[penmage]

I've been struggling lately with finding interesting meals to make, instead of the same old thing every week. So I checked out the Allrecipes website and found some I thought sounded good.

I tried one of them tonight- a white cheddar broccoli soup. The picture on the site made it look so creamy and delicious... mine looked like greenish dish water with milk. It's still sitting on the stove because I can't bring myself to try it yet. Plus, it was a pain to make. I used 3 different pots, a strainer, and a food processor.

I like recipes where you add A, B, C, and D, stir, and bring to a boil. This was more "Add A and B together with nutmeg. In a separate pot, bring C and half of D to a boil, with salt and pepper. Add equal parts A-B mixture and C-half-D mixture to food processor, with milk. Then take remainder of D, and mix it with more milk, stirring into main pot. Then toss salt over your shoulder, kiss your elbow, and poke yourself in the eye." (Okay, maybe not that last part)

That's an awful lot of stinking work for a broccoli soup!

Tell me about your cooking adventure flops so I feel less pathetic!

[Missy Krissy]

Ugh, I hate when a should be simple recipe calls for a million and one steps and then it turns out less than desirable...

I've had my fair share of recipe flops, the most recent that comes to mind was when I was trying to make a vegan frosting for DS's birthday cake (he's highly allergic to milk and egg products, as well as peanuts but that's beside the point). Butter cream frostings as well as cream cheese frostings were obviously out. I called my Nana and asked her advice, and she told me that it used to be common for wedding cakes to be frosted with a crisco based frosting (basically just crisco, powdered sugar, vanilla, and water).

Perfect!

I searched the internet to find the "original" recipe with the appropriate proportions of said ingredients. I found one on a wilton forum. Wilton is good right? The leaders in all things pertaining to cake design.

I don't know what went wrong for sure, but I think I over-whipped the shortening. The result was a waxy, not very spreadable or pipeable paste amalgamation. Aggggh!

Thankfully this was just a practice cake, and I ended up making a vegan carrot cake with a maple syrup icing instead. I'm glad I did trial runs, as eventually the cake that we served at the party was quite tasty.

[TheSecondHalf]

I have never had good luck with All Recipes. I have learned the hard way to use Cooking Light and Skinny Taste - and read the reviews.

A five pound "light" noodle dish was the final straw. It was a LOAF, I tell you.

[Buffinlovin]

I'm not sure why, but I find allrecipes to have more difficult recipes than easy ones. Perhaps it could be what I'm looking for at the time, but that's how I've always perceived it. If I'm looking for a recipe, I generally head to food.com (I knew it before as recipezaar.com) and can find recipes of varying difficulty.

That being said, I did try a spaghetti sauce recipe that sounded and looked really tasty! I browned sausage that I cut out of the casings, I added a ton of seasonings and spices and let it slow simmer for almost half a day like the recipe called for. This recipe had gotten rave reviews, and I was so excited to sit down with a big bowl of pasta and eat it (this was pre-diet).

I'm not sure what I did, but it had this soapy flavor and strange texture. It was disgusting. I ended up ordering pizza instead

[Missy Krissy]

Hmm... I've actually had some good success with allrecipes! That's where I got my meatloaf recipe from (DH's favorite) as well as a good goulash.

[Palestrina]

Try epicurious.com

Also this website http://www.tastespotting.com/ has some amazing visual pictures and recipes.

However, the healthier my diet becomes the less I cook. I can make the best lasagna in the world, but when you're avoiding wheat and cheese who can eat it? I stick to grilled chicken breasts, composed salads, and interesting dressings.

[Munchy]

This broccoli soup recipe LINK is so good and really simple.

The following are my absolute favorite recipe sites, listed in order of best to least, but they're all really good.
www.skinnytaste.com
www.cookinglight.com
www.eatingwell.com
www.livebetteramerica.com
www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com
www.emilybites.com

[Munchy]

Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny

However, the healthier my diet becomes the less I cook. I can make the best lasagna in the world, but when you're avoiding wheat and cheese who can eat it? I stick to grilled chicken breasts, composed salads, and interesting dressings.

I am the exact opposite!

I tend to cook more meals: chilis, soups, meatballs, chicken nuggets, enchiladas/burritos, a variety of burgers, even lasagna, and make sure I divvy it into portions and freeze just to have it ready so I don't need to worry about finding something healthy and homemade. I like knowing that at any time, I can reach into my freezer for something I love that is good for me, is already portioned, and I don't need a long time to make it.

I also budget pretty closely and it helps me to grocery shop less often (since I can batch cook and the food lasts for months), and save money by not wasting anything. I cook and freeze almost everything

[zoesmom]

Originally Posted by Missy Krissy

Ugh, I hate when a should be simple recipe calls for a million and one steps and then it turns out less than desirable...

I've had my fair share of recipe flops, the most recent that comes to mind was when I was trying to make a vegan frosting for DS's birthday cake (he's highly allergic to milk and egg products, as well as peanuts but that's beside the point). Butter cream frostings as well as cream cheese frostings were obviously out. I called my Nana and asked her advice, and she told me that it used to be common for wedding cakes to be frosted with a crisco based frosting (basically just crisco, powdered sugar, vanilla, and water).

Perfect!

I searched the internet to find the "original" recipe with the appropriate proportions of said ingredients. I found one on a wilton forum. Wilton is good right? The leaders in all things pertaining to cake design.

I don't know what went wrong for sure, but I think I over-whipped the shortening. The result was a waxy, not very spreadable or pipeable paste amalgamation. Aggggh!

Thankfully this was just a practice cake, and I ended up making a vegan carrot cake with a maple syrup icing instead. I'm glad I did trial runs, as eventually the cake that we served at the party was quite tasty.

As a baker, yeah, Wilton is HORRID!

Just as an FYI, if you want a good "buttercream" this would be your go to...espeically for a vegan with an allergy to milk I use this for a lot of my cakes and EVERYONE raves on it...and it is a safe one.

2 cups plus 3 tablespoons GENERIC!!!! shortening. Do NOT use Crisco! the trans fat is off kilter with the rest for the proper fat ratio content needed.
2/3 cup non dairy creamer - powdered
1/2 cup sour cream OR, for your DS's needs...1/2 cup firm silken tofu pureed smooth.
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon imitation butter flavoring
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon other flavoring (I use almond a lot, but strawberry is good, mint is good, imitation rum is good, possibilities are endless.)
1 bag powdered sugar.

Mix shortening and extracts together until smooth. Add 1/3 cup of the creamer until completely mixed, then add the sour cream (or in this instance, the pureed tofu). Mix until completely combined. Add in the remaining creamer. Then, slowly add in your powdered sugar.

TADA! Perfect everytime!

Needless to say, Wilton was such a flop, I HAD to find my own. You know, the whole want to keep a business open and all

[TurboMammoth]

I tried something that I saw on Pinterest, a diet-awesome-you'll-never-want-the-real-recipe-again Alfredo sauce made with cauliflower. It said about 6 times that ''it tastes just like real cheesy alfredo sauce!!''.

It was a TRAP. it was so horrible. I felt so cheated, cauliflower and I were on really bad terms for manyyyy weeks after that :P

[zoesmom]

Now that I posted my "buttercream" recipe...yeah, I have flops a lot. I experiment in the kitchen and probably throw away half of what I make. but the other half? Oh it is good. I refuse to give up until I can make something taste good...and I have found when I put my mind to it, I can make anything taste great. I just might fail 1000 times first

[zoesmom]

Originally Posted by TurboMammoth

I tried something that I saw on Pinterest, a diet-awesome-you'll-never-want-the-real-recipe-again Alfredo sauce made with cauliflower. It said about 6 times that ''it tastes just like real cheesy alfredo sauce!!''.

It was a TRAP. it was so horrible. I felt so cheated, cauliflower and I were on really bad terms for manyyyy weeks after that :P

TOFU! (I love tofu, so versitle!) Honest to god. Even my hubby will eat it!

1 tub of 12-16oz SILKEN tofu (yes, SILKEN. If you can not find it, SOFT will work as well)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
optional: may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to make to desired consistancy

Directions:
Drain your tofu (colender and paper towel method is the best, and should be done about 15 minutes prior to making alfredo sauce). Place drained tofu, garlic, both cheeses, olive oil, and onion powder into a blender. Blend until smooth. Let sit for about 30 minutes for flavors to "mingle". Pour mixture into a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Makes 4 servings

Calories: 172.4
Fat: 11.8
Carb: 5.8
Fiber: .9
Protein: 11.5
Sodium: 296.7 mg

[TurboMammoth]

Originally Posted by zoesmom

TOFU! (I love tofu, so versitle!) Honest to god. Even my hubby will eat it!

1 tub of 12-16oz SILKEN tofu (yes, SILKEN. If you can not find it, SOFT will work as well)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated romano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
optional: may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk to make to desired consistancy

Directions:
Drain your tofu (colender and paper towel method is the best, and should be done about 15 minutes prior to making alfredo sauce). Place drained tofu, garlic, both cheeses, olive oil, and onion powder into a blender. Blend until smooth. Let sit for about 30 minutes for flavors to "mingle". Pour mixture into a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Makes 4 servings

Calories: 172.4
Fat: 11.8
Carb: 5.8
Fiber: .9
Protein: 11.5
Sodium: 296.7 mg

Looks good and already better than the cauliflower one. At least yours got CHEESE in it! The cauliflower one called for no cheese at all. I don't know what kind of magic I was expecting, really LOL (we ended up eating the sauce anyway... after eating a bunch of parmseon to it, though :P)

Usuallly I make my Alfredo sauce in the form of a bechamel using skim/partly skim milk, as I am not lactose intolerant, and it usually works really well

[betsy2013]

Zoesmom -- when you indicate a bag of powdered sugar, is that the 1 lb box or the big bag like from Costco?

[zoesmom]

2 pounds. Sorry I forget that I buy the stuff in bulk for the bakery.