M. Howland
 Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Home Town: Allenton, Wisconsin, USA
Member Since: Sep. 2005
Cooking Level: Expert
Cooking Interests: Grilling & BBQ, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Asian, Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean, Low Carb, Healthy, Quick & Easy, Gourmet
Hobbies: Scrapbooking, Knitting, Hiking/Camping, Walking, Fishing, Reading Books, Music
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M. Howland
About this Cook
I work in the lab as a med tech at a small specialty hospital in the Milwaukee area. I live with my boyfriend and enjoy doing most of the cooking for us.
My favorite family cooking traditions
My mom did a great job teaching me the cooking basics early on, and I still rely on some of her staple recipes - my mom is cooking tradition for me. On Christmas night we all sit down to a prime rib roast feast, with all the trimmings. I also love the time I've spent in the nights leading up to Christmas, stirring and forming and garnishing the many Christmas cookies and loaves of zucchini bread we'd give to the relatives :)
My cooking tragedies
I was making a black forest torte back at home to suprise my mom with, and I didn't want to wait for the cake layers to cool completely before adding the cool-whip topping and cherries, and the whole double-layer dessert came sliding down, all over the plate and into the fridge. It didn't taste too bad, but ever since I've always let the cakes sit hours before frosting.
Recipe Reviews 201 reviews
Tomato-Topped Cod
This was a yummy fish dish that was light and fresh, yet satisfying. I really love the idea of lemon juice in water soaking into the fish, it gave what I thought was the perfect hint of lemon flavor in each bite. Halfway through assembling it I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did: the layering seemed to separate all the ingredients too much and I assumed it'd be baked fish with semi-roasted veggies on top. The topping must have somehow allowed everything to blend though because I was very pleased with how it turned out and will be making it again. The one issue I had was that the fish itself was a little under-seasoned. Besides the cheese which was all in the topping there wasn't any saltiness in the recipe, and with our normal blood pressures we do love salt. I seasoned the fillets with my standard season salt, dill, pepper combo and would have really missed the flavor had I not. Thanks for sharing.

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 21, 2009
Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
I've held off on rating this for awhile because I always think I'll make it as written one day, but I just love using this for leftover beef cuts. Steaks and roasts, if I have at least a pound and a half of cooked beef I cube it up and follow the recipe as-written, throwing the bay leaf and barley into the mix and cooking until the barley is done. Like all my soups I do saute the veggies, I really miss the flavor notes that provides when I don't. I typically use broth, adding whatever juice or gravy my leftovers might have. This is probably the best and most impressive leftover-utilizing recipe I use. Thanks very much for sharing.

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 20, 2009
2-Step Skillet Chicken Broccoli Divan
Super delicious, and it really does just take 20 minutes. I was looking at different Chicken Broccoli Divan recipes and settled on this one because it had fresh broccoli and uncooked chicken (what I had) and was stovetop. Because I was looking around I misread this recipe and used a can of cheese broccoli soup: we liked it, I could see using chicken if I wanted lots of cheese on top or more chicken flavor to fit whatever sides I was serving with it. Using broccoli cheese we didn't feel it even needed shredded cheese on top. I followed the milk portion as stated and thought it made plenty sauce. I might even use sour cream instead to make it super creamy, but this recipe needs no changes to be wonderful. I felt like I needed a zip this particular evening so I added some red pepper flakes: purely preference. This is what I'll make for lean protein and veggies alongside say, sinfully rich mac and cheese: thanks for sharing :)

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 20, 2009
 
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