Veggie Girl Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (18928340)

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Reviewed: Mar. 17, 2011

Great recipe ~ you'll never go back to store-bought whipped cream after having homemade! Next time, for my tastes, I will make it sweeter (1/4 cup sugar) and add more vanilla (1 to 2 teaspoons). Used it to top the "Ultimate Irish Creme Chocolate Mousse" on this site to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

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Ultimate Irish Cream Chocolate Mousse

Reviewed: Mar. 17, 2011

Good, but with some tweaking it could be great! I made it as is, this first time, but next time I will add more sugar to the whipped cream and add more Irish cream (at least 3 tablespoons). Recommend using a double boiler for the chocolate, and make sure the egg white are beat very stiff and dry. Nonetheless, it was light and fluffy (perfect after a heavy meal) and will be my go to St. Patrick's day dessert!

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The Best Vegetarian Chili in the World

Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2011

This recipe needs major adjustments to be the "best in the world," but it has potential. The author is on the right track with the ingredients (the mix of vegetables and the types of spices etc.), but the amount of chili it makes is more like 10 to 12 servings (too much for the average person's needs unless you're cooking for a large group) and the amounts of the spices were excessive (1 tablespoon salt and 1/4 cup chili powder are way too much in my opinion, so I cut those significantly--I used 1/2 teaspoon for the salt and 1 tablespoon chili powder). I made adjustments for my needs by cutting the ingredients for the chili in half (as I was only cooking for 2), omitted the jalapenos (if I do add them in the future, I will only add 1 and omit the canned green chilies and will make sure to seed it as with the seeds the chili would be too spicy for me or my household), and I washed and drained the beans (to reduce the sodium content). I sprinkled the chili with grated cheddar cheese and served it with the Homesteader Cornbread on this site and it made a great meal for a cold, rainy evening! This recipe is a good place to start and I will use this as a base in the future!

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Homesteader Cornbread

Reviewed: Feb. 19, 2011

Very good recipe--I followed it almost exactly (with exception of baking at 375 degrees F and adding 2 tbsp. jalapeno peppers). The cornbread rose beautifully and was soft and fluffy (not oily, greasy or too crumbly like other recipes I've tried). Some reviewers spoke of the cornbread being dense/heavy, but I found it to be just the right (however, I let the cornmeal soak for 10 minutes, and I sifted the flour mixture before adding the oil and eggs). The only drawback is that the cornbread was lacking in flavor, even when I added 2 tablespoons jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped). It also was not very sweet (but that's ok, as I like to add honey and butter when I eat it). I will make this again but I will do as other reviewers suggested and switch the amounts for the flour and cornmeal (2 cups cornmeal and 1 1/2 cups flour) and perhaps reduce the baking powder to 2 1/2 teaspoons. Also for more flavor, I will add a whole jalapeno (seeded and chopped) and 3/4 cup thawed frozen corn. I think that this is a great foundation for cornbread that you can alternate it to your own personal tastes!

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Basil Tomato Soup

Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2011

This is a good starter recipe for tomato soup, but it is quite bland as written. Even doctoring it up with vegetable seasoning, dried oregano, and other spices didn't seem to help. The only thing that saved it was garnishing the soup with the fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Next time I make this soup, I will be adding sauteed onions and garlic as well as more spices (perhaps even some hot sauce). To make it vegetarian, I used almond milk (original flavor) and Smart Balance and the consistency was fine. Also I used Pomi brand tomatoes as well (as the cans can contain BPA). Give it a try but make sure to make additions! Important tip--when using basil to apply just before serving as it will turn black when having this soup for leftovers.

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Apple Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar Sauce

Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2009

This cake was very average. I really wanted to like this cake and I didn't think you could go wrong with apples and caramel but this recipe proved that it is possible. Even with the adjustments made based on other reviewers (i.e. 1 cup sour cream and 2.5 apples), it was very dry and dense and the crust was very hard and chewy (perhaps the flour should be cut down to 2 cups?) This wasn't horrible, but not worth the calories. I will not make this again as there are better recipes out there (i.e the Butter Rum Glazed Applesauce cake on this site, or the Apple Spice Cake on marthastewart.com). Regarding the sauce, I will add the brandy as an ingredient to the caramel sauce recipe from Martha Stewart. This is a great basic sauce to use on pancakes, baked apples, or perhaps on the Pear Cake recipe from this site.

