Save-the-Day Stuffing (vegetarian) - p148

Review: Wow, was this recipe good. I can't say I've ever made stuffing from scratch. Maybe never even had it. Only 2 years ago did I discover that my grandmother's thanksgiving stuffing was really Pepperidge Farms stuffing with some celery added. So I got to toast some bread and add the seasoning. It was fun to cook something that I didn't know how to make from scratch and pretty simple too. I don't know if using fresh bread is cost-effective compared to a box of StoveTop but I liked it. And my husband was amazed too but how much it tasted JUST LIKE STUFFING. When asked how I made it, he listened quietly until I got to Rosemary and then he said, "ah, rosemary - that's what makes stuffing taste like stuffing." Boys are silly!

The only drawback is that I had to split the recipe in 2 because my husband doesn't eat celery. Meanwhile, I wanted to accurately review the HG recipe. So, I made 2 recipes. I was surprised by how the celery didn't seem to contribute much. I would DEFINITELY make this recipe again - just one dish without celery though.

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/26/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=966

Maplelicious Butternut Squash Mash (vegetarian) - p277

Review: The butternut squash was ok like this - not my favorite but not my least favorite either. HG says that 3 cups of butternut squash make 2-1pt servings but I guess WW has recalculated their butternut squash values because I ended up with 2-3pt servings. The stringy texture of the squash was more noticeable in this presentation but the flavor was good. I'd still rather have cinnamon fritter fries or amazing-ate layer dip!

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/26/09

Squash-tastic Shepherd's Pie - p278

Review: Wow, this recipe was really good. I wasn't too sure about putting frozen vegetables in a casserole - I thought it would make the whole thing soggy but it actually worked out! I was surprised by how meaty this recipe was and I'm always surprised by how versatile butternut squash is. The recipe wouldn't take sooooo long if the squash was already cut up but to cut and peel a large butternut squash - it takes about an hour. But it's so worth it if you have a good butternut squash recipe! I would definitely make this again. The flavor holds true to shepherd's pie but that flavor never really excited me so I'd probably add some spices to it!

Score: 4.5/5
Prepared: 10/24/09

PB'n Chocolate Bread Pudding Bonanza (vegetarian) - p174

Review: For me, there was something weird about this recipe. I love bread pudding - but maybe I don't like it with peanut butter and chocolate? My husband LOVED this recipe. Gave it a 5/5 for HG. He's even considering adding peanut butter and chocolate to his bread pudding recipe. Maybe that's a good thing so I won't eat that fatty recipe!

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/24/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/thursdaypreview.php?newsletterid=948

Crazy-creamy Crab-stuffed Mushrooms - p162

Review: These little 'shrooms were pretty good. The crab isn't very strong and the whole experience is moist and flavorful! There's SOMETHING missing but I can't quite place it. I opted for white mushrooms instead of brown and there's a good handful of ingredients, but not too bad. My husband also liked them but not as much as the fatty ones I've made in the past with pesto and cream cheese. Although these have cream cheese, his complaint was that they weren't "creamy enough." I would definitely make these again.

Score: 4.5/5
Prepared: 10/23/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/girls/biteoutdetails.php?isid=1049

Cookie-rific Ice Cream Freeze (vegetarian) - p239

Review: This shake was pretty good. I used chocolate graham crackers instead of Oreo Thin Crisps (suggested in cookbook). I only tried the initial sip and then handed it off to my husband. Not because it has coffee but because he's kind of become my shake man. Since he drank the whole thing, he felt that it was too gritty and not creamy enough so all the gritty stuff fell to the bottom. It had a tiny amount of vanilla ice cream but was not an oreo blizzard by any stretch of the imagination.

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/22/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=781

Rockin Restaurant Spinach Dip (vegetarian) - p154

Review: I had high hopes for this spinach dip (meanwhile, my husband did not). In the end, I think it just tasted like spinach. And it wasn't a very easy recipe. There were a lot of ingredients that had to measured out. I also got to search for shallots for this recipe (found them at Whole Foods, FYI). I don't think I'd go through this all over again just to eat something that tastes like spinach. Salt and pepper helped but just not enough for me.

Score: 2/5
Prepared: 10/22/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=864

Wayne's Pumpkin Smash (vegetarian) - p273

Review: This recipe wasn't too bad. But it wasn't great either. I think it tasted a little too pumpkiny or almost sweet-potato-ish. I tried it with some vanilla icecream and it was ok but it was MUCH better with some reddiwhip. Of course, that's how I'm used to eating pumpkin pie, too. The recipe was REALLY easy to make - only 4 ingredients thrown together. My husband complained that his favorite part of pumpkin pie is the crust. Not sure if this qualifies as a crustless pumpkin pie but it tasted like one.

Score: 2/5
Prepared: 10/22/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/askhg/askhgdetails.php?isid=1885

7-Layer Burrito Blitz (vegetarian) - p116

Review: This dish was pretty impressive. I keep knocking all these overly simple recipes but at the same time, they all have some new twist to them that I wouldn't have considered. This one for instance, has SO many toppings, I couldn't close it. Normally, I would just make TWO medium burritos but this one forced me to shove everything on one and then when half of it fell out, I ate it with a fork, rather than adding points with another tortilla. Not sure if I could force myself to do this any other time but the idea was great!

