Kendra Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (1012865)

Easy Avgolemono Soup

Reviewed: Mar. 10, 2012

This recipe just didn't do it for me. I've had Avgolemono soup before at Greek restaurants and Greek Orthodox church festivals and this recipe was not similar. It wasn't even a very decent soup. I made the recipe exactly as it was written and there was way too much rice in it. I saved some of the soup for leftovers and now it looks/tastes like a casserole or rice bake, not a soup. Wouldn't make it again.

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Okra Rice

Reviewed: Mar. 10, 2012

Wow, I was really surprised at how bland this dish turned out. I guess it was my own fault since I made two changes to the recipes - I used no-salt bouillon + water instead of broth and a 1/4lb of bacon instead of a 1lb. A pound of bacon is just too much cholesterol in ANY recipe. So yeah, I did change the recipe, but if salt and fat are the only things making this recipe taste good, then why bother? I won't make this recipe again. I can't think how to fix it without making it a calorie and salt nightmare. Update: This dish is REALLY bad as leftovers. The flavors do not develop well. Nope, won't be making this again ever.

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Baked Rice and Vegetables in Broth

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2012

This is really good! I did do things a bit differently after reading the reviews, but I didn't change that much. I used about 1/2 - 2/3 cup of each vegetable instead of 1/4. I sauteed the onions first, because I hate crunchy onions, and didn't use the onion flakes. I also used 3 1/2 cups broth as some of the reviews suggested. I followed other suggestions and cooked the rice in the covered dish for 30 minutes by itself, stirring once, before adding the veggies. I was really disappointed to see, after the 30 minutes, that the rice (all three kinds) was perfectly done! So I added a smidge more water, mixed in the veggies, and baked for another 20 minutes. Came out fine, but next time I'll just add the veggies after 10 minutes and see how that works. I don't know why so many others have had trouble with this recipe. I'd say to add the extra cup of water and make sure to tightly cover the baking dish so the steam doesn't evaporate (I used foil). Spray the dish with non-stick spray or grease it. Make this right and it turns out fantastic. I've used it as a great veggie main dish, but it would also be good as side dish.

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Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding I

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2012

I followed this recipe exactly, except for omitting the optional raisins. I have never made rice pudding before so I was pretty excited about it, but unhappy with the result. Just like for BTSYLYNN (see other reviews), my milk and egg separated and curdled despite frequent stirring. Too bad I hadn't read the reviews first and seen BTSYLYNN's suggestions! If I make this again, I will try the water bath and maybe add some cream and more spices (more nutmeg, cinnamon) like other reviews suggested. Even with the weird texture, what I ended up with is decent so it might be worth another try.

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Best Buckwheat Pancakes

Reviewed: Jan. 12, 2012

This is my go-to pancake recipe. I've been making them for years. My boyfriend asks for them all the time. He recently bought some local maple syrup while up in NY and what did he do? He brought it home and begged me to make "those pancakes." The batter is very runny so I prefer to use a small pan to make the 4-inch pancakes the recipe suggests. I find it very hard to make small cakes with a large pan.

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Beef and Barley Soup II

Reviewed: Jan. 12, 2012

Delicious and simple. Take this basic recipe and add what you want or have on hand. Freezes great. I added thick-sliced carrots and onion soup mix (per two reviewers) as well as chunks of sweet potato and diced tomatoes (added the toms for the last half hour). Turned out great.

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Pesto

Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2011

This recipe never fails. I often omit the parsley.

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Berry Soup

Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2011

I just didn't love this. It was not what I imagined it would be. First, definitely not a soup. It's a breakfast mash or porridge. It got really old after eating it for a couple breakfasts. Then I started warming it up and adding some milk, which made it better, but not great. As it is, it's expensive (cherries and frozen raspberries aren't cheap) and not that great for the price. Maybe substituting other kinds of fruit, like other reviewers suggested, would help, but I don't plan on checking.

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Slow-Cooker Lasagne

Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2011

I made this recipe as written and it was very good. I considered using Italian sausage instead of beef (since that's how you make REAL lasagna, IMO), but the Italian sausage was too expensive so I used beef. The lasagna still turned out very tasty and would, I think, be even better with bulk Italian sausage. The pasta sauce I had on hand had green peppers and onions so that worked well. This recipe was also a good way to use up the few leftover lasagna noodles I always have after making regular lasagna. The only problem I had with the recipe is that it's not a good slow cooker recipe for someone who works full time, which is kind of the point of slow cookers. I had to make it on the weekend because I can't run home to set up and plug in the slow cooker at lunch. I cooked this on low for 5 hours, but much longer would have meant burnt lasagna. For many slow cooker recipes, you can let them go for 8-10 hours at a time which = plug in, leave for work, come home, eat. Can't do that with this one so, in the end, prepping a regular lasagna (about the same amount of prep as this recipe) over the weekend, freezing it, thawing later in the fridge while you're at work, and popping in the oven when you get home is less time intensive. No need to sit around the house for 4-6 hours on a weekend while it cooks. But if you can run home and turn on your slow cooker halfway thru the day, this is a great recipe. And it is a great way to use up those extra lasagna noodles. Makes a lot too!

