Type of app: Cookbook
Platform/where to buy: iOS
Developer: Publications International
Description: More than 250 Crock Pot recipes plus free bonus recipes each month
Price: $3.99 in the App Store
Major features: The app lets you search for recipes, add favorites to your recipe box, create shopping lists and meal plans. It also has a voice activated step by step option, letting you call out “next” and “back” as you follow the recipe, keeping your dirty hands away from your iPad! There’s also a store that sells extra recipe packs if you want more variety than the base 250 recipes and the monthly recipe pack.
Ease of use/Overall performance: The app was simple to use to find recipes, and adding items to a recipe box, meal plan or shopping list was very simple. I liked the voice command options, though one of the benefits of many crock pot recipes are that the steps are “Add ingredients to pot. Cook for six hours. Eat.” Most importantly, the recipes are interesting! It’s easy to find simple variations on crock pot recipes, but these went outside of the usual comfort zones of stews and chilis!
Would use again/recommend?: If you do a lot of crock pot cooking, absolutely. We use ours just about every weekend, so we are always looking for good ideas. Last weekend we made Korean barbecue short ribs in the crock pot, a recipe I probably wouldn’t have thought to seek out on my own, but it looked so good in the app we had to make it ASAP. If every recipe is as delicious as that one was, this is a must-have app!
Suggested changes/wish list for upgrades: None-the app is very straightforward and works exactly as advertised!