Steph Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (18617005)

Thai-Style Peanut Sauce

Reviewed: May 6, 2012

Followed the recipe except for omitting the fish sauce and using dried ginger instead of pickled, but something about the amounts seems off. The peanut butter/coconut milk was way too thick. It didn't get melty as it heated, just seemed to get thicker (more so than the peanut butter right out of the jar. I used Skippy Natural). I ended up having to add lots more coconut milk just to get it close to the right consistency. I think the extra coconut milk may have diluted the other flavors too much though because I found this pretty bland for peanut sauce. I like the ingredients and I will tinker with this recipe again, but I wonder if I'd be better off with doubling everything but the peanut butter?

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Homesteader Cornbread

Reviewed: Apr. 23, 2012

I have been searching for a good cornbread recipe (not too dry, not too floury, with just the right amount of sweet) and I think this is it! Because I was short on a few staples, I ended up doing equal parts cornmeal and flour (1 3/4c. each). I also used 1/3c. white sugar and 1/3c. brown sugar. Otherwise I made the recipe exactly as stated. I even beat the batter for 5 min. with a mixer as many posters recommended. Mine baked in a glass 13x9 inch pan at 400 for 30 min. and it was perfect. Absolutely delicious warm with butter. I served it with the Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken Barbecue recipe from this site. Homesteader Cornbread is my new go-to cornbread recipe. Thanks!!!

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Coconut-Lime Cheesecake with Mango Coulis

Reviewed: Mar. 11, 2012

YUM! I made this just as stated except my crust was half gingersnaps and half Nilla wafers. I worried that all gingersnaps would be too spicy. This is going to be my new go-to cheesecake crust! I threw the coconut into the food processor with the cookies so the coconut shreds would be smaller. This is so easy to make and, while I was nervous baking without the water bath, it ended up perfect --a smooth top with no cracks or settling. It is rich and delicious and so simple. I love it! I think I'll skip the coulis next time though. Mangos aren't in season and while this one had a chance to ripen on my counter for several days, it just didn't taste that great. Maybe if I lived in a warmer, more mango-friendly climate? It's fine without however. Just a dollop of whip cream and it was perfect. If I was going for a fancier presentation, I'd definitely do toasted coconut and lime wedges . Thanks for this recipe! It's a keeper!

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Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Reviewed: Mar. 7, 2012

This is my absolute favorite side dish. I make it all the time, soooooo easy. I usually just use dried basil instead of fresh. I've used water and chicken bouillion in a pinch when I'm out of chicken broth. Sometimes I even use Kraft parmesan (in the green can) if I don't have any fresh parmesan to grate. It's always delicious.

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Cream Filled Cupcakes

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2012

A family favorite. I mean, why WOULDN'T you stuff cream into a cupcake??? I often cheat and used box cake mix (dark chocolate or dark fudge) and canned frosting (also dark chocolate). I make the cream filling from this recipe and use it to fill the cupcakes and also pipe white squiggles across the top. Delicious! It's easy to tint the cream filling too (orange for Halloween, green for St. Pat's, etc). Oh! And I also use a pastry bag with a tip to pipe the cream in through the TOP. When you frost over it with chocolate, you can't tell the cupcake's been stuffed. Seems a much better idea than piping through the bottom. The cream could leak out and make a mess.

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Bread Machine Focaccia

Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2012

Wow! This tastes great and is so easy. I made it to go with the "Gourmet Chicken Sandwich" on this site. The dough came out perfect in the bread maker and went easily into the 13x9 inch pan. In addition to olive oil and rosemary (which by the way, I used dried because I didn't have any fresh), I sprinkled kosher salt and parmesan cheese on top. I will definitely make this again. So quick and easy. Am looking forward to serving it with a little olive oil and rosemary as a quick appetizer some time.

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Gourmet Chicken Sandwich

Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2012

I made this as directed combining it with the "Bread Machine Focaccia" from this site (which I HIGHLY recommend). Delicious! I added romaine, tomato, and sauteed red onion. The dressing/spread is excellent, but I think next time I'll season the chicken more, perhaps marinate it in something. A slice of bacon wouldn't hurt either.

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Salsa Chicken Burrito Filling

Reviewed: Jan. 21, 2012

Very good! I used homemade taco seasoning and skipped the extra cumin and chili powder. This was very easy. Next time I think I'll throw it all in a crock pot. I served this chicken with rice, beans, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and salsa all wrapped in a tortilla.

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Clone of a Cinnabon

Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2011

Delicious! I made these in my bread machine, putting in all the liquid ingredients first and then layering the dry, yeast last. It worked great. I prepared the rolls and put them in 2 8" square pans as another reviewer suggested. Then I put covered them and put them in the fridge overnight. The next morning I cooked them as directed. Unfortunately, thought they browned, they were all raw on the sides that touched. I had to separate them (3 to a pan instead of 6) and bake them some more. They came out okay. The second time I tried this, I only put 4 in the square pans and when I pulled them out of the fridge I put them in a cold oven then set it for 350, then set the timer for 25 min. I added 2 more min. just to be sure and they turned out great this time. So... these are wonderful cinnamon buns but I recommend you leave adequate space in your pan for them to bake properly and adjust the heat and cooking time if you will be refrigerating them before baking.

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Cheesy Chicken Meatballs

Reviewed: Sep. 30, 2011

Wish I could give this recipe a 3.5, so I rounded up. It's good and easy to make. I added it to a vegetable minestrone soup. The only problem is TOO MUCH GARLIC. If I ever make these again I will likely omit all of the garlic powder. The garlic cream cheese (I actually used Philadelphia Cooking Creme in savory garlic flavor) was plenty garlicky. The garlic powder was overkill.

