Maria Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (18669560)

Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2012

Made recipe almost exactly as written. Omitted the butter and basil and used 1/2 cup wine instead of 1/4 cup for deglazing. Delicious new recipe. I can easily see making this a couple times a month. Snapped a photo (#35) which really shows what great caramelization is possible with this dish.

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Hot Italian Sausage

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2012

This recipe makes exquisite sausage. Really, very tasty and satisfying. I had to change the ratio of ingredients a bit, but all in all, this is our new sausage recipe! I scaled the recipe down to 10 pounds of sausage, so if you're halving it, here is what I used. Super simple to remember. And as a side note, some of the reviewers stated that it wasn't spiced enough, so I made these changes based upon their reviews. - 2 Tbl Salt - 2 Tbl granulated garlic - 2 Tbl ground black pepper - 2 Tbl paprika - 2 Tbl fennel seed, lightly toasted and ground - 1 Tbl red pepper flakes (2 if you're feeling adventurous)

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3 users found this review helpful

Chicken Pot Pie IX

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2012

Helpful and time saving tips: in lieu of the carrots and peas, add two cups of frozen mixed vegetables to the chicken during the last three minutes of boiling time and then just drain and transfer them along with chicken to the sauce. For extra flavor, boil the chicken in broth or use a couple of bouillon cubes. Finally, bake at a slightly lower temperature (400F) and place the pie on the lowest shelf. This will aid in a thorough cooking of the crust. This is hands down the best chicken pot pie we've ever enjoyed. It's much easier than the recipe from America's Test Kitchens with just as much flavor and interest.

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6 users found this review helpful

Thai Green Curry Chicken

Reviewed: Sep. 29, 2011

I only had 1 can of coconut milk on hand, but the flavor was incredible with the rest of the ingredients in their original ratio. This dish will require the full fat version of the coconut milk. In many recipes, like coconut chicken soup, you can get away with the half fat version, but not in this one. Served with Jasmine rice, it was like a visit to an upscale Thai restaurant! 10 stars!

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2 users found this review helpful

Best Tuna Casserole

Reviewed: Sep. 10, 2011

Perfect as written.

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3 users found this review helpful

Salisbury Steak

Reviewed: Aug. 17, 2011

I made the recipe as written the first time. The second time, I made some simple changes which improved it greatly. First, after frying the steaks, I sauted 8 oz of fresh mushrooms and a sliced onion in the same pan. For the sauce, I omitted the ketchup and replaced it with 1/2 a can of campbell's golden mushroom soup. I served the steaks with smashed potatoes. The steaks tasted even better the next day. Thank you Kelly for a great base recipe!

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4 users found this review helpful

Shepherd's Pie VI

Reviewed: Aug. 15, 2011

Terrific recipe, but make it easy on yourself by browning the onions and ground beef at the same time (add some garlic, too for extra flavor), replace the carrots for a small bag of mixed veggies (corn, carrots, peas and green beans), use a full can of beef broth and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and you'll have a great meal, with much less work. I made mine without any cheddar cheese and it still turned out marvelously.

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2 users found this review helpful

Apple Pie I

Reviewed: Jul. 31, 2011

Add 1-2 TBLS lemon jiuce, 2 TBLS flour, 1/2 teas vanilla 1/4 teas nutmeg and used brown sugar instead of white. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 450, then 40 minutes at 375.

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8 users found this review helpful

Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili

Reviewed: Jan. 28, 2011

This recipe lives up to the hype. Like most Allrecipe chefs, I made a few changes that I had to make based on principle. I used 5 cloves of garlic instead of the garlic salt. I seasoned the ground beef with a great deal more pepper than the recipe calls for (nearly 2 teaspoons). And I added about two teaspoons of chili powder in addition to the package of McCormick's Chili packet. I used two jars of Pace HOT Salsa instead of one (for a total of 16 ounces). And I added one 14 ounce can of diced tomatos. Even with the added moisture, it is still maintained its hardy consistency. As for the onion, I did not cook it with the ground beef but served it diced raw on top of each serving. This makes a great deal of chili. With my changes, it is definately a 5 alarm chili (for children and for those with delicate palates, use the mild version of the salsa and skip the extra chili powder). Thank you, Deb. This is now my go to recipe when the urge strikes. For those that are wondering what makes this such a good chili, it's the salsa. For whatever reason, it works very well in this application.

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7 users found this review helpful

General Tsao's Chicken

Reviewed: Jan. 13, 2011

I live near a chinese restaurant that has been voted the best in my state for several years. It's claim to fame is their General Tsao's chicken. Clearly, this is where they got their recipe! With some of the reviewer's modifications, it tastes identicle to theirs. The recommendations on this site that I used to to achieve this copycat recipe are as follows: I cut the sugar to 2/3 cup. I used only 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and for the liquid, I used all chicken broth For the vinegar, I reduced the amount to 2 tablespoons and used rice wine vinegar. The restaurant stir fries white onion to accompany the chicken (not the green kind) and for some strange reason, it works to catapult this dish into the stratosphere.

