It's not often I'm this impressed with a recipe, especially one I had only average expectations for. This proves not to underestimate the potential of simple and humble dishes. In this case, since hubs detests feta, I took the submitter's suggestion to use smoked gouda and I'm telling you, these little tomato gems were outstandingly delicious. I mixed these together exactly as directed, using fresh tomatoes and herbs from my garden (that could be part of the reason these were so good) and let them set a bit before roasting while I prepared the rest of dinner. Everything was perfect, from the amounts of ingredients to the cooking time. These were a bigger hit than the main course! With more tomatoes on the vine, and gouda in the fridge these will be making an encore appearance real soon!

This is a WONDERFUL soup - different (at least for me), flavorful, hearty and delicious. I served this as a first course for hubs, myself and a dinner guest, and the 6-serving recipe was cleaned up to the last drop! I followed the recipe exactly and would do so again. We were all pleased and satisified, although just a little full before the main course was served!

This was colorful, I'll give it that - and certainly nutritious too, given the addition of the carrots and zucchini. As for flavor, however, if it wasn't for the lemon flavor there wouldn't be much flavor at all.

Since I love Cajun seasoning and use it often for blackened fish, I thought I'd really like this marinade, especially combined with the white wine, but I found this disappointing. Not only did the chicken turn out short on flavor, but I found the combination of the white wine and Cajun seasoning unpleasant.

Not too shabby for a yellow cake mix, which generally has an obnoxious artificial taste. I tried to work around that in advance by substituting apple juice for the water, adding a teaspoon of caramel flavoring and, as I always do with yellow cake mixes, a teaspoon of vanilla. I was concerned about the cake being too moist and falling because I used a pudding-included cake mix, but it turned out not to be a problem. The cake is nice and moist, with pleasant little chunks of apple, not adulterated with a bunch of pie spices or cinnamon, which I liked. Knowing the glaze just might soak into the cake, which I did not want, I reduced the amount of milk considerably, only using 1 T. (I used half and half) rather than the 3 T. called for. It worked just as I hoped it would, though I found I didn't need the 10 minutes sitting time as it started to thicken before that. To finish the cake, I topped it with chopped Heath Bars which made for a pretty presentation (chopped, toasted walnuts or pecans would have been good too). Nice autumn cake that was very simple and quick to make from start to finish.

While this was very good, I found it a little disappointing in that there was really no "toffee flavor." You would never know there are two Heath Bars in the pie. Having said that, however, I loved the rich, cinnamony syrup the ingredients created and the pie does have great flavor, whether it's toffee-ish or not - the topping is nice too. (As a matter of personal preference, I left out the nutmeg and nuts) My main criticism is that the baking time is off, which I knew it would be just by looking at the recipe. There is no way, not in my oven set to 375 degrees anyway, that the apples will be tender or the juices bubbling in 30-35 minutes. I would say a good 50 minutes is more like it, with the pie covered loosely with foil during the last half of the baking time to prevent the topping from over-browning. Despite the minor criticisms, this is still a very good pie.

Loved the butter/lard combination that made this both flavorful and flaky. I made this super-easy in my food processor - mixed the flour, salt, butter and lard with short, brief pulses until I got the consistency I wanted (pea-sized, as they say), then added chilled water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture just came together, so I didn't measure the water exactly. For those who found their crust "crumbly," you may not be adding enough water. This was one of the easier recipes to roll out too! I had no problems getting it into the pie plate whatsoever and it crimped beautifully. Next time, however, I may increase the amount of fat, either the butter or the lard, by maybe a couple of tablespoons to add a bit more tenderness and richness to the crust. Otherwise I would call this recipe notably reliable for novice and expert alike.

After being out of town for a week I wasn't in the mood for grocery shopping yet still needed to come up with something quick, healthy and satisfying for supper and this was it - coming home to find zucchini and peppers in my garden was a godsend. In no time flat and with very little effort I had a wholesome, delicious meal on the table. This is a great starter recipe, one that allows for great latitude with your own tastes and ingredients in mind. I removed the casings from three Italian sausage links, browned it, then drained and rinsed it to remove the excess grease. I returned the sausage to the pan along with chopped onion, green pepper and garlic and cooked that in olive oil until the vegetables were almost tender. I didn't measure exactly, but added some of my own marinara sauce from my garden, the chicken broth, an Italian seasoning blend to taste and a healthy splash of red wine. I did not use the flour. I let that simmer for about half and hour and the aroma was wonderful! Added the zucchini and acini di pepe as directed in the recipe and at the last added a can of cannellini beans. Ladled into big soup bowls and topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese this was a quick, impromptu meal to be proud of.