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 11/2/09

Fiesta Tropical Fruit Salsa (vegetarian) - p206

Review: OMG was this salsa good! I mean, REALLY good. I was really surprised. I had it with some baked cinnamon/sugar pita chips and yummy! Not too hard to make either - 7 ingredients I threw in the food processor and BAM - I got yummy fruit salsa. There's no recommendations with what to eat it with, but I don't think it was intended for pita chips (too high in points). She does recommend putting it on fish or chicken and that sounds pretty good if I was cooking for just me. I'll have to figure out how to work this into rotation!

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/29/09

Mint Mocha Freeze (vegetarian) - p233

Review: This was a recipe for my husband to try. There's a hint of coffee in this recipe. I thought the overall taste was surprisingly good (mint coffee?). My husband was ok with it but wanted something a bit creamier. He's not sure why HG doesn't just stick with a good base and then make substitutions. He's just upset I haven't made vanillalicious cafe freeze in a while.

Score: 2/5
Prepared: 10/19/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/genericpreview.php?newsletterid=744

Noodled-up Chicken Soup - p56

Review: HANDS DOWN, this is the BEST Tofu Shirataki recipe I have had yet. This recipe tasted just like chicken noodle soup and I think the texture of the noodles was less noticeable than most. It wasn't too hard but I'm not sure that I'd make this instead of popping over to Chick-fil-a for some chicken noodle soup. One large serving only has 2 points but eat anymore than that and the points increase a lot. I think HG called for this recipe to make 5 servings but when I put it in the WW calculator, I got 4 servings to have the same number of points. BUT when I ate TWO servings, I ended up with 7 points.

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/20/09

Baja Taco Blitz - p138

Review: This recipe was really yummy but a taco is a taco, right? The one drawback that kept it from achieving a 5? Meat seasoning. It doesn't add any points, why not season the meat? Corn tortillas aren't my thing so the unseasoned meat didn't bother me since all I could taste was corn. But my question is why add the avocado (1/16 of an avocado per tortilla) and add the fat when you can't taste it?? I don't know how they got their tacos to photograph so well in the book (look like taquitos) but mine were exploding. Guess that's a good thing!

Score: 4.75/5
Prepared: 10/19/09

Swapcorn Shrimp - p110

Review: My usual review for faux-fried stuff: it tastes like FiberOne. My husband liked it alright but I liked it a lot better with some cocktail sauce and I couldn't taste the FiberOne anymore. Check out the link below for the recipe.

Score:3/5
Prepared: 10/18/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=986

Saucy BBQ Seafood Skewers - p88

Review: I'm giving you my husband's Score since mine is a little skewed (no fish rule). The salmon was actually really good which was a HUGE come back from the breakfast adventure. The shrimp were wonderful. Maybe I just don't do scallops? They're gritty when you chew them. Anyway, I thought you would baste them with the BBQ sauce but you actually put the BBQ on after they are done cooking. Oh yeah, we also cooked everything way longer than it said we would need to but it was yummy that way. Check out the link below to see HG's Not-So-Secret-BBQ-Sauce! My husband thought it was really great!

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/18/09

BBQ sauce: http://books.google.com/books?id=dnU9Nmxsxd0C&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=hungry+girl+bbq&source=bl&ots=iIdu1qJZ6R&sig=IsedK4RVh52w-L1hZkSCujM-K4Q&hl=en&ei=pwTdSoKILIOl8Abyz9C3BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=hungry%20girl%20bbq&f=false

HG's Breakfast Rice Pudding (vegetarian) - HG Newsletter Bonus

Review: I was really worried that the brown rice was going to be too hard for this recipe so I slow cooked it for 8 hours (which did nothing) and then just kept going. By the time I tried it, the brown rice was surprisingly soft for brown rice. I really made this recipe for my husband because I don't eat rice pudding. He felt that it came out more like oatmeal and that he'd rather just have oatmeal. What a good sport - trying all these recipes!

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/17/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1889

Super-duper Cocoa-rific Coffee Malt (vegetarian) - p240

Review: Not much to say since I'm not big on coffee drinks. My husband liked it but said he could get the same flavor (and probably more calories) with a lot less effort. I didn't think it was too coffee-y but we're still sticking to the Vanillalicious Cafe Freeze!

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/17/09

Freakishly Good French Onion Soup - 48

Review: This actually was pretty freaking good. Easy too. My husband thought it was really good but I thought it was lacking something. Maybe my bouillon cubes are old? The first time I had Applebee's French Onion Soup, I thought I had gone to Weight Watcher's Heaven. This soup wasn't that good but that's what I was comparing to. But this soup is soooooo easy to make, why not try it? I've attached a link from HG's website!

