The Casserole Queens Cookbook - Rating: *****

   I was very impressed right off the bat with this cookbook as the first few recipes did NOT include cream of something soup. I am beyond tired of casserole and crock pot recipes that have cream of something soup as its base. There was a nice variety of recipes and all of them seemed like something you'd enjoy eating or even making.
   The first recipe I tried was the Deep Dish Pizza, Chicago Style Casserole. It was superb. It took about 20 minutes to prepare, as you have to cook the sausage, peppers, and mushrooms first. It uses a store bought pizza dough and simple homemade sauce. I've had original deep dish pizza in Chicago and while this wasn't that, it was delicious.
   The second recipe I tried was for the Corn Dog Casserole. I like a good corn dog and this seemed like a slightly healthy way to eat one. The recipe took about twenty minutes to prepare and it came out well. The only problem was that the corn part was a little sweet and that overpowered the hot dogs a little. My family loved the casserole so I don't think the sweetness was a drawback. I think if you used bratwurst or sausage it would solve the problem entirely.
   A few other interesting recipes in the book are Savory Salmon Turnovers, Gooey Apple Butter Cake, and Spam Casserole. I'm not a big fan of Spam but I'm a big fan of cookbooks that aren't too snobby to use spam.
   The writing style in the book is easy, the font is clear, and there are pictures. The Casserole Queens Cookbook: Put Some Lovin' in Your Oven with 100 Easy One-Dish Recipes is available from Amazon.com for $11.00 and it's well worth it.