NorCalRN Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (10977519)

Cake Mixes from Scratch and Variations

Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2012

I followed this recipe to a "T" for the yellow cake, except that I added 1 beaten egg white and I mixed dry and wet ingredients separately and then gently mixed them right before baking. I baked it all in a single round cake pan and it came out beautifully- most tasty cake ever!!! WAY better than boxed mix!! :)

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Chocolate Chex® Caramel Crunch

Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2011

OMG- we got some of this as a Christmas present and it is so addicting I had to beg for the recipe!!! I could NOT for the life of me find Chocolate Chex anywhere, so I used regular rice chex. The caramel ALONE is enough to make me eat an entire batch of this stuff!! I then drizzled equal amounts of white chocolate (couldn't find vanilla) and semi-sweet chocolate chips over the whole batch. This stuff is TO DIE FOR YUMMY! *note* I do not use corn syrup, so sub'd with agave nectar. worked great!

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Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes

Reviewed: May 30, 2011

I made these exactly according to the recipe and I am seriously shocked that anyone would add more sugar!! The cupcakes are PERFECT and I would even say the filling was a little too sweet- I will considerably cut down the sugar in it next time! I accidentally overfilled my liners, so the cupcakes didn't turn out too pretty... but oh boy are they yummy!! And contrary to another reviewer- I think they tasted amazing when they were warm fresh from the oven! Add to that how easy these were to make, and all with ingredients I had on hand and these cupcakes will be made again! :) Thank You!

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Tarragon Chicken Salad

Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2011

I have been really enjoying the Tarragon Chicken Sandwiches lately at Sbux- decided I should make it for myself and found this recipe! I only had one cooked chicken breast, so I just eyeballed the rest of it. Instead of sour cream, I used plain greek yogurt, only put in a small amt of very finely chopped celery- eyeballed about 1Tbs of dried Tarragon and added a small handful of dried cranberries. I did taste it and felt it was lacking.... something. So I added just a teeny pinch of sugar to sweeten it and it was perfect! :) Thanks for helping me satisfy my craving at home! :)

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Coconut-Curry Lentil Stew Served over Quinoa

Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2011

I made this tonight after seeing the recipe featured on Facebook- I've been so excited to try it! Some changes I made were- sub'd 1 can fire roasted tomatoes and 1 can regular diced tomatoes (with juices), I used coconut Flour instead of powder, and added in some ground cinnamon in addition to the stick. I omitted the cilantro since I didn't have any on hand. All in all- this turned out well. I did run a teeny bit short on Curry powder- and it was definitely lacking in "spice" at the end of cooking (yes- it was BLAND! Gasp!) , so I added a generous amount of Tandoori spice and WOW- definitely kicked it up a notch and satisfied the spice craving! Haha. My lentils never really got soft, even after extra cooking time, and due to this I feel they really overwhelmed the dish. Next time I will use about 1/2 the lentils this calls for. I also grilled about 3 chicken breasts and hand-shredded them into the stew since we do like our meat. :) I agree with previous posters that this would be really good over brown rice, but the quinoa was a nice touch. *Note- this makes A LOT of food!! For just 2 of us, I easily could have used only 1/4 of the recipe and still had leftovers so just be aware! This was really good and I do intend to make it again! Thanks!!

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Chicken Cordon Bleu II

Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2011

I am reviewing this recipe mainly for the sauce- I used a different recipe for the actual chicken. I only made 4 servings of Chicken Cordon Bleu (baked), and made this sauce on the stovetop. Used about 2 Tbsp butter and all I had was some Chardonnay, 1 cube of bullion and followed the rest to a T. I simmered the wine & butter while my chicken baked in the oven, then towards the end I added the cream/cornstarch and a dash of paprika. This sauce turned out wonderful and was a first for me with Chicken Cordon Bleu. I will probably make this a staple for the future! Thank You!

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4 users found this review helpful

Easy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2011

I am taking a star off just because I did change this quite a bit. It is a fantastic starting point though! I omitted the butter/breading and instead used beaten egg and almond flour to make it gluten free. Super easy and turned out Wonderfully! I also added a sauce as someone else recommended from the Chicken Cordon Bleu II recipe- which is really a great finishing touch and worth it. Thanks for a great recipe! :)

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11 users found this review helpful

Chili Popcorn

Reviewed: Jan. 22, 2011

I made this popcorn as a fun snack for my husband tonight, and since I don't do spicy- this is his review. ;) He thinks it can use a little more salt (we didn't really measure our salt, so will try that next time) and it turned out kinda dry and unevenly distributed.... Not sure how we can fix that but overall he liked it! We will have to do some experimenting! Thanks!

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Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2011

I used 2 large red potatoes, 1 large yukon gold and 1 large russet potato, and Sharp White Cheddar (yum!). The cooking instructions were easy to follow- however my roux never really thickened until I added the cheese... I chopped up my onions pretty small and did everything in 2 layers. I think if I ever make this again- I will add more cheese to the sauce and probably double the sauce as well.... these just didn't turn out as moist and cheesy as I was hoping. Overall they tasted good though! Thanks!

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Quinoa Side Dish

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2011

The taste and ease of this recipe deserves 5 stars- I marked it down just because I changed it a tad, and it took a bit longer than 15 minutes to cook... I rinsed my quinoa first, then "toasted" it with the butter, garlic & onion. It never really toasted though, probably because I had to rinse it first. I used Chicken broth and think that if you are rinsing your quinoa- 2 cups of broth is definitely too much- I will make this again with 1-1/2 cups. I added the Thyme, Parsley, Lemon juice, salt & pepper at the end and it tasted amazing! My hubby even went back for 2nds! :) Thank You!

