redjanet's Reviews
205 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight
By Hairy Bikers
W&N - 2012
Very nice easy, healthy and flavourful dinner to make for a midweek meal. I used Frylight cooking spray instead of olive oil to cut down on the calories and this worked well. I did serve this with some new potatoes as I wasn't sure if it would be substantial enough for dinner, but as the fillets I had were quite large I needn't have as the main dish was more than enough.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
The preparation for this dish couldn't be simpler and the results are really delicious. Unlike in the photo in the book, I roasted the sweet potatoes and the poussins in separate trays in the oven (which is how Nigella instructs in the actual recipe). Although I find poussin a bit fiddly to eat, this was very juicy. I absolutely love the flavour of the sweet potatoes which is roasted in garlic oil and cumin (my favourite spice). This has become a regular way of preparing sweet potatoes even with other dishes.
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Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This is a simple Sunday supper for two. It's as simple as it gets really as all you do is sear the duck legs first and then place them in a small tin surrounded by potatoes which is left in oven to cook for a couple of hours. Very nice.
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Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
This is a terrific main dish to make for a dinner party. After some initial, easy prep, the lamb shanks and some other bits are left to stew in the oven in a wine and balsamic vinegar-flavoured sauce for three hours (with the chorizo and veg added after two hours). This was flavourful and went well with mashed potatoes. Lorraine gives instructions on how to reduce down the sauce for a thicker gravy but I didn't find that necessary.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
This is a different twist on the traditional stir-fry, using cannellini beans as the starch base rather than rice or noodles. It is easy to make and very filling, but unfortunately I found it to be a bit bland.
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I really liked this. The sweet potato took a little longer than the 15 minutes suggested, which made the butternut squash go a bit mushy, but despite that the flavour of everything combined was really good. I wasn't sure how well the mango would go, but the sweetness added a nice contrast. I used pre-cooked prawns, which worked fine and served the whole thing with basmati rice. I wish now I had taken a photo as the whole dish was very pink and pale orange!
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Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
This is a simple, straightforward recipe for roasting a pork shoulder, which was exactly what I was looking for as up until yesterday I had never done so before. The pork itself turned out beautifully and was soft and tender and the gravy to go with it was easy and delicious. However, it did feel as if some instructions were partially missing. Maybe my pork wasn't fatty enough to have much in the way of juices once it had cooked for a couple of hours (I did a 1.6kg joint for 4 1/2 hours total at 140 deg fan), but I took it upon myself to drizzle some olive oil over the vegetables halfway through as without it they were looking very dry. I'm glad I did so as the potatoes especially came out very well, with nice, crunchy brown edges. However, with the timings given by Lorraine, my carrots were still hard in the middle. Also, sprigs of fresh thyme are shown in the recipe photograph, but there is no mention of it in the recipe itself, unless it is just there as a garnish. In any case, I'm glad I tried this recipe, but I will use it as a starting point to use more interesting versions in the future.
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Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This is a quick cheat's way to small roast potatoes using, of all things, gnocchi. Having watched Nigella enthusiastically rave about this revelation of hers on her programme I figured I had to try it. Maybe it was because I baked mine (which is an option) instead of pan-frying them, but these came out way too crunchy and hard for me. I think I'll stick to new potatoes or small roast potatoes from now on, thanks.
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Website: BBC Good Food
I was very pleased with the results of this satisfying, healthy recipe for two. I forgot to buy a green pepper but I didn't think it was especially needed. This had a nice, comforting texture and flavour and I will be adding this to my repertoire of healthy meals that both my spouse and I can enjoy. I served this with tagliatelle as suggested, which added to the comfort food factor.
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Economy Gastronomy: Eat Better and Spend Less
By Allegra McEvedy, Paul Merrett
Michael Joseph - 2009
This was really very good and I was very pleased with the results. The chicken, which was marinaded in sweet chilli sauce, curry powder, cumin, garlic and stem ginger syrup had a wonderful slightly sweet/slightly spicy flavour which came out perfectly. The rice was cooked with the absorption method, which I had never tried before and was very happy to get good results with. It was still slightly wet so could have probably used a few minutes more of standing and steaming, but I was just happy that it didn't stick to the bottom of the pan! The turmeric gave it a lovely bright yellow colour which went well with the brightly coloured tomatoes and peas which were mixed in.
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Website: Ocado
This is a quick and easy, but also elegant way to serve pasta mid-week. The lemon and parsley gives the dish a fresh flavour and using half fat creme fraiche keeps the calories down. I used spaghetti instead of linguine as it was what I had in the cupboard, and I also just used cooked prawns instead of a seafood mix and it was absolutely fine. I'll definitely be making this one again.
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101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
I figured I'd try this as I usually like dishes with meatballs (heck, I pretty much like anything with ground meat) and as this calls for turkey mince it is fairly low in fat. As friederike mentioned that it seemed a bit like kids' food I took that to mean she thought it was kind of bland, so I used smoked paprika instead of normal paprika. Unfortunately I added a bit too much by accident and the dish came out a bit spicier than I intended. Oops! Thankfully I had some half fat creme fraiche in the fridge which my OH and I added to our plates to cool things down a bit. This was simple to make, though I think the, "quick," in the recipe title is a bit misleading, as it's quick once it's bubbling away on the stove, but you still have to spend a fair amount of time chopping the veggies and preparing the meatballs before they all get to the pan.
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The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
This is a very quick and easy way to make Thai green curry. Nigel doesn't specify if he uses fresh or dried kaffir lime leaves (though I suspect he means fresh from the wording), but I've used dried and it's always come out just fine. The basil leaves give an interesting depth of flavour and the coconut milk makes it very cream, if a bit fattening.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
I thought this was surprisingly really good and much better than it had a right to be considering how much of a cheat's recipe it is. Instead of stewing for an hour or more, this chilli can be cooked for less than half an hour due to the flavour added to it from chorizo, sweet chili sauce and a blend of spices as well as jarred pasta sauce. I didn't add extra chilli flakes as recommended as I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to spices and I found the mild kick of the sweet chilli sauce to be enough for me. I'll definitely be making this one again when I fancy a hearty midweek meal, especially in winter.
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Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
After doing Nigella's version of this from Kitchen for the last few years, I stumbled across this recipe and decided to give it a go as it seemed ever-so-slightly more straightforward. This was quick and easy and came out very well, with lots of flavour, and dare I say it, but I think I may prefer Lorraine's version to Nigella's. The chopped spring onions and sesame seeds (which I didn't bother to toast) added a subtle crunch to the texture and the sauce thickened nicely. My only complaint is that this dish is quite sugary, but then I suppose that's what makes it taste so good!
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Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year
By Del Sroufe, Julieanna Hever MS RD CPT, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Darshana Thacker, Judy Micklewright
The Experiment - 2012
This is a perfectly serviceable vegetable stew for an easy mid-week meal, though it didn't knock my socks off. I did find the use of soy milk, arrowroot and coconut extract to be a clever, low-fat alternative to a light coconut milk, though I do think it would have still tasted nicer with the latter instead. I made this using carrots, snow peas, edamame beans and water chestnuts. I think if I try it again I might use cauliflower, green beans and maybe some cooked new potatoes for a bit more heartiness.
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Feast: Food That Celebrates Life
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2006
I made this for a between Thanksgiving and Christmas family gathering and it was very well received. I did use tinned pumpkin purée, and the resulting flavour was a good mix of both the pumpkin and cream cheese. It is definitely different than your typical cheesecake, but worth trying.
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Website: Eat Like A Girl
This is a nice and simple but tasty dish that is perfect for a mid-week meal and for using up some prawns I had languishing in the freezer. The rocket dressed with lemon added a fresh zing to the pasta.