Score: 4.75/5
Prepared: 10/17/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=807

Smokin' Salmon Cream Cheese Roll-up - p16

Review: I really almost got sick eating this. In HG's defense, I don't do fish. But cold, seemingly raw salmon? Blech. Really, it was a consistency thing because I couldn't taste the salmon. Most of the flavor was contributed by the red onion (thank goodness for red onion). The other flavors were tortilla and saltiness. But the last bite was the worst. I should've just stopped and saved myself the extra 1 point. It was all salmon. I tried a similar recipe in Hawaii but the salmon and tomato were chopped up and mixed into the cream cheese. Still didn't like it but I think it would be an improvement.

Score: 0/5 (sorry)
Prepared: 10/18/09

Eggs Bene-chick - p26

Review: I've never made Eggs Benedict. After watching the movie Julie/Julia, I was a little hesitant. Poaching eggs looked hard. But HG gave me very good instructions and it was very easy. So, I've also never HAD eggs benedict before so I have no idea how this compares to the real thing. I thought it was pretty tasty.

I can't say I could taste the lemon in the hollandaise sauce but it wasn't too bad. I think some experience poaching eggs will only improve this recipe. Could be good for a Sat or Sun breakfast but definitely takes too long for a quick weekday breakfast.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/17/09

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1082

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins (vegetarian) - p180

Review: I didn't have a great photo of these so I thought I'd share this one. I mean, they have to be good for a 4 year old to smother her face in it, right? I definitely think that these improved with age. The recipe is SUPER simple - perhaps the easiest of all HG recipes. Even easier than the box recipe for cupcakes! And I think everyone liked them. It calls for pumpkin but you can't even taste the pumpkin. Amazing.

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/11/09

Bestest Baked Apples (vegetarian) - p202

Review: These apples were REALLY good. Everyone who tried them gobbled them up! I think the only complaint that I had was that the recipe calls for the apples to be cored, but not peeled. Once they were cooked, the skins didn't cook the same way, so eating them together was weird. I took all the skins off and it was much better! They were really sweet even though you use diet soda and only a TINY bit of splenda. I'd love to try these again with some vanilla icecream!

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/11/09

Portabello Skinny Skins - p160

Review: I don't think I had had portabello mushrooms before so I was a little hesitant of how these would turn out but they were great! I really liked the turkey bacon on these (as opposed to bacon bits on the potato skins-blech!). The scallions also added a lot of flavor. These caps were full of flavor!

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/08/09

Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cherry Muffins (vegetarian) - p177

Review: These muffins did not get rave reviews from anyone who tried them. I felt like they had a lot of potential and I enjoyed them but I have also gotten used to having Fiber One in everything. I decided to take these muffins to Girls' Night. I used No Pudge Cupcake mix which I have only heard good reviews of - even from my picky husband. The girls automatically told me the chocolate tasted weird and asked me if I put nuts in it because there were crunchy things in it.

Upon further review, I agreed that the Fiber One (crunchy part) was a little strange. However, I thought the flavor was great - the cherry pie filling and No Pudge make a great mix. I was left with the majority of a can of cherry pie filling to find a use for which is kind of disappointing. No other recipes in the book use it but there are recipes that call for fresh cherries. Guess we'll see what I come up with.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/15/09

Hot 'n nutty liquid brownie (vegetarian) - p181

Review: I don't do hazelnut so this recipe was another one for my husband to taste-test. He thought it was ok but I guess I didn't stir it very well because he said the melted chocolate chips all stayed at the bottom. Plus he was disappointed that I didn't sprinkle chocolate chips on top. I probably won't be making this one for him again.

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/01/09

"Meaty" thin crust pizza (vegetarian) - p126

Review: This was a yummy recipe that was easy to whip together. The tortilla substitute worked great for a thin crust. The crust was very crunchy. I could have used some additional toppings and the overall concoction wasn't very filling but it was a fun idea. 5 WW points might be a little high for a snack which is why I rated this recipe lower. But if you have a craving and don't want to blow your points, it's a recipe to consider.

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/02/09

Hacked 'n Whacked Santa Fe Shrimp Supreme - p34

Review: This salad was big and pretty yummy. The dressing was delicious and that's really all I could taste which was great for me since I don't usually like shrimp. I bought pre-cooked shrimp which made the recipe a little bit easier and aside from the usual 10 million ingredients, it wasn't half bad. I think if nothing else, this cookbook is teaching me to plan menus better so I can utilize excess ingredients (I haven't mastered this yet but I have a heightened awareness).

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/07/09

Hustle 'n Brussels Foil-Pack Attack (HG Newsletter Bonus) - vegetarian

Review: This recipe rolled out in a newsletter and I thought, "I have some frozen brussel sprouts I need to use. Only I couldn't find them so I bought fresh. That turned out to be an adventure of its own. The flavor was good but the brussel sprouts were too hard. I could have trimmed more of the stem but I was afraid they would fall apart. So, next time, I'll use cooked from the freezer brussel sprouts to ensure that they are soft!

Score: 3/5
Prepared: 10/05/09
http://www.hungry-girl.com/girls/biteoutdetails.php?isid=1839

Sloppy Janes - p130

Review: This recipe had a surprisingly large serving size. And it was tasty. I didn't think it was too sweet (HG has recommendations to tone down the sweetness if necessary). The only suggestion I have it to opt for a toasