Irresistible Double Chocolate Muffins

Reviewed: Oct. 6, 2009

I was very pleasantly surprised, never having worked with both wheat germ and flax seed, and in the same recipe with pumpkin. The only change I made was baking this as a loaf instead of muffins. We enjoyed this and will have it again soon.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Spicy Corn Chowder

Reviewed: Oct. 6, 2009

I made this as written, although I cut the recipe in half. Unfortunately, it didn't work for us. The honey, orange, soy sauce just seem out of place considering the rest of the ingredients. I wish I had heeded my instinct to omit them, because I tasted before I added them and thought the flavor was ok.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Pumpkin Fudge

Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2009

I read most of the reviews and attempted this recipe twice. I cook, I follow recipes often, and I was shocked I totally screwed it up the first time!! My fudge didn't set, I don't think I boiled it long enough (I did 18 minutes but I don't think my heat was high enough, I kept it more like a low-medium b/c it was boiling and medium heat seemed too high and I was afraid I was going to burn it) More importantly, I didn't have a full cup of white chocolate chips for the first batch so that could have been part of it too. The second time, I think I got it right, kinda. I was afraid to under-cook it again so I cooked it for like 21 mins on medium heat. I might have overcooked it a little bit but in the end it set fine, its just a little dry...probably b/c I over did it by the three minutes. The taste is really good but I wish it was a little smoother. It feels a little grainy in your mouth unless I did something else wrong?! Overall, its decent and I will be serving it to guests! I might attempt it one more time.

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DanaL

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Long Island, New York, USA

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Pineapple Chicken Tenders

Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2009

Excellent! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. Follwed the recipe and would not change a thing. I could not BBQ so I put in under the broiler, and I made kabobs with Pepper, onion and fresh pineapple. it was great!

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DT1068

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Long Island, New York, USA

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Restaurant-Quality Baked Potato Soup

Reviewed: Sep. 27, 2009

Good grief! I have been making this for nearly 4 years (based on the date at the bottom of the printed recipe) and somehow haven't rated it until now. We've been absolutely loving it, but I do double the amount of potatoes used (for a chunkier soup) and microwave them when I haven't planned sufficiently ahead. Sometimes I'll use potato flakes as stated, but if there are leftover mashed potatoes on hand, then those will be subbed. I also saute a clove of garlic with the chopped onion. Thankfully it's a very forgiving recipe. I've had to increase the number of servings that I make in hopes of having a bowlful leftover for lunch the next day. Yum!

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DianeF

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Long Island, New York, USA

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Daddy's Whisker Soup

Reviewed: Sep. 26, 2009

I cut this recipe in half since only 2 of us were eating. I substituted 8 oz. of extra sharp white cheddar and 12 oz yellow cheddar for the processed cheese. I grated it and added it to the milk and heated and stirred the milk until it all had melted. Other than that I followed the recipe as written. We enjoyed it and will be making this again over the winter, although I may add a bit more dill and maybe a shake of worstershire. Thank you JM for a soup that will warm many a cold night at our house.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens

Reviewed: Sep. 24, 2009

I made a meal of 1 bunch of beets and their greens. I followed the recipe as written. I did add some crumbled feta as I had seen on another similar recipe. This was healthy, flavorful and an excellent use of ingredient. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Rustic Country Bread

Reviewed: Sep. 22, 2009

I was going to write this recipe off as pretentious based on a quick scan of the ingredients- I mean spring water? In rustic bread? Then I thought about it and I realized that many people have trouble with breads because of the chlorine and flouride in their water. That said, I used filtered tap water and AP flour because that is what I had on hand. I follow the instructions and made a lovely biga and waited impatiently for 12 hours to use it. The dough came together beautifully. Without adding any additional flour it was slightly sticky, but I decided to see how it felt after the first rise. I cloaked it very lightly with flour before punching down and from that point on it was perfect. The extra rise helped the flavor develop and it baked into the most beautiful boule. I tossed 4 ice cubes into the bottom of my oven at the start of baking and the crust was chewy and crusty. I refrigerated the remaining biga and will be making another loaf tomorrow. Very nice recipe, Chris!......9/26/09 UPDATE: I just made another loaf using the reserved starter. This time I used 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup AP flour and 1/2 cup rye. It is slightly denser, but still has a great crust and still came together almost effortlessly.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Fluffy French Toast

Reviewed: Sep. 20, 2009

I am not a cook and am very intimidated by the kitchen, but this recipe was super easy and the French toast was delicious! I will definitely make it again!

