Jessica Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (13239928)

Cheeseburger Soup I

Reviewed: Oct. 4, 2011

Good and filling! Cut the recipe in half (just the husband and I) and it made enough for two very large meals. Here are the things I did differently: 1. Used 1/2 lb 90/10 hamburger, browned and set aside. In the same pan melt 3 tbsp salted butter, add 3/4 c each DICED (unpeeled) carrots, onions, and celery. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic 2. Cook until soft and add 1/8 c flour. 3. Cook for a minute or so and slowly add 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk. Then add 1 can (14.5 oz) reduced sodium beef broth. 4. Add 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 tsp dried parsley, salt and pepper to taste. 5. Used 2 cups frozen Potatoes O'Brien from OreIdea. 6. Grated a 8 oz block of sharp cheddar cheese - the pre-shredded stuff won't melt as well!! and used 1/8 c light sour cream. 7. Topped with chopped fresh basil, a dollop of sour cream, chopped bacon, AND CHOPPED DILL PICKLES!!! The dill pickles 100% made the soup for me. I would never make the soup without them again. 8. Added Tabasco CHIPOTLE Pepper Sauce to taste - FANTASTIC flavor added.

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Gingerbread Cheesecake

Reviewed: Aug. 31, 2011

Awesome cheesecake! It tastes VERY similar to pumpkin cheesecake without the pumpkin. I made them into mini cheesecakes (regular muffin size). Here are the things I did differently: 1. Used 1/2 a lb box of gingersnaps - grind finely in a food processor. A 1/2 box is about 2 cups crumbs. Add 1 tbsp sugar and if you're using unsalted butter (as I did), add 1/8 tsp salt. 2. Pressed about 1 heaping tbsp crumb mixture into 24 muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes then cool. 3. Used 1 pkg 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese and 2 pkg normal. 4. Baked muffin tins in a water bath for 12-13 minutes. DID NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. When the timer went off, I just shut off the oven and left it closed for about 3 hours, then opened it a crack to let some more heat out, then removed after about another hour. Waterbath + slow cooling = no cracks! 5. Ended up only making 22 cheesecakes (about 1/4 cup of filling per cake). Topped with a ganache of 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 c dark chocolate chips + 3/4 c milk chocolate chips (all I had on hand). Made WAY too much chocolate - should have only made half.

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Honey Baked Chicken II

Reviewed: Apr. 5, 2011

AWESOME and FAST!! Here are the things I did differently: 1. Used 1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter- so basically half the butter. 2. Increased the curry to 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls because we like the flavor. 3. Sprinkled my chicken pieces (breasts without skin and legs with skin) with kosher salt and coarse pepper and then let rest until room temp. 4. Put them in a 9X9 dish, covered with sauce, pierced chicken with a knife to increase flavor, sprinkled with cayenne pepper, and covered with foil. Baked for 30 min then uncovered and cooked until done. 5. Served with rice the first night. ROUND TWO: Make sure to save any extra sauce or consider making extra! Reheated chicken and sauce the next day and used the sauce as a salad dressing. MMM warm chicken and dressing over fresh salad greens!!

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Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

Reviewed: Sep. 28, 2010

AWESOME!!! Everyone who tried them thought they were gourmet!! I followed the recipe exactly and frosted them with the allspice cream cheese frosting from this site (however, read the reviews of the frosting first to fix some of the measurements). If you can, try not to skip the crystallized ginger. It is fairly expensive ($7.99 a bottle -- which really only makes about 1 1/2 batches) but 100% worth it. I found it in a jar in the spice isle. I cut some of the bigger pieces to make it go farther . . . I ended up making one full batch (24 normal sized muffins) and a half batch (32 mini muffins).

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Caramelized Onions on the Grill

Reviewed: Jun. 17, 2010

Excellent burger topping!! Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. DIDN'T GRILL THEM! I didn't have the 40 minutes so I cooked them in a pan on the stove top. 2. Heated some oil in a pan on medium heat (not too much though - maybe about 1 tbsp?). 3. Added 1 cup of chopped onion. Don't really remember how long I cooked them for exactly. Maybe 10 minutes or until slightly soft. 4. Added in 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp of beef bouillon granules (which was about 1/2 a cube for me). 5. Sprinkled with garlic POWDER and pepper. The bouillon is already pretty salty so just start there and add salt to taste. 6. Turned to low-medium and cooked/stirred until ready to use (probably less than 25 minutes)!!

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Bacon-Wrapped Peanut Butter Jalapenos

Reviewed: Jun. 6, 2010

An okay way to eat stuffed jalapenos. If you are stuffing some jalapenos with cream cheese and wrapping them with bacon anyways you might as well give them a whirl! We used creamy Jiff and baked them in the oven as directed.

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True Blue Custard Crunch Pie

Reviewed: May 31, 2010

A SUPER easy, awesome dessert! Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. I used about 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries and about 1 cup of fresh blackberries. The store didn't have enough blueberries :) I cut the larger blackberries in half as well. I think that any combination of berry would have been great with this pie (as long as you don't mind the seeds from the blackberries, etc). 2. Used a frozen (but thawed) 9 inch deep dish pie crust. I thought about increasing the filling but didn't have enough sour cream so I just used the original amount. It worked out just fine! 3. Used lite sour cream. 4. I did use pecans for the topping but you really wouldn't have to. I don't know if I would add them again. 5. Covered the crust of my pie with tin foil so it wouldn't burn after I add the crumble topping. Baked until the crumble topping was a golden brown and the center looked set -- this took longer than the 15 minutes. 6. The pie was pretty good warm but AWESOME the next day cold.

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Warm Crab Parmesan Dip

Reviewed: May 25, 2010

Really good dip and very easy! Here are the things I did a bit differently . . . 1. Used about 6-8 oz of imitation crab meat (I know, I know, fresh is better but for a large party, it will definitely do). 2. Combined 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, 1/2 c Lite Miracle Whip, 3/4-1 c grated Parmesan/Romano cheese, and 1 cup lite sour cream. 3. Added 3 sliced green onions (green parts only) - a little more than 1/4 cup. 4. Added in 1 tsp worchestershire sauce, 1 tsp of old bay seasoning, and at least 1/4 tsp of pepper (eye-balled it). I'm a little convinced it is probably just fine without the worchestershire sauce/old bay so I wouldn't run out to buy them if you're short on funding. 5. Finely diced two LARGE cloves of garlic instead of crushing them. My cloves probably equaled four smaller ones. 6. Baked in a 8X8 square pyrex dish and served with slices of Italian bread!

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Black Bean and Couscous Salad

Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2010

Yummy! What a good summer meal. I halved the recipe because it was just me eating it and it still made quite a bit. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Whole grain wheat couscous (made by Near East). 2. Chopped the 4 green onions until almost half way through the white part. I wanted some of the onion flavor but not the full amount. 3. Used 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of dried cilantro. 4. I really like corn so I used 1 cup. 5. RINSE and drain the black beans. 6. As for the dressing - I made half of the recipe so I made half of the dressing but I think next time I would make a bit more. I ended up using 1 tbsp + 1 tsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp cumin, and I wish I would have used a bit more oil and red wine vinegar. 7. Added reduced fat feta cheese, roughly chopped. 8. Next time I'll add some chicken or something to make it a fuller meal! 9. Chilled for about 1/2 an hour to let the flavors blend.

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Herbed Cottage Cheese

Reviewed: Apr. 19, 2010

A nice change for cottage cheese! I halved the recipe and it worked out well. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Used 1 1/2 tsp of dried chives. Maybe use just 1 tsp next time. 2. Didn't have celery seed - had celery salt on hand so I didn't add the 1/8 tsp of salt. Next time if I don't have celery seed I will probably use less celery salt b/c it was a bit too overpowering.

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Tex-Mex Burger with Cajun Mayo

Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2010

This burger is okay and a nice change from the average burger. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Halved the recipe because it was just me eating them. 2. Used Tone's Cajun seasoning (didn't love it so maybe that's why the burgers/mayo tasted okay). 3. Used Kraft olive oil mayo. 4. Made the burgers with ground turkey to be a bit more healthy.

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Tangy Tenderloin

Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2010

So EASY!! Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Used 2 boneless pork loin butterly chops (about 8 oz) -- cut them in half so they made 4 servings. 2. Made these in a skillet so I heated the olive oil over medium heat and added the flour-dredged (seasoned with PEPPER ONLY -- there's a lot of salt in the soup mix) chops. Browned on both sides and reduced heat to low-medium. 3. Used Kraft Light Catalina dressing. 4. Added 1 clove of garlic, chopped. 5. Used 1/2-3/4 envelope dry onion mix. 6. Accidentally used an 1/8 c honey lol!! They were too sweet but not actually by a lot. Maybe eyeball half of an 1/8 c (1/16) of honey 7. Added sauce over browned pork chops. Flipped occasionally to make sure they got sauce on both sides. 8. Cooked until the chops were done!! Spooned some sauce on top of each one and served with a green salad. 9. There was about 1/2 c sauce leftover after I generously topped my 4 chops so you could probably make 5-6 2 oz pork chops.

