Innkeeper Sue Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (13991306)

Caribbean Sweet Potato Salad

Reviewed: Sep. 3, 2010

I had to jump up mid-meal to write a rave review of this salad! I was looking for a side dish for a Caribbean entree but it completely stole the show. What a great blend of flavors! My dinner companion and I both had multiple servings and left the entree barely touched! Easy peasy to prepare. I followed the recipe exactly except that I was using leftover sweet corn that I cut off the cob, so I didn't bother recooking it. I shared this one on Facebook and can't wait to make it for family again this weekend.

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Favorite Banana Blueberry Quick Bread

Reviewed: Jul. 12, 2010

My first impression of this recipe was that it's really a cake trying to pass itself off as a quick bread -- too much sugar, too much fat. But I needed a quick remedy for having too few blueberries for my usual muffin recipe and some ripe bananas, so ... I used this recipe as a springboard and came up with some pretty good muffins. I substituted 3 T of canola oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce for the shortening, cut the sugar in half, and used whole wheat pastry flour and whole oats. Didn't have any nuts on hand. Baked them for 20 minutes. They were still plenty plenty sweet but at least they were more like a muffin than cake.

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Scrambled Egg Muffins

Reviewed: Jul. 11, 2010

Oh yummy! These turned out really nice, although they stuck to the muffin tin a bit and didn't look as nice and poofy by the time I wrestled them onto a serving plate. Still, for once a crustless egg dish didn't go watery on me, so I was happy. I sliced up 5 precooked turkey sausage links, left out the green pepper, added a few dashes of tabasco, used pressed fresh garlic instead of powder, and saved the cheese for last, sprinkling Swiss on half of them and Cheddar on the other half. The guests to whom I served them pronounced them "very good" and had no preference between the cheeses. I only had a Swiss one, and it was mighty tasty. I will definitely make these again.

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Mini Meatloaves

Reviewed: Jul. 10, 2010

Wow! I made these meatloaves for a group of 6 women, 3 of whom informed me afterwards that they don't like meatloaf. Chalked up 6 rave reviews! They ate all of them, so I didn't even get to sample them myself and find out what was so special, but I'll take their word for it. I did substitute ground turkey for the beef, and because it was a little soupy when I followed the rest of the recipe, I also added 3 crumbled slices of stale New England Brown Bread. I also added a bit of fresh-ground black pepper. Happy to have another good dinner option for guests.

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Baby Carrots with Dill Butter

Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2010

I always try to offer one raw veggie and one fresh cooked veggie in every meal, but at certain times of the year it's hard to come up with affordable options. I've never been crazy about cooked carrots, but when I stumbled across this recipe I realized I had found a reliable, inexpensive year-round dish. In the winter I don't have fresh dill so then I substitute dried dill; otherwise I follow the recipe exactly, and either way, this is a simple, tasty way to serve carrots.

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Brown and Wild Rice Salad

Reviewed: Jul. 9, 2010

This could only be Brown Rice Salad for me because I couldn't find any wild rice in my local grocery stores. I accidentally made too much rice -- closer to 3 cups, I think -- but even so I only used about half the dressing and did not increase the other ingredients, and I thought it was just right. I loved the variety of flavors, from the sweetness of the cranberries to the crunchy kick of the onions. My boyfriend's father singled out this dish to praise in the midst of a meal with many good side dishes. It was a great alternative to hot potatoes or pilaf on a warm summer night.

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Key Lime Cheesecake I

Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2010

Oh my, this is sooooo yummy when some of the reviewer suggestions are incorporated into the recipe. I do add a 4th box of cream cheese (neufschatel, actually, although I once used a small carton of ricotta in place of the 4th cream cheese and that turned out good too -- lighter and with a little more grainy texture but still very nice) and so I add an extra egg and another 1/4 cup of sugar to compensate. I also do half key lime juice and half lemon juice to reduce the bitterness and freely zest an entire lime for lots of limey flavor. I get RAVE reviews on this one! Definitely my new favorite cheesecake recipe -- and I already had some pretty darn good ones!

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Apple Raisin French Toast Strata

Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2010

I'll admit up front that I don't follow this recipe very exactly, but it's so adaptable, I'm giving it 5 stars for sheer flexibility. First, I always use whole grains in my cooking, so I use plain whole wheat bread, which I leave in whole slices and spread with honey nut cream cheese, placing half the slices on the bottom of the dish and half on top of the apple layer. Then I add raisins with the apples, sprinkling cinnamon and brown sugar on them. I use plain old skim milk and skip the melted butter, just using enough butter to grease the baking dish. Because I don't measure exactly and sometimes adjust the amount of eggs, milk, and bread according to the number of people I'm serving, I get slightly different results all the time, but it's ALWAYS extremely tasty. So glad I could add this dish to my breakfast rotation!

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Cocktail Meatballs

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2010

Reading the other reviews, I noticed that the happiest outcomes involved store-bought meatballs. Since I was making my own, I decided to spice up that part of the recipe, adding salt, pepper, garlic powder, snipped fresh parsley, and a tsp. of horseradish. I still wasn't wowed by the flavor. I used 93% lean meat and baked the meatballs in the oven for 25 minutes before finishing them off in the crockpot with the sauce for 2 hours. I didn't have quite enough cranberry sauce on hand so I substituted an equal amount of strawberry-rhubarb jam and left out the brown sugar. It was sweeter than I prefer, but the party goers to whom I served them seemed content. I got about 3 dozen small meatballs out of a pound of hamburger.

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Cinnamon-Curry Tuna Salad

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2010

I expected to like this a lot more than I did. As many other reviewers have pointed out, it needs more mayo. (I kept adding more, somewhere around 5 Tablespoons.) But my biggest disappointment was that I couldn't taste the tuna. Spices are supposed to bring out the best flavor of the meat, not completely overwhelm it. It made for an interesting sandwich, but if I ever try it again (and I'm hesitant), I would reduce the spices dramatically.

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Easy Honey Mustard Mozzarella Chicken

Reviewed: Mar. 5, 2010

Mmmmmmmmm. This is tasty! I only had Monterey Jack cheese on hand, I used Dijon mustard with just a couple tablespoons of regular mustard, and I sprinkled the top with homemade bacon bits which I keep in the freezer. I found that the sauce and cheese was plenty for 6 breasts. The flavor is just superb, a great blend of sweet and tangy. This one will definitely go on the list of "sure bets" for serving guests.

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Mixed Vegetable Casserole

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

I needed a quick dish for a potluck using foods that I had on hand, so I used this recipe as a springboard and happily give it 5 stars for flexibility! I used a can of wax beans and a total of 3 cups of various frozen veggies -- corn, peas, and a "fiesta" mix that had broccoli, carrots, red peppers, green beans, kidney beans, white beans, and garbanzos. Had to substitute cream of mushroom soup, forgot to include any onion, only had sharp yellow cheddar on hand, and used 1/2 cup of Miracle Whip Free instead of a whole cup of mayo. Didn't have any crackers, but I had a honey wheat bagel, so I put it through the food processor and tossed the crumbs with 2 T of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of dried basil, and a scant teaspoon of garlic powder. Baked it in a 2 qt. casserole dish for about 45 minutes. It was a tasty, filling sidedish for a group meal that otherwise had no vegetables, so it was sort of a happy accident in every way! I don't think there's any way to mess this one up!

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Grandma's Tomato Soup

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

I wanted a simple tomato soup recipe, but I think this one was a bit too simple. I thought it just tasted like hot tomato juice. I only used half the sugar and added a half teaspoon of dried basil but still felt it was uninteresting. If I use the base recipe again I think I would use a more flavorful juice like spicy V-8 or some other veggie blend.