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Christine0402

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Mellas Family Lamb Stuffed Zucchini (Koosa)

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

This took care of a monster zucchini someone gave me. I made 3 very minor changes. First, I eliminated the salt for dietary reasons and to my taste it wasn't missed. Second, I didn't realize I had no tomato paste until I was well into preparing this so I just cooked the sauce down to thicken it. Third, I used fresh mint instead of dried because I had it on hand. The cinnamon adds a lovely flavor and I think next time I will increase it slightly. Thanks for a tasty dish.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Olive Oil Roasted Eggplant with Lemon

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

Another vegetable I never thought of roasting, until someone posts a simple recipe like this. I added a little garlic powder while it roasted and I served open face on homemade bread with feta cheese on top. We loved it. Thanks Sandra, great recipe.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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French Country Bread

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2009

I didn't think this needed more salt. The flavor is derived from the sponge and it is excellent. I'm wondering if there is an error in the ingredient list however. The instructions call for all the flour to be added, then say add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Since It produced such a very wet. loose dough I added an additional 1 cup of bread flour and 1/2 cup of WW to maintain the proportions. I still had a very wet dough, but I was able to work with it. It smelled great while baking, has a beautiful, rustic crumb and a crunchy, chewy crust. I threw 4 ice cubes in my oven to help crisp the crust. Thank you for a very nice bread.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Sesame Beef Bites

Reviewed: Sep. 16, 2009

I couldn't see any reason to use tenderloin in this recipe. I used a boneless chuck steak cut into 1" cubes but any flavorful cut of beef would work. I ended up marinating it for 24 hours because something came up and I couldn't cook it when planned. It had no ill effect. We are not teriyaki fans, so I made double the amount of the marinade and heated it while the meat cooked. I poured that over and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds. I also served this as a main course over wide egg noodles cooked with fresh spinach. The plate looked good and tasted good. We will have this again. Thanks for the recipe.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Bread Machine Garlic Bread

Reviewed: Sep. 16, 2009

Not having a bread machine, I made this using my KA. I made some substitutions, 1 cup of warm milk in place of the water and dry milk and olive oil in place of butter. It came together beautifully. I took about an hour for the first rise and by then I didn't get as much of a garlic smell, so I kneaded in 3 large cloves of minced, shaped my loaf, allowed to rise gain and baked at 375 for 35 minutes. With the added garlic it was just right to please our tastes.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Crustless Spinach Quiche

Reviewed: Sep. 16, 2009

I'm so happy I found this recipe! I'm low-carbing and this is perfect for me. The variations are endless. I use about 3/4 cup of ricotta cheese and thin it out with a little cream. I add the spinach right into the cheese/egg mixture and skip adding it to the pan. I love the addition of the sauteed onions and I also saute mushrooms and add them in as well. Thanks for the great recipe!!!

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LULU714

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

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Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans

Reviewed: Sep. 15, 2009

I made this as written and it was very good, but I felt something was missing so the second time I added 1/2 tsp garlic powder as the beans were cooking and I took another rater's suggestion and drizzled with sesame oil to finish. Very good recipe, thanks for sharing.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Microwave Caramel Popcorn

Reviewed: Sep. 11, 2009

Delicious! Thank you! The kids love it!

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kateshreds

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Spring Lake, New Jersey, USA

Living In: Long Island, New York, USA

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Cindy's Awesome Clam Chowder

Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2009

Very easy and very tasty! I followed the recipe as written, using fat free half and half. I did add about a teaspoon of thyme because I think it adds a richness to the clam flavor. I served this with homemade Caraway Rye from this site and a green salad. Turned a gloomy wet day right around. Thanks Cindy, this is a keeper.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Mexican Veggies with Queso

Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2009

We really enjoyed this. The veggies are tender crisp and the flavors blend beautifully. I was unable to find any white Mexican cheese, so I subbed goat cheese. I will be making this again and trying different cheeses. Thanks for sharing Linda.

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BigShotsMom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Long Island, New York, USA

Living In: Long Beach, New York, USA

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Greek Honey Cake

Reviewed: Sep. 9, 2009

Yummy! Yummy! This cake was so good. It was moist, rich and fluffy! I made it exactly to the recipe, it was easy, fast and yummy. Even the clean-up was easy. The only problem I had was trying not to eat too much!

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