in the recipe.
Confusing and disappointing, along with basic info that should be in every slow cooker recipe. What size slow cooker was the recipe cooked in for the example? Searched for a correction site and didn't find one.
Confusing and disappointing, along with basic info that should be in every slow cooker recipe. What size slow cooker was the recipe cooked in for the example? Searched for a correction site and didn't find one.
February 25, 2016
This is a thin book, and all recipes are 5 ingredients. While everything is very easy, some of the recipes are over-simplified or I already have.
This would be good if you just got a slow cooker (or even to give as s gift with one). It contains a forward with some basic slow cooker information that could be useful for a novice.
This would be good if you just got a slow cooker (or even to give as s gift with one). It contains a forward with some basic slow cooker information that could be useful for a novice.
May 23, 2016
This book should be called "Easy Things Millennials Should Know How to Cook But They Don't, So Here, I Put It In a Book for You." Then again, maybe "Slow Cooker Dump" was easier on the pub team.
Regardless, this was fantastic at teaching me stuff I really should have known already but didn't. #LifeSaver
Regardless, this was fantastic at teaching me stuff I really should have known already but didn't. #LifeSaver
July 2, 2017
Love this book! The recipes are unique - there's at least 3 that use kale, and very simple to prepare.
October 20, 2023
Recipes sound good, but be aware...
I confess I haven't made any of these recipes yet, but most of them sound really good, and I intend to make several.
That said, do not expect the finished dish to look like the photos. While reading the book I noticed small differences between a recipe's ingredients and/or preparation methods and the dish as shown in its photo. Some showed an obviously oven-browned product which never came from a standard slow cooker. Others showed ingredients not mentioned in the recipe, even in the notes. Still other pictures were missing foods specifically listed. So I checked the book's photo credits (at the end of the book in the ebook edition) and found all photographs were sourced from stock images outlets.
While there is nothing wrong with using these stock images, we as readers do have the expectation that photos are of the ~actual~ dish prepared as described by the recipe. Just bear in mind that your finished product will probably not look much like the picture in the book (mine never do anyway, even when the picture IS of the actual dish, so this won't be much different for me, lol!).
My other complaint is the non-standard description of some ingredients (which varied from recipe to recipe). While it's fine to simply list "turmeric" (which is generally only used dried ground in the US), the author needs to specifically define what she means by "garlic" or "ginger" (which can be used in either fresh or dried forms, as well as minced, crushed, or grated if used fresh, and granulated, powdered, or minced when used dry) and other similar situations where cooks have multiple forms of an ingredient to choose from (there is a big difference between a teaspoon of fresh rosemary and a teaspoon of dried ground rosemary!).
Despite my criticisms, I liked the recipes and intend to make some of them. I did check out this book from my public library (as an ebook), but if I end up liking the recipes I use, I'll definitely purchase a copy for myself!
A note about my rating scale:
1 star = F
2 stars = D
3 stars = C
4 stars = B
5 stars = A
So a 3 star rating is still an acceptable rating, despite the common expectation that anything less than 5 stars is a Fail (would these be the same people who would loudly complain if we went to a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down "scale"?).
I confess I haven't made any of these recipes yet, but most of them sound really good, and I intend to make several.
That said, do not expect the finished dish to look like the photos. While reading the book I noticed small differences between a recipe's ingredients and/or preparation methods and the dish as shown in its photo. Some showed an obviously oven-browned product which never came from a standard slow cooker. Others showed ingredients not mentioned in the recipe, even in the notes. Still other pictures were missing foods specifically listed. So I checked the book's photo credits (at the end of the book in the ebook edition) and found all photographs were sourced from stock images outlets.
While there is nothing wrong with using these stock images, we as readers do have the expectation that photos are of the ~actual~ dish prepared as described by the recipe. Just bear in mind that your finished product will probably not look much like the picture in the book (mine never do anyway, even when the picture IS of the actual dish, so this won't be much different for me, lol!).
