I got this based on recs at another site. honestly, I was underimpressed when I read the recipes. I've been using a crockpot for several years and consider myself a relatively good cook without using recipes much...the recipes to me appeared to be very similar to what I already throw together. but...the minor changes have helped me to make the most delicious food...in fact, yesterday I made the brisket with picante sauce (I really didn't want to make it but had already purchased the ingredients) oh my gosh, it was delicious. I would highly recommend this everyone - even get it for people as a wedding gift. I am so glad I gave this a chance...

Hoffman's recipes sound delicious, but in fact are often flavorless. If you use her recipes, you WILL learn slow cooking tecniques (stacking meat in the pot, thickening sauces, etc). But after 7 years of using this book, my notes on the recipes have a continual refrain: "Needs more pizzaz"; "Add vegetables"; "Flavors need more depth".

I haven't used the book for very long but loved the meatloaf recipe. Used ground sirloin and tripled the sauce(delicious).
The marinara sauce is standard and great for freezing and having on hand. I'm looking forward to trying many more of the recipes... Great for a nice winter meal and even on the weekends... especially since I work all week and don't want to cook (time consuming dishes) every weekend.

My husband is picky and has liked everything so far.