Title:	Stock the Crock: 100 Must-Have Slow-Cooker Recipes, 200 Variations for Every Appetite
	Author:	Phyllis Good
	Published:	September 5, 2017, Oxmoor House
	No. of Pages:	272
	Cover Price:	$21.99 Paperback, $13.68 Kindle

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Phyllis Good has written dozens of cookbooks; some are fairly good, others are just collections similar to church and community cookbooks where there is a laundry list of recipes from people none of us know. I actually own eight of her cookbooks, and have always felt like Good was more of a recipe compiler than a cook using her skills and imagination to present her own recipes. Most of Good’s previous cookbooks are lacking when it comes to pictures of the dishes (including her blockbuster bestseller), as well as lacking introductions and vignettes at the beginning of each recipe. These are attributes that should be - and most would agree are essential – to making a mundane cookbook into a good cookbook. It was a pleasant surprise to look through Stock the Crock: 100 Must-Have Slow-Cooker Recipes, 200 Variations for Every Appetite and see that this one is definitely a cut above her previous books.

Another pleasant surprise is that even though there are only100 recipes (and 200 variations), they are, for the most part, for dishes people will actually want to prepare. Good has included some basics, like stuffing mix, homemade yogurt, and cooking dried beans. She has included several mouthwatering baked desserts (the Pecan Bars are divine), as well as puddings and cobblers. There are several excellent meat dishes such as Sauerkraut with Smoked Chops and a Mexican Pot Roast, and even some good seafood dishes such as Shrimp and Grits. Also included are soups, side dishes and an impressive array of vegetable dishes.

The recipes have the contributor’s names on them (a few even have Good’s name on them), so it’s apparent that this is yet another compilation of recipes from friends and neighbors. However, there are excellent pictures of several – not all – of the dishes and some introductory notes heading the recipes. Included are well-written chapters explaining slow cooking fundamentals as well as slow cooker hacks, and at the end of each recipe she has included hints on serving only two people, variations, and notes on making some of the dishes gluten free.

All told, this is Good’s best cookbook yet. My queue for trying her recipes is lengthy, and I expect this to become a well-used cookbook.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.