Cheesy Potatoes

Reviewed: Apr. 21, 2011

This was so simple and tasty. I typically don't give something 5 stars but on the rating of yummy and easy, I don't see why not. I mixed all the ingredients together, microwaved it for a total of 20 minutes and it was perfect.

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Reviewer:

Corlett5151

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Lansing, Michigan, USA

Hearty Split Pea Soup

Reviewed: Apr. 18, 2011

This soup is the bomb diggity. It's the first 5-star rating I've ever given. The only subs I made were instead of water, I used bouillon. I used some bacon-esque "ham" that I fried first and then sauteed the onions in the oil. Everything else I left the same. I'm gonna make some more tomorrow.

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7 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2011

FANTASTIC!!! Halved the recipe, followed the proportions exactly, made instant mashed potatoes to go with. THIS IS PERFECT! Used cream of MUSHROOM soup as suggested by another reviewer as well as coarsley chopping a small sweet onion, used 1/2 onion soup mix in the meat, 1/2 in the gravy mix, skipped the au jous mix & it was great. I will be making this again and again and again and again! Extra sauce makes great gravy & put the browned patties on low for 4 hours. **I've made this several times now & had to use Cr of Chicken, didn't turn out as well. Still good, but not GREAT.**

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Country Quiche

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2011

For the effort that went into this, I was not impressed. Even with the seasoning & the bacon it was just okay. I like hearty texture, but this was borderline heavy. Also, this does NOT fill a 9 inch pie tin; I had a full inch of crust around the edge that was not filled with quiche, even after baking. This is NOT a BAD recipe, I think it's just mediocre. I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be making it again.

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6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Asian Chicken and Rice Bake

Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2011

It mystifies me as to what makes this dish "ASIAN", but it is very good. Followed recipe exactly except I increased the rice and water by 1/4 c ea and used 50% more honey than called for as personal preference. Cut 3 rather large chicken breasts in 1/2 for portion control. Chicken came out so tender you could cut it with a fork and is great next couple days as leftovers. Will definately make again. ** I like adding the frozen broccoli to this very much, but cook for 60 min instead of 45 if you do!!! Otherwise the rice won't cook!**

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7 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Veggie Meatball Medley

Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2011

I made this recipe exactly as written and it turned out wonderful! I served it over rice & the sauce was very tastey. I DID cook the meatballs in the oven for 15 minutes while the veggies were starting in the skillet (b/c I've had meatballs fall apart on me in the skillet before), but cooking time stayed the same. next time I may add another cup of stir fry veggie mix as a personal preference. this is simeple & a keerper - I'm very impressed.

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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Easy Baked Tilapia

Reviewed: Apr. 7, 2011

This turned out very average for me. Fine, nothing special. I used frozen tilapia, but other reviewers who liked it much more than I did, as well...this had no flavor. REALLY wanted to like it, but unfortunately, just not impressed at all.

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Sloppy Joes II

Reviewed: Apr. 2, 2011

If you like your sloppy joe sweet, this is for you! I had to improvise a bit, but did my best: Added 1/8 tsp cayanne pepper & 1 tsp A1 sauce, didn't have green pepper so doubled onion. This is a good basic recipe, & worth working with, but came out too sweet for my taste so next time I'm adding 1/4 tsp cayanne & cutting the sugar -- ketchup is sweet enough. **UPDATE** Made this again without any brown sugar & kept the A-1 sauce, no cayanne; turned out better for me/less sweet. I'm going to keep tweaking this one. It's VERY FORGIVING & tastey, I just need to find the perfect blend of kick & just a bit of sweetness!

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6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry

Reviewed: Apr. 1, 2011

First things first: I had to improvise. I followed the sauce recipe exactly, used just over 1 lb chicken, and used a bag of frozen stir-fry mix veggies. As a matter of personal preference, I used 2 tbsp canola oil instead of the recommended whopping 1/2c! I heated the oil on MED, put in the frozen veg first & let it thaw for about 5 minutes before putting in my chicken. Turned up the heat to between med & med-high & kept tossing everything together until the chicken was cooked. Added sauce mx & let it reduce down for about 10 minutes on med-low since the frozen veg had added some water. Stirred occationally while reducing. THE RESULT: Home made, low prep AWESOME! I cooked the rice while the chicken was cooking & sauce was reducing a bit, so total time from prep to plate was about 30 minutes, and could be tweaked to less. VERY GOOD & A KEEPER!

