Peckish Sister's Reviews
465 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
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30 Delicious Dump Cake Recipes
By Lori Burke
CreateSpace - 2012
This was a very quick dessert with two cans of cherry pie filling a box of cake mix, butter and pecans. I substituted Butter Fudge cake mix for the Swiss Chocolate cake mix that I could not find. It had strong cherry and chocolate flavor and the pecans added a nice crunch. I don't usually use cake mixes, but this makes a quick dessert without a lot of chopping, measuring and mixing.
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This was a simple dump cake with 4 cups of blueberries. I used frozen ones. The cake mix was lemon and no nuts were used, so I did not find this version as interesting. The apple blueberry version has more fruit and also nuts and was superior to this one. However, it was very popular at a potluck.
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Two cans of apple pie filling, yellow cake mix, lots of butter and pecans with a few other ingredients in a 9 X 13" pan. I wanted a dessert for the adults to go along with the ice cream sundaes at a potluck and it was very popular, with the vanilla ice cream on top. I will make this again for a pot luck dessert when I don't have time for measuring and chopping. I found I could use my cheese slicer the long ways on the sticks of butter to quickly cut thin slices to cover the dry cake mix.
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A can of apple pie filling and 4 cups of blueberries. I used the frozen ones I am trying to use up. Other than that a typical dump cake with 1/2 cup of pecans. It was a nice quick crumble and great for breakfast.
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This was a very quick dessert with lots of cherries from a can of pie filling and I substituted a 28 jar of Morello cherries for the can of cherries. Since you were supposed to use the liquid as well, we used only half of it. Then a box of cake mix, butter and pecans. It had strong chocolate flavor and the coconut and walnuts added a nice crunch. I don't usually use cake mixes, but this makes a quick dessert without a lot of chopping, measuring and mixing.
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This was another well received pot luck dessert. I used a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple instead of the 15 oz can called for and just did not use all of the juice. I used organic shredded and not sweetened coconut and was surprised that worked out well. The top was beautifully browned, it added a bit of crunch to the top and the pan was completely emptied. A nice variation on this type of dessert.
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Air Fry Everything!
By Meredith Lawrence
Walah!, LLC Publishers - 2016
I used gluten-free beer, flour and bread crumbs in this recipe. The trick was to be sure to spray on enough oil to saturate the coating or it came out dry and unappetizing. It was nice to be able to manipulate the recipe and make something gluten free. The amount that is proacticaql to make at one time depends on your air fryer.
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We liked the rub that was used for cooking the chicken wings, it is worth trying without the sauce. The ssauce was improved by heating the cherry jam to dissolve lumps and cutting up the larger cherries in it. We also like that the sauce was applied after cooking.
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It will taste different depending on what type of mustard you use. Whole seed mustard made a thin sauce and many of the seeds did not stick. It helped for the final 4 minutes of cooking after the sauce was added, to stop at 2 minutes, add more sauce and shake, then cook for the final two minutes.
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The dry rub is excellent. We frequently make this recipe with chicken thighs. I make large batches of the rub. For the two tablespoons of chili powder I make one teaspoon of it smoked paprika. The chicken is best fresh right out of the air fryer, so I prefer to not make enough for leftovers unless you want cooked chicken for a recipe.
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Website: All Recipes
A delicious grilled flounder recipe that kept the fish moist. The fillet is topped with a mixture of lemon juice, parmesan, butter, mayonaise and green oinions that tastes a lot better than it sounds. Substituting part of a fresh banana leaf for the aluminum foil platform has worked very well for us.
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Website: All Recipes
I have not been able to cook any recipes with soy sauce (bad reaction to soy) until a colleague showed me this recipe. It turned out dark and real salty with some umami flavor and so seems like a great substitute. The next time I will try and find bouillon without MSG and substitute apple vinegar for balsamic to get rid of the sulfites.
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America's Best Lost Recipes: 121 Heirloom Recipes Too Good to Forget
By The Editors of Cook's Country Magazine
Cook's Illustrated - 2007
This buttery rich blueberry coffee cake was easy to whip up. My Florida blueberries are very large so I increased the amount in the coffee cake itself as 1/2 cup looked very sparse. This would be great if you needed a blueberry coffee cake in a hurry, but is not my favorite recipe.
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A mostly whole wheat sweet breakfast bread with buttermilk, walnuts, raisins and dates, and no oil or fat. It came together rather quidkly, cooked the exacted amount of time specified and looked just like the picture in the book! It was remarkably moist and delicious and what just what I was in the mood for. It made two loaves and I have the leftovers presliced and wrapped for breakfast on the go!
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The base of the cake has dates softened in boiling water which adds to the moistness. It is topped with walnuts and chocolate chips. It tastes as delicious as it looks. I love that it is made in a 9 X 13" pan so it makes a fair amount. It is rather easy to mix up as there is no additional topping or frosting that goes on later. The story that goes along with it about how long this cake has been made also makes you want to cook it.
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This is a very good plain monkey bread. I prefer mine with nuts and sometimes raisins. But if you just want a sticky, not overly sweet breakfast treat, this is a great recipe. I do like that they tell you how many pieces to cut it into at the start. I remembered to only partially dip each ball into the melted butter. It is easy to spread it with your fingers to cover the rest of the ball; otherwise I have run out of melted butter before. I also try to keep one hand for the butter and the other for the sugar. I also did not let mine rise as high as they recommended and it turned out perfectly.
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America's Test Kitchen Live!: The All-New Companion to America's Favorite Public Television Cooking Series
By Cook's Illustrated Magazine, John Burgoyne, Daniel J. Van Ackere, Carl Tremblay
America's Test Kitchen - 2004
The chicken thigh meat is perfect in this cheesy enchilada. You only use part of a can of pickeled jalapenos, and I freeze the rest for another batch. Today was the first time my corn tortillas were so tender I did not need to soften them in the oven and the resulting enchiladas reflected that tenderness, but very delicious. My go to recipe.
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Baker's Easy Cut-Up PARTY CAKES
By Baker's/Kraft Foods
Publications International, LTD. - 1993
I make two dozen cupcakes which will yield 16 booties for a baby shower. I cheat by using canned frosting which I color pink or blue and after the crumb coat, cover the booties with little stars with a decorators tip. (So I skip the coconut.) This time I made chocolate cupcakes and covered them with chocolate frosting, making brown booties. Since it was a double shower for the father of a baby boy and the mother of a baby girl, I put little blue stars and blue shoes laces on half of the booties and pink on the other half. It was a real conversation starter, and as we had guys there too, they were not shy about eating them up.
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The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
I prefer a smooth intensely lime flavored guacamole, but if I think of this like an avocado salsa, I like it. I did not have an easy time of cutting up the avocado with a sharp knife in the bowl; two knives made an easier job of it. The chunks of avocado showcase the Haas flavor better than a puree. I had to substitute fresh lime juice for lemon however. It made a great condiment for enchiladas. I would use this recipe where you want bold colors and flavors.
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Flakey and cheesy scones with beautiful dark green aromatic flecks of dill throughout. I found it a little confusing to my taste buds that were expecting onion or garlic flavor. The recipes worked perfectly except my scones never come out as wide or tall as the directions state, so this time I went with the ¾ tall and slightly narrower than 4” squares (that are cut into triangles). These turned out very well, but I don’t see myself making them again.
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A very typical lemonade recipe. I picked and squeezed the lemons today. I followed the recipe exactly, using between the ½ and ¾ cup of sugar range she suggested. Freshly made lemonade is not uncommon for my family, but I was glad for the incentive to make it. Their only comment was, “tastes like lemonade”! If you have never made it before, it is a decent recipe.
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Big bold pieces of carrot were different than the usual matchstick cut and were easier to prepare. I hate boiled carrots, but love the concentrated flavor of these roasted carrots. They tasted sweet and almost like lemon juice had been added. This recipe needed to cook an extra 15 minutes for the largest carrot pieces, and I needed to remove the smaller pieces at intervals to prevent over cooking.
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My boys devoured this chicken and thought it should get a rating of 10 (on a 5 point scale). It was slightly sweet with a nice strong ginger taste that was not overpowering. I was excited to make this with my substitute soy sauce. I am not sure why she specifies “good honey”. I don’t cook with my best honey, but I don’t have any “bad” honey either. The marinade did not soak into all the chicken and I am not sure if that wasn’t because I split it into two pans. As mentioned previously an easy recipe that can easily be made up ahead.
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Fresh orange flavored yogurt with nice bursts of texture and more flavor from the added ingredients. I am not a big fan of grated citrus peel, but added just enough to really make the orange flavor predominant. I skipped the sieving step by starting with fat-free Greek yogurt. Adding honey, walnuts and citrus were natural accompaniments. I thought about roasting the walnuts, but they tasted great unroasted. Chunks of orange on top added to the lightness of this dish.