Now THIS is salad and just the way I like it, with simple, classic Mediterranean ingredients and a refreshing, understated, light vinaigrette. I detest heavy salad dressings, or those vinaigrettes heavy in vinegar. This is perfect, and one I'll be making routinely. I thought I had a cuke in the fridge but it turned out to be a zucchini, which worked out beautifully anyway. I used Kalamata olives rather than black, but I'm sure the black olives would have been just as delicious. I like a 3:1 ratio of oil/acid in my vinaigrettes, so I used 6 T. of olive oil and 2 T. of lemon juice. "Cold and crunchy" foods are generally not my thing, but this is simply outstanding!

I loved this, but then maybe I'm biased because I grew up on stuff like this with it's classic and simple Italian flavors and ingredients! Swiss Chard has always been my favorite vegetable and is sweeter and more tender than other greens (also great for adding to soups). The stalks need extra cooking time, so I sliced and cooked them separately in boiling, salted water until tender. Not wanting to open a can of garbanzo beans for just a half cup, I used the full can. I left out the green onion, but added extra shallots and fresh minced garlic. Adding the lemon at the end was something I don't generally do, but enjoyed. For those looking for old-fashioned, traditional Italian cooking and need an Italian side dish to complete their meal, this is a great and authentic choice.

While a good basil pesto is a matter of using the basic ingredients of basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts to taste, I agree with those reviewers who commented that there is not enough basil in this recipe! If you DOUBLE the amount of basil and reduce the salt to at most 1/4 tsp. (if any at all) you'll have a perfect basil pesto. Or...make half the recipe, but still use the 2 cups of basil. The conventional wisdom is that if you're going to freeze this that you don't add the Parmesan until you're ready to use the pesto as it supposedly doesn't freeze well. However, I always add the Parmesan right away and have never had a problem. Also, I loved and used Crazy4sushi's idea of freezing this flat in ziploc bags and breaking off pieces as needed. Ingenious!

It's pretty hard for brussels sprouts to be knock-your-socks-off good. After all, no matter what you do to them, they're still...brussels sprouts. But as brussels sprouts go, these were definitely a step beyond average - of course, I always say there aren't too many things that aren't better with bacon! I dropped fresh brussels sprouts into boiling water and found 7 minutes to be the perfect cooking time to make them tender, yet not mush, and still retaining their vivid color. Meanwhile, I cooked and crumbled the bacon and drained off some, but not all, of the bacon grease. Tossed in the sprouts with the seasonings and a little more butter, then topped with the crumbled bacon. Good!

So good I could eat this with a spoon! Since the frosting doesn't call for butter, and I did want a white frosting, I used Hi-Ratio shortening, clear vanilla and some butter flavoring. I made 1-1/2 times the recipe (for Mini Oreo Surprise Cupcakes) and used an egg white for part of the water called for, then just added water without measuring exactly until I had the consistency I wanted for piping. This was creamy, fluffy, and pleasantly sweet and flavorful, with no greasy mouth feel. (I highly recommend Hi-Ratio Shortening for frostings like this) I've made some fine white or buttercream frostings from this site and this one truly stands out as one of the best. I ended up with some frosting leftover, but believe me it will NOT go to waste!

Delightful and delicious. And fun to make too! I made the job of filling the cupcake cups easier on myself by pouring the batter into a gallon ZipLoc bag and piping it in. Worked great! Also, I found I could use a little more than the 1/2 T. of filling, if that helps. I baked them for the minimum recommended baking time and they were perfectly moist. I did use the mini Oreos, after finally finding them in the fourth store I looked for them, Costco. All I could find until then were the Oreo Cakesters! I'm glad I found them, as they do look nice to top the cupcakes, but regular sized Oreos would do just fine in a pinch. I didn't use the Cool Whip, as these will be served where refrigeration is not possible. I LOVED what I ended up frosting them with - White Cake Frosting II, also from this site. Absolutely decadent, memorable, and certainly worthy of making again!