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5 users found this review helpful

Split Pea Soup

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2010

I only gave 4 stars because I made a few changes, but this recipe really deserves 5 stars for being a fantastic starting point! I used 1 can beef broth and enough water to make 2 quarts- poured it all into my crock pot. My bag of split peas came to 2-1/2 cups so that went in- no rinsing or or soaking needed. I then added 1 chopped onion, a handful of celery sticks, handful of baby carrots, dash of thyme and dash of marjoram and a few sprinkles of bay leaves (no potato). Salt and pepper to taste. Lastly, I threw in the Ham Bone with some meat attached from our Christmas Spiral Ham- I didn't weight it but it was decent sized. :) Cooked on Low overnight (approx 9-10 hours) and in the morning it was finished! I pulled out the ham and bones, used my immersion blender on the soup right in the crockpot and then added back in the meaty bits of ham.... FABULOUS, so easy and got rave reviews from the in-laws! Thank You!

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Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms II

Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2010

Wow, these are super easy and so fast to make! I personally hate the texture of mushrooms, and while this recipe doesn't change that, it does make them much easier to choke down! LOL. I used 1lb sage sausage, chive & onion cream cheese and about 9 large mushrooms. One thing I ALWAYS do is brush the mushrooms with a little melted butter to help moisten/soften them a bit. It helps! These did come out fairly rich tasting, so be aware. Overall, fantastic. Thanks!

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Broccoli Sausage Breakfast Bake

Reviewed: May 4, 2010

This is a basic crustless quiche recipe- with the addition of the baking mix, so its sort of an upside down quiche which is fun! Anyways, we are avoiding refined flours and grains right now (wedding in 2 months!) so I made this as follows: 1 lb reduced fat pork sausage, 6 eggs, 2 cups milk, 1+ cups fresh broccoli, about 2 oz cream cheese and 2 large handfuls of shredded colby-jack cheese. I browned the sausage, then sauteed the broccoli in the same pan with some dried, minced onions. I made this into 2 quiches, so I Layered the sausage/broccoli mix, then the shredded cheese and topped it with the beaten eggs/milk/crm chz into 2 pie plates. It divided perfectly! So easy to make up!

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9 users found this review helpful

Zucchini Pizza Bake

Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2010

OOPS! I accidentally skipped the step where you drain the zucchini, but the good news is undrained- the crust part was enough for 2 pie "crusts". I used 1.5lbs of ground beef, and kept the rest the same as the recipe. I did add some sliced up turkey pepperoni and some salami under the cheese for more flavor. The "crust" came out nice and the fiance really liked this a lot! I thought it was just ok- but that could be because I didn't care for the gr beef I used. Will probably make this again and use a mixture of gr beef and sausage. Thanks for a great idea though!

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Sour Cream Broccoli Casserole

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2010

I used 3 seasoned chicken breasts, cubed. Used 1 can cream of chicken, 1 can cream of celery, 1 can of water plus about 1/3 cup or so of sour cream. I layered 1/2 the frozen broccoli, mixed the chicken cubes into the soup mix and poured half over the broccoli, then repeated and topped it all off with cheese. Cooked for about 30 minutes

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Chocolate Chip Butter Cookies

Reviewed: Dec. 24, 2009

I followed this recipe exactly and they turned out good. Not the best cookie ever, but good to have in my Christmas baskets nonetheless. I tasted one while warm out of the oven and was really disappointed, but after they cooled the flavor improved. They were very quick and easy to make- so thanks for the recipe!

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2 users found this review helpful

Hot Cocoa Mix in a Jar

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2009

This mix was so easy to put together! I did sift the (non-fat) milk powder, cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar to get a nice smooth texture. Mixed it in my stand mixer with the whisk attachment and it was fast. I actually put this mix into plastic frosting decorator bags- layered with sprinkles, crushed candy canes and marshmallows- they make a great Christmas Gift!! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

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Easy Biscuit Mixture

Reviewed: Dec. 17, 2009

I made a 1/2 batch of this mix, using 4 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat. I used butter instead of shortening as well. I ended up mixing the entire batch with 2 cups (plus a little) of milk and it ended up a tad too wet- will def use just 2 cups milk next time. I mixed it in my stand mixer and this was so easy. I used the mix for cheese dumplings in my tomato soup- got about 7 of them into my pot. I made up 13 more dumplings and froze them (uncooked) in a greased muffin pan. Now tomato soup with dumplings will be a quick meal and less work! Thanks for a great recipe- its a keeper for sure!!

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Sloppy Joes II

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

I love this recipe because I always have these ingredients in the kitchen and its so easy! I did change it according to other reviewers' suggestions: I doubled the meat and more than doubled the sauce. We don't like bell peppers so I omitted them. I used an entire small yellow onion, and substituted about 1/4 of the ketchup with BBQ sauce- which was a little sweet so I left out the brown sugar. I ended up adding a little water, all told maybe about 1/2 cup or so, as well as 3-4 tsp apple cider vinegar and 1 baby can of tomato paste. This made a huge amount of very nice, very sloppy joe's! I also took another person's suggestion and froze servings in a muffin tin to be used up later- great idea!! I will always double this and will never have to buy the mix again! Thank You! Giving 4 stars just cuz I did change it from the original

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Kielbasa and Potato Bake

Reviewed: Nov. 19, 2009

I gave this 4 stars, my fiance gave it 3.5. I used sliced red potatoes, skin on and followed the advice to parboil them for about 8 minutes first- and I'm glad I did! I also lightly browned the kielbasa with the garlic and dried minced onion before putting it all together. I used Cream of Celery soup, and 1 can of FF milk. I cooked at 375 for about 50 minutes and it was perfectly cooked. Fiance complained it was a tad bland and a tad too soupy. So we'll work on that for the next batch! This was easy, pretty quick and tasty. We'll def make it again- THANKS!

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3 users found this review helpful