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Light airy scones with great maple flavor and a use for those quick oats in the cupboard. I felt like I was back in the Maritime Provinces where maple-flavored baked goods were every where. The second time I made this recipe I remembered to add that pound of butter. The first time without the butter they rose higher and looked prettier, but tasted only slightly better than a boat anchor. I have frozen all that we did not eat at the first sitting and they taste just as fresh every time we defrost one. Like Queezle Sister I did not use a circle cutter, but cut mine into similar sized squares.
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Very flavorful and colorful and more complex than the usual cous cous recipe. The onions, parsley and curry gave it a bold flavor, and the grated carrot, currents, and dark greens of the parsley and scallion gave it a great visual appeal. I liked that this recipe did not call for chicken stock and enjoyed it as a vegetarian dish by itself. Although it also goes well with chicken.
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My French bread loaf was rather large, so my toasts were also big. I was delighted to have a use for the Trader Joes garlic flavored olive oil we had picked up on a road trip, and brushed it on the slices. You could also use the garlic oil left over from the broccoli recipe if you made that. I used the pre-grated parmesan that I keep frozen. I did not salt the oiled bread as the bread tasted salty already. I took the croutons out 3 minutes early and they were good and a great accompaniment to the Gazpacho. They also tasted just as crisp and cheesy two days later.
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The dough came together reluctantly acting like pie dough without enough water. After chilling, it rolled out just fine. I would not have gotten 24 if I had followed the directions to roll them ½ inch thick and use a 3” heart cutter. My thickness was too variable ¼ to ½ inch and I used a 2” heart cutter. I dusted them with the smaller crystal size of natural cane sugar and they looked very nice and tasted like classic shortbread. This was a good classic recipe and next time I will roll them all 1/2 inch, but also cut out 1" hearts as well so that my son can more easily bear to part with them to share with his college friends.
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A nice thick, fresh tasting tomato soup. I thought that the tomatoes would dry more during roasting, it is hard to tell from the picture in the book. Mine were caramelizing on the bottom, but looked the same on top. I couldn’t quite come up with 4 packed cups of basil, so bought the canned tomatoes with basil. Not having a food mill, I used my immersion blender to break up the tomatoes. I love the seeds, but if you don’t you would want to use a food mill. It needs about ¼ tsp of light brown sugar per medium sized bowl of soup to cut the acid, but otherwise the recipe worked fine.
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I was looking for a way to reduce the butter and instead decided to follow the Smitten Kitchen suggestions to halve the recipe and bake it in a 9 X13” pan. I also took her advice to line the pan with parchment. I only used 1 of the original 3 eggs and still had a very buttery dough that was difficult to spread, it helped to put a little moisture under the parchment. I cut the finished cookies into smallish squares. The pecans were perfectly crunchy with nice caramel. I did not care for the butter soaked crust and oily tops of the cookies. The caramel still managed to get under some of the parchment and some seeped under the crust, this was not a bad thing as it seemed to help hold the crust together. The parchment made it manageable to remove the entire cooled bar to a large wooden cutting board for ease of cutting. I was glad I did not cool the cookies in the refrigerator as suggested, as they were firm enough and cut just fine at room temperature. A mostly delicious cookie, but it should be possible to reduce the amount of butter.
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Warning, think twice before making a full batch, it is large! I made a full batch to use the full bottle of tomato juice. I liked her admonition that you don’t want this to taste like V-8 juice as I have often cheated and used V-8 juice when making Gazpacho in the past. I like cucumber seeds so did not see the need to seed the cucumbers. I chopped all the vegetables by hand to get them into the perfect size except for the onion which was chopped finely in the food processor. We cut the vinegar by half to ¼ cup and used apple cider instead of white wine (to reduce sulfites). Day1: we loved the flavor, except the onion came on strong and the next time we would only use one. I used one yellow, one orange and one red pepper, instead of all three red. The main relief from the too red color was provided by the dark green and white contrast of the cucumber. The next time I would probably use two yellow and one orange peppers. Day 2: the cucumber and yellow pepper are slightly discolored, the overpowering onion flavor has mellowed to just right, and the vinegar flavor was not as pronounced – very good. In subsequent days the cumcumber discolored and then became mushy. My husband liked the amount of olive oil.
