I always rate based on the recipe as originally posted. Only seems fair to me. Making this ahead of time actually REQUIRES the dressing to be spread on top so it acts as an airtight seal, keeping everything layered below crisp and fresh. Serve it from the bottom up & each serving gets something of everything. It's rich & crisp and leftovers are actually excellent, even thought it's a lettuce salad. It's amazing. Thanks for posting, Leah Mae.

True comfort food. Thanks, Carol! Kudos & 5 stars because it's that good just as written! You can trust this over and over again, and come up with ways to just make it "yours". The key to success is covering it so it's airtight. NO PEEKING. I recommend using whole chicken breasts for this and for any chicken dish that's not being used in a sandwich; just remove the skin & the fat. Simply pull it off, no big deal. The flavor that comes from using meat on the bones is going to blow your mind. Boneless, skinless meat of any kind is a loser in flavorland. We always have to pile on something for flavor; am I right? Bones are good in baking, roasting, grilling, stewing, every manor of cooking meat; fat is incorrect. Let me know if you agree. I substitute wine for half the water called for, sometimes just 1/3. I'm not a wine snob, either. I admit to keeping "cooking wine" in my fridge and using it, especially Cooking Sherry. Just get some into the mix and you'll be amazed. I also recommend using only half the onion soup mix because it's so flippin' salty. There's plenty of flavor in using half that stuff in ANY recipe that calls for it. It's good stuff though, no doubt about it. If I'm out of the onion soup mix, I use a splash Soy Sauce or liquid smoke, maybe some Worcestershire or Kitchen Bouquet & hit it with smoked Paprkia, which is great with the wine I add. There's tons of wiggle room in every recipe. This recipe from Carol is elegant enough for company. All American!

Excellent recipe, Sarahlue. Easily adaptable with flavored whipped toppings now available. We sometimes spread just a little Nutella on plain graham crackers before putting them together, and have even used that great Milky Way spread from a jar. Both are nice and thick, easy to spread LIGHTLY. Plain grahams & original flavor whipped topping however, a great way to go to keep things simple and keep us on track with the diets. Thanks again for sharing this one.

Great recipe, Mildred. Thanks for sharing. I toast the coconut, but that's a personal preference of ours. The reviewers all had great ideas to share as well. For a walk-around dessert outdoors, we just scoop into plain cones or small cups. Caramel or Butterscotch sauce is nice with the coconut but this stands on it's own without any sweet sauce. You can't mess this one up. Keep it simple.

This is just delish. Thanks, Leepergal~ During the holiday meals, green bean and broccolli casseroles have been outlawed by our family - they're so overdone. However, we make up for it with suppers between the same old expected holidays meals. This dish is always on the table now. We'eve even stirred in big chunks of leftover roasted turkey and substituted maple syrup & green onions for the soy sauce, but we always stir in a handful of the french-fried onion rings in with the beans as well as baking them on top. Great recipe.

Wonderful recipe. This is our favorite for bread dipping; sometimes the guys want red pepper flakes added. Thanks, Andrea~

Five stars for Marna's meatloaf, just because she roasted her vegetables along with the meat in her slow-cooker and she adds green peppers and onions just like I always do. Why didn't I ever think of adding fresh vegetables?! Duh~ Thanks for posting this, Marna; I also enjoyed all the other cooks' tweeks to the original recipe. I rated Marna's recipe with ***** when I followed it exactly as written. It's delicious, so the 5 stars are for Marna! Here's how we like it: 3 changes of mine which I am happy to share: 1. I use a dry packaged Meatloaf Seasoning and follow the recipe on the package adding chopped green peppers and onions like Marna does. You'll never have a bland meat loaf with this spice mixture. Not salty like onion soup mix. 2. No ketchup or BBQ sauce on top, since anything you put on top of meat in the crock pot tends to get sweated off or rinsed off in the cooking process. I just brush or rub Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce all over the loaf before I place it in the pot. It makes for a beefy au jus sauce for the veggies to absorb & makes a nice, brown meat loaf, not gray looking. Good on its own w/garlic added. 3. Tomato/Beef Gravy on the side: I prepare a packaged beef gravy mix (any style, mushroom, onion, au jus, etc.) as directed (or a jar) and stir in a little can of tomato sauce (sometimes Rotel) for serving alongside our hot meat loaf dinner. It's just beefy good; only takes a minute. Also great with mushrooms added. Men especially love this!

