Page 75 Originally posted 1/24/2019 Uses Herbed Mayo O.M.G. If you thought BLTs could not get any better, you were wrong. New weekend game plan: make extra bacon for breakfast and use it in sandwiches at lunch. Because who doesn’t love having bacon twice in one day?! The mayo is the kicker here. It is […]
Author: Barb
Mexican Rice – 2.998 stars
Page 195 Originally posted 1/22/2019 Okay, the texture is just strange. It’s kind of grainy AND it needs more spice. I mixed it in with the spicy beans and they toned down the texture weirdness and amped up the flavor so they at least added bulk to the meal. To be fair, I may not […]
Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas – 4.4 stars
Page 193 Originally posted 1/22/2019 Really good flavor, and I do NOT usually like green chili anything. Go into it with an open mind and you will love it. Go in expecting the usual red chili taste and corn tortilla texture and you will be disappointed. Love the fact that she encourages us busy folk […]
Chicken and dumplings – 4.25 stars
Page 215 Originally posted 1/21/2019 There are few things as comforting as chicken and dumplings on a day that started out at 19 degrees and by lunch is only flirting with 32. I put the broth on between meetings this morning and made the rest on my lunch break on a work-from-home day. That’s how […]
Homemade Chicken Broth – 4.25 stars
Page 216 Originally posted 1/21/2019 Used in Chicken and Dumplings There are few things as comforting as chicken and dumplings on a day that started out at 19 degrees and by lunch is only flirting with 32. I put the broth on between meetings this morning and made the rest on my lunch break on […]
Grilled Havarti, Tomato, & Basil Sandwich – 3.5 stars
Page 91 Originally posted 1/20/2019 Dipped in Balsamic Vinegar – 4.5 stars The plain sandwich is a cross between a grilled cheese and a flat tasting Bruschetta – good, but nothing to write home about. Add the Balsamic and it is freakin’ awesome! Note – it is not as easy as it looks to stack […]
Ricotta Pancakes – 3.5 stars
page 55 Originally posted 1/20/2019 With Banana – 3.75 stars These are denser pancakes with good flavor – lots of vanilla. As I said, they were good, but not one of those “wow!” taste sensations. Mark suggested adding some mashed up banana, so for the second helping I mixed some into the batter and he […]
White Cheddar Bisque – 4.25 stars
Page 111 Originally posted 1/19/2019 Perfect soup for a cold rainy day. Love the white wine that gives it an almost fondue-like bump up in flavor. It’s like a warm, cheesy, velvety hug! I have got to figure out why my emulsion blender is leaving chunks behind. I am having to fall back on my […]
Aunt Opal’s Banana Pudding – 4 stars
Page 287 originally posted 1/15/2019 This makes a LOT of pudding. I got 6 small servings and a good sized Corning Ware dish out of it. Which is good news if you like banana pudding. Don’t know what is up with the stores today, but ran out at lunch to get bananas and both local […]
Green Beans Amandine – 4.5 stars
Page 175 Originally posted 1/15/2019 Sweet, tangy, crunchy, and full of green bean goodness. I have never made these before but definitely will again.
Mashed Potatoes – 4.89 stars
Page 181 Originally posted 1/15/2019 Mashed potatoes that don’t need gravy … where have you been all my life! OMG. These are fabulous and will be my holiday taters from here on out. Simple to make and I do not want to know how many calories or carbs are in there. I. Don’t. Care. If […]
Perfect Roast Chicken – 4.5 stars
Page 203 Originally posted 1/15/2019 This is the best roast chicken (not cooked in a clay pot) that I have ever made. It is tasty and very moist. Mark loved it. Couple of things – First, the roast garlic (the little charcoal briquettes in the last picture) were not edible. You are supposed to squeeze […]
Garlic Cheese Grits – 4 stars
Page 31 Originally posted 1/13/2019 Two things on this one… first, I am finding that my brand of garlic salt (man, does she love her garlic) is apparently less salty than hers so this needed a little extra salt for maximum taste. Second, it is a wet, rainy day here so I am guessing that […]
Tomato Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese Strips – 3.25 stars
Page 107 Originally posted 1/12/2019 4.75 on the grilled cheese! Not sure if it was the texture or the cream, but this one is good but, frankly, isn’t as good as the Progresso canned tomato basil soup. Mark loves creamy tomato and he agreed that it was low 3s. I used my emulsion blender instead […]
Mushroom, spinach, and Swiss cheese quiche – 3.999 stars
Page 23 Originally posted 1/12/2019 Full disclosure: I don’t like spinach unless it is cooked with artichoke hearts and parm and mayo into a dip, and the texture of mushrooms is a bit off-putting to me unless sautéed in butter and garlic until they melt in your mouth. If you could get the flavor in […]
Cherry-Almond Crisp – 4.5 stars
Page 279 Originally posted 1/11/2019 Holy cow, this is good! I was skeptical because I love my tart cherries and this uses sweet ones, but this does not disappoint. I used frozen cherries but will try fresh ones next time.