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Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
As an expat American living abroad I am always on the lookout for meatloaf recipes and of the few that I have tried, this is by far the best. The loaf itself comes out really juicy and flavourful and the tomato sauce with smoked paprika, chili and chick peas gives an interesting twist on an old classic. I made this recently for my in-laws and my mother-in-law said it was the best meal she'd had made for her in ages. High praise indeed!
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Jamie's 15-Minute Meals
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2012
The sauce is lovely and overall this is a very nice, healthy meal with fresh flavours. My only drawback is, as with many of these recipes, that although the prep is fairly fast, the amount of washing up it creates (pan for the sauce, pan for the pork, pan for the rice, food processor, etc.) is quite a lot for what is supposed to be a quick midweek meal!
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The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
Simple, flavourful way of quickly cooking pork chops. I don't normally like tarragon that much, but it blended well with the white wine sauce.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
A quick way of making hunter's chicken as a mid-week meal. This is hearty, comfort food that goes down well in the winter. Although the recipe uses cannellini beans as an option, after the first attempt I took Nigella's advice and served it with rice instead as a personal preference, which absorbed the sauce well and proved to be comforting and satisfying.
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Website: Bosh!
I made this for my non-vegan in-laws on Mothering Sunday and it went down very well. It was hearty and delicious without being too heavy. It was the first time I'd made "cheese" sauce using cashews and, seriously, I could have drank it straight from the blender if it weren't for the fact that I had guests waiting for their lunch. Definitely one to make again!
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I'd never used vodka in cooking before so I was really intrigued as to how this would taste. It ended up being a very flavourful sauce which went very well with pasta. I didn't have fresh basil unfortunately, but I used dried and added lots of black pepper, which gave it a nice kick. My only minor complaint is that I ended up halving the ingredients as I was only serving my OH and myself and there was still way too much sauce for just the two of us. However, I would definitely make this again as the sauce itself was delicious and it was a quick and easy midweek meal.
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Nigella Bites
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2001
This was my first foray into making my own meatballs. This is a nice comfort dish to make for a hungry bunch. It is fairly easy, though time consuming. My only minor complaint is that I think the recipe for the sauce, as is, is missing something as I find the flavour slightly bland. Otherwise I really like it. I haven't tried the accompanying home-made pasta and I'm not sure if I ever will, but the meatballs and sauce are a good start.
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Nigellissima: Instant Italian Inspiration
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2012
This is a perfect recipe for when you don't have a lot of time on your hands but you need a dinner that is warm and soothing and easy to make. Similar to the flavours of a quick linguine recipe from Nigella Bites, this is easy to eat comfort food using orzo pasta instead of risotto rice.
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Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
A delicious take on the classic chicken wrapped in bacon, this dish is quick and fairly easy to make. The end results are very flavourful thanks to the use of prosciutto, parmesan, lemon zest and thyme. This goes really well with salad and new potatoes for a satisfying weekday meal.
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The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
Yuck. I really wanted to like this. I'm determined to see what's so great about Nigel Slater as so many people rave about him, but so far I find his recipes to be very hit and miss. The chicken itself, which was just chicken breasts coated the normal way in egg and breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and then grilled was really tasty, tender and juicy. However, what ruined this dish for me was the sauce, which consisted of anchovies, capers, lemon juice, parsley, Dijon mustard, olive oil, etc. which was way too pungent and sour for my liking. I had the feeling it might be when I made it, but instead of serving it on the side as I probably should have, I poured it straight over the chicken when served, thereby ruining my dinner. I'm giving this two stars because the chicken by itself would have been fine, I just won't ever make this sauce again.
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The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight
By Hairy Bikers
W&N - 2012
A very nice, simple chicken stew. This tasted good, though as it was ever-so-slightly bland, I may use hot smoked paprika next time, or just plain paprika instead of the sweet-smoked variety I used this first time. This reheated very well for lunch.
