Recipes a bust - where did I go wrong?

[Denise]

As for the couscous I loved the picnic couscou with green olives, I did use extra chicken broth to make it 'juicier'. Raspberry cream cheese brownies were also a huge hit, I added extra frozen raspberries. Spicy ranch wraps were very good and bbq chicken quesadillas were simple, but tasty. You might give some of those a try! I don't think July looks great, so I'm just going to keep cooking out of June!

[MaryB]

I've found several recipes from June that will be repeaters.

I also liked the Picnic couscous, although I added a little goat cheese and I will double the dressing the next time. The ginger-peanut chicken salad wraps were good and also quick to make. I think next time I will put these in pita bread as someone on the board suggested since they are a little messy for wraps. The peanut butter brownies were okay, but boy are they fast so I have already repeated them. I also like the balsamic chicken recipe. I still haven't tried the ranch chicken wraps or the schnitzel recipe. And there are a couple of others I'd like to try.

I've only glanced at the July issue (I'm planning on reading it while on vacation, we leave tomorrow) but it does look desert heavy so I probably won't be trying a whole lot of those recipes.

[ElinorC]

Shoyski,
Don't feel bad. I've had the same results on several months recipes. For June, I tried the
1. Glazed Lavender Tea Cake -- Very subtle taste, very good with tea. Nice texture.
2. Raspberry-Cream Cheese Brownies --Very good, nice chocolate taste and the raspberry is an extra; a repeater.
3.Teriyaki Burgers -- Very ordinary and not a repeater.
4. Jagerschnitzel -- the veggies were very fresh tasting and the veal was very tender. My husband loved it so I guess I'll try it again.
5. Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Almond Peppers--a definite winner.
6.Crispy Zuccnini Sticks with Creamy Salsa Dip--the idea is great; I'll try them again with plain salsa and different seasoning on the sticks.
7. Nectarine and Chickpea Couscous-- I still don't care for the texture of couscous and the dish was very dry.
8. Chilled Summer Squash Soup with Curry --the squash is bland and the seasoning too strong.
9. Summer Squash and Corn Saute --a great combination and will try it again while corn is in season.

I'm working on July now but that issue doesn't have enough entrees, veggies, etc. I don't usually bake many desserts, especially during the hot months. I'll probably try some of the recipes that I missed in previous issues.

[This message has been edited by ElinorC (edited 06-26-2000).]

[Jessica]

I tried the butter-pecan brownies and they vanished in minutes at our Father's Day dinner. Very easy, too.

[DJFan88]

The Peanut-Butter Chocolate-Chip Brownies are EXCELLENT! I have made them 4 times for different groups and they are always devoured.

[shoyski]

I tried the following June recipes and none will be repeaters:
Teriyaki burgers...all I could taste was the
Cajun spices
Garlic-Herb Meatloaf......not their best
Summer Squash Gratin...way too time consuming
for the bland taste
Cheesy Squash/Rice Pie.....same as above
Nectarine Chickpea Couscous....way too dry
Mozz/Tom/Basil Couscous.......way too dry
Chipotle Bl Bean Soup.....way too spicy, and
I like spicy
Apple Oatmeal Upside-Down Cake....boring

Sorry for the unhappy feedback. Hope all of you had more success.

[CATHIEA]

Shelly- Some months are just like that. I often like to try recipes with unusual ingredient combinations or newtome foods, as a result, I'm not always 100% thrilled with what I make. I'm still working through June (when I got the issue not too much appealed to me, so I did a lot of olides but goodies this month). For what its worth, these are some of the recipes I tried:

Cajun Catfish Wraps (good spices, but too much fish for a single wrap.)

Indian Roasted Salmon (my husband and I both loved this. I highly recommend)

Jagerschnitzel (I echo Elinor C's comment: vegetables were out of this world. My husband also raved about this one)

Corn & Squash Saute (made this last night using frozen corn and was very impressed.)

Mandarin Orange Salad (from the meal planner. It was good.)


I bought ingredients for the meatballs and peppers, the java chicken and also for the shrimp and feta. Hopefully, I will be home this weekend to cook again.

CathieA

PS- I forgot that I made the beef and pea curry too. Very good, very fast. It seemed too soupy to serve without rice or more potatoes though. No one else posted on it, so it might just be me.


[This message has been edited by CATHIEA (edited 06-29-2000).]