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5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Bake

Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2011

Short version: I enjoyed this & will be making it again. Super easy, 10 min from in the pantry to in the oven. Details: I followed the recipe except for using a whole, undrained can of corn (b/c other reviewers had complained of uncooked rice for lack of moisture). Cut 4 quite large chicken breasts in 1/2 to control portion size when done. Cooked covered for 60 minutes at 375 & everything turned out great. There may be a bit too much liquid for my taste, but just barely, so I'll drain the corn next time. Also, if you're cooking for adults, use a medium heat salsa & experiment with adding some cayanne or dash of hot sauce to up the heat a bit; as written this recipe is not bland, but it IS family friendly & keeping kids in mind. :)

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Mushroom and Mascarpone Ravioli

Reviewed: Mar. 25, 2011

Just heavenly. The best ravioli I have ever had. I have made them both with wonton wrappers and homemade pasta, and I actually liked the wonton wrappers better. Maybe because I steam them rather than put them in a pot of boiling water so they do not get mushy or fall apart. I'll save the fresh pasta for my lasagnas. Thanks for posting!!

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8 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

maxie

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Living In: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Roasted Vegetables

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2011

Good and healthy. I had trouble getting certain veggies since I live in Romania but I made some substitutions and it was still good. I would second the person who said to cook the "root" veggies first though. This was huge.

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Beer-Baked Irish Beef

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2011

Add a some potatoes and thicken up the sauce and you have yourself a real Irish stew. With these modifications it was absolutely excellent.

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Broccoli and Sausage Cavatelli

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2011

A little on the bland side all by itself but you can easily fix that with a little more spice. I'd like to try it with mushrooms sometime when the wife isn't around. Overall a solid meal!

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2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2011

Pretty decent. Make sure to use milk or evaporated milk and not buttermilk or sour creme because otherwise it will turn out more like mashed potatoes. It definitely needs something sweet and not sour.

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2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Chicken and Apple Curry

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2011

Great recipe! Make sure to use granny smith or other sour apple. The more sour the better. Also, take the advice of others and add more spices. I will definitely make this again though.

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2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

thugglife

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Living In: Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania

Avocado Dessert

Reviewed: Mar. 20, 2011

This is wonderful if you love avocado! I made this exactly as directed. Very rich, a little sweet. If you know how to peel & pit an avocado the prep time is 5 minutes, not 20! :) I'm going to make this again & experiment with adding a little lemon or lime juice for a touch of acidity. Also, I want to thicken the texture a bit for serving so I'm going to portion out the servings & chill in the FREEZER for 20 minutes, not the fridge. Thanks for sharing!

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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Grilled Delmonico Steaks

Reviewed: Mar. 20, 2011

This was great! Great flavor, easy to make, served to dinner guests & everyone loved it. Omitted salt completely, used reduced sodium soy sauce, was able to marinate for about 8 hours. Cooked on a George Foreman grill for 7 minutes @ medium setting, and my steak came out perfectly medium cooked. (I wasn't able to afford rib eye steaks, and this worked wonderfully on a less expensive cut of beef.) My boyfriend wants me to use this marinade for hamburgers now, too. :) I'm thinking pork chops, chicken....

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3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Sour Cream Chicken Quiche

Reviewed: Mar. 13, 2011

Tastey, good texture, no changes needed at all! I added 1 tsp garlic powder for fun, but could go with or without. :) Extend baking time at 350 to 40 minutes! (45 if you want it browned on top.) Wonderful recipe, thank you!

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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Katherine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: East Lansing, Michigan, USA

Slow Cooker Chicken with Mushroom Wine Sauce

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2011

This is delicious and is officially in my dinner rotation!!!! I cut 3 rather large chicken breasts in 1/2 & upped the seasoning a bit: 1 fresh diced onion instead of dried, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1/4 c milk, 1 shallow tbsp Onion & Herb Mrs Dash, & 1/4 tsp each of salt & pepper, as well as soup, wine, and mushrooms as directed. I browned the chicken in a little olive oil & garlic powder first (was SO worth it!), cooked on low for 4.5 hours, & left uncovered for one hour of that time to thicken the sauce. Next time, I'm going to omit the extra salt & just going to let it sit covered the whole time b/c I'd prefer to have more sauce; it was delicious & thinning it out just a bit wouldn't hurt a thing! Chicken was so tender, reheats well, and is a hit with mashed potatoes on the side -- sauce makes great gravy for the potatoes!

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21 users found this review helpful