Three Cook Books Featuring Chicken, Slow Cooker and Vegan Recipes

As a cookbook collector and someone who cooks chicken for dinner 80% of the time, I was very interested in receiving the 125 Best Chicken Recipes cookbook by Rose Murray from publisher Robert Rose. I am always on the hunt for new chicken recipes to keep our menu interesting and to keep my family from chicken boredom!

125 Best Chicken Recipes has many easy to prepare recipes that are great for weeknight meals. One aspect of the book that I really liked was that many of the recipes include ingredients that I would normally stock or buy. I am not a fan of buying obscure sauces, spices or other items that I will never use again, except in one recipe.
Since I do cook chicken very often many of the recipes are standard things that I regularly cook – fajitas, stir fries, etc. – but there are also many ideas that were new to me. If you don’t cook chicken often or are looking for different ways to prepare this versatile protein, then this book would be a great addition to your collection.
Two of my favourite recipes from this book were an easy Chicken Stroganoff and Chicken and Black Bean Burritos. Both were easy to prepare and absolutely delicious! Add a steamed green vegetable and/or a salad and dinner is done.

I also received 125 Best Vegan Recipes by Maxine Effenson Chuck & Beth Gurney, also published by Robert Rose. Since the beginning of 2014 I have been making a concerted effort to eat a more plant-based diet for a two reasons – health and the environment. While I don’t think I could ever completely give up meat – well, let’s be honest, chicken – I do feel great about eating more fresh foods that are plant-based on a regular basis.

125 Best Vegan Recipes is a fantastic resource for anyone who would like to start eating less animal products and incorporating more vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts into their diet. Even if you don’t want to commit to a vegan lifestyle, it is great for your health to eat more plants. I have tried several of the recipes in this book, and like 125 Best Chicken Recipes, it is easy to follow and most do not take too long to prepare. It also includes a list of items to keep on hand in your pantry and freezer if you do decide to adopt a vegan way of eating.

I prefer cookbooks that have pictures for every recipe and unfortunately these books are not like that. There are some photos within each book, but I would prefer to see what the final product is supposed to look like for every recipe. The other thing that I wasn’t all that pleased with is that there aren’t cook or prep times at the top of each recipe. You have to read through the entire recipe to get an idea of how long it would take to prepare. I prefer to see that information up front so I can decide if I would like to make the recipe or not.

I was also very fortunate to receive a third cookbook, The Healthy Slow Cooker – Second Edition that has over 135 great recipes that are gluten-free. I’ve put my slow cooker away for the season, but I did bookmark several recipes to try once the fall returns. I love using my slow cooker and I can’t wait to give some of these recipes a try. If you’re looking for reliable, easy to follow cookbooks with lots of new ideas, then I recommend picking up any of these titles from Robert Rose.