Gooseberry Patch cookbook review and GIVEAWAY!

Today is a great day because I get to review the newest Gooseberry Patch cookbook, "Simple Shortcut Recipes." And I have an extra copy to give away! Read on to find out how to enter.

Available for purchase here!

I must say this is one of my favorite GP cookbooks to date, and I have many! These are recipes for every day; you know, the busy days that you just don't have time to make a from-scratch meal, but you don't want to order pizza again. When I receive a new cookbook, I put sticky-notes on every page that appeals to me; there are MANY in "Simple Shortcut Recipes!" For my review, I narrowed it down to three. The first one I tried is called, "Rainy-Day Meatball Stew."


INGREDIENTS:
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
16-oz. pkg. frozen sliced carrots
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
12-oz. pkg. frozen meatballs
10-3/4 oz. can tomato soup
10-1/2 oz. can beef gravy
1 Cup water
1.35-oz. pkg. onion soup mix
2 tsp. beef bouillon granules

Place vegetables and meatballs in a slow cooker. In a bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients; pour over vegetables and meatballs. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, or until vegetables are tender. Serves 6.

I did not take pictures for the preparation of this dish...honestly, it was so easy that pictures would be totally unnecessary. But I did take one of my daughter enjoying her dinner!

VERDICT: This gets an A+. It is tasty, very easy, and everybody liked it. I will definitely make it again!

Ok, onto recipe number two..."Kari's Buffalo Chicken Dip." I was really excited when I spotted this recipe, because someone brought a similar dip to a Super Bowl party I went to and I could not get enough! I couldn't wait to make it myself, and this did not disappoint! (NOTE: I made a half recipe, thus the smaller dish and amount of ingredients in the picture; however I printed the recipe as written.)

INGREDIENTS:
2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 deli roast chicken, boned and chopped
16-oz. bottle blue cheese salad dressing
1/3 Cup hot pepper sauce, or to taste
tortilla chips

As you can see, I did not use a deli chicken; but for the first time ever, I used canned chicken. I was suspicious at first but it's all white meat, with no preservatives...and it looks good! Great to keep in your pantry, which I now do!

Combine all ingredients except tortilla chips in an ungreased 13" x 9" baking pan. (Mine is 8" square.)

Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 12 to 16.

REVIEW: Super duper YUM!! In addition to the tortilla chips, I also cut up celery sticks and cucumbers to serve with it. And, Wheat Thins go great with it too. I'm already dreaming about making this again!

The last recipe I will review is "Best-Ever Pot Roast." Pot Roast is one of my favorite dishes to make in my crockpot, so I love to try out new versions.

INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs. redskin potatoes, quartered
16-oz. pkg. baby carrots
2 onions, sliced
3-lb. beef chuck roast
1 to 2 Tbsps. oil
10-3/4 oz. can cream of onion soup
10-3/4 oz. can cream of celery soup
1/2 Cup water
Sea salt to taste

Place potatoes, carrots and onions in a large slow cooker; set aside. In a skillet over medium high heat, lightly brown roast in oil. Place on top of vegetables. Pour soups and water over roast; sprinkle with salt. Cover and cook on low setting for 10 hours. Serves 6.

REVIEW: As my husband said, this is the BEST pot roast I've ever made! Seriously, the flavors are perfect. I don't have a super-large crockpot so I had to cut down on the amount of veggies I added...even so, it was filled to the top. Cream of Onion soup proved to be hard to find, but they did have it at Walmart. OH! And I did NOT brown the roast first. I didn't have time. It was fabulous without the extra step.

I hope you liked my review! Let me know if you try any of these recipes, I'd love to hear what you think! Would you like to win a copy of "Simple Shortcut Recipes?" Great! Just leave me a comment on this post by Saturday, March 31st. I will randomly choose a comment number on that date. Please make sure that your email address is provided either as a link to your name or in your comment itself; no email, no entry!

Thanks for visiting and best of luck!

♥ Jen