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Asian Avocado

Reviewed: Mar. 31, 2010

A new topping for my sandwiches! My avocado was getting bad so I had to cut it up/mash it to get rid of the bad spots. Here are the things I did a bit differently . . . 1. Mashed my avocado. 2. Used about 3/4 tsp minced garlic. 3. Didn't have ginger root so I substituted about 1/4-1/2 teaspoonful ground ginger. I would add to taste! 4. I used a bit more than 1 tsp of soy sauce for more flavor but use the LOW SODIUM soy sauce. Mine was a bit too salty. 5. Makes a great spread for sandwiches, vegetables, salads, etc.

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Applesauce Pork Loin

Reviewed: Mar. 30, 2010

My first pork loin roast was a success (for the most part)! Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Doubled the sauce b/c I used two 1.5 lb pork roasts. 2. Only used 3 sprigs of rosemary and the flavor still dominated the roast. 3. Used a roasting pan with a lid and I don't know if I would do that again. I was afraid the roast would be dry but I think the cover stopped the sauce from turning into a glaze. Not going to lie, it looked kind of gross when it was done. It still tasted good though!!

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Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce

Reviewed: Mar. 30, 2010

A quick dinner! The sauce was okay, not amazing or anything, but worth another shot. Here are the things I did a bit differently . . . 1. Used two cloves of garlic (a little more than 2 tsp). 2. For the butter I used Smart Balance 50/50 sticks. 3. Used 1/4 c of chicken broth in the sauce and used the rest of the can to make my brown rice (I had 1 1/2 c of broth left over so I had to add 1/4 c of water to have enough liquid for 2 servings of rice). 4. Added about 1 1/2 tsp of white sugar -- didn't have brown. Next time I think I'll try with the brown b/c I think the sauce needs the extra flavor.

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Missy's Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad

Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2010

Loved the walnuts!! They took under 15 minutes to make. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. I used a 6 oz bag of walnut pieces and 1/4 + 1/8 c sugar. 2. Used Pomegranate dried cranberries (made by OceanSpray). 3. Didn't have the cheese so I just added some shredded cheese. 4. Just used the raspberry vinaigrette but am going to try adding the vinegar/oil to cut back on the sweetness of the dressing.

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Parmesan Tomatoes

Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2010

Not bad! I think I could crave these every now and then. I just don't think I am a fan of warm tomatoes on their own (as in not in pasta, etc.). Once I have the dijon mustard I'll try again. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Cut the recipe in half and only used 2 tomatoes. 2. Didn't have dijon mustard so I used regular mustard with about 1/4 tsp horseradish. 3. Added 1/8 tsp garlic powder. 4. Used dried parsley (didn't measure, just used what I thought looked good). 5. Baked at 350 for 8 minutes and then broiled for about 1 minute (check to see if cheese is browned). *EDIT* So I just ate one this morning (cold) and really enjoyed it. Although some people may not like the texture of the cold cheese, I really liked these when the tomato wasn't warm.

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Tomato Vodka Sauce

Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2010

YUMMY! An easy-to-make sauce for a nice weekend meal. Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. Used Smart Balance 50/50 butter. 2. Diced 2 cloves of garlic and added it to the cooking onions. 3. Used 2 cans (14.5 oz each) of diced petite tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. 4. Added a little under 1/4 tsp of dried sweet basil. 5. Left a bit more liquid hanging around when I added my cream . . . I like liquidy sauces. 6. Never added any salt to the sauce, I didn't think it needed it. 7. Topped with Italian shredded cheese instead of Parmesan cheese. 8. Served with a crisp green salad and bread!

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Chicken Breasts in Caper Cream Sauce

Reviewed: Mar. 24, 2010

GREAT recipe!!! I couldn't stop eating it!!! Here are the things I did differently . . . 1. I used lemon & pepper seasoning salt so I left out the 1 tsp salt. The chicken was salted just fine in my opinion. 2. After seasoning both sides of the chicken, I ended up with about 1 1/4 teaspoonful more seasoning mixture than needed (keep for further seasoning). 3. Used 3 tbsp of Smart Balance 50/50 stick butter. 4. The sauce was a good consistency without any help from flour or cornstarch. Maybe it has to do with the fat content from the cream or the fat from the butter or the high heat . . . I'm not sure! 5. You will probably need more sauce. Maybe double the cream . . . if necessary use more butter and seasonings!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough + Cupcake = The BEST Cupcake. Ever.

Reviewed: Mar. 23, 2010

What a different take on a cupcake! I cheated a bit and bought the pre-made cookies that were already cut and everything! I just threw the package in the freezer and they worked perfectly. And as usual, I used cupcake liners! For $0.88 for a package of about 100 they are well worth the money!

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