On a recent weekend trip to Milwaukee, I tried something similar at a popular German restaurant and swore I HAD to make it at home! I came across this recipe (which is also in my "favorites" book) and decided to give it a try. I LOVE German food, but found this dish to be just OK. I made this for my bf and parents this past weekend. Everyone but me seemed to like it. I purchased a 3 lb. pork loin roast and it was just right for the 4 of us (2 slices per person). I'ts a good thing that I found the roast as I almost picked up a tenderloin filet and am glad I didn't! The butcher at my local grocer told me that a tenderloin would fall apart after several hours in the slow cooker and that the loin roast was exactly what I needed (who knew?). My only regret is not adding apples or enough brown sugar to sweeten the dish (I decided to add 1.5 T brown sugar after reading all the reviews). The kraut was too tart (I was hoping for a subtly sweet flavor). I also want to note that, as written, this recipe does not call for enough sauerkraut. My mom wanted a second helping, but there was none left after dishing out 4 servings. This goes particularly well with applesauce, parsleyed new potatoes and rye or pumpernickel bread. I hope to make this again, but with some modifications and following the cooking directions EXACTLY (I lost track of time, found a similar recipe in another one of my cookbooks and ended up preparing my roast to those specifications - which made it a little tough). Thx!

These were OK. Pretty good, but not my standard "go to" burger (which I was hoping to find...). I scaled the recipe to yield 4 burgers (2 each for my bf and I). The burgers had some flavor, but nothing "over the top". Served on onion rolls with hicory smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and Bar-b-q sauce. Had I not served wtih the extras, I wouldn't have liked these very much. I might make these again, but not any time soon and probably not on a regular basis. Thanks anyways!

This was OK. Not bad, but not great. I guess I just don't care for roasted vegetables.... but I needed something light and fresh to go with the Balsamic Chicken and Fresh Mozzarella dish (by TVMOVIEGIRL) that I made for my bf and I tonight. I scaled this to 3 servings for the two of us. Per other's reviews, here's what I did: a) only used half the amount of herbs (dried) called for, b) roasted the potatoes, covered, for 30 minutes at 425 degrees, c) added asparagus (covered) and roasted 5 minutes and d) uncovered dish and roasted all veggies for another 5 minutes. Turned out PERFECT!!! Just not crazy about the taste (again, I think I am not a roasted veggie gal). Good recipe, but not for me. I definitely think anyone who likes veggies prepared this way would enjoy this one. Thanks anyways!

An average dish. I didn't have high expectations, given the fact that I thought this would be very "simple" tasting (i.e. without a lot of flavor). I like capresse salad, but usually as an "appetizer" preceding a more substantial (rich) Italian dish, so the fact that it is light usually doesn't bother me. I guess I am a "meat and potatoes" gal.... I marinated my chicken breasts for about 7 hrs. in 8 oz. of Marzetti's balsamic dressing (made half the recipe for my bf and I). Also cooked chicken as directed on low heat for about 30 minutes and had no problems with dryness. Served "capresse style" - topped with a slice of FRESH mozzarella, a fresh basil leaf and a slice of beefsteak tomato, a sprinkling of coarse salt and fresh "cracked" black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic. Try this with Oven Roasted Red Potatoes and Asparagus by THREDDIES (on this site) and some warm Italian bread with olive oil and fresh Parmesan for dipping. Overall good, but not great and won't make on a regular basis. Just not for me. Sorry!

UPDATE: Leftovers are just as good. It also made me think that the pie filling might be good on a Mexican pizza. Yum! Yummy, yum, yum!!! Made this for dinner tonight for my bf and I. We both really enjoyed it, even though the bf thought it to be too "beany" (but he doesn't care for beans that much anyways). I made only half the recipe since it was just for the two of us. I layered all ingredients as directed - except for omitting olives (neither my bf or I care for them) and using DOUBLE the amount of cheese (Mexican blend). My tortillas were slightly wider than the dish I used (a round Corning Ware casserole dish), but after pressing them down, they fit perfectly. I did find that the tortillas were a bit mushy (but not too bad) and that the pie needed to set for about 10 mintues before slicing in order to firm up. My bf was HUNGRY, so I served us right away and dealt with it. : ) I wonder if using two tortillas per layer would solve this problem??? Served with fiesta corn and tortilla chips for scooping! I think I might try the meat / bean mixture over nachos sometime. A very easy and delicious dish that I'm sure kids would love (just use mild chilies and taco sauce - I used the medium-heat variety). This one's going in my "keeper" file and replaces the Mexican Lasagna recipe by POPCKLGAL that I usually prepare. Thanks for sharing!