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Brown Sugar Sauce

Reviewed: Oct. 18, 2009

I made this for the Apple Coffee Cake on this site and it was very good (makes the coffee cake taste more like dessert.) However, I should have listened to other reviewers who said it had too much brandy--I didn't heed their advice, as I of am a follower of the line regarding cooking "When in doubt add more wine/alcohol"---but 1/4 cup brandy overpowered the flavor of the sauce. If I make it again I will use no more than 2-3 tablespoons of brandy. In addition, although the sauce thickened nicely, it could be a little creamier, so I will use half heavy whipping cream and half milk next time. Finally, I think the wording of the recipe needs to be fixed as it says to stir the sauce frequently. This is the wrong wording for this type of sauce. Any sugar-based sauce that is not stirred constantly or left unattended will burn within a minute or two, so as the granddaughter or a former candy maker I advise that you continuously stir and scrape down the sides of the pan to prevent burning or else you will ruin your sauce and create a problem when you try to clean your pan.

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Greek Pasta with Tomatoes and White Beans

Reviewed: Aug. 30, 2009

This recipe is a great base but needed a lot of additions and modifications. --To make it spicier, I added 1 tsp. dried sage, 1 tsp. dried organo, and 1 tsp. dried basil, as well as 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes. Also for garnish, I used 1/2 chopped Kalamata olives (which give it more of a kick and also more of a Greek flair) --To make it healthier, I used whole grain penne pasta Also another major change I made is that I didn't combine the spinach and the tomato/bean mixture while cooking. I sauteed the spinach separately with 4 green onions (finely chopped) and 2 cloves of garlic. Once the spinach was wilted, I added the spinach on top of the pasta and sauce as a garnish. It did create more dishes, but I believe that the spinach was more flavorful this way and the end result was much prettier than it would have been. (Note: Make sure to use organic spinach, as regular spinach has a lot of pesticides, and then wash the spinach throughly as it has a lot of dirt on it. Then, dry it as it releases a lot of water while cooking, and remove the stems and chop finely) Once modified, as one reviewer stated, it tastes great and is fresh and healthy (not things usually put in the same sentence)! I will make this often!

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Guacamole

Reviewed: Aug. 30, 2009

This is the guacamole recipe I've been looking for, and it will now be in my favorite recipes file! I followed the recipe as written, except I did add 1/2 tsp. cumin and 1/2 serrano pepper (chopped and seeded)for some more spice. Only complaint was it was a little salty esp. when served with chips, so next time I will put 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of a full teaspoon. Good tip I read from other reviewers---keep the seeds of the avocado in the guacamole until ready to serve---it really helped prevent it from turning brown! (Even with the seeds in it, though, definitely use it the day you make it, as it is very perishable!)Also, I recommend cutting the cilantro very fine--as you don't want full leaves in the guacamole. Thanks Bob!

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Sweet and Sour Sauce I

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

This was ok, but not great. It was too watery and definitely needs more cornstarch than called for, and was more sour than sweet. Next time I will stick with my mom's sweet and sour sauce which calls for pineapple juice and has a more syrup-like consistancy.

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Black Bean Soft Tacos

Reviewed: Apr. 25, 2009

I am new to vegetarianism and this is one of the best vegetarian recipes I've tried. As stated by others, it is perfectly spiced, very colorful (made a nice presentation), and you really won't miss the meat! I followed the recipe exactly, with one exception---I used whole-wheat tortillas instead of flour (to cut down on refined carbs). Also, I would use a soup pot instead of a skillet, as the mixture was overflowing in my skillet. Also, there are some additions/substitutions that could be made: for a little more spice, mix in some hot sauce (1-2 tsp.) and 1/4 cup salsa (drain the juice) with the tomatoes; for more color, substitute 1 can of red kidney beans for 1 can black beans; it would be more calories/carbs, but guacamole instead of just avocado add cooked spanish rice would be nice additions.

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Easy Sugar Cookies

Reviewed: Mar. 2, 2009

I have been on the search for the best sugar cookies which don't require rolling out and these are it! They are even better than the sugar cookies my grandma used to make--more buttery and they rose beautifully where the ones my grandma made, although still good, were drier and flater. It can be hard to tell when these cookies are done, but I followed the reviewer Amy Yvonne's tip to take out the cookies when the tops are just starting to crack. Then I let them sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before putting on the wire racks. They turned out great--soft but chewy. They are not too sweet, so I rolled them in raw turbinado sugar before baking them to give them some more sweetness and texture.

