Caramel Brownies

Prep Time: 37 minutes
Cook Time: 35 - 40 minutes
Cool Time: 3-4 hours

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2006)

I wish I had a better picture of these, but since I didn't really cook my caramel enough, it was too runny. This picture is of a frozen brownie, actually, otherwise, the caramel would be dripping even more.

This recipe is for Turtle Brownies, but I don't like Pecans much, so I skipped the nuts. They were excellent! I have never made caramel before, and it wasn't too hard, but I did probably make one mistake. The temp never got above 340, and the color was getting pretty dark, so I decided to stop at that point instead of 360. I think my caramel is a little more gooey than it should be, but it is still okay for refrigerated brownies.

Making a caramel with water in it (from what I have read) takes longer, but I had time to prep my brownie ingredients, so it was all fine. Really, I would have guessed this recipe to take longer, so I was pleasently surprised.

These are so very delicious, and I will definitely make these again.

Shepherd's Pie

Prep Time: 60 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Cool Time: 10 minutes
(Prep time included 15 minutes of waiting)

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (Februrary 2006)

This was very good and true comfort food. I have made another CI version of Shepherd's pie from Cover & Bake, that might be better, but it has been a few years. This one was very tasty and used beer instead of wine. I will probably try the other one again this winter so I can compare. It was fairly easy, and allowed me plenty of time to clean up while preparing the basics before popping in the oven.

The one thing I had trouble with was using the 12" skillet to cook the meat - things were falling out, so I switched to my Dutch oven. And I wasn't even using a full 2# of meat (1.6 lb instead). I did add one carrot and some extra peas, but they didn't take up too much room. Also, I had trouble fitting everything into my casserole dish. If I used large enough equipement from the start, including my larger cutting board, I would probably shave 5 minutes off the prep time on this.

Soba Noodles with Pork

Total Time: 29 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Probably not

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

I replaced the mushrooms (stir-fried) with broccoli (steamed in skillet), to suit my tastes. This was good and fine, and I did finish in less than 30 minutes, for once. But, it left my kitchen a disaster. I need to allow myself more time to prep and clean before I start cooking. If it takes 10 minutes more, it will save me 10 minutes later when I'm cleaning up, and I'll feel less stressed!

The flavors were fine on this, but nothing special, so I do think I will stick with other favorite stir-fry recipes.

Migas

Total Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

This was very good and easy. The only problem with the recipe is that it uses baked Tortilla chips, which I don't love on their own. I bought some, and they are expensive, and that doesn't really seem reasonable for a quick egg dinner. But sometimes I do have extra corn tortillas, so maybe I would make my own chips by spraying with oil then baking.

Peanut Blossom Cookies

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes (per pan)
Cool Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe, but probably will stick to PB Surprise cookies recipe from EF, which is a little easier.

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2006)

This one involved taking out the food processor in addition to the mixer, making it a little more complicated. Also, I think the EF cookies are little more chewier which I prefer.

I should also mention that I didn't use the traditional kisses, but small Reece's PB cubs instead, which I prefer.

Drop Biscuits

Prep Time: 9 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Cool Time: 5 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (November 2007)
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show (Season 9)

Every time Cook's Illustrated comes out with a new biscuit recipe (which is practically every year) I wonder, how many biscuit recipes do we need? Well, actually, this is a pretty good one. It will definitely replace the previous CI drop biscuit recipe for two reasons:

1) It is quicker using melted butter
2) You don't need to pull out the food processor or cut in the butter.
3) They taste very good.

I don't think this will replace the Fluffy Biscuit recipe or the Flaky biscuit recipe, but this is a winner and will be used when I want something quick and easy.

Skillet Spinach Strata

Prep Time: 23 minutes
Cook Time: 12-15 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

Actually, this took me 40 minutes, and I still was not sure that the insides were cooked through. However, my oven was not at the specified 425, because it takes so long to preheat. Next time, I must start preheating before I start the recipe. That would save 5 minutes. The rest of the time overage came from spilling and cleanup, and possibly just being slower than the ATK cooks! I took more than the 3 minutes to toast the bread, because my pan was overflowing. I used 4 slices of a wide pan bread instead of 5 of regular, and maybe that was still too much.

Anyway, this recipe was excellent. I reduced the butter from 4 T to 2 T and it worked just fine. There was still a buttery taste to the final product. The only complaint I had was that a few bites had too much garlic. It was hard to distrubute evenly with the bread, so I will have to do that with more care next time.

Skillet Penne

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

I didn't make it under 30 minutes, but I was close. I think the key is to start heating my pan right away while I was getting the garlic ready and prepping for the sauce. That might cut out 5 minutes actually.

This was very good, but I would prefer to have a flavorful sauce without the cream. I think I will try making with some italian sausage next time instead. To keep it quick, I could saute some bulk sausage in a separate pan, while pasta is cooking and add it before baking. I don't like putting my non-stick pan in a super hot oven (475) so I did transfer everything to a casserole, where it barely fit. That does mean one more pan to cook, but it seems safer to me.

UPDATE: The leftovers of this were not very good (especially those frozen and reheated). The pasta really became quite mushy. That is to be expected for this type of dish, but it seemed much more so than normal. I'm guessing the cooking method contributed.

Oven Fried Onion Rings

Prep Time: 28 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes, for someone else, not myself

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2006)

These are pretty good, although not super easy to make. But you can bread ahead, so these might be fun to make for casual entertaining.

Cheesy Basil-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2006)

This recipe was OK, but I didn't love the chicken after it was cooked. It ends up taking longer than I wanted to put together also.

Cookbook - The Best 30-Minute Recipe

Another Cook's Illustrated cookbook. Some of the recipes are simplified versions of previous recipes in other cookbooks. Some are brand new. I prefer the completely brand new recipes, because once I have tried the best version of something that is what I want.

Too see all reviewed recipes from the book, click here or on the 30min label below.