This recipes delivers the ultimate, soft spice cookie. Make them exactly as written and these cookies will make you famous. Every batch (and there have been many) is perfect, and Amy's recipe will never fail you. They always pack and ship beautifully to our Marines deployed overseas, and they love these cookies. Thanks, Amy, for sharing such a winner.

This is a winner, so thanks for sharing, Ashbeth. I LOVE this as a dipping sauce for breaded chicken tenders or nuggets. The other readers' suggestions were so interesting as well, especially the cayenne or red pepper flakes. I can't stop dipping sugar snap peas, celery & carrot sticks into this as my side for my beloved breaded chicken tenders.

What a great and refreshing BLAST FROM THE PAST! I agree, this is a no-fail, can't miss dip for all kinds of party & snack tables. I'm done with all the expected nacho, taco, cheese dips, spinach glop, salsas and such for a while, and know this will be a really nice change for folks to try. The other readers' suggestions are interesting as well, but I'm giving 5 stars based on Tish's contribution. It's a classic. TRY IT - you'll like it! Thanks, Tish~

Great recipe, just cut back on the salt by half and substitute Hickory Smoked Salt instead. Thanks for sharing this one Bobbie Jean, and all the help from the other posters' suggestions.

Great recipe, Joplin - you're contribution rocked the mac 'n cheese snobs' world with such a great method & presentation. Thanks for sharing. Of course, everyone enhances a recipe to their own taste, but you deserve 5 stars for a beloved American classic recipe taken to a higher dimension in it's presentation. Very cool.

***** Just an afterthought - for those who have not tried Goetta. Goetta should be sliced thin and fried until a real, nice, crisp crust forms before trying to turn it. Then it won't stick or fall apart on you when you flip it over. The crust holds it all together and gives it so much flavor and it's never mushy. Goetta always freezes very well, so keep some on hand. Leftover fried Goetta warms up nicely the next day also, even in the microwave (on medium). I hope this helps. Can't wait!

Really nice recipe as written. This is what we always call "Baked Rice". Great with a little Garlic/Herb Seasoning as well. Thanks for posting a reliable dish we can turn to over and over again.

I made this in the traditional Angel Food Cake Pan and it worked great. Remember to ALWAYS invert the hot cake pan over the neck of an empty wine or large soda bottle until it's cool. That way the cake stays nice and high. It's also good with pure Orange Extract instead, but this recipe is a winner as it stands. Thanks for posting this one.

Oh my gosh. What a winner. Next time, the butcher said he'd slice the meat and thread these for me no charge in thanks for me stopping back in with this recipe for him to try. He loved it, and yes you got all the credit. (I hope he means he'll slice & thread every time I call my order in. What a deal for me!) We had fun with this one. Everybody's happy. I agree with your advice to use low-sodium Soy Sauce. That's why you get *****. ~Congrats, Dominique and thanks.

Real nice recipe, Lori. Thanks for sharing it. You'd be surprised how many guys just inhaled these. A nice change from the usual garlicky, oniony snacks but also the perfect contrast. Good job!

Florence - This is perfect as written and is a Tailgater's Dream - made a day or two ahead is a big plus, too. It made a great wrap sandwich, by the way. Thanks~

What a nice recipe, Jeffandrew~ It was so good that I just kept going because company was going to pop in and I needed a meal. I just added shrimp and Cheese Tortellini, adjusted with some Spicey V-8 and other goodies to suit my garlic loving tastebuds and we had a stretched-out winner. Ran out and picked up a couple of hot Rotisserie Chickens and some Garlic Bread - it looked like I worked all day. Very easy on ME! It's a keeper. Thanks~