I resisted the slow cooker for ages, mostly because my family will only eat a small amount of stew-y foods and I can’t stand “Nacho Party Dip.” Granted, I was making sweeping generalizations about crock pot cookery, but still — that’s all I knew. Then I found Slow & Easy: Fast-fix recipes for your electric slow cooker by Natalie Haughton and decided the time had come… I was going to cook something slowly. Granted, the book does contain a recipe for the ubiquitous “Nacho Party Dip,” but with dishes like Slow Roast Fall Vegetables, Braised Lamb with Moroccan Flavors, and Turkey Breast with Cranberry Chutney and Squash, I could overlook it.

$22.95 at Amazon.com.