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Cracked Sugar Cookies I

Reviewed: Feb. 25, 2009

I make cookies very often and I had trouble with this recipe. I couldn't seem to get the cookies done in the middle--I had to put them back in the oven two or three times to get them right. They were ok when they were warm, but were bland and not very good when they cooled. I would not make these again.

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Asian Beef with Snow Peas

Reviewed: Feb. 24, 2009

This recipe was delicious! I have made it before and it became one of my "stand-by" stirfry recipes for a quick weekday meal. However, I had not made it in a while as I became a semi-vegetarian (I still eat chicken and turkey once in a while). Last night, I made this with left over seitan (I made the Tasty Breaded Seitan from this site) and it was really good. I just tried seitan (which is processed wheat gluten for those who don't know) for the first time last week. Although it looked very unappetizing in the package, it was really good and tasted like beef. I really liked it with this sauce from this recipe and with some sauteed onions, snow peas, and red and green bell pepper it was delicious! This recipe will be a "stand by" once again with seitan!

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Better than Sex Cookies

Reviewed: Feb. 20, 2009

I made these for some friends at work and everyone laughed about the name. It is a very good sugar cookie...but I don't think it lived up to its name in my opinion. Everyone liked it (most people like macadamia nuts), but I wasn't crazy about them. I am not big on white chocolate, however, so maybe I shouldn't be the judge. I think next time I will try this cookie with dried pineapple or 1 cup of coconut instead of the white chocolate.

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Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Reviewed: Feb. 2, 2009

I thought these were just ok. I had really high hopes, as they were so well rated, and I even overlooked the fact that they had gelatin in them, which I try to stay away from as I am a vegetarian and I try to stay away from processed foods. I made them for a Superbowl party at my brother's house, and everybody ate them. The cookies turned out pretty good--they were fluffy and light and rose really well. However, I felt that they weren't as good as the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies I usually make. It was fun to try a new recipe and get a new twist on a classic, but I will continue to make the Tollhouse cookies in the future.

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Enchilada Casserole

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2009

I had never made an enchilada casserole before so I decided to try this one--since my regular enchiladas seem to turn into casserole anyway when I cut it. I followed the recipe as written, except I used faux ground beef (the Gimme Meat brand) and added six tortillas in each layer. It turned out very dry and all I could taste were the tortillas. I think I will stick to making regular enchiladas in the future. I will not make this one again.

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Tofu a la Bourguignonne

Reviewed: Jan. 13, 2009

This was just okay. I gave it three stars because I like the sauce itself. It is a nice, flavorful, light tomato sauce. I did make a few changes, as I added more mushrooms and instead of one fresh tomato I added 1 can of stewed tomatoes which gave the sauce more juice. I did not have a problem with the sauce not getting thick after simmering it. However, the tofu was not very good with it. It did not soak up the red wine flavor even after simmering for 45 minutes, so it was very bland. Also even one whole package of tofu was too much for me--any beginning vegetarian should only use half of a package at most. In addition, the look of purple tofu is not very appetizing. I will use this recipe again, but I will use ground burger-style vegetarian crumbles instead of tofu, or just make the tomato sauce by itself and serve it over some penne pasta or liguine.

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Chicken With Portobello Mushrooms and Artichokes

Reviewed: Jan. 11, 2009

I was disappointed in this recipe. All the ingredients gave me high hopes (which is why I gave it three stars), but if you make this as written (with the exception of the broth--I used chicken broth) it comes out bland and too lemon-tasting with too thin of a sauce. I am planning on making it again only this time I will make several changes. I will follow the tips of reviewer mwbarker by adding kalamata olives and skipping the brandy and doubling the broth. I will also reduce the lemon from the juice of one lemon (1/4 cup) to 2 tablespoons. I will also add 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, and add cornstarch and half n half to the sauce. I will give an update soon.

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Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup

Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2009

This is an excellent soup! It has been put into my favorite recipe file! I have made it several times and it is wonderful, especially on cold winter nights! I became a vegetarian only last year, and you don't miss the meat at all in this soup! I have followed this recipe as written (with one exception that I usually add some mushrooms). Last night, however, I tried one reviewers' tip to use 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar to replace the 1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce. It came out too vinegar-tasting, and I had to add another quart of broth just so it was edible! I wanted to replace the Worchestershire sauce as it contains high fructose corn syrup and anchovies--which do not correspond with my diet--however, the vinegar was the wrong thing to put in the soup. I think next time I will make it without the vinegar or the Worchestershire sauce and see how it works out. BTW, to make it taste less tomatoey, use stewed tomatoes instead of crushed tomatoes.

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