Brown Soda Bread

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 45 - 50 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2013)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (Season 6)

For such a simple recipe, this was surprisingly good. Often these quick breads are just okay, but I really loved this one. The crust was super flavorful and the interior moist and but not gummy.

I have made this twice. The second time it took longer than 50 minutes to reach 195 degrees, and the top was getting extra brown. I had to put some foil on top to keep it from drying out.

It toasts up nicely and is still good for a few days.

Chicken and Slicks

Total Time: 80 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2011)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (Season 5)

I made this a while ago, and didn't keep good notes on the details of how much time this took. I just wrote down 80 minutes. I think that was total time, and was not work time. This is not an overly complicated recipe, actually. The time comes from cooking the chicken, freezing the noodles then cooking them. 

I did the recipe in two steps, made the chicken and noodle dough the night before, then shredded the chicken and cut and cooked noodle the 2nd night. It worked out well. 

The broth and chicken on this was super flavorful and delicious. The noodles were decent as well but a bit too thick for me. The only reason I wouldn't make this again is because if I am making a recipe like this I would probably go for Chicken and Dumplings instead which I like a little more. This is certainly good, but I missed the vegetables, and the noodles were more work than dumplings. 

Morning Glory Muffins

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (April 2011)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (same link)

I was starting to write my review in my head while I was baking these, assuming they would get a grade lower than an A. The prep on these muffins takes quite a while. Grating carrots, peeling grating an apple, squeezing liquid from the apple and pineapple, toasting the walnuts and coconut, then processing in food processor! That is a lot for a muffin. And because I always try to multi-task I burned some of the coconut when toasting. I tried taking the burned pieces out and toasted a bit more. There was a burned coffee smell in my kitchen and I was sure these wouldn't taste good.

But I was really happy when I tasted one. The texture was perfect. One of the best I've ever made. These are not super sweet, so really a good muffin for breakfast. I have never tried to make these muffins before because all recipes I saw had walnuts and raisins which I don't like. But since these walnuts are ground up, I thought it would be ok, and it was. I think they added nice flavor to the muffin.

These are definitely some work, but I think they are worth it to have in the freezer for a quick breakfast that is a little less sweet than most muffins, but still very tasty.

The only change I made to the recipe was to replace 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with 1 cup of white wheat. I still used 1 1/4 of regular flour. It worked well.

This recipe is currently available for free on Cook's Country website since it was feature during the current season of Cook's Country TV, so grab it now if you are interested.

Popovers

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 50-60 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2008)

Recipe: Cook's Country TV (Season 2)

I assume the Cook's Country TV show is just like America's Test Kitchen and they won't keep those recipes up there for ever (wanting to people to go to paid site instead.)  So, print it out if you are interested. :-)  You need to register with an email but don't need to pay. 

These are very, very good.  I have made popovers lots of times before, and I love them when they are eggy and moist on the inside but crispy on the outside.  These fit the bill, and they are more flavorful than the others I've tried. 

The main differences are as far as I can tell are using more eggs and butter, but a lower fat milk.  It also uses Bread flour for more structure.

I think going forward, this will be the recipe I use, when I make popovers. (Which isn't that often, but it is a good way to use up milk.)