Creamy Macaroni and Cheese:
The introduction still picture for this dish looks a little unappetizing - sort of like one of those old recipe books from the 60's with the horrid coloring and lack of presentation. Oh well, nothing with an ingredient list like this can go wrong, but your arteries won't be thanking you. Included in the ingredient list is ½ stick of butter, 3 eggs, sour cream, a can of condensed cheddar cheese soup, and a cup of whole milk just to make sure we've covered all the dairy products twice-over. This recipe looked pretty simple, with only a minimal amount of prep-work and I was almost tempted to buy a slow cooker just to try it.
Swiss Steak
You've gotta love Paula Deen. While the recipe doesn't call for it, during the demo she sees a stick of butter and just can't resist throwing some in the pot. Again, this recipe sounds very simple, and the slow cooking is probably going to bring everything a tender, flavorful consistency. Basically it's steak slow cooked with garlic, diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper and garlic powder. If you've got a steak and potatoes kind of person to please, this one is probably a good choice.
Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler
This is kind of a biscuit dumpling suspended in sliced peaches and blueberries. In her no-nonsense style, this one seems like a no-fail as well. You put the peaches, along with some of the syrup they come with, into the dutch oven first to create a kind of moist fruit layer. When it's all done, Paula recommends some ice cream on top. Oh, of course she would. Well, no one said this was healthy cooking, but it sounds pretty darn good either way.
Lastly, you get a potpourri recipe. It consists of some good smelling stuff that you throw in your slow cooker to make everyone's mouth water in vain. Sliced apples, lemons, oranges, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks go into this recipe. It's a nice bonus, but the DVD could have probably used another food recipe in addition to this.
Like the other DVDs in this series, you're not going to know just what equipment you might need until you watch the demonstrations. It seems like they can all be done in a standard slow cooker, but some call for a dutch oven. You probably realize from the title of this DVD that you'll need plenty of time to prepare these dishes, so chances are you're not trying to do them on the spur of the moment anyway. Still, the idea of simply shopping for ingredients from the back of the DVD package and then going home to cook them is probably not going to pan out in reality.
While the playing time is listed as 39 minutes for this DVD, really only about 17 minutes are needed to watch the actual recipe demonstrations. The extra time comes from the full episode of "Paula's Home Cooking" that is included. While this is bargain priced, it still seems like there should have been a few more recipes included. Still, you're bound to find something here that will become your new favorite comfort food.