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Brown Rice and Black Bean Casserole

Reviewed: Sep. 18, 2011

I was really skeptical about this recipe. Sometimes casseroles end up tasting and looking like a big blob of mush, but this was wonderful! I omitted the zucchini and mushrooms (I'm the only one in the house who likes zukes and none of us like mushrooms), and I subbed diced green peppers. I increased the amount of shredded carrot like others suggested and I used chicken broth since that's what was in the cupboard. Oh, and I used cheddar and monterrey jack since we don't like swiss. I served this with sour cream and salsa and tortilla chips. I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I'll probably wrap them in a tortilla. An easy dish that has lots of protein and good carbs that really tastes good! Plus you can easily cater it to your personal taste. Thank you! This will become part of my regular meal rotation.

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Egg and Cheese Puffs

Reviewed: Sep. 17, 2011

These got such rave reviews... I'm really surprised, but I just didn't like them. I used muffin liners as some people suggested, but they were really hard to peel off the puffs. The chile peppers give this a weird taste. If I were ever to make these again, I would substitute onions and peppers or even spinach. Also the amount of cheese is ridiculous, and I don't know what the point of the melted butter is. I halved the amount of monterey jack and halved the amount of butter and these were still horribly greasy. When I took them out of the muffin pan there were little pools of oil left behind. Ugh. I can't imagine what it would have been like had I used the amounts stated in the recipe. I was hoping these would make a great breakfast-on-the-go option, but they just weren't for me. I'll keep looking.

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Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

Reviewed: Sep. 16, 2011

This was okay. It's a little too sweet in my opinion (and I LOVE things sweet) and a bit dense. I think I will try some other cornbread recipes on this site and try to find something a little lighter and fluffier. But the taste was pleasant and it was easy enough to make.

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Garlic Chicken Fried Brown Rice

Reviewed: May 20, 2011

Yum! I didn't have red pepper so used some carrots instead, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. I didn't have leftover brown rice though, so I made some in my rice cooker. When it was done I spread it out on a baking sheet lined with foil (for easy cleanup) and let it cool off and dry a little while I prepared the chicken. Worked perfectly. Oh, I also added some egg (scrambled) because we like that in our fried rice.

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Easy Indian Butter Chicken

Reviewed: Feb. 8, 2011

So good!!!!! This smells and tastes delicious. I make the lightened version with evaporated milk and less butter. Since I can't find tandoori masala I substitute curry. I serve this over rice with garlic naan. Tastes like it came from a restaurant but this is soooo easy. Thanks for sharing this great recipe! I wanted to add that I make this all the time now (1xweek usually) and I have streamlined prep to save time and cut down on the number of pots/pans. After I carmelize the onions/garlic, I add the chicken chunks which I've tossed in oil and curry (subbed for the tandoori masala). Once the chicken is cooked, I add the liquid ingredients to the pot and simmer them.

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Marshmallow Fondant

Reviewed: Feb. 1, 2011

Great recipe! I've never made fondant before but this couldn't have been easier. I followed the suggestion to use Fluff instead of melting the marshmallows and it was perfect. My hand mixer has dough-kneading attachments and I used those to mix the sugar into the Fluff. The regular egg-beater attachments couldn't handle it, but the dough hooks worked perfectly. It rolled easily. Seriously, I have never made or used fondant before but I had no problem with this recipe. It covered my 9" layer cake beautifully and I was able to color (with Wilton gel color) the fondant and cut out shapes to decorate my cake. This is a keeper!

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Great-Aunt Nina's Noodles and Chicken

Reviewed: Jan. 17, 2011

I was a little disappointed in this recipe considering all the glowing reviews. I found it to be a very bland, hearty chicken soup. After I had cooked the noodles (I used packaged egg noodles as opposed to making my own), and added the veggies and chicken, I tasted it and found it very lacking. I added more salt and pepper, garlic powder and thyme. These additions helped, but not enough. I think the recipe needs more veggies too. If I made it again, I'd double the carrots. I added about 1 c. of peas when I added the chicken to the broth. We have plenty of leftover which I'm sure we'll eat, but I'm not sure I'd need to make this dish again.

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Famous Coconut-Almond Balls

Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2010

These are great. They taste just like a Mounds or Almond Joy. I made half of mine without almonds. I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Another poster mentioned needing to add coconut extract, but I thought this was plenty coconutty without it. It's hard to form the coconut into balls the first time (I did pulse the flakes in my food processor a few times before mixing them in just to make the pieces smaller and less likely to stick out). I sprayed my hands with Pam and that helped a little, but I worried that these would be a disaster. The second rolling is key. They were much tighter, well-formed balls after that. I rolled them in the chocolate, but I recommend just putting them on wax paper instead of putting them on cooling racks. The chocolate solidified around the wires and made the coconut balls hard to remove. EDITED TO ADD: Wow. I made these again today and it was a disaster. I did everything exactly as I had before, just as the recipe said. The balls would not stay together even after a third roll. No room in the freezer to firm them up. Once I got the chocolate on them they were still falling apart. They look terrible and I will not be putting these out for holiday guests. : ( Bummer! I don't know what happened.

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Baked Potato Soup

Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2010

If I could give this six stars I would. Made it just as described with slightly less basil. I also pureed some of the soup so it was extra thick and creamy. LOVE IT! Thanks you so much for posting this delicious recipe!

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Maple-Garlic Marinated Pork Tenderloin

Reviewed: Jun. 8, 2010

Outstanding! Remember to keep the heat low or the marinade will burn. I boiled the extra marinade for a few minutes and used it for basting. There was lots of extra marinade/sauce. You could get away with decreasing it unless you want lots drizzle with after you serve. This was so delicious. I served it with a side of sesame noodles and steamed carrots.

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