Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Recipe can be found at : http://12tomatoes.com/monkey-bread/?utm_source=12t-12t&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_term=091215&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=monkey-bread&origin=12t_12t_social_fb_link_monkey-bread_091215

Date : 09/23/2015

Recipe: Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Web Photo:

 

This recipe comes from the 12 Tomatoes Facebook Page it has been shared on Facebook 17,000 times and Pinterest 8,000 Times! Of course you know I had to try it out and see what was to come of it. It looks really appetizing and like something that could satisfy any sweet tooth. So let's see what happens!

 

My Photo:

As you can already see what I pulled out of the oven looked a little bit different than the web photo. I followed the recipe to exact specifications, it was really simple quick and easy to do. I couldn't find a better recipe that would allow for such an easy treat for the family. I served it nice and warm and the taste was just succulent! The buttery brown sugar had soaked into the biscuits that were covered in cinnamon and sugar which made for a sweet, and buttery salty treat.

 

The flakiness of the biscuits was still present and the butter flavor with the sugar was out of this world. The texture put you in mind of the ooey gooey center of a cinnamon roll which was present in each and every piece you pulled off. I recommend this simple and easy recipe for both the pros and amateurs alike as this sweet treat will have the family running back to the table for more!

 

 

 

 

Taste : 5 Stars *****

Ease of Recipe: 5 Stars *****

Recipe Integrity: 4 Stars *****

 

 

 

 

Here is the recipe below (This recipe is not my own)

 

 

 

Cinnamon Monkey Bread

Serves 8
Ingredients

• 3 (16 oz.) packages refrigerated buttermilk biscuit dough


• 2 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature


• 3/4 cup sugar


• 1/2 cup brown sugar


• 2 teaspoons cinnamon


• 1 gallon resealable plastic bag


• bundt pan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F and grease a bundt pan with butter or non-stick spray.


2. Open your biscuit packages and cut each biscuit into quarters.

3. Combine sugar with cinnamon in plastic bag, then seal it and shake to mix the two.

 
4. Open bag and put all of your biscuit quarters inside.
 

5.Seal bag, then vigorously shake until cinnamon sugar evenly coats all the pieces of dough.

 

6.Open bag and put all of your biscuit quarters inside.

7.Seal bag, then vigorously shake until cinnamon sugar evenly coats all the pieces of dough.

 8.Stir mixture until dark brown, then pour over the dough in your bundt pan. Squish pieces down into the butter mixture so they’re all coated and/or submerged.
9. Place bundt pan on a baking tray, then bake for 35 minutes, or until dough is cooked through to your liking.
 
10.Remove from oven and invert onto a serving plate.
 
Serve hot and enjoy!
 
 

 

 
 

 

Tomato Chicken Casserole

Tomato Chicken Casserole

 Recipe can be found @ http://12tomatoes.com/filling-poultry-recipe-flavorpacked-tomato-chicken-curry-casserole/?utm_source=12t-12t&utm_medium=social-fb&utm_term=091215&utm_content=link&utm_campaign=filling-poultry-recipe-flavorpacked-tomato-chicken-curry-casserole&origin=12t_12t_social_fb_link_filling-poultry-recipe-flavorpacked-tomato-chicken-curry-casserole_091215

(I have also included a copy of the recipe at the end of this blog. Please understand the recipe is not being passed of as an original of mine.)

 

Date : 09/22/2015
Recipe : Tomato Chicken Casserole
Web Photo:

This recipe has been shared well over 30,000 times and many have made it. This recipe comes from the 12 tomatoes Facebook page and website [12 tomatoes .com] I read the reviews and decided to give this recipe a try.

My Photo:

I read the reviews on this recipe and the ones that stood out were:
 
"I don't like curry" - I do so this should not be a problem.

"What should I pair this with"? - I am thinking a curry rice pilaf and some roasted Brussel sprouts!


Based on the reviews I got in the kitchen and started cooking. I did add some extra curry powder and instead of parsley I used cilantro with a little more chicken stock. The rest of the recipe was followed exactly! For side dishes I made a curry rice pilaf, and some pan roasted Brussel sprouts. 

The Final Result:

This chicken came out EXCELLENT! It was such wonderful pairing of flavors. The curry stood out with the curry rice and the tomatoes added just enough warm tangy flavor that made this dish comforting to spoon out of the dish! The chicken had a wonderfully crisped skin and the dish contained a gravy that was simply wonderful over the curry rice.
I recommend this recipe to anyone, it was simply to die for!

Taste: 5 Stars *****
Ease of Recipe: 5 stars *****
Recipe Integrity: 5 stars *****

Happy Cooking!

Tomato Chicken Casserole

Serves 6-8
Ingredients

• 3-3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (breasts and/or thighs)


• 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes


• 1 white onion, diced


• 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, stems removed, roughly chopped


• 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock


• 1/3 cup flour


• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided


• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 3/4 tablespoon curry powder


• 1 teaspoon garlic salt


• kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste


• plum tomatoes, sliced, garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.


2. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat and, in batches, cook chicken pieces until golden brown on all sides.


3. Remove chicken and set aside.


4. To the same skillet, add onions and mushrooms and sauté until translucent and fragrant. 5-7 minutes.


5. Gradually stir in flour and mix until smooth and pasty.


6. Mix in garlic salt and curry powder, then pour in tomatoes and chicken broth and let cook for 5-7 minutes, or until somewhat thickened.


7. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.


8. Return chicken pieces to skillet (or transfer everything to a separate casserole dish) and cover.


9. Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and tender.


10. Top chicken with sliced tomatoes and serve hot.

 

 

 

Famous Pork Chops

Famous Pork Chops

 

Recipe can be found @ http://allrecipes.com/recipe/24033/famous-pork-chops/

Date : 09/20/2015

Recipe : Famous Pork Chops

Web Photo:

I located this recipe on the web, I am now able to find lots of the most popular recipes under the search term "recipe ideas" on Facebook. This recipe has well over 1,000 shares and 1,200 reviews! Yup, so I decided this is definitely worth a try, I mean with a name like "Famous Pork Chops" who couldn't resist right?

My Photo:

I did my homework and did a lot of reading on the reviews of this recipe before I began. I read it quite a bit, the reviews that stood out the most were:

"The came out soggy" - I figured you didn't cook them long enough.

"Ritz crackers are the key" - Too late lady, I already bought store brand.

"I cooked them covered and then uncovered for the last fifteen minutes of cooking" - Hmmm, they may prevent sogginess!?!?

"These Pork Chops have no flavor, it's just another pork chop"- Well maybe using my own seasonings will be important.

 

So as you can see I had a lot of feedback to shaping how this was going to end. Feedback is good because now I know the recipe lacks integrity and should be used as nothing more than an idea. The disappointing part was that there was no need to follow the recipe exactly, reason why: Well this is an oven fried pork chop and if you cover it, while in the oven, it's going to get soggy because of the grease and fat from the chop.

 

My take on the recipe was to season them as I always do, using garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Crunch up the crackers in a Ziploc bag and coat the pork chops in the cracker crumbs, then dip in egg and return to the bag and coat again. I put them in a baking dish and cooked on 375 degrees uncovered until nice and crispy brown which was about 35-45 minutes.

 

 

They came out delicious! The taste was amazing and I really liked the buttery taste of the cracker coating, it really took them from ordinary to extraordinary!  Long story short this was an idea and not so much a recipe to follow.

 

Taste: 5 stars ***** (after I modified to my liking)

Ease of Recipe: 5 stars *****

Recipe Integrity: 1 star * (The reviews and photos were not so good)

 

If your some what of a cook you will intuitively understand why some recipes just shouldn't be followed. If your an amateur cook, leave this recipe alone!  

 

 

Happy Cooking! 

Chicken with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce

Chicken with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce

Recipe can be found @ http://damndelicious.net/2014/11/22/chicken-sun-dried-tomato-cream-sauce/#_a5y_p=3122103

(You may experience some issues accessing this recipe so I have posted it at the end of the blog)

 

Date : 09/19/2015

 

Recipe: Chicken with Sundried Tomato Cream Sauce

 

Web Photo:

These are just the type of recipes I am looking for. This recipe has been shared over 4,000 times and I am not clear as to whether or not anyone has tried it. In my opinion I really don't know who would have the patience for the web page to load, I mean it took forever! I have done you the courtesy of clipping the recipe and posting it in this blog as the website is slow and not very forgiving. It is not my recipe so let's be clear I am not trying to pass it off as mine, I just critique, but trying to wait on the website to get the recipe may end in not wanting to try the recipe at all.

 

 

My Photo:

I followed the recipe for this chicken precisely and exactly I made no additions or modifications. The chicken pieces selected were perfect as I had all dark meat on hand. I decided to serve this dish on a bed of spaghetti noodles because I wanted something for the sauce to adhere to.

 

The flavor was tangy and made me feel as if I was being served a dish at a Delicatessen on the streets of Italy. It was very authentic Italian with such a clean bed of flavors that danced on your taste buds and could not be mistaken for any other origin of food or flavor. The sundried tomatoes added the perfect base of flavor whilst the basil gave the sauce a mild sweetness, so much flavor and none salty or peppery!

 

This was an excellent dish and my family agreed as they enjoyed every bite of it as well. It is worth a try, it not only looks good but it tastes good as well.

 

My Photo:

 

Taste : 5 stars *****

Ease of Recipe : 4 stars **** (There are quite a few steps)

Recipe Integrity: 4 1/2 stars **** (you may want to put the sauce on noodles or starchy food to get thicker, or add more parmesan)

 

Overall it was a wonderful recipe that I would definitely recommend that you not just continue to share it, but take the time out to make it!

 

Here's the recipe:

Happy Cooking!

 

 

 

Oatmeal Carmelitas

Oatmeal Carmelitas

This recipe can be found @ http://busycooks.about.com/od/barcookierecipes/r/oatmealcarmelit.htm?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mobilesharebutton2

 

Date : 09/18/2015

Recipe : Oatmeal Carmelitas 

Web Photo :

I was looking for a sweet treat today and figured I would go on Facebook and see what's happening. I got this recipe from a Busy cook's page on Facebook and it looked rather easy and like an appetizing sweet snack, considering the ingredients listed.

 



 My Photo:

 

I followed the recipe precisely, which you better do if you want these to come out right. Mistake number one, baking them for 25 minutes, I believe I should have let them bake a little longer so they would get browner on the top. Mistake number two, attempting to cut them after an hour and fifteen minutes of cooling, they were soft and could not be held like a cookie bar.

You have to let these bad boys cool like you're not ready for a snack NOW, maybe even overnight if you could, they have to cool to room temperature.

 

Regarding the taste when I first tasted these I just knew I was going to go into "sugar shock" they are so rich. This recipe has sugar, sugar, and more sugar in it. There is sugar in the crust, then caramel and then chocolate, this treat is way sweet. So why make It? Well I thought it was just caramel as the name implies so I started mixing the ingredients and when I got to chocolate chips, oh well, you know how that went, I put them in! I can only describe the taste as rich or sweet, it was good, don't get me wrong, but little bite sized pieces are the way to go. Do not cut into a full cookie bar. You don't want to be responsible for putting someone into a diabetic coma do you? This recipe is like candy so little bits and pieces are sufficient to eat.

Overall it was a decent recipe but in my opinion it should be classified as a candy bar not cookie bar.

 

Taste: 3 Stars *** (I walked into this blindly and would have rather been told to cut this into bite sized pieces instead of trying to consume a whole bar, it is just too sweet.)

Ease of recipe: 5 Stars *****

Recipe Integrity: 3 Stars *** (Baking and cooling times can vary greatly)

 

Happy Cooking!

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and Garden Vegetable Soup

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken and GardenVegetable Soup

Recipe for Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken can be found @

http://www.deliciouss.ga/2015/09/baked-garlic-brown-sugar-chicken.html

 

Recipe for Garden Vegetable Soup can be found @: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/garden-vegetable-soup-recipe.html?soc=socialsharingfb

 

Date: 09/17/2015

Recipe: Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

 

Web photo:

 

This chicken looks delicious but as the recipe suggests I did not know if it would be too sweet or not sweet enough. Many recipes such as this one tend to overdue the sugar or it becomes non-existent and you wonder if you should have just went on your own.

 

 

I embarked on the journey to answer the question of "What's for dinner" with this recipe. I made a substitution (Using Chicken Legs instead of breasts) and I doubled the recipe for the number of chicken pieces I had available which was 8, and I changed the temperature from 500 degrees to 400 degrees and I cooked the chicken for 35 minutes instead of 15! I brined the chicken in salt water for 6 hours which makes it more flavorful when cooking.

 

 

My Photo:

I followed the recipe exactly! I did not deviate from the recipe except for the above mentioned modifications due to the number and type of pieces of chicken I had. this chicken came out WONDERFUL, it had the perfect balance of sweet and salty taste and the garlic flavor was present. The chicken was tender and I served it over rice using the drippings to make a gravy.

I would definitely recommend this recipe and I would make it again any day! The whole family loved the taste and it was an absolute hit! If your the type who likes garlic, sweet, and salty then this is the recipe for you!

 

Taste: 5 stars *****

Ease of Recipe : 5 stars *****

Recipe Integrity: 5 stars *****

 

Tastes great, easy to do, and recipe was tried and true!



 

 

Recipe: Garden Vegetable Soup

Web Photo :



 

Since I had a main dish I thought I would look for a side dish, and what would be perfect to use those vegetables in the fridge before they go bad? Some vegetable soup!

 

I followed this recipe to exact specifications substituting celery for leeks because I did not have any, and I used dry parsley instead of fresh because I didn't have any fresh.

 

My Photo:

This soup was simply great! A perfect side dish to such a comforting main dish. As I was cooking the soup I tasted it all along the way and when it was done, the addition of lemon juice and parsley was an absolute necessary! The lemon juice added balance to the salt and pepper flavors in the soup and the parsley added this herbal *POP* that actually made the soup comforting and full bodied. This soup recipe tastes great, was not too much of a bother to make, and true to form! Dinner is served! My family came back to the pot for more, this is a wonderful way to get your family to eat those veggies! This would make a wonderful lunch with the addition of a buttered biscuit, hmm, hmm delicious. I will be sure to freeze the leftover.

Taste : 5 stars *****
Ease of Recipe: 3 stars *** (There is a lot of cutting to do and stages at which you add ingredients)
Integrity of Recipe: 5 stars *****

Happy Cooking Everyone!

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



Caramel Apple Bites

Caramel Apple Crisp Bites

Recipe can be found at:

http://princesspinkygirl.com/apple-crisp-bites/2/

Are you ever on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr or other websites and you see a recipe that someone posts and your mouth waters and it looks great and you swear that one day your going to make it, all to find that your too busy, the weekend comes and you have forgotten all about it buried under several reposts?

I am making a solomn oath to persevere over all others who have embarked on this adventure and failed. I for one don't always believe that people hand over the exact recipes and they always leave something important out that you should do or add and you never quite get the same result or the result is disaster. Whether this is true or not of all recipes we are going to find out on this adventure together!

Date: 09/16/2015
Recipe Caramel Apple Crisp Bites

Web photo:

Ok so I noticed that the web photo makes this treat look delicious, which I must give kudos to the author of the recipe because she clearly knew how to make it look good. Those apples are absolutely raw! I am sure this is done to show that they were diced and seasoned to give you an idea of what the mixture looks like.

I did not follow the recipe exactly. I wanted a general idea on how the treat was made so, what I needed to know was how to make the graham cracker crust. The apples....well I seasoned those as I always do for apple pie, but adding the flour and baking them was a great idea and gives the consistency you need for a filling.

For the mini muffin tin I greased each one individually with Blue Bonnet as I did not have non stick cooking spray around, I was careful to grease every inch. I followed the directions regarding the cooking times and I also put cinnamon and nutmeg in my apples so you can say that I followed the recipe to form, I just cut the recipe in half using two apples instead of three or four, this helped me save some time and be able to post a blog. For the topping I opted to use Smuckers Caramel Topping which is one of my favorites for making Caramel Frappuccino's and Macchiato's at home. I also used the back of a round Tablespoon in order to press the graham cracker crust into the mini muffin wells this kept my fingers from getting all messy.

Here is my photo:

                     

Overall this was a great recipe! The taste was to die for the caramel on the top reminded me of the caramel apple empanada filling at Taco Bell. The graham cracker crust after two bakings added just the right amount of textured crunch to balance out the soft filling of the apple, the crust had a gentle saltiness from the butter used. This is the ABSOLUTE PERFECT fall snack and a must make! You may fuss over it a bit but it's worth it! If something was left out of this recipe it didn't matter because it was completely delicious. Follow the recipe its a good one!

Taste : 5 Stars  *****

Ease of Recipe: 4 Stars ****

Integrity of Recipe: 5 Stars  *****

Princess Pinky Girl has shared an excellent recipe with the world and I appreciate her for doing so. My family devoured these little treats one after the other like an addiction!