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I used mango (4 large) and the local blueberries I have frozen (4 cups) as she suggests changing the fruit. I added ½ of the juice of a lemon as both fruits did not taste as all tart, the full 3 TLBS of flour with the fruit, used the brown, but not the white sugar with the fruit, and only made half of the topping. It turned out beautifully in my large round casserole dish. I should have thawed the blue berries for a more bubbly interior, but the mango did not disintegrate and that was nice too. I prefer the old Betty Crocker crisp recipe with rolled oats and chopped nuts, this was more like a sugar topping.
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Bursting with strawberry flavor, a wonderful way to use my homemade dehydrated strawberries. They would break a tooth as is, so I measured out the necessary amount, rinsed them with water, did not shake off the excess and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. A few were still hard, a few were a little soft, but most were somewhat softened and I was pleased. After cutting into small pieces, I still had the needed ¾ cup (they had swollen a little, but with cutting, took up less room in the cup). Since my maple scones had been so soft, they did not rise very much, I left out 1 stick of butter and one egg. I used Demerara sugar on top for more pronounced sparkle. Overall they came out perfectly, rose nicely and were just moist enough. However once again I had been tempted into buying white whole wheat flour and used only that. It gave the scones a bit of unpleasant flavor and texture. I suggest using it like whole wheat flour; I hope to never buy it again. (The last time I bought it I was mainly making leavened bread and did not like it there either.) I do like these scones as a nice use to showcase my dried strawberries.
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This recipe made up very similarly to the shortbread hearts. I toasted the pecans before dicing as instructed. She suggested using a square cutter. I used a wide plastic ruler and my cleaver to cut very square cookies with no waste. I loved the wonderful almond smell coming from the almond extract in the dough and cookies. However the roasted pecans provided their own aroma and although I loved the crunch of the pecans, the two flavors fought each other. In the future, it would be fun to try walnut flavor (I can never find a use for it!) with toasted walnuts, or almonds with almond extract. With pecans, I think sticking with vanilla extract would be best (the recipe calls for both).
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I just cannot put butter into applesauce, but I think it might have kept it from boiling so hard, maybe 2 TBLS would be enough. I was glad that I put this into a giant Dutch oven as it was obvious from the inside of the pan that it had been boiling and foaming up to the top. I did not believe that 6 pounds of apples could cook in 1 ½ hours in the oven, so was not in a hurry to remove it but should have as it did seem a little over cooked. I would have preferred it a little chunkier. I did add the two peels of red apples to improve the color as suggested, but they had disintegrated too much to remove. Next time I would cut back on the spices, I think they hide the apple flavor. I used half Granny Smith apples and half MacIntosh as suggested and had to double the sugar and it was still on the sour side. This was a surprisingly easy recipe after you get past all the apple peeling. I liked not having to cut the apples more than into quarters and not having to stir.
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I followed bhnyc’s advice to cook the garlic slowly and also to serve the broccoli warm or room temperature instead of cold. I placed a large sieve colander in the big pot to boil the broccoli in and then it was easy to remove the colander with broccoli to the sink to cool it just enough with running water. The cooked garlic cloves on top made all the difference and it was a nice departure from my usual micro waved plain broccoli. The family seemed even more appreciative.
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A chunky dip full of sweet onion flavor. I followed Southern Cooker’s advice to use half of the oil and butter and agreed that it was hard to go the full 30 minutes so that all of the onions were nicely browned. I also used my handheld mixer, but had to pull the onions out of the bowl with the piles of sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise as I had not mixed them yet. In retrospect I think it would have worked fine to dump everything in at once and mix. It was a huge hit; we may never buy the mix again. I especially liked the reduction in salt.
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A beautiful tasty dish and we also had it with Steelhead trout. I think it would stand alone and be great with some sugar snap peapods as well. I followed Quezzle Sister’s advice to add more veges – an orange pepper, and break the spaghetti in half. Loretta had commented that the sauce made the noodles mushy and so I froze the ginger, thinking that the enzymes in the ginger were the culprit and I did not notice any mushiness to the noodles, but kept the leftover sauce separate, just in case. The sauce started thin, but thickened as it stood. I used spaghetti rigati, and the square ridges held the sauce nicely. This had a more complex sauce and with more colorful vegetables than a peanut butter based dish I had made in the past.
