Mushroom Barley Soup

Reviewed: Nov. 25, 2009

Like others, I made the following changes: 1) added 2 bay leaves and 3 cloves garlic, 2) cooked veggies and barley in the same pot at the same time 3) increased beef broth to 8 C and added 2 C water 4) doubled celery and carrots. The result was a warm filling soup that was rather bland. It needs something else - maybe a can of tomatoes, or some spices, or some sherry. I am going to play around with the leftovers and see what I can come up with.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Cucumber Sandwiches I

Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2009

I liked the cream cheese mix and will probably use it again on other sandwiches or bagels in the morning. However, I didn't think the sandwiches were anything special.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Italian Dressing Mix

Reviewed: Nov. 23, 2009

Too salty! And that's after I skipped the salt and used celery seed instead of celery salt. Next time I would use skip the salt altogether by using garlic powder and celery seed instead of their salty cousins. I whipped this up to use in another recipe that called for an Italian dressing packet and it worked great aside from the salt issue. I will try it as salad dressing sometime too.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Grandma's Sweet Slaw

Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2009

Pretty good, and easy too!

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squrlcraft

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Broccoli Chicken Salad

Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2009

This was very tasty and easy to whip up. It was even better after a night in the fridge. I will make it again.

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squrlcraft

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies I

Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2009

The "batter" was a bit too gloppy so I had to add more oats. They were also way too sweet. I wish I could find my mom's old recie for these.

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squrlcraft

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Chicken Broth in a Slow Cooker

Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

I followed JCL's suggestions which included using a leftover chicken carcass/pan juices, adding 4 cloves of garlic and 2 bay leaves, and skipping the basil. I also added 1 t of salt and used 8 C of water. I like that this way lets you use every bit of the chicken. The carcass I had was leftover from the Roast Sticky Rotisserie Chicken recipe on this site (try it, you won't be disappointed). I threw everything in the slow cooker, cooked overnight on low, strained and refrigerated the next morning, then skimmed off the fat in the evening. Presto - delicious chicken broth that practically made itself while I was doing other things!

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Roast Sticky Chicken-Rotisserie Style

Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2009

This is by far the best way to roast chicken! The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and the flavor is great with just a hint of heat. I would recommend putting your chicken in the pan breast side up since the skin turns out better that way. I didn't realize the recipe calls for two chickens until after hubby had put all of the spice on one chicken. We rolled with it and ended up loving it. I would do it that way again. I did cut back the salt to just 1.5 t due to other reviews stating it was too salty. Try it - you won't be disappointed!

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Spicy Rapid Roast Chicken

Reviewed: Oct. 20, 2009

This has nice seasoning and the chicken turns out with delicious crispy skin, but we had to roast it about a half hour longer than stated. That is the only flaw with this recipe.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Couscous Feta Salad

Reviewed: Aug. 25, 2009

This salad had a nutty taste that overpowered everything else. I love feta and the other flavors in the dressing but I couldn't taste them at all. There are better couscous recipes out there and I wouldn't try this again.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Tangy Green Herb Dressing

Reviewed: Aug. 25, 2009

Yum! I finely chopped the herbs and skipped the blender and it worked fine. I used this as a dip for celery but it would also be good on salads, tossed with cucumbers, or dolloped on top of chicken or fish. It's a nice healthy way to get some extra calcium into your diet.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Tuna Salad With Fresh Dill

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

Very good, fresh tasting filling for tuna sandwiches. I read the reviews ahead of time and drained the liquid out of the tuna can, but otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I am looking forward to trying this in a tuna melt.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Tabbouleh III

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of cooking the bulgur according to package directions, which called for much less water and eliminated the squeezing step. I thought the finished salad was great, and the flavor was pretty close to what I get at the Lebanese deli near my house, except there was a little less parsley in this recipe. Overall, this is a keeper that I will make often during the summer when I can get abundant fresh herbs at the farmer's market.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Summer Cucumber Salad

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

As written, I had a few issues with this recipe. First, I found there was way too much dressing for only one cuke. Also, it was pretty bland. I added 2 more cukes, 1 T vinegar, and 1/2 t salt, and it was just about perfect. Definitely let it chill in the fridge for awhile before eating so all the flavors can blend.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Blueberry Walnut Salad

Reviewed: Aug. 11, 2009

Great combo of sweet and salty flavors in this salad. I always add onion per other reviews, and I have also tried it with nectarine. Both are good additions. I'm not a fan of bottled raspberry vinaigrette, so I've tried a few variations on the dresing. I've found that both balsamic vinaigrette and a simple oil/lemon juice vinaigrette are good substitutions. Next time I might even try making raspberry vinaigrette from fresh berries and see if I get converted! This is definitely a keeper with lots of fresh variations possible.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Japanese Zucchini and Onions

Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2009

Rather than serving this as a side dish, I added some chicken and called it a meal. The flavor is great but I do think the texture suffers from the long cooking times. Next time I'd cut it down to 1-2 minutes so the veggies keep some of their crispness. Also, the sauce is pretty thin so if you want it to coat the veggies I'd recommend adding some corn starch.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Sweet and Spicy Green Beans

Reviewed: Jul. 19, 2009

Yum! This is a nice, different way to make green beans. It reminds me of side dishes I've had at Asian restaurants. I used Sriracha garlic chile sauce and it was just the right amount of spice. I only wish that the sauce would have coated the beans more. It was thin and puddled at the bottom of the bowl. Next time I might add a bit of cornstarch to thicken it up.

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JUMAHA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Fridley, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Maple Grove, Minnesota, USA

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Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

Reviewed: Jul. 7, 2009

Delicious! You can even cut down on the fat content with the cream cheese and not notice a difference. I put mine over whole wheat noodles and it's excellent!

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