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Chicken Massaman Curry

Reviewed: Aug. 12, 2010

Pros: The taste is unequivocally amazing and is nearly identical to our favorite neighborhood Thai restaurant. The texture is smooth and silky. Easy to prepare and will only take you 30 minutes if you keep the potatoes finely diced. The cost is very reasonable if you keep key ingredients on hand in your cupboard. Cons: I prepared this nearly as written, save for the tamarind. Next time I'll purchase it and add it to see how I like it as written. Also, I added four cloves of garlic as I sautéed the ginger and I had no brown sugar so I used white. I think this would work better with noodles rather than with rice, and that is how our local restaurant prepares it.

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4 users found this review helpful

Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujadarrah)

Reviewed: Sep. 12, 2009

UPDATE: A dollup of sour cream transformed these humble lentils into ambrosia! The recipe has earned its fifth star... I thought this was very good, but not outstanding, thus the four stars. I added 1 teaspoon of cumin to make it more authentic (mujadarah is almost always prepared with cumin). Having no yogurt or sour cream on hand, the flavor was rather dark. I can see why the bright taste of yogurt or sour cream is necessary as a counterbalance for the rich flavor. I think it would make a terrific filling for sandwhiches, and that's how I'll consume the balance of the recipe: rolled up in tortillas with sour cream and maybe tomatoes. It is inexpensive and high in protein without artery clogging cholesterol.

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5 users found this review helpful

Exquisite Pizza Sauce

Reviewed: Sep. 3, 2009

Perhaps it is a regional issue, but sadly, the recipe does not live up to its name. A more fitting title might be "Marginally Platable Pizza Sauce." The only ingredient I left out was the fish paste (I love anchovies, but wasn't sure if it would go over well with non fish eaters). The flavor isn't bright enough, though I don't know what would have improved it, either.

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Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Reviewed: Aug. 21, 2009

This recipe produces a decent tomato soup. I added some basil to the boiling tomatoes. The finished product was still not silky enough so I blended it in a blender. It took on the texture of silk. So amazing. As far as tomato soups go, I would give this a 4. It comes out pumpkin-orange in color, though. Not the vibrant red you see in the photograph.

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2 users found this review helpful

Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Reviewed: Aug. 10, 2009

this is shockingly good. there is a bakery in town that sells oodles of expensive cakes with people forming lines out the door every weekend. well you know what? this is the frosting that they use. it tastes exactly like it. excellent! i used 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in place of the granulated kind and it turned out magnificently.

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3 users found this review helpful

Beaker's Vegetable Barley Soup

Reviewed: Aug. 6, 2009

Beyond delicious! I ommitted the sugar and Worcestershire sauce and used fresh garlic (3 cloves), added some olive oil, two potatoes (diced large) and a pinch of red pepper flakes. For the vegetable stock, I used Starr bouillon (you can find it in any Italian market/grocery). I'll make this again and again. Thanks Beaker!

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1 user found this review helpful

African Chicken Stew

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2008

WOW. This was sensational. We almost fought over the stew. The only changes that I made to the original recipe was to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and I reduced the amount of peanut butter to one heaping table spoon. Because it was "natural," peanut butter, I added sugar to the skillet towards the end to account for that. A+++++++. Oh, and I omitted the chickpeas and added a chicken bouillion.

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Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Reviewed: Apr. 2, 2008

I am not a canned soup kind of person, but I decided to try this recipe because of all of the rave reviews. Based upon some of the suggestions, I tailored it thusly: I cut the recipe in half, ommited the butter and then added 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 sliced carrots, 1 chopped celery stalk, 2 chopped small to medium sized potatoes. In place of salt, I added a McCormick chicken boullion cube and a good deal of pepper. I did not add enough water to cover all of these vegetables because they give off water as they cook. So basically, I added 1 can of cream of chicken soup along with one can of water. It was not enough to cover all of the ingredients, but by the end of the cooking time, everything was appropriately submerged under the resulting gravy. After I cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces, I rolled the buscuit dough to about 1/8 inch thickness, cut them into quarters and submerged them under the gravy. At that point, I added a few handfuls of frozen peas. In 1/2 an hour everything was perfectly cooked. A note about cooking times, all crock pots are different. Some run very hot, some run warm. You have to know how yours works and adjust your cooking time accordingly. Mine runs unbearably hot so the whole meal was ready in under 4 hours. This recipe seriously deserves all five stars.

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Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip II

Reviewed: Mar. 28, 2008

I prepared this dip this Easter for the hors d'oeuvre table. My family descended on it like a colony of vultures. Some of the comments I heard during the disapearing act were "this is the best dip I have ever tasted," "you have to give me this recipe," "what's in this stuff?" and my favorite "get me a chair so that I can sit closer to the bowl." I am one of those who likes to modify recipes. In this one, I doubled the garlic. Other than that, I followed the directions to a T. A++++++++++++++++++

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Bryan's Spicy Red Lentil Soup

Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2008

I was dissapointed with this recipe. It is edible, but nothing I would make again. Having said this, I think it would be only fair to post the changes that I made to the recipe. 1) used only 1 1/3 cup of lentils. 2) added one diced potato 3) omitted the basil. If you adore spinach, you will love this recipe, but I only like spinach, and it doesn't really work well in this recipe. Note to those who complained about their finished product not resembling the photo attached to this recipe. My soup/stew ended up looking exactly like this. Since it was so thick, I turned on my rice cooker and made served it with the stew. Good luck.

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1 user found this review helpful