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Extra Easy Hummus

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

My hummus has always been a favorite among my social circle (I can skip the party and no one cares as long as I send my hummus in my place) but I've been frustrated by both the cost and the staleness of the tahini that my grocery store carries. This tahini-free recipe seemed like the perfect solution ... but oh, I really missed the sesame flavor! I took one reviewer's advice and substituted sesame oil (which isn't exactly cheap either) but a tablespoon wasn't enough flavor. I wasn't content with it until I put in 2 or 3 tablespoons of tahini. Ahhhhh .... just right!

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Sicilian Ricotta Cheesecake

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

After reading all the reviews I decided to try this recipe with just one small change, using a teaspoon each of orange and lemon zest. Oh, and the ricotta cheese I had on hand was low-fat. I must say I was surprised by the results. With the cinnamon, vanilla, and coarser ricotta texture, it reminded me more of a dense rice pudding or bread pudding than cheesecake. I liked it, though! I served it to guests with the question, "What does it need for a topping?" and someone made the excellent suggestion of drizzling just a little melted white chocolate and a spoonful of whole cranberry sauce over each piece. Mmmmm, that sounds really yummy -- or better yet, lingonberries! Anyway, I know I'll enjoy making this cheesecake and continuing to experiment with possible toppings.

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Acorn Squash Soup

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

I had an acorn squash on hand that I was afraid would go bad if I didn't get it used up, so I decided to give this recipe a try on a chilly autumn afternoon. Unfortunately I didn't have any chicken broth, and I did have some half & half that also needed to be used up, so I replaced the broth with a cup of half & half and a cup of water with a cube of veggie bouillon. I liked the combination of spices (curry is a wonderful touch!) but my end product surprised me with its sweetness. I think it definitely needed the chicken broth! I pureed it right in the pot with a stick blender, and that worked fine. I did use the bacon garnish but didn't feel it fit very well with the other flavors. I would probably skip it in the future. I might make this again under the same "what can I do with an acorn squash?" circumstances, but I'm actually more inclined to try tossing some buttered breadcrumbs with the same spice mix, onion, and celery and baking it in the acorn squash halves.

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Christmas Egg Puff

Reviewed: Dec. 11, 2009

There are plenty of recipes for oven omelets full of veggies and meat, but I was looking for a very simple protein dish so that the fresh fruit and cranberry scones I served wouldn't have to compete with a riot of flavors. This recipe was perfect. The only changes I made were to skip the melted butter and just grease the baking dish with a tablespoon of butter, and I reduced the remaining recipe by half for an 8" square baking dish. The Jack cheese is essential to the flavor. I made it once with mozzarella and found that it was a bit too bland; but either Jack or Swiss gives it a nice more-than-just-eggs kick. It makes a pretty dish and slices very neatly. I will make it often.

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Apple-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Reviewed: Nov. 26, 2009

I've stuffed squash with sausage & rice for years, but needed a lighter side dish for an autumn meal. This was just the ticket! The only change I made was to put a little water in the baking dish to help hydrate the squash as it baked, and I was pleased with the tender texture when it was done. Very tasty, and a nice way to add a little fruit to a meal -- and guess what, it's just as good with pears as with apples!

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Simply Steamed Asparagus

Reviewed: Nov. 13, 2009

I don't have a lot of experience with asparagus (not good experience anyway!) so I was happy to find these basic instructions. I never would have supposed it would steam this fast. No more overcooked asparagus! (Is there anything more disgusting??)

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Winter Fruit Salad with Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Reviewed: Nov. 13, 2009

I served this salad for a scrapbook retreat, and the women gave it a unanimous 5-star rating. The only change I made was substituting walnuts for the cashews just because that's what I had on hand, and for the amount of lettuce I had I only needed half of the dressing (and that was PLENTY). Very, very tasty, and a nice way to add some fruit to a meal even in winter. Thanks so much, Nora!

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