I tried to stick with the recipe as closely as possible, but ultimately had to put my own spin on this. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks! I deviated a bit by mixing up the cooked chicken with just enough sour cream to bind it. When I filled the tortillas with the chicken, I also added a handful of shredded Mexican cheese blend to each. I did top them with the salsa (used only two Serranos), which I sieved to get rid of the seeds and make as smooth as possible, the Queso Fresco (good stuff, by the way), thinly sliced onion, and chopped cilantro - and finally, a dollop of sour cream. I SO enjoyed these! Homemade salsa, I believe, makes all the difference! I made half the recipe of enchiladas but kept the amount of salsa the same and it was just right. For us, anyway, the amount of sauce as written in the recipe would not have been enough. I did resist the temptation to bake these, as that's what I'm used to. I loved them like this, but have to say I still prefer the NON-authentic method of baking them, topped with a mess of gooey, melted cheese!

Christine, I am SO excited to be the first reviewer of your recipe so that I can give it a good jump start by showering it with the praise it deserves! The recipe, granted, is very involved for a muffin and requires a lot of ingredients. Maybe this unfortunately makes people pass it by. But here is a perfect example of how the effort you put into something is SO worth the results! As the first reviewer I felt a responsibility to strictly stick to the recipe and other than using full fat sour cream and skipping the optional Parmesan topping, I did. As these were baking (mine only took 30 minutes) the aroma was so good it truly was making my mouth water - and I'm not being dramatic to stress a point! Healthy, flavorful ingredients and flecked with lovely colors, but the true test would be the taste test. You have outdone yourself! They are perfect! Moist, great texture, beautiful, and such a unique flavor! You have this recipe down pat, and I would strongly encourage others not only to try these, but to make them exactly as the recipe directs - that means no shortcuts, no changes, no substitutions or deletions. I can't imagine how this recipe could be improved upon the perfection it already is. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

This is a 3-star recipe if strictly adhered to, 4-star if considered as a base recipe, and 5-star if tweaked to perfection, or at least to personal preference. As written the recipe is short in that there is no real medley of flavors, relying heavily on a hefty amount of cumin and garlic powder--therefore, three stars. But it's a good start. So... I sauteed a couple of strips of bacon until crisp, removed the bacon from the pan and added the chopped poblanos which I didn't bother to blacken, half of a good sized onion, chopped, one minced jalapeno pepper, a few cloves of minced garlic (didn't use the garlic powder) and a chopped carrot (no corn for hubs). Once the vegetables were tender I added the flour, a little butter, a couple glugs of half and half for creaminess, the chicken broth and only 1-1/2 teaspooons of cumin. Let it come to a boil, then reduced heat and added the chopped chicken, the black beans, and some leftover rice (Zippy Rice Pilaf from this site to be precise). For those having trouble with the cheese clumping, it's important that you remove the pan from the heat before adding the cheese and let it melt in slowly. I seasoned to taste with salt and pepper and garnished each serving with tortilla chips, the crumbled bacon and chopped green onion. I served this as the submitter suggested, with Basic Corn Muffins, also from this site. Delicious!

The muffin itself is great, not too sweet, which is as a muffin should be. Fluffy, tender and moist. It is the streusel, however, that I didn't like. Even though I used chilled butter as called for, it wasn't until I added two tablespoons more of both brown sugar and flour that I got a true streusel consistency. As written, the streusel is too heavy with butter. Had I used the streusel as is, while I'm sure it would have been acceptable, it would more than likely have somewhat melted into the muffin rather than being the crumb-like streusel topping I was after. Once I "fixed" it (at least to MY liking) all was fine, and I had a perfect blueberry streusel muffin.

WhooEEEE, are these good! I don't eat corn bread or corn muffins often (like maybe twice in my life) but given THESE corn bread muffins I may just be enjoying them more often! I made just half the recipe, but still used 1 whole egg, and reduced the sugar by 2 teaspoons. In a full recipe, this would mean using 2 eggs rather than one, and reducing the sugar by a good tablespoon. To this half recipe I added about 1/2 cup of a 4-cheese Mexican Cheese Blend and a chopped, small jalapeno pepper. I used a stone ground corn meal, which added great texture, and the extra egg made these deliciously moist. The cheese and jalapeno provided exceptional flavor and added color and interest. So simple to throw together I don't know why anyone would use a boxed mix (especially since I've heard reports of bugs coming along in the box for the ride!) Great recipe Doug! Thanks for sharing!

Prepared this as written, including the unusual addition (at least for me) of the fresh, chopped jalapenos - but I couldn't resist adding some fresh, minced garlic too. Colorful and delicious, even though the soy sauce kind of dulled the vibrant, fresh yellow color of the squash. The taste by adding it, however, made up for its somewhat compromised appearance. Loved the addition of the jalapenos, which provided a splash of color and interest more than it did taste. And, as is usually the case, bacon makes it even better! Nice, creative twist on the same ol' squash.