Who ever heard of making pizza or bread in a crockpot? It's easy, says bestselling cookbook author JoAnn Rachor. Her just released "Fast Cooking In A Slow Cooker Every Day of the Year" opens up all sorts of possibilities ranging from the breakfast suggestion of apple crumble crisp to vegetarian lasagna to maple almond sweet potatoes-all cooked in a crockpot and most requiring only a few minutes of preparation time. It's a great way to cook on a hot summer day-no hot oven.
Her latest book not only offers 300 tempting recipes designed to help you lose weight and build a healthy heart (all vegetarian and dairy-free, incidentally) but also expands the typical perception of what a slow-cooker is for. To Rachor, who spent five years inventing, adapting, and testing crockpot recipes and used 25 crockpots of different sizes in her research, there's almost nothing that can't be cooked that way.

The lavishly photographed book also includes a large section of crockpot tips covering everything from quicker cleanup to what vegetables to use for best cooking results to time saving recipe preparation that can be done the day before you intend to cook.

"You'll learn more about crockpot cooking than you ever dreamed...you'll love how easy these recipes are, and your family will love the food," says Maribeth Doerr of ExploringWomanhood.com

So surprise your family by using your slow-cooker to prepare...perfect baked potatoes, old world black bread, vegan ice cream, or even stuffed grape leaves! Oh yes, the book also has plenty of good recipes for stews, soups, and beans-but the wonder of preparing dessert or pasta or focaccia will not wear off for a long time.

Rachor's previous cookbook, "Of These Ye May Freely Eat" has been in print continuously since 1984 and has sold over 140,000 copies.