These are fabulous. Next time, I'll half the salt because the saltiness is the first thing that registers on my mind, kind of like eating a chocolate covered pretzel. I melted the butter in a pot on low, stirred in the sugar, and set it aside to cool before adding the egg. I added the dry ingredients right in the pot so I only had one thing to wash. Baked in an 8x8 for 30 minutes. Use a toothpick to test them. A knife will make them sink. Don't mess with the baking soda and the baking powder; you can't taste them at all. They bake up high and then sink a bit at the end. Super chewy texture!

These were quite tasty. Even with the oats, they turned out light and chewy. I love this recipe because it's so adaptable. Remember DON'T OVERMIX. That makes tough muffins. You should still see streaks of flour. Muffins are so forgiving to everything but overmixing. I changed the recipe according to my tastes. I wanted orange-y muffins with nuts. I doubled the recipe. I used rolled oats because I like their flavor better. They soak up more liquid so I added a bit more in other places. I used buttermilk and a 6oz container of vanilla yogurt instead of milk and brown sugar. I mixed that together with the zest of two oranges and 1/4 cup of OJ and let it sit. I subbed half the flour with wheat flour, added 1.5 tsp each cinnamon and vanilla, some nutmeg, and a dash of allspice. I added 1/4 cup of applesauce and 1/3c oil. I added 1c nuts and mixed everything together. Then I divided the batter into two and added blueberries to one bowl and bittersweet chocolate chips to the other. I topped them with turbinado sugar. It doesn't melt and makes them look professional and pretty. I love the crunch!

This recipe is fabulous! Not too sweet, not dry, not too hard or too soft. I changed the steps a bit. I creamed the butter and the sugars for about 5-7 minutes before adding the eggs and vanilla. I also added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin pie spice. Then I mixed in all the dry ingredients by hand. I made them with two cups of oatmeal, because that's all I had, but next time, I'm going to add another cup of oatmeal. I left out the raisins, added bittersweet chocolate chips (1 cup), about 3/4 cup chopped pecans, and 1 1/4 cup craisins. The 1 cup of chocolate chips is perfect, but next time, I'm going to add two cups of craisins and a full cup of pecans. These cookies don't melt per se, but they do spread so space them out. I like my cookies chewy but not soft, so I rolled balls of dough and pressed them down. They still ended up baking for 10-12 minutes. These cookies got rave reviews. This recipe is so versatile. Next time, I'm going to try it with dried cherries and almonds.

This was quite good! I made some changes. I heated about 1/2Tbsp of olive oil, sauteed some diced onion and garlic for a few seconds, added 1/2Tbsp butter, Then I added the vegetables (I'd half cooked them in the steamer). I added some julienned carrots and yellow peppers to the green beans for extra vitamins and color. I made them for Father's Day and my family loved them. Even my notoriously picky sister asked for the recipe. I almost fell over in shock.

I'm giving this a neutral rating because I didn't follow the recipe. For those who've wondered: you can't make a low-fat version of this. It was dreadful. I used fat-free cream cheese, canola mayo, and a few tablespoons of sour cream. It didn't turn out at all. The next time, I'm just going to suck it up and go running the next time I want this dip instead of wasting money.

This was very tasty. I made a few changes. I soaked my beans overnight. I put everything in the crockpot on low before I went to a brunch and it was done by the time I got back. There weren't enough carrots/celery/onions. I ended up using 1 1/2c chopped onion, 2 stalks celery, chopped, and four carrots, sliced. I also added more garlic. (I can't be the only person who saw '1 tsp' and scoffed. We love garlic here!)It tasted a little flat so I also added one cube of bouillon, another 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and about a tablespoon of chipotle hot sauce. It didn't make it spicy at all, just gave the soup some body. (It IS 8 cups of water! A little hot sauce won't make it spicy, even for the little ones) I also didn't add any chopped ham. My ham hock had quite a lot of meat on it so after six hours in the crockpot, it fell right off the bone. I shredded it and added it back to the pot.

These were okay. As the recipe is, they come out a little bland. I usually double the recipe, shape half of it into patties, and freeze them. One thing this recipe desperately needed was SALT. I also add a small can of corn, double the hot sauce, and add 1/4c-1/2c of spicy salsa.

This is excellent bread. I've made it several times, and I always double or triple the recipe because it goes so quickly in my house. I love this recipe because it's so variable. And I can sneak in lots of healthy stuff! I've even made made a vegan version of it by subbing mashed bananas and apple sauce for the eggs and soy milk for the milk. It was delicious! I finally settled on a 'half-vegan bread'. I use mashed bananas or applesauce instead of eggs (1/4c applesauce or 1 small banana, mashed = 1 egg), I add 1/4c sour cream, 1/2c shredded carrots, 1/4c sunflower seeds, and 1/4c wheat germ. Sometimes I need to add a little more milk depending on the temperature.