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Home Cooking Made Easy
By Lorraine Pascale
HarperCollins - 2011
This was simple enough to make and consisted of ingredients that give good flavour (chorizo, lemon and thyme for example), but overall, although it was nice, it was very basic and nothing very special. I didn't really see the point of topping the fish with most of the chorizo and some lemon zest, only to add the rest of those two ingredients for another five minutes at the end.
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Website: The Food Network
This was all very easy to make and tasted delicious. I'd never had bread pudding before but I still had a panettone received at Xmas that was waiting to be used. The texture was a bit mushier than I expected, but that may be because I let the prepared pudding sit for a bit longer than recommended in the recipe. Still, with the amaretto sauce it tasted delicious!
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Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
This is the only recipe I've tried so far from this book that I didn't like. This may be due to my using a curry power that was too spicy for my tastebuds, but I found the actual cooking of the cod in the pan to be a bit messy and really did not enjoy the end results. Oh well!
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Olive: 100 of the Very Best Chicken Recipes (Olive Magazine)
By Olive Magazine
Orion - 2016
Excellent quick and easy dish which is comforting and healthy and perfect for a simple weeknight meal for two. I turned the chicken thighs over halfway through the initial 10 minute poaching time as it didn't look as if they would cook the whole way through otherwise. I also left out the butter to cut down on the calories and the dish tasted fine.
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Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2015
I never thought I would say this about a Nigella baking recipe, but I was so disappointed with these brownies. The idea of a Nutella brownie sounded amazing, and what was even more amazing that the only ingredients were Nutella and eggs (and a bit of sea salt). I followed the instructions and weight measurements exactly, but these ended up tasting mostly just of chewy eggs.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
Not having an ice-cream maker, I was excited to try this way of making one of my favourite dessers, using only pomegranates, lime juice, icing sugar and double cream. This makes a very creamy ice-cream, which is simply mixed together and stored in the freezer in an air-tight container. I think the fruit flavourings could be a bit stronger here as I still tasted mostly cream, but if like me, you don't have and don't really want an ice-cream maker, it's an easy alternative.
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BBC Olive
(June, 2011)
This was simple and quick to make and it was nice trying a potato salad without mayonnaise. There was lots of flavour due to the dressing, which consisted of olive oil honey, wholegrain and Dijon mustard as well as tarragon, parsley and chives. I definitely didn't miss the mayonnaise. I could see this going well with many dishes.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
I've never made my own coleslaw before and I made this today to take for a picnic and it's very good! Nice, fresh flavours with a hint of sweetness from the maple syrup. I've never had nuts in coleslaw before either and it adds a nice extra texture. The measurements given make plenty.
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Jamie's America
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2009
I made this one time for my parents when they were visiting (they're from NY and I live in London) as cheesecake is one of their favourite desserts. They're used to the more traditional vanilla-flavoured type, but this has a twist of lime which adds a refreshing tang. Overall, I liked it, though I have to admit that I didn't make the meringue topping as I just don't find toppings very necessary with cheesecake.
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Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking
By Delia Smith
Ebury Press - 2008
Aside from the ready-made cheese sauce this dish incorporates, I'm not really sure how much of a, "cheat's," recipe this really is considering I had three saucepans on the go on the hob as well as getting the grill ready for the final finish.
That said, this was not a difficult recipe to make, and though the ready-made ingredients made it a bit more expensive than normal, it was really very tasty. Unlike Nigella's "Express" mac and cheese that I recently tried, the cheese in this recipe didn't coagulate and was still smooth and consistent throughout. I didn't add cherry tomatoes as suggested as I'm not really a fan of roast tomatoes and felt the dish had enough flavour anyway with the added bacon, onion and mushrooms.
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Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This is a really nice dish for a Sunday lunch. Warm and hearty and it smells wonderful while cooking - just like my grandmother's chicken soup! I followed the basic recipe as this was my first time making this, but may try following one of Nigella's variations next time as I did find this ever so slightly bland. Still, the chicken was so soft and juicy that it was falling off of the bones as I lifted it out of the pan. I'm looking forward to the leftovers.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
This was the first recipe I ever made from this book and it was a great introduction. It is very easy, especially with the gnocchi as a side dish. The uses of cider and mustard, along with the cream gives this a rich, creamy flavour.
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Vegan Under Pressure
By Jill Nussinow
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2016
I love making risotto in the instant pot! It is so ridiculously easy and comes out well every time. The author gives instructions for the basic risotto recipe and then different variations. This mushroom variation worked well and I really liked the inclusion of chopped rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes. I do think it could have done maybe with a little bit of extra flavour, maybe in the form of a splash of white wine or some vegan butter (or both?), but I will definitely be making this again. Leftovers reheated well for lunch the next day.
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Website: All Good, All Vegan
A dish that proves that you don't need meat for a meal to be satisfying. Mushrooms take the place of ground beef here, with pesto rounding things off with lots of flavour. This is a favourite in my household, which I make often. Leftovers of this dish make a great packed lunch.
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Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
I really wanted to like this as salmon is one of my favourite foods and the idea of a sticky glaze with it sounded great. Unfortunately I actually found the mirin glaze a bit too sickly sweet and was disappointed both times I attempted this recipe.
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Easy Italian (Weight Watchers)
By
Simon & Schuster Ltd - 2012
I have mixed feelings about this recipe. Overall the flavours were very good and made a nice change from frying steak in the griddle pan, as I normally do. I'd never roasted steak in the oven before and was a bit nervous that it would come out too well done, but the rump steaks I used were quite a thick cut and still came out medium rare and juicy, which was to my liking. A good thing too as I did leave the whole dish in the oven for a few minutes longer than instructed as the potatoes didn't cook evenly. The recipe instructs you to microwave them first for a few minutes before putting them in the oven with the steak and other ingredients, but I think if I make this again (which I may very well do) I'll boil them separately and add them in the last few minutes to absorb the flavours.
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Easy Meals
By Rachel Allen
Collins - 2011
Good, easy comfort food for a cold winter night. The chorizo gave this good flavour and the mozzarella added at the end gave it a comforting richness of texture.
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The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight
By Hairy Bikers
W&N - 2012
These burgers were tastier than I expected them to be and I was very pleased considering they are pretty healthy. I thought they might be a bit too wet with the grated courgettes and onions in them, but they were solid enough. I'm glad the recipe specified cooking them in a frying pan though as I think they would have fallen apart on a griddle pan, which is how I usually cook burgers.
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The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
By Ree Drummond
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2009
I was really excited about getting the Pioneer Woman book and this was the first (and so far, only) recipe I tried. Unfortunately I found this to be very disappointing. Good meatloaf is one of my favourite comfort foods, but this version uses bread and milk as binders for the loaf and when I made it, it came out way too soggy and wet for my liking. I've concluded that I much prefer using dried breadcrumbs and eggs. I also don't think baking it on a grill as suggested is the best idea as it makes it incredibly hard to slice and serve.
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Snowflakes and Schnapps
By Jane Lawson
Murdoch Books - 2010
This was a pleasant enough dish to serve on a cold wintry Sunday. I didn't have any lingonberry preserves, as suggested, to go with it, and I thought it was a tad bland. The vodka added at the last minute made the sauce a bit too strong, but the sauce was nice and thick and overall a filling, hearty meal.
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Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year
By Del Sroufe, Julieanna Hever MS RD CPT, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Darshana Thacker, Judy Micklewright
The Experiment - 2012
I was amazed by how well this worked. Quick and easy and can be used in place of real mayonnaise for so many things. I used this to mix into chickpea tuna, but would work very well as a sandwich spread as well or anything else you might need or want mayonnaise for.
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