The soup as prepared by recipe was very good--worth the five stars. I had some cooked ham to use up, and after the soup was done, I added nearly a pound of chopped ham and let it all simmer for a while. It was awfully good that way, as well, and I expect it to be even better tomorrow. I recommend about double the cayenne, and a bit more garlic---powder is alright. I also added about 1/2 cup of condensed milk, because I really like the creamy color that it adds. I do that frequently. Keeper recipe! Lotsa fun.

Reviewed On: Nov. 3, 2009

Very good! My peppers were large, so I had to make up ;more filling the first time. Second time, I planned accordingly and just increased everything. They turned out fine. I used about 1/2 barley with the rice (I like barley) and spiced up the burger with a bit of beef bouillon. Didn't baste. Covered with foil during baking, and while the peppers were still a little bit crisp, they were tasty and good--we liked them that way. I topped them under the broiler for a few minutes, after adding a good sprinkle of parmesan. Will make more and freeze, for February (have lots of peppers).

Reviewed On: Oct. 29, 2009

This is a very mild chili, not what I expected. Followed the recipe pretty closely. My first taste was that hominy, which I do like, was overwhelming in this case. Tweaked liberally: doubled the chili powder, added two McCormick large beef bouillon cubes (turkey is mild), a good shot of lemon juice, a small tomato paste with water, and thus powered it up close to what I consider chili (personal preference). A hint: The butternut can be partially cooked in the microwave, then seeded and scooped out with a melon-ball cutter. Nice alternative. Canned chilies, expensive, can be replaced with about 1/2 of a pickled or fresh jalapeno. Finally, the sour cream and tostados really made this a nice dish.

Reviewed On: Oct. 29, 2009