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Ham Stir Fry with Couscous

Reviewed: Apr. 14, 2010

The only substitution I made was to use a veggie stir-fry mix instead of the broccoli/cauliflower mix. I also used rice instead of couscous because my boyfriend doesn't care for couscous. Didn't change anything else. The dish was good, although not stellar. The sauce was nicely sweet (good with the ham) and thick, but maybe a bit too thick. I think I'd add a little less cornstarch next time. The dish was tasty and VERY quick so I would make again, although I might try it with chicken next time.

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Sesame Beef Stir-Fry

Reviewed: Mar. 4, 2010

This dish was simply bland. It tasted ok, nothing terribly wrong with it, but it simply didn't get the taste buds going. The marinade, despite lots of good ingredients, was unremarkable. Since it had no thickener, it remained thin and watery rather than providing a nice sauce for the vegetables and meat. I would not make this again and will definitely try another beef stir-fry recipe next time.

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Sweet Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Reviewed: Nov. 22, 2009

Same problem as the other reviewers: my oil and sugar mix separated. I just poured all of it over the pumpkin seeds, but was disappointed with how the sugar (now caramel) made clumps of some of the seeds and didn't seem to coat most of the others. I think the problem was that my seeds had cooled so this recipe should note that the seeds have to be hot or warm, probably straight out of the oven, to stop the caramel from clumping when poured on them. Also, the seeds didn't seem very spicy with the chili powder so I added cayenne to the batch to make it a little hotter (per another reviewer's suggestion). Overall, this recipe has potential, but is woefully incomplete or incorrect as is.

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Country-Italian Chicken and Potatoes

Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2009

I just felt like this dish was not too tasty. It was ok, but not great. There was too much sauce and not very much flavor. I did use a different pasta sauce than the recommended Ragu sauce so maybe that would have made the difference, but I think there still would have been too much sauce.

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Spice Baked Rice

Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2009

Very easy and delicious. I made no changes and it turned out excellent! As another reviewer said, it's a bit like spanish rice or a (really) dirty rice. Very hearty.

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Skillet Pasta and Beef Dinner

Reviewed: Nov. 17, 2009

This is an incredibly easy dish to make and tastes good. It's like Hamburger Helper, but without paying for an overpriced box of noodles and spices. I'll make again next time I have extra pasta sauce and beef laying around. (Tip: Use whatever pasta sauce you want, not just Ragu!)

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Ziti with Tomato-Pesto Sauce

Reviewed: Nov. 4, 2009

Simple, easy, fast meal for a quick dinner. Nothing amazing, but good and basic. The pesto added a nice flavor, but wasn't overpowering. I used whole wheat penne in place of regular ziti (couldn't find whole wheat ziti) as well as a mushroom & pepper tomato sauce to add a few more nutrients. Adding sliced veggies to the sauce would also make this dish more hearty.

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Wild Rice and Squash Pilaf

Reviewed: Oct. 21, 2009

Delicious pilaf. Worked well as a main dish. I didn't change a thing, besides omitting the almonds. This was a really tasty, different dish that I would certainly make again. If making it again as a main meal, I'd add more squash, peppers, and mushrooms to make it a little more hearty. By the way, a small delicata squash was exactly 1 1/2 cups and was not hard to peel!

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Chicken with Couscous

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2009

This dish was ok, but not great. I read a lot of the reviews before making it and decided not to change anything as I like spicy foods. I used 3 jalapenos (about 1/2 c.), removing the seeds and membranes, and found the amount of kick was just right for me. Probably would be a bit too spicy for some. Anyway, although the dish is perfectly edible, I agree with some other reviews that it's definitely lacking something. I can't figure out what is missing either, but it makes the dish simply unremarkable. Maybe it needs more or different spices? Maybe a different meat? I'll finish it off, but I wouldn't waste time making it again, especially considering all the dicing involved. I think this dish has potential, but it'll take a better cook than me to discover the missing ingredient(s).

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Easy Chicken Fajita Soup

Reviewed: Oct. 14, 2009

This recipe turned out very well. The dish is tasty, a teeny bit spicy, and I like the addition of poblano pepper. I made no changes, except for using regular diced tomatoes since I didn't have fire roasted diced. The soup was great warmed up the next day as well. This would be an excellent dish to make for a cold, winter day.

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Whole Wheat Chocolate Banana Bread

Reviewed: Aug. 26, 2009

This is an excellent dessert bread! I followed the recipe exactly and loved it! The loaf was dense, moist, and simply scrumptious. The chocolate and banana were delicious together and you couldn't even taste the whole wheat. I will definitely make this again.

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9 users found this review helpful