Cookbook review: Dump Meals 5 Ingredients or Less by Cathy Mitchell

I admit it, I am a cookbook junkie. I love cookbooks, I love to read recipes and especially I love to read ones that have stories in them about where the recipes came from. This cookbook is not one of those at all. I found it at the Dollar General near my home in Florida and couldn't resist the idea of dumping five ingredients into a crockpot and having a meal. Dump Meals is a unique idea really and it works. 

Before I tell you more I do want to say that I like this cookbook so much I bought a second copy to take home. I didn't want to take the chance that I might forget to bring it back next year.  That does say something about this cookbook, doesn't it? 

The book starts off with some slow cooking hints and tips and if you are not real familiar with slow cooking this will be helpful. It is made for a "Crock-Pot" butt don't let that deter you if you happen to have another brand, 

Next, we get some of Cathy's Favorites and they include pot roast, pulled pork and barbecued ribs. 

In the Soups, Stews and Chilis section, I made the Black and White Chili. I did something rather odd after it was almost done, I added honey. It smoothed out the acid in the tomatoes and gave it such a delicious taste. This is the first white chili I have ever made and we ate every last bit of it. 

Next up is Chicken Favorites followed by Bountiful Beef. I made two recipes in this section Brisket with Sweet Onions and Easy Beef Stroganoff. I could not find uncorned brisket so I used a London Broil. Both of them were excellent. I again made small changes to the recipe by using beefy onion soup mix in the stroganoff. 

The book has additional chapters for Pleasing Pork, Spectacular Sides,  and Sweet Treats. 

If you are looking for a new cookbook to add to your collection or if you like the idea of just throwing the ingredients into the crockpot and forgetting it for a few hours while you go about your business then I think you will enjoy it. 

The cookbook does use packaged ingredients like cans of soup etc. You can use the healthier versions of these. I plan to experiment with using fresh mushrooms for instance instead of the canned mushroom soup but I will have to figure out how the get the creaminess that the soup provides while still maintaining the flavor profile. 

I highly recommend this cookbook and I actually got it on sale for $4.99 so it is a bargain as well.