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A nice presentation and easy to change the proportions as the amount of sesame oil to add to coat the peas is not stated. I started with pre-washed peas which increased the ease of preparation. The sweetness of the peas was accentuated and more noticeable than eating them plain. It is worth it to seek out the black sesame seeds as it really does make a spectacular presentation. They are not as pretty with the strings removed, but easier to eat. She suggests serving them as room temperature, I like them better with a little chill still on them, and they are more refreshing.
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You really can just walk away and come back in 1 ½ hours to a perfectly roasted chicken. But I did cover it with foil after an hour, so the dark meat would not dry out too much. I did not want the gravy, and saved most of the chicken for later. It was great to have on hand to throw together a quick meal. It was nice and simple, but had good flavor.
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Perfectly cooked lentils as they were covered with boiling water and allowed to soak for 15 minutes first (no sawdust-like insides). A made a full recipe and everything fit into my largest stock pot except for all of that chicken stock. I love thick soups, so that was not a problem. I agree with aj12475 that it is healthy, delicious, and could easily be made vegetarian with a different stock. The two leeks seem to be the secret ingredient here that makes this lentil soup above the ordinary.
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I used half the butter and substituted buttermilk for the heavy cream, but kept the sour cream. I wished I had added the melted butter first, then added the warmed buttermilk (as in the America Test Kitchen recipe). That way I could have controlled the amount of liquid better. 1 ½ cups turned out way too watery. Don’t use fat-free butter milk, it separates when heating. I liked the suggestion for evaporated milk. This was not a success for me.
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I liked that she called for canned chickpeas, as I have never made this well from dried garbanzos. It had a great flavor and the lemon was strong, but not overpowering. More liquid was needed (as she had suggested) to make it the proper consistency. I left out the Tabasco. I pureed it finer than she suggested, but still prefer the flavor and silky smoothness of the commercial preparations.
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I also used one large squash which equaled half the recipe. I followed the directions to the letter using a glass 9 X 13” pan. The directions worked perfectly. I couldn’t “see” the brown sugar, but it sure worked to bring out the sweet flavor of the squash. I would not change a thing about this recipe.
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Although Baker’s one bowl brownies are still my favorite recipe, it is fun to try new ones. I should have paid more attention to the size of the large sheet pan. At least I lined it with foil and so it did not flow over. Two 9 X 13” pans (or one for half of the recipe) would have been the perfect size. Because it came out too thick it became a little crumbly around the edges. But by letting it rest overnight I was able to cut it into 1 ½ inch squares. I liked the richness from all of the walnuts. I used all dark chocolate chips instead of the mixture of different types of chocolate she used and it turned out fine.
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Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever: Versatility and Inspiration for New Generation Machines
By Natalie Haughton
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1995
This is my favorite chili recipe. The red comes from small red beans, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and canned pimentos. It is different from the standard fare with pinto beans, meat and some tomatoes. The pimentos give it more vegetable in a subtle way. I like that it takes dried beans and that they are not soaked overnight. It is also delicious with pinto beans, but takes longer to cook. I feel there is not enough liquid in the recipe to cook the beans properly, so I add 2.5 cups of water. I do not like a lot of heat so I really cut down on the spices.
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If you love bread pudding, this is the ultimate with chocolate chips and fresh raspberries. Don’t overdo the bread cubes or it will come out dry. It is best right out of the slowcooker and not as good the next day. The aromas of chocolate and raspberries as it gets to the end of cooking will almost make your knees buckle. Try to resist testing it until you are quite sure it is done, or it will take much longer to finish cooking.
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This recipe sounds amazing with lean beef stew meat, prosciutto, a fennel bulb and other regular beef stew ingredients, but it was too salty! Omit the salt called for, and check the salt content of your canned tomatoes and kidney beans. To make it edible I boiled potatoes and added them and it helped. Maybe I should have followed their directions and served it over hot pasta.
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This nice variation on “baked beans” is quick to fix with 4 cans of beans. I like their choice of pinto (2 cans), black and barbeque beans, but you can mix it up. If I don’t have a can of barbeque beans, I double the barbeque sauce. I like the crunch of the green pepper and onion and the bright flavor surprise of the pineapple. It isn’t good for cooking while at work however as it cooks in only 5 ½ to 6 hours on low. But I still do and plug it into a timer.
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Beef Stilfado
P 57 *****
This is a very different rich type of stew with totally different spices. The recipe worked just fine. The only vegetable is onion and so the suggestion is to serve it with rice or noodles and greens. What really makes it spectacular however are the toppings of chopped walnuts and feta cheese.
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