Sunday Supper Beef Tips – 3 stars
Page 263 Originally posted 1/11/2019 Flavor is good, but the sauce was really thin. Needs to be thickened. ***Update – warmed it up next day and added McCormick brown gravy mix to thicken and it was much better.
Red Wine Vinaigrette – 3.75 stars
Page 127 Originally posted 1/6/2019 Used in Jo’s Quick Table Salad This was a pretty good salad if you picked the oranges off. I used a store brand and that might be the problem – they were so soft and squishy the texture just clashed. Otherwise, it was great! Sweet and nutty pecans, pungent feta, […]
Jo’s Quick Table Salad – 3.25 stars
Page 127 Originally posted 1/6/2019 Uses Red Wine Vinaigrette This was a pretty good salad if you picked the oranges off. I used a store brand and that might be the problem – they were so soft and squishy the texture just clashed. Otherwise, it was great! Sweet and nutty pecans, pungent feta, sweet/sour dressing, […]
Meat Loaf – 2.5 stars
Page 259 Originally published 1/6/2019 Not sure what happened but the flavor just was not there on this one. I couldn’t taste the onion or the spices. It just seemed flat. Andrew and Mark liked it but I had higher hopes for this one.
Becki’s Mac & Cheese – 4.8 stars
Page 169 Originally posted 1/6/2019 Hands down the best Mac & Cheese I have ever had. The crunchy topping is awesome, but I only put about half of what the recipe yielded on top. Love, love, love this rich and creamy comfort food.
Homemade Whipped Cream – 4.75 stars
Page 285 Originally posted 1/5/2019 This one gets a “do over” when strawberries are in season and fresh from the farm stand down the road. It was good, but the biscuits were leftovers (a bit dry) and store strawberries just are not the same. The whipped cream, however, was amazing tasting. I can’t remember making […]
Country Potato Soup – 3.75 stars
Page 103 Originally posted 1/4/2019 Flavor is great and it is incredibly creamy. Only complaint is you have got to chop your veggies very carefully to get the same size pieces or you end up with inconsistent texture. Took me about 3/4 of the bowl to come around to the bits of potato skin.
Dolce De Leche Apple Pie – 4 stars
Page 273 Originally published 1/4/2020 Excellent pie with a perfect filling consistency EVERY time. I liked it much better warmed. This is another one where it is worth buying the book just to learn how to get the perfect filling with the unpredictable juice content of apples. You may notice a mangled can in the […]
Best Ever Fluffy Pancakes – 4.75 stars
Page 51 Originally posted on 1/3/2019 These are, hands down, the best pancakes I have ever made or eaten. Mark’s only complaint is they take up too much room on the plate. Not a problem for me. There is a secret that makes these so fluffy that I won’t post because I respect her copyright. […]
Three-Cheese Quiche – 3.5 stars
Page 25 Originally posted 1/2/2019 Texture is DIVINE, but a tsp of garlic powder is a bit much. Cut that by about half and it would be almost perfect. Follow up: made this a second time with half the garlic powder and it was extra divine! Upgrade to a 4.0! Follow up #2 : this […]
Bobo’s Classic Gravy – 3 stars
Page 21 Originally posted 1/1/2019 2 down! Jojo’s Biscuits and Bobo’s Classic Gravy to start off the new year. Biscuits are great – 4.5 stars Gravy is good, but I would crumble while cooking to get smaller, more evenly textured sausage pieces – 3 stars. (P.S. – there is no way this gravy is 10 […]
Jojo’s Biscuits – 4.5 stars
Page 17 Originally posted on 1/1/2019 2 down! Jojo’s Biscuits and Bobo’s Classic Gravy to start off the new year. Biscuits are great – 4.5 stars Gravy is good, but I would crumble while cooking to get smaller, more evenly textured sausage pieces – 3 stars. (P.S. – there is no way this gravy is […]
Magnolia Table Cookbook Challenge – the beginning
When the hubby gave me Magnolia Table as a Christmas gift in 2018, I flipped through it on Christmas morning reveling in all the pictures. As I began to pause on particularly scrumptious looking dishes to read the recipes I found myself saying, “this sounds really” good over and over again. They were not particularly […]