It was certainly quick and easy but the recipe looked bland so I doctored it. I sauteed chopped onion and minced garlic with the butter. I added a large dash of nutmeg, 1/4tsp of red pepper flakes, a dash of cayenne, italian seasoning, and salt because I used unsalted butter. I added julienned ham and peas to make a more filling meal. I only added 1 cup of milk and that still made it a little too thin but I turned up the heat and it thickened. It was good, but it needed to simmer for a while to let the spices balance out the cream cheese taste. There is a cream cheese taste, although I imagine if you used one full cup of milk, it'd be less obvious. The cream cheese taste was unnoticeable with the pasta, though. I think this would make a good base for another sauce. It was good but a traditional Alfredo sauce is already so easy. But for times when I don't have cream, this will be my stand-by.

2009 edit: Use cheesecloth to strain the carrots! Wrap 1/3 the carrots in a cheesecloth pouch, twist it shut and squeeze. I've finally figured out how to make this moist without sogginess. My family loves carrot cake so I’ve made this recipe many times since I first found it. First, do what you can the night before and store ingredients in ziplock bags/tupperware. Grate the carrots, strain the pineapple, sift the dry ingredients, etc. The only things I added: 1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves, added 1x the vanilla and cinnamon, ½ tsp baking POWDER, and the zest of one lemon. I nuked the raisins in equal parts of the drained pineapple juices and rum. The raisins absorbed most of the liquids and were really plump and delicious. Save a few tablespoons to add to the cake. I didn’t want to risk a dry cake so I compromised. I drained the carrots BEFORE I added the brown sugar. After the carrots sit for an hour, there will still be some liquid; add all of it. My cake ended up moist, flavorful, and TALL. Don't over-mix or let your cake sit too long. Baking soda reacts immediately so if you over-mix or leave it around, the gas will escape and your cake will be flat. Use the good pans. Line the bottom of your layer pans with wax paper or parchment paper. Better safe than sorry! To make a bundt, bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes. Use a cream cheese glaze: beat 4oz cream cheese with 2tsp vanilla and 2c powdered sugar. And 1-2tbsp milk/rum to get spreading consistency.

For what these were (a recipe for /quick/ bread) these were very tasty. They had a very nice oat flavor. However, the dough was very, very soft. Even after sitting for ten minutes, the dough was still too soft to form a ball. So I added about a 1/4c of bread flour and decided to make drop biscuits instead. I added sunflower seeds and 2 tablespoons of unground oatmeal, so the biscuits were very dense and very chewy, which was what I wanted from this recipe. I think that next time, I'll treat it like a quickbread and pour the batter into a loaf pan. I bet it would also be a good base for some less-guilt-inducing garlic cheese biscuits.

These are AMAZING. And very filling. I ate mine with honey and sliced strawberries. These pancakes also freeze well, so since I'm cooking for one, I cook the whole recipe, put a piece of wax paper between each pancake and stick them in the freezer in a ziploc bag. Toast them for a few minutes in the toaster oven and voila! A delicious breakfast on the run. I only made a few changes: I used wheat flour, added 1tsp each of vanilla and cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. I used pecan chips because that's what I had, but definitely use chopped pecans if you have them for a more satisfying crunch. This recipe is very hearty so if you prefer lighter pancakes but want that oatmeal flavor, try try subbing oatmeal flour in your regular pancake recipe (Oatmeal flour can be easily made by processing oatmeal in a blender or food processor. Like wheat flour, it has no gluten so mix 50/50 with all purpose flour.) I didn't have a problem with soupy ingredients at all because I let the batter sit for a few minutes after mixing. In fact, the mix was thick enough that I had to add more milk to the mix while I was cooking because it had thickened even MORE. These could use a bit more of a punch. As they are, without honey or syrup, they're a bit on the bland side. I think a small mashed banana or 1/4c of peanut butter would make these utterly perfect instead of very near perfect.

These are really good meatballs. I added some salt and pepper and a few shakes of cayenne pepper because we like it hot. I also toasted some hoagie rolls to make individual servings and used mozzarella. Delicious! EDIT: After making this a few more times I'd like to add some advice. Use the leanest hamburger you can find. Even 85/15 will produce too much grease. Bake over a broiler pan to get rid of the grease. Adding one or two links of fresh, spicy sausage is delicious. Just slice open the casings and add the meat. Use the cheap bread crumbs. I've tried this recipe with fresh, storebought, and panko (Japanese bread crumbs) and it tastes best with the cheap, 'Italian' breadcrumbs.

