i <3 cooking Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (1387196)

Irish Chicken and Dumplings

Reviewed: Sep. 9, 2008

Really good base recipe, but had to make a few alterations. The most important alteration was timing!!! This does NOT take a mere 2.5 hours, people --- you need to clear your calendar for about 3.5-4 hours to make this properly!!! The main problem is the potatoes. Perhaps if you added them earlier it might be ready in 1/2 hour, but you really need a good hour or so (over low heat, obviously). Also, the dumplings took much longer than the 20 mins as suggested by the author - it was more like 40 mins. That being said, the recipe itself was fantastic, and I only added some celery seed and more salt to it. Also, I made chicken pot pie with the leftovers!!! It turned out delicious as well. Just unroll a pie crust into a pie plate, add leftovers, seal the top, cut slits (so heat can escape), brush with egg wash and pop in a 375 oven for about 40 mins. Excellent the day of and several days later. This is definitely a keeper!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Refried Bean Enchiladas

Reviewed: May 16, 2008

Wow, I'm really disappointed in this one. Particularly since 99% of "Taste of Home" recipes come out great. Here's the main problem: the cottage cheese. I don't know about you, but I personally don't like to see white blobs in my enchilada filling. And I used the smallest curd cottage cheese too. My suggestion is to sub the cottage cheese with sour cream and maybe a little bit of cream cheese too for a little extra oomph. Secondly, as another reviewer pointed out, the filling was quite bland as is. Next time, I'll be sure to add a package of taco seasoning to the filling....Finally, I'm a purist when it comes to enchiladas and only corn tortillas should be used when making them. They are slightly "higher maintenance" if you will, but they really make all the difference! Here's how to do it right: fry each tortilla in a bit of butter (about 1 minute each side) THEN dip into the sauce and fill. Enjoy!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
11 users found this review helpful

Gary's Stuffed Mushrooms

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2007

wonderful recipe! made these yesterday for our christmas party/dinner and didn't even have time to add the seasonings at the end. despite that, they still got rave reviews. thanks, will definitely use again. :)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Easy Sausage Stuffing

Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2007

Just made this for this past Thanksgiving and I've gotta say, it was good but not great. First things first - 2.5 cups of broth is not nearly enough to make edible stuffing. I would say 3 is a safe bet, 3.5 if you like moister stuffing. Secondly, it doesn't say so in this recipe and running around as crazily as I had been, I forgot to grease the baking dish - BIG MISTAKE. Ick. In short, the parts of the stuffing that WERE moistened and the top portion of the stuffing (not the caked on bottom portion of the stuffing) came out great! Will I make again? Yes, but only if I add more broth and greash the baking dish.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
89 users found this review helpful

Ham 'N' Cheese Quiche

Reviewed: Nov. 20, 2007

Sorry but this recipe is only OK. First of all, I am curious as to why Christena suggested NOT pricking the pie crusts - what I ended up with was deformed pie crusts!!! (They bubble up if you don't prick them) Also, despite using REAL onions, instead of diced, the flavor was only OK. Finally, cooking time and temperature was WAY off. 400 degrees burnt my crust despite covering them with foil!!! Needless to say, presentation was awful. Next time, I will add some of my own seasonings (i.e. fresh green onions, a dash of hot sauce, etc) to the egg mixture and bake for 45 minutes at 375.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Chicken Katsu

Reviewed: Nov. 2, 2007

Delicious! Yes, it is "bland" but that's the way it's supposed to be! :) The sauce is what makes katsu, well, katsu. I use Bull Dog Tonkatsu sauce. The only change I made was seasoning the chicken with Ajinomoto before breading. Yes, it's MSG, but all Asian dishes taste that much better with it. :)

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Teena's Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta

Reviewed: Oct. 23, 2007

Great base recipe - didn't have fresh parmesan on hand, so used frefab. Made up for it with toasted pine nuts. :) Came out great. Thanks Teena!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Rosemary Pork Chops