My other complaint is the non-standard description of some ingredients (which varied from recipe to recipe). While it's fine to simply list "turmeric" (which is generally only used dried ground in the US), the author needs to specifically define what she means by "garlic" or "ginger" (which can be used in either fresh or dried forms, as well as minced, crushed, or grated if used fresh, and granulated, powdered, or minced when used dry) and other similar situations where cooks have multiple forms of an ingredient to choose from (there is a big difference between a teaspoon of fresh rosemary and a teaspoon of dried ground rosemary!).
Despite my criticisms, I liked the recipes and intend to make some of them. I did check out this book from my public library (as an ebook), but if I end up liking the recipes I use, I'll definitely purchase a copy for myself!
A note about my rating scale:
1 star = F
2 stars = D
3 stars = C
4 stars = B
5 stars = A
So a 3 star rating is still an acceptable rating, despite the common expectation that anything less than 5 stars is a Fail (would these be the same people who would loudly complain if we went to a simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down "scale"?).
June 15, 2020
I'm obsessed with this book!! The recipes are simple to follow, with few ingredients. If you are afraid of your kitchen (me) but you feel like you should be able to cook because we are in the middle of a pandemic-induced apocalypse, (also me) this book is for you. Let your slow cooker do the work and enjoy the delicious results.
September 14, 2022
Writing style is friendly and most ingredients are easy to find. But there's no nutrition information, and the author often relies on canned cream soups. I'll keep looking for slow-cooker recipes that feature fewer processed ingredients.
November 18, 2023
If you’re a novice cook, you might like this collections of slow cooker recipes. The ones that call for ground beef don’t specify if you should cook the meat before adding to the recipe. If you don’t, you’re going to have greasy meals.
February 15, 2021
Too many recipes called for canned soups or jarred sauces which is not for me
March 4, 2022
Not only did everything look super tasty (and fast. and easy.) in this lil book, but there were a ton of quotes, and proverbs about food peppered throughout as well. I really enjoyed this one.
November 15, 2022
Was hoping for more possibilities but I did find about 3 that were worth trying.
January 22, 2023
Borrowed from the Library & returned.
Did not find useful. Back to the Library it went.
Did not find useful. Back to the Library it went.
July 28, 2021
quick meals
November 20, 2018
By and large, I am a fan of food that does not involve a lot of fuss on my part. Growing up as a kid, I got used to eating a lot of crock-pot dinners, some of which I remain fond of (like pot roast with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots), and some of which I was never that fond of (like chicken cacciatore). So, I am generally on the lookout for books that involve fairly simple and straightforward cooking to add to my own repertoire of items that I can make if I have to or want to [1]. Although this book is by no means a perfect one, as I will comment more at length about anon, there is a lot about this book to appreciate, most of all its goal to provide simple dishes that people can throw in a slow cooker and then cook during the course of work. This is a cookbook made for busy people for whom cooking is not necessarily an act of artistic creativity but rather a necessary task that has to get done in the midst of a crowded and hectic life.
This particular book is a short one at just over 100 pages and a great deal of the book consists of beautiful photographs of the recipes in question, presumably from the author's own cooking efforts. The author discusses various dishes in five chapters after a short introduction, and begins with the most important chapter: chicken (1), which contains the most dishes, including some very tasty ones that either are or should be a regular part of my own menu: chicken thighs with potatoes and carrots, chicken noodle soup, Italian parmesan chicken, chicken curry, sweet potato and kale chicken stew, chicken and cashew medley, chicken tikka masala, slow cooker pot pie, and chicken-apple sausage with sweet potatoes, among others. After that the author talks about pork dishes (2), which may be of interest for some readers, though not for me personally. After that the author gives some tasty beef dishes (3) that include broccoli beef, beef brisket, corned beef and cabbage, easy beef stroganoff, hearty shepherd's pie, and family-style post roast. After that there is a short chapter on fish and seafood, including some poached salmon fillets (4) and a closing chapter with various vegetarian dishes (5), including black bean and corn enchiladas and a green lentil curry, after which there are acknowledgements and an index.
Although this is in general good book, it is not a perfect one. In particular, I find that too many of these dishes include onions, an ingredient I am not very fond of. To be sure, the onion can be removed (making the dishes even simpler, as they do really only include five key ingredients along with seasoning to taste) or replaced by something else, but it is really irritating to see onions appear over and over again in these dishes. Other than that, these dishes in general are pretty solid. To be sure, not all of these dishes will be to everyone's taste--the dominance of beef and especially chicken was definitely of interest to me--but at least the author makes an effort at appealing to a wide variety of appetites with dishes that range from hearty and traditional food for Americans and Europeans to more exotic fare from Asia. I would add options to this--like a peanut soup or more vegetarian options, but as a simple and straightforward cookbook for hurried people looking for decent meals this slim volume definitely has a lot to offer.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
This particular book is a short one at just over 100 pages and a great deal of the book consists of beautiful photographs of the recipes in question, presumably from the author's own cooking efforts. The author discusses various dishes in five chapters after a short introduction, and begins with the most important chapter: chicken (1), which contains the most dishes, including some very tasty ones that either are or should be a regular part of my own menu: chicken thighs with potatoes and carrots, chicken noodle soup, Italian parmesan chicken, chicken curry, sweet potato and kale chicken stew, chicken and cashew medley, chicken tikka masala, slow cooker pot pie, and chicken-apple sausage with sweet potatoes, among others. After that the author talks about pork dishes (2), which may be of interest for some readers, though not for me personally. After that the author gives some tasty beef dishes (3) that include broccoli beef, beef brisket, corned beef and cabbage, easy beef stroganoff, hearty shepherd's pie, and family-style post roast. After that there is a short chapter on fish and seafood, including some poached salmon fillets (4) and a closing chapter with various vegetarian dishes (5), including black bean and corn enchiladas and a green lentil curry, after which there are acknowledgements and an index.
Although this is in general good book, it is not a perfect one. In particular, I find that too many of these dishes include onions, an ingredient I am not very fond of. To be sure, the onion can be removed (making the dishes even simpler, as they do really only include five key ingredients along with seasoning to taste) or replaced by something else, but it is really irritating to see onions appear over and over again in these dishes. Other than that, these dishes in general are pretty solid. To be sure, not all of these dishes will be to everyone's taste--the dominance of beef and especially chicken was definitely of interest to me--but at least the author makes an effort at appealing to a wide variety of appetites with dishes that range from hearty and traditional food for Americans and Europeans to more exotic fare from Asia. I would add options to this--like a peanut soup or more vegetarian options, but as a simple and straightforward cookbook for hurried people looking for decent meals this slim volume definitely has a lot to offer.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2018...
January 20, 2016
I tend to be slightly cooking challenged; maybe because I like to experiment when I cook. (who needs a recipe??HEEHEE) Well, this book is simple, and has easy to follow recipes that gives you permission to experiment!!! The bonus is that you just dump all the ingredients into a CROCK POT!!! My kind of cooking.
I may have to buy this book. Also there are some really cute quotes to encourage the creative cooks mind too.
I may have to buy this book. Also there are some really cute quotes to encourage the creative cooks mind too.
September 14, 2015
Cannot wait to try these recipes. Easy to fix meals to start in the mornings to have ready for dinner. Easy to freeze extras for a later date. Cooking for one is difficult these recipes make meal planning a breeze!
September 30, 2015
Not Worth the Money
The number of meals included in this book were very limited and can be easily found elsewhere. If the photographs had been of the finished meal, it would help the reader decide to try the recipe or not. Might be okay for a new cook.
The number of meals included in this book were very limited and can be easily found elsewhere. If the photographs had been of the finished meal, it would help the reader decide to try the recipe or not. Might be okay for a new cook.
September 26, 2018
So many good and simple recipes in this book that aren't daunting or with hard-to-find ingredients. These are basic recipes, but perfect for someone who is looking for easy and classic recipes.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews