PAN FRIED CHICKEN CROQUETTES from AllRecipes

This recipe is from All Recipes. I've made them four times. The last two times I made half and got three large patties. I use one large boneless, skinless chicken breast, baked then shredded and chopped finely. I use unseasoned bread crumbs, not seasoned, and I use onion powder, not minced onion. I don't use cayenne powder. I use slightly less bread crumbs in the mixture than called for. I form the patties before I chill the mixture, not after, then chill until I'm ready to fry them. These are fully cooked except for the egg. I think they take about seven minutes per side to fry. I use a mixture of vegetable/canola oil and Blue Bonnet. I make gravy for them using one tablespoon butter, one and a half tablespoons flour added after butter has melted, and 3/4 cup canned chicken broth, salt, pepper. It makes just enough for three.

I grade this an A+

THE BEST HOMEMADE ENCHILADA SAUCE RECIPE from Skinny Taste

This comes from Skinny Taste and is far from the best. I made half the recipe. It uses Mexican spices added to tomato sauce and chicken broth. I used regular chili powder, not Mexican hot and a lot less chipotle than called for, only a little more than 1/2 teaspoon of pured chipotle in adobe sauce, and that was pretty spicy. I made enchiladas with it using half of this crepe recipe in place of flour or corn tortillas. I made the crepes 7". I made the same filling as the one I used in the recipe on this post called Chicken Enchiladas Verdes.

I grade this an C because of the high amount of heat the recipe called for and it's salty. I don't know how anyone could handle that much heat.

PEACHES AND CREAM MUFFINS from Taste of Home

These come from Taste of Home and are nothing special. I made half the recipe and got five. I added vanilla, cinnamon, and ground toasted pecans. We could use sour cream or milk so I used sour cream. They need more salt. I baked these at a lower temperature for about 15 minutes, not 20-25 like the recipe stated. I wouldn't make these again and threw the last muffin out.

I grade them a C.

RED BEANS AND RICE II from Damn Delicious

This turned out great. It's from Damn Delicious. I didn't use green pepper because I don't like it and I used shredded chicken in place of sausage. I used homemade kidney beans instead of canned because I had some I needed to use up. I would definitely make this again. I like that this has tomato paste in the sauce and chicken broth, and like that you mash some of the beans to thicken the broth. It's pointless to me to cook onion and celery when the Cajun seasoning has all the flavoring you need in it so I'll skip that step next time.

I grade this an A.

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES from Betty Crocker

This comes from Betty Crocker. I left the peanut butter cups out of the batter. I made half the recipe in a 7" square pan and made chocolate frosting for it. These are very moist and chewy. I made them several times over ten years ago out out of a Gold Metal Flour cooking magazine I had.

I grade these an A.

CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES from Modern Honey

This recipe's from Modern Honey. I love the way they look and the photo's not doing them justice. You can see the ground oats in them. I made half the recipe and got 21 one tablespoon dough balls. I used a combination of mini semisweet chocolate chips and regular size chips. Nine minutes in my Breville was about right. They're very crisp on the outside and slightly chewy on the inside. I probably could have baked these fifteen-twenty seconds less. Though I'm happy with the appearance of these, the taste isn't anything special, more salt will help with that next time, and I will make them again. I'm actually thrilled with their appearance.

I grade these an A.

BEST BROWNIE RECIPE EVER from The Stay at Home Chef

This recipe's from The Stay at Home Chef. They're made with both unsweetened cocoa powder, melted milk chocolate, and contain no leavening agents. They're nothing special at all and I'm disappointed. The flavor is basic, buttery and they're dense and fudgy. I won't make them again. 

I grade them a C.

THE BEST CHEWY PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES from The Novice Chef Blog

This recipe is from The Novice Chef. It's a good basic recipe. The dough, even cold straight out of the refrigerator, spreads out nicely. My one tablespoon dough balls baked in 10.5 minutes and aren't as flat as the one on the website. The ones in my photo were baked 11 minutes and is why they're so brown. They'll only be chewy if you underbake them, which I don't. I got 29 one tablespoon dough balls. I used less vanilla and will use slightly less salt next time.

I grade these an A because they taste good, look good (I love a crackle top cookie), and spread out as they should when the dough's cold.

BEST HOT FUDGE SAUCE by The Stay at Home Chef

This comes from The Stay at Home Chef. It's made with both unsweetened cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips (but you can use any kind) and is very good. I made half and used 2% milk instead of evaporated milk since I didn't want to waste half of a can since I only needed half of it. It made exactly 2 cups. I used unsalted butter, it called for salted, and added close to 1/8 teaspoon salt for half the recipe. At room temperature this stayed thin and ran off the ice cream. It thickens slightly in the refrigerator and clings to the ice cream when poured on it without heating it first. I will make this again, definitely, but will use a little less milk and cook it a few minutes longer in hopes of it being thicker than this time.

I grade this an A- for the thin consistency.

AMISH SUGAR COOKIES from Taste of Home

These aren't good at all. They're made with equal parts butter and oil and equal parts sugar and powdered sugar. The recipe's from Taste of Home. They didn't spread much and are puffy, dry and crumbly despite my weighing the flour out. I won't make them again.

I grade them a D.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS VERDES from Taste of Home

This recipe comes from Taste of Home. I used rotisserie chicken breast instead of turkey. I used white chicken chili spice mix instead of fajita mix. Because store bought mixes are full of herbs and spices I omitted the basil, oregano, cumin, and cooked onion. It would have been overkill to add more spices to this. Instead of using canned diced tomatoes, since I don't like tomatoes I used a little bit of picante sauce and water to moisten the chicken. I made 1/3 of the sauce mix using one can of green enchilada sauce and 1/3 of a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. I used leftover crepes that I had in the freezer instead of tortillas. I trimmed them down to almost 7". I used mozzarella cheese in this.

I grade these an A.

CHOCOLATE PUDDING CAKE II from AllRecipes

This is your typical chocolate pudding cake and the recipe is from All Recipes. You have an eggless chocolate cake batter that you pour a mixture of sugar, cocoa, and hot water over once it's in the baking dish. I used a 1.5 quart dish. The cake bakes normally and the sauce that you poured on top ends up on the bottom and thickens slightly, making a "pudding." I followed the instructions for the cake but for the pudding I only used half the amount of brown sugar and half the amount of cocoa because it made no sense to use the full amount called for. Even with me using just half the amount of cocoa and sugar it was still too much cocoa for that amount of sugar and was slightly bitter before baking but after it baked, it seemed alright. The cake itself had a good flavor along the edges.

I grade this an A because of the changes I made.