Reviewed: Aug. 23, 2007

I was looking for something that was easy enough to make after a long day at work, yet still tasted great. This definitely fit the bill!!! I love the brown sugar/soy sauce combination - it's like a kicked up version of the same ol' teriyaki or something!!! And, I just marinaded it before work (9 am) and then cooked it up at 6. Dinner was served by 6:45. Easy breezy!!! Thanks Lisa! :) The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the suggested cooking method. In my experience, baking meats uncovered = dry tough meat. :( Especially without any marinade to soak around in!!! The secret, if you don't already know it, is the sear the chops on each side (time depends on how thick the chops are), then baking it COVERED on low heat (I used 350) WITH the marinade for 20 minutes (I used 3/4 inch thick bone-in chops). The picture to the left is the fruit of my "labor". :) Me and my hubby started gnawing on the bone it was so good!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
28 users found this review helpful

Zucchini Quiche

Reviewed: Aug. 15, 2007

Excellent recipe as is. But I am never one to go with "as is", since I always feel recipes can be improved upon! Also, I had bunch of stuff sitting in my fridge that I wanted to get rid of...so, my take on it is as follows: (1) Used 2 small zucchinis and 2 small squash (instead of all zucchini - I'm not THAT huge a fan of zucchini) (2) Like the previous reviewer, I used 2 shallow pie crusts (or 1 deep dish pie crust would be fine as well) instead of just the one. (3) Sauteed .25 lbs ham, 1 small diced onion and 2 cloves minced garlic and added this to the zucchini/squash misxture (4) Instead of mozzarella, used sharp cheddar cheese (grated) that I had leftover. RESULT: Fabulous. My husband and I call this the "kitchen sink quiche". We just used everything that we had sitting in the fridge and mized it all up and threw it into the quiche and it came out wonderfully! HINT: After baking the pie crusts, brush them with an egg wash to keep it from getting soggy!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
129 users found this review helpful

Baked Ziti I

Reviewed: Aug. 6, 2007

Made several modifications: (1) Sauteed some minced garlic with the onions (2) Added italian seasoning, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese to red sauce mixture (3) like alot of the other reviewers, changed the layer orders. (1/2 ziti, sauce, sour cream mixture, provolone, repeat) (4) To me, baked ziti just isn't baked ziti without ricotta cheese. So I mixed in half ricotta and half sour cream. In the end, 1.5 cups sour cream/cheese was not nearly enough for this dish. Double that however, and you've got a great baked ziti dish!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way

Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2007

I made this recipe for my first Thanksgiving dinner with my hubby. It was my first time cooking a whole bird (I'm used to cooking filets) but this came out wonderfully!!! I tried this recipe again the following year and it didn't turn out as well, I think because the first time around I had used a covered roaster. That is the trick!!! The turkey comes out so much more juicy if you use a covered roaster, as opposed to a foil tent...

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
16 users found this review helpful

Grilled Salmon I

Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2007

OH. My. GOD. This is phenomenal, and so easy!!! You don't even have to pre-season the salmon beforehand, the marinade itself is so flavorful! Also, this marinade works well with chicken and pork too! My all time favorite Allrecipes recipe!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Shrimp Scampi Bake

Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2007

Excellent recipe pretty much as is, except that I reduced the cooking time and temperature. I was using frozen cooked shrimp so I only put it in for about 12 mins on 400. Came out perfect. I love garlic (who doesn't) so I added some extra garlic, as well as a splash of white wine. YUM!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Shepherd's Pie VI

Reviewed: Aug. 3, 2007

3.5 stars. Better than average but definitely could use some improvement. (1) The potatoes either need to be cooked longer or mixed in a mixer. As is, the potatoes were too hard to mash and so I ended up with lumpy mashed potatoes on top. Also, even though I added worstershire sauce to the ground beef, it still came out a little bland. I might add some brown sugar and more ketchup next time. Overall, a good dish, but not one I will be making all the time.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful