Absolute best upside down cake I've ever had!!! I did make some tweaks based on personal preference. Used apple sauce instead of the oil in the cake mix, added the coconut to the bottom layer with the crushed pineapple, used about 1/2 of a stick of melted butter and almost 3/4 cup (eyeballed) brown sugar for the bottom layer (wanted an ooey gooey middle "filling", and extra pineapple. Added halved cherries to the bottom layer as well, just spread out with the brown sugar, pineapple, coconut and butter..... The top layer I used just a little extra butter and brown sugar. Also added a couple drops of coconut extract to the batter. SOOOO good! Took it to a potluck lunch, and had to keep watch over it, as guests kept picking up the platter before dessert time, and trying to go hide it in their vehicles......... There wasn't a single crumb left over!!!

Right now I've got this soup simmering on the stovetop waiting patiently for dinner, but after the couple spoonfull "tests" I've done already, I'm about 20 seconds from eating it straight from the pot!!! I followed the recipe, omitting the veggies as I didn't have any on hand. I am lazy tonight, so I used canned diced potatoes to speed up the process, and you'd never know the difference. For the cheese I used 1/2 and 1/2. Half a bag of Velvita Shreds, and 1/2 a bag of a 3 cheese crumble with Montey Jack, Cheddar and Colby. I did add a few red pepper flakes, and I seasoned the beef with onion soup mix (I do this to EVERYTHING!!!). I also fried up some bacon to crumble on top of each bowl, and threw just a small bit of the grease into the pot for the real "bacon Cheeseburger" flavor. Everyone has to try this soup, it's amazing!!!

I was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and these were a family staple! When I was 13, my parents moved us down here to Illinois, where the term "Pastie" illicits very strange looks from others. lol Since we moved, my family still can not live without these. Granted, you can buy them frozen and boxed now at Gordons Food Center, but they are SOOO much better homemade. Twice a year all the women in our family here get together to make pasties for our families. It is usually an all day event! Because these freeze so incredibly well, we make enough to stock all of our deep freezers for the next several months. Wrapped and stored individually, these meat pies are a great quick meal, whether reheated in the oven (preferred) or the microwave. Great served with extra melted butter on top and ketchup, though others in my family prefer a brown gravy instead.

My mother and grandmother used to swear by a local restaurants potato soup until I shared my recipe with them. After tasting this soup (which won't last long by the way), they begged me for this recipe. Neither will eat potato soup any other way now! This is a great wonderful recipe that leaves all kinds of room for play! Add your own personal touch to it, it's almost impossible to mess this one up!!!

Growing up we ate a lot of "poor man" meals, and this was a weekly staple at our home. My mother's recipe was very similar to this, and as I remember, it was quite bland as well (made better only by cheese salt and pepper).... I've since updated and revised her recipe just a tad. This makes for the most incredible tasting casserole and is even easier this way... I used chicken thighs, only because I prefer dark meat. Rather than using cream of chicken, I use cream of mushroom soup. Instead of white rice, I use a package of Knorr Chicken Rice side. Garlic powder, salt, pepper, and onion powder on the chicken, and there is NO issue with it being bland! The chicken rice side has so much flavoring that combined with the chicken and soup, it makes this absolutely awesome.......

Ok. This is a great recipe as is....I however, was looking for a 1 dish meal that would be easy and fairly quick, so I modified this recipe slightly. I used a large pot, and browned the meat and onions in there together. After draining most of the grease (I leave a bit there for flavoring), I added in 2 cans of tomato soup (was out of tomatoes), and 2 soup cans of water, and then the maccoroni noodles, and let it boil. I added in a bit of garlic powder, and 1/4 package of chili seasoning, as well as a tbsp of chili powder for flavoring, and ended up adding an extra can of water to get the noodles done. Overall, this turned out GREAT!!! One dish meal, and it tastes wonderful....Great basic recipe!!!

Ok. I'm going to post my personal review. I have never made or HEARD of Divinity before today. My boyfriend mentioned that he likes it, but told me it was too hard for me to try making, and that his mother's was the best in the world so not to bother. I took this as a challenge, and found this recipe. And Oh My GOD is this stuff heaven! I'm diabetic, so I can't eat more than a piece or two. Made 2 revisions to this recipe. At the last minute or 2 of mixing, I added about 3/4 cup of finely chopped almonds, and 3-4 drops of red food colouring (to give it a very festive look). Here in a few minutes I'm going to make 2 more batches, one using almond extract, and the other using cherry extract and diced marachino cherries. Awesome recipe! Very easy to make (but for impatient people like me it can be a bit tedious). Thanks for a great addition to my holiday treats!!!

Ok. I did modify this after reading other reviews last night. This is a really good chili (my thoughts) though even with cutting the red pepper flakes down, my BF STILL couldn't eat it (he's a wimp, won't eat anything that has even the SLIGHTEST hint of a kick to it). I replaced the kidney beans with 2 cans of chili beans (with juices), cut out the tomato paste completely, added 2 cans of mexican stewed tomatos, a full pkg of bacon (per other suggestions), 1 lb ground beef, and 1 lb Jimmy Dean Sausage (I like a really meaty chili). I used A-1 steak sauce, as it's what he had in the fridge, and didn't have any white wine on hand, so I replaced it with beer (works really well with the other flavors in this dish). I did add some garlic, salt and pepper and ommitted the veggies (bf REALLY wouldn't touch it if I put them in). The only other modification I did was to put in 1 tbsp Hershey's Unsweetened Coco Powder, which blends really well with the other mix of flavors in this dish. Served with homemade cornbread and cheddar cheese. Awesome. I'll keep this one for my own personal use (maybe will try and De-Spice it a bit next time so he can eat it....MEN!!!)

Ok. I've never in my life been able to make a steak that wasn't dry, rubbery, or tough. As of tonight, I am the steak master, thanks to this recipe. I didn't quite follow the recipe to a T.. Actually, I have a date tomorrow night, and offered to cook him a wonderful steak dinner, so tonight was a trial run. I used 2 6oz filet mingons, and after preheating the broiler, I realized I was completely out of butter. So, I improvized. Also out of Worchestshire sauce, so here's what I did. I substetuted the Worchestshire sauce for an equal amount of Liquid Smoke, used garlic powder in place of the cloves, and nixed the butter. I kept these in for 8 minutes on each side, and when I took them out, they were still very rare, but since that's how I like my steaks personally, it was perfect. Juicy beyond belief, and the flavor was amazing. I'm definately going to use this recipe tomorrow for the date, and will definately try it with the butter added in! I do suggest upping the broiling time to about 10-12 minutes/side for thick cut steaks like I used. I will definately be using this recipe often! So incredibly easy! Thanks so much!!!!