kareninfla Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (10835015)

Cake Balls

Reviewed: Feb. 7, 2012

Normally, I love the convenience of boxed cake mixes & canned frosting. But for cake balls, I've found that using homemade cake & homemade frosting makes for a firmer, more cake-like texture that I prefer. Also, since I find the cake sweet enough on it's own, I usually substitute heavy cream, applesauce, canned pumpkin, coffee, chocolate syrup, or liqueur for the frosting. All it takes is just enough liquid/wet ingredient(s) to adequately moisten the cake so it will hold it's ball shape; otherwise, it ends up with that typical cake ball consistency that is very much (I'm sorry to say) like eating pre-chewed cake & frosting. I've even used raspberry jam (with white cake, along with a bit of heavy cream) with great success. Frankly, the sky's the limit! :-)

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4 users found this review helpful

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Reviewed: Jul. 5, 2010

I gave these cookies 5 stars in fairness because I made some alterations based on other reviewers' comments, adding an extra 1/2 cup of sugar, one less egg, & an extra 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract + 1/4 tsp. almond extract. I bet lemon extract would also be a good substitute to add more flavor. I definitely would *not* add an extra egg as someone suggested; even with one less egg than the recipe called for, the cookies tasted a bit eggy. I was very disappointed with the consistency; normally, I roll out my cookies between 2 pieces of parchment paper to avoid adding too much flour. However, this dough stuck like super glue to the parchment, even after chilling overnight! It *really* needed the extra flour (which I mixed with confectioner's sugar to prevent the cookies from tasting too floury) & LOTS of chill time. I finally had to put the dough in the freezer to help things along. My other issue is that the cookies spread. I wanted a dough that would really hold its shape well as the cookies baked, and this wasn't it. I have a great recipe I could have used that doesn't require chilling time & is *super* easy to work with (never sticky), but it spreads, which is why I tried this recipe instead. I really hoped this would be "the one". Oh well. The flavor of the cookies was good, but not "ask-for-the-recipe" good, & the texture was nice: slightly crispy edges & soft, chewy centers. Still, I think I'll keep looking for a better "best" recipe.

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2 users found this review helpful

Whipped Cream Frosting

Reviewed: Jun. 28, 2010

This is one of my favorite frosting recipes that I originally got from a co-worker who got it from her mother. I specifically like to use it for filling cupcakes (chocolate ones are the best!) The first time I made it was for St. Patrick's Day cupcakes, so I substituted Bailey's for the milk to make an Irish Cream-flavored frosting. It was yummy! My recipe calls for 2-3 tbsps. of flour, and also 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, although you could also use almond, coconut, lemon, whatever you prefer. Lastly, I believe that those who complained about the grainy texture of the sugar and/or the "greasiness" from the butter did not *thoroughly* cream the butter, shortening & sugar together. You have to cream it for at least 8 minutes if you're using a stand mixer, or 10 min. w/a handheld electric mixer. Also, I don't completely cool the milk slurry before adding it to the creamed butter/sugar; if it's still a little warm (not HOT, but lukewarm), it actually helps to melt the sugar a little bit.

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5 users found this review helpful

Tasty Tuna Burgers

Reviewed: May 21, 2010

These are delicious, although I substituted some shredded cheddar cheese for the mayo & chili sauce so I could make a modified tuna melt. Also, to reduce the carbs, I used crushed pork rinds instead of bread crumbs. (You don't taste them & they act just like bread crumbs but without all the carbs.) And I served my burgers between 2 crisp Romaine lettuce leaves for a low-calorie, low-carb alternative to hamburger buns.

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3 users found this review helpful

Sugar-Free Frosting

Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2010

This is a delicious REDUCED SUGAR frosting recipe, but it is most definitely NOT sugar-free. It is much cheaper & better to use homemade whipped cream sweetened with Splenda, Stevia, or the sugar substitute of your choice instead of the non-dairy whipped topping. That will all but eliminate the sugar from this recipe & lower the carb count. You can also substitute soy or almond milk to reduce the amount of lactose (another form of sugar) in the recipe.

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7 users found this review helpful

Corn Dog Muffins

Reviewed: Apr. 22, 2010

These are yummo as is, but you could also change things up by adding some diced onion, a dash or two of hot sauce, or even a little pickle relish to the batter before baking. Or try serving as chili cheese dog muffins by slicing muffins in half, putting them in a bowl & covering w/chili. WOW! So good!!

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2 users found this review helpful

Sausage Cheese Muffins

Reviewed: Apr. 1, 2010

These were a big hit at my church's after-service fellowship. I made them as regular muffins & cut them up into fourths to serve as "sausage cheese bites." Incidentally, this makes 24 regular muffins. The recipe lists the yield as 24 servings, but it also states to use miniature OR regular muffin cups, so it was unclear as to whether it would make 24 mini muffins or regular muffins. I'm not a fan of spicy, so I used Jimmy Dean's Sage Sausage (had to skip the rubbed sage because I was out of it), then added several dashes of hot sauce to the batter so I could better control the heat level. This makes a perfect grab & go breakfast; just microwave for 10 seconds. Or as an entree: split open, smothered in scrambled eggs or a good southern white gravy. These would also be good with crumbled bacon or diced ham. Next time, I'll add at least 1/2 cup of shredded cheese to the batter as it's not very cheesy. This recipe is a great base by which you can create all sorts of tasty variations, such as cheeseburger muffins (browned ground beef, diced onions, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, omit the sage - serve w/ketchup, mustard & pickle chips) or pizza muffins (diced pepperoni, sauteed mushrooms, onions, green peppers &/or roasted red peppers, 1/2 cup mozzarella & 2 tsp. Italian seasoning instead of the sage - serve w/pizza sauce.) You could even try substituting tomato sauce for the milk in the batter. And how about diced ham, green pepper & pineapple w/monterey jack cheese? Yum!

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15 users found this review helpful

Easy and Quick Swiss Steak

Reviewed: May 9, 2009

I must confess that I haven't tried this recipe, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt by rating it a 4 as I'm sure its very delicious. My comment is on the name of the recipe, which I found to be quite misleading. While the prep may be easy, the recipe requires 6-8 hours of cooking time, which is by no means the definition of "quick" in my book. I have found plenty of crock pot variations for swiss steak; I was searching for a recipe that wouldn't take long to prepare, and I thought when I saw the name that this recipe would fit the bill. My suggestion would be to rename it "Easy Slow-Cooker Swiss Steak" so people can *quickly* identify this as a recipe that will take hours to cook.

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1 user found this review helpful

Amish Friendship Chocolate Bread

Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2008

My co-worker made this and I made the lemon-poppy seed version (very good) to bring to work last week. The chocolate bread was okay but very bland; not chocolately tasting at all, so I'm not sure why so many reviewers claim it's like chocolate cake or even fudge brownies! (Makes me wonder if they've ever had *real* chocolate cake before! LOL) Meanwhile, I think the recipe can be salvaged by using chocolate *fudge* pudding and/or adding cocoa to the mix. It could also really benefit from chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, Andes mint chips (loved that suggestion, folks!), and/or nuts. Or another suggestion is to make the bread as is but serve it with a spread made with peanut butter or Nutella, cream cheese and powdered sugar.

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1 user found this review helpful

Lemon Poppy Seed Amish Friendship Bread

Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2008

Like many others, I added the zest of a lemon, knowing from experience that lemon pudding mix alone wouldn't give it enough lemon flavor. I think the zest of 2-3 lemons would really be much better. I also made a glaze of lemon juice, powdered sugar, and a little milk (just to thin it out). I drizzled half of the glaze over the top of the loaves just after they came out of the oven and then drizzled the remaining glaze over tops after the bread had cooled for about an hour. Everyone loved it at work; they ate more of mine than they did my co-worker's chocolate version (although I think the chocolate bread would be good if you added a little cocoa and/or some choc. chips, peanut butter chips, or nuts to the batter.) Finally, my loaves took much longer than an hour to bake. I would give them at least 15 to 20 minutes extra, depending on the heat of your oven. But overall, this recipe is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing it!

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3 users found this review helpful

Easiest Applesauce Cake

Reviewed: Feb. 6, 2008

This is yummy! Okay, I confess; I went in a different direction by using Jell-O's Pumpkin Spice pudding mix, which left it with a very nice but very mild pumpkin flavor. Also, I didn't have any nutmeg so I used pumpkin pie spice (still used the cinnamon too though). Lastly, I substituted orange-pineapple juice instead of the water for flavor & to give it a little citrusy note. All in all, the flavor is very good; it's a like a lighter, less intense, less dense version of a pumpkin bread. I bet it would be really good with spice cake mix instead of yellow! Also, I think it would be great with raisins, currants, and/or nuts added to it.

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6 users found this review helpful

Chicken Surprise

Reviewed: Aug. 5, 2007

I've made something similar to this before, and it's great. But I'm curious to know if part of this recipe is missing. It says to let the rice sit for 5 minutes, so I'm assuming that the recipe calls for minute rice or something of that nature. Either that, or it was supposed to be left for at least 20 minutes. Otherwise, you'll end up with crunchy, uncooked rice. Or is there something else that I'm missing here?

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1 user found this review helpful

Olive Cheese Melts

Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2006

This is pretty much the same recipe that my mom used to make, except that she did not add salt or curry, and she used cocktail rye, which makes very nice hors d'oeuvres. You can actually spread this olive cheese spread on the bread or muffins, and then freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, store in foil and a Ziploc freezer bag. All you have to do when company comes is pop them in the oven, and voila! Instant appetizers!

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83 users found this review helpful