These are AMAZING! They're so moist and chocolatey and dangerous. Because guess what I just had for dinner instead of healthy food. I made a couple of changes. I doubled the recipe. I added 1/4 cup of wheat germ, a handful of chocolate chips, and I increased the cocoa to 1 1/4c because I wanted to add booze. I added about 3/4 to 1 cup of booze. If you add alcohol, depending on what kind, you might need to decrease the sugar. I added coffee liqueur and amaretto so I cut back on the sugar. These turned out so well. I was a little worried because I hated the taste of the batter. But I'd done all the work so I baked them anyway. They ended up a tiny bit of dry crust on top and utterly moist on the middle. I'll making this often. I just wish I'd had nuts or raspberries for the batter.

I wish I'd read all of the reviews before making this. It wasn't bad per se, but it certainly wasn't sweet and sour chicken so my search continues. This has WAY too much thyme. It was practically the only thing I could taste. I'm not that fond of thyme, but even if you like it, this is really overpowering. I think it would be a good sauce if you cut the thyme in half. It's just not sweet and sour chicken.

This was very good. It needed a little more texture though. The next time I make it, I think I'll add a layer of beans or seasoned ground meat. And, II'll press in an additional layer of tomatoes and onions (I hate olives so I left them out) between the refried beans and the guacamole in addition the top layer. The flavor was good, but the tomatoes and onions get all over the place and without them, it's mush. I'd recommend letting this sit over night. Otherwise, reduce the amount of taco seasoning. It's really overwhelming on the first day.

These don't taste like Red Lobster's biscuits, in fact, with a few changes, I think these are even better. By the way, the butter mix is way too much. Halving it should be fine. I made some changes. I had fresh parsley, so I chopped that up and added about two tablespoons to the the bowl, along with garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning. Next time, I think I'll use two teaspoons of Old Bay. I added 1/3cup melted butter to the batter, doubled the cheese, and used only 1 cup of water. Be careful with the water. The amount you need varies on the humidity in your house, and adding the melted butter mean you need to pay extra attention when adding the water. The dough shouldn't feel wet. I pulled the biscuits out a few minutes before they were done, brushed them with the butter mix and put them back in the oven. Then, when they came out, I brushed them with butter again. Fattening, but so delicious. And if you've decided to make cheddar biscuits you've already committed to spending extra time at the gym.

Utterly delicious, but I gave it a four because it's so much work. It took me hours, even though I did quite a bit of work ahead of time. The next time I make this, I'm going to double and freeze it. I used this to clean out my fridge. I used half of a squash and a sweet potato. I like this combo, it added a hint of sweetness and some creaminess to the ricotta mixture. I used my homemade tomato sauce, which runs to very spicy, so it was a nice balance between the two tastes. Next time, I won't even bother with dicing, I'll just bake the squash, mash it, and add it to the ricotta. The pesto is a great idea. It adds SO much flavor to the ricotta. Sure, it's high fat, but it's lasagne! Splurge a little. The only other thing I did differently was salt my eggplants and let them sweat for a while. Then, I dipped my eggplant slices in egg, then breadcrumbs, and baked them for a few minutes on each side.

Simple and delicious. I actually let mine bubble for quite a while to thicken in up a little more. The next time I make this, I think I'll reduce the rum for a little while, and THEN add the butter. I also used spiced rum, and that gave it a nice kick. I doubled the recipe so I think we'll have it with pancakes tomorrow. I tored it by separating the bananas and the liquid so the bananas wouldn't get mushy. They'll be SO good over pancakes, and after boiling it for a few minutes, the rum mix is thick enough to use as syrup. Yum! This might be my new favorite pancake syrup.

This is DELICIOUS. It looks so unassuming but it has a nice bite to it. This recipe makes a ton, so be careful. I doubled the recipe so that I could have leftovers, but I would have had plenty of leftovers with the original recipe. I made a few changes. I thinly sliced 8oz of bacon and cooked it in the soup pot with a little olive oil until crispy. I removed the bacon and set it aside. (Use it as a garnish later!) Then, I added the butter and the onions and celery. You could leave out the olive oil, but olive oil has a much higher burning point and adds some stability as well as some nice flavor. Other than that, I added two cups of diced carrots to the potatoes, subbed half of the milk with half-and-half, 1 can of corn and two cans of cream-style corn, and I used 1 cup Monterey Jack and one cup of Mexican mix cheese. I added some shredded, cooked chicken in with the cheese. Be careful with the spices. I tasted it when I checked the potatoes and it was a little bland. The Monterey Jack will add the kick it needs, so don't worry. I used low sodium, low fat chicken broth because I cook for people with different preferences in saltiness. If you use low sodium broth, you WILL need to add salt. A few notes: Don't use the gravy that as 'sausage bits' unless you're slow cooking it--it takes them a while to reconstitute. This recipe freezes very nicely. Take it out to defrost a little in the fridge the day before. It separates some before it freezes so don't micro