INDIAN CHICKEN CURRY SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

This recipe is from Paint the Kitchen Red. I can't review the recipe as written because I made changes. I left out the coconut milk, jalapeno (my curry powder had cayenne pepper in it), fresh garlic (I used garlic powder), ginger (my curry powder already had it in it), no cilantro, I pureed fire roasted tomatoes and used 3/4 c. in place of diced tomatoes, and I used frozen thawed and drained spinach in place of fresh. I used far less chicken, just two tenderloins baked in the oven, then shredded and added last, and added half a can of drained and rinsed great northern beans, added after the soup was finished, and 1/2 c. dry ditalini pasta. Seems like this soup would have been just liquid without those two additions. I got three servings and each serving is almost 300 calories.

I used homemade curry powder from Minimalist Baker. I left out cinnamon, dry mustard, cardamom, and pepper. I used a lot less cayenne too. I added a little paprika for color. Truthfully the soup didn't taste like much until I added a little smoked paprika to it, and garlic.

CHICKEN CURRY SOUP

 

This soup comes from Simply Delicious Food. I can't rate it as the recipe is written because I made changes. I also made half the recipe and left out the chicken. I omitted ginger, cinnamon, and celery because it's already in my McCormick curry powder. I omitted the bay leaf too since I've never been able to taste it when I've used it. I used slightly less curry powder than called for and used a lot less turmeric because that stuff's potent. I used onion instead of leeks. I used water in place of coconut milk or cream. Next time I'm going to add a little bit of ditalini pasta, about 3-4 tablespoons as this was a bit brothy. My small cubes of russet potato was overcooked in 20 minutes.

HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CAKE from Liv for Cake

This comes from Liv For Cake. It turned out good. It's yet another one that uses cocoa powder, this time Dutch process kind, vegetable oil and boiling water. I made half in a 9"x1.5" round pan. It was a little too much batter for the pan and took 26 minutes to bake. I did use one less tablespoon of cocoa. It's a sticky cake so make sure you line you cake pan/pans fully with foil that's been sprayed with nonstick spray. It's very moist. I used my own frosting recipe.

I give this 5 stars and would make it again.

BEST DOUBLE CHOCOLATE MUFFINS from Also the Crumbs Please

 

This recipe is from Also the Crumbs Please. They're made with Dutch process cocoa, vegetable oil and buttermilk ( I used homemade). This is the second time I made half a batch. The first time they were overcooked at 14 minutes on 350 (I got 10) so this time I baked them on 325 degrees and it took 16 or 17 minutes for 9. Make sure you fill muffin cups no more than 2/3 of the way or they'll likely bake up and spread out onto your pan and stick, like these did at the lower temperature. I had to loosen them up with a toothpick before I could remove them from the pan.

I didn't bake them on a very high temperature for a few minutes like the recipe said to do. Doing that is to help them rise quicker and get a domed top, which I care nothing about. This second time they turned out perfectly. They're even moist the very next day after being in an airtight container, which is very very rare for a chocolate muffin, in my experience. I made a thick glaze for these.

I give these 5 stars. I've made them about 4 times now, including just 1/4 of the original recipe (which makes 5) and they're my favorite of all-time.

THE BEST OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES from Modern Honey

This comes from Modern Honey. I made half and they taste great....because I added double the salt. I used half the amount of vanilla and that's all that was needed. I used half the amount of raisins and added 1/2 c. chopped, toasted pecans. I got 29 1 T./1.5" diameter dough balls. My dough sat out 30 minutes before baking and they didn't spread as much as the ones on the website even though I baked them at a lower temperature, 350 F, which should have caused them to possibly spread a little more.

I have a bone to pick with the recipe creator. Most recipes use room temperature unsalted butter and she didn't say which type to use and if it should be at room temperature. Someone left her a comment asking if they could use unsalted butter instead of salted, as if the recipe originally stated to use salted. As it's written today, she doesn't specify. And her tip to plump up dried raisins, such as ones hard from being frozen or refrigerated, has you soaking them in hot water for too long. You only need to soak them in hot water for 3-5 minutes, then drain and blot dry.

I don't know how to grade these. Without the extra salt these would have been way too sweet and they're perfectly fine with half the vanilla. And the issue I have with salted vs. unsalted butter, I'd grade that part of the recipe a C/D. I'm not new to baking but for those who are, they'd have been really confused and likely would have just gone with another recipe. I've had issues with two of the three cookie recipes I've made from this site and I'm not comfortable making anything more for it as I don't trust it.