UPDATE: I had SO many leftovers, I felt guilty letting them go to waste. Made myself a MB sandwich on toasted garlic bread. The MB's tassted better after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days. Much better as a sandwich. Made this for dinner (I was craving meatballs!). Both my bf & I didn't find this dish to be "out of this world". I had high hopes for the meatballs, but not the sauce. The meatballs were good, the sauce "OK". Here are the changes I made: a) used 1/2 c. red wine and 1/2 c. water in the sauce, b) subbed dried herbs for fresh, c) subbed Italian seasoning for oregano (4 t), d) added slightly more onion (maybe 1 T more), e) only used 2 T white sugar & browned meatballs in a little oil before adding to the sauce to simmer. I accidentally added 4 T dried parsley instead of 4 t (I read that 1 t dried herbs should be subbed for every T fresh - there are 4 T in 1/4 c), and it didn't affect the taste. I also added spicy Italian sausage (1 in. pieces) to the sauce. It takes a lot of effort to prepare the meatballs. For the effort involved, I'd rather use my mom's recipe. Unfortunately, she can't find hers and doesn't know it from memory or else I would have. I'll keep looking for a good meatball recipe and just prepare arrabbiata sauce by Ellen (on this site), omitting the red pepper to make marinara. Thanks for sharing!

UPDATE: My friend called to say that her mom and dad LOVED these and that she HAD to have the recipe. Now that's a compliment! A pretty good burger, however, not my "favorite" (but I'm VERY picky when it comes to burgers...). Made these for my friend and I. She LOVED them and is taking the leftovers (made 4 burgers) to her mom and dad b/c I didn't want to keep them. Don't get me wrong... these were good, just now wow! Here's the modifications I made based on other's reviews / suggestions: a) used an entire 1 oz. pkg. of Ranch seasoning instead of 1/2 of it as called for and b) broiled burgers for 4-5 minutes per side (made these around 9 PM - too late to get out the grill). I purchased some real bacon bits to add to the burger mixture, but forgot to add them! I'm sure that would have been a nice touch. Topped my burger with cheddar cheese and peppercorn ranch dressing. Would like to try adding shredded cheddar cheese and / or crushed potato chips to the meat mixture and coating with peppercorn seasoning as per another's suggestion. Maybe that would make it a keeper for me (?). Maybe top with bacon too? Thanks for sharing. : )

Wow! Deserving of all 5 stars (IMHO). Made this tonight for a quick dinner. Preparation was a breeze. Marinated pork and veggies for 2 hours. I made enough marinade for the full recipe, but cubed a 1.25 lb. pork tenderloin (enough for 4 servings). Made 4 skewers. Broiled about 10 minutes total, turning every 2.5 minutes. The only substitution I made was to add minced garlic rather than crushed garlic to the marinade (when I reached for the fresh stuff, I realized that it was past it's prime...). Served with rice pilaf. My bf loved the onions especially and told me that I could have just marinated onions and grilled them and he'd be happy! Definitely a keeper. Thanks!

Oh my goodness... GOOD burger!!! Made these for my bf and I tonight. I am not a fan of plain grilled burgers, but these HIT THE SPOT! Recipe yields 4 PLUMP burgers. I can normally eat 2, but tonight, all I could manage was 1 (haha!). All I did to modify the recipe was to add a little more than half of a 4 oz. can of mild diced green chilies (drained) and 1/4 c. of plain bread crumbs per other's suggestions, and, instead of grilling, broiled for approximately 4-5 minutes per side. Topped with mild cheddar (my local grocer did not have the smoked variety) and salsa and served with nacho Doritos and homemade pink lemonade to wash it all down. Yum-o!

UPDATE: Warmed up some left-overs for lunch today and was somewhat disappointed. The hot dogs were very unappealing (i.e. wrinkled / shriveled) and the bean mixture was gummy. Next time, I'll warm up in the oven instead of in the microwave. Maybe this will alleviate the problem. I can remember my mom making a similar casserole when I was a child. I liked hers back then and I really like this one, although a little different (I think mom's recipe called for katsup and maybe Worcestershire sauce)! Mom can't find her copy and doesn't remember it verbatim (she hasn't made this in a long while), so I'm keeping this one in my "keeper" file so I have it at the ready! This is a very inexpensive, kid-friendly main dish and is SUPER easy to prepare (I love that!). My only modifications were to use half of a 16 oz. pkg. of hot dogs (4 dogs) and skip slicing them (just dropped each one on top of the bean mixture). A full pkg. seemed like too much, especially since the recipe only called for one can of beans. Other than that, I followed this recipe to a T. Served with "hot dog bun" garlic bread (a cheap creation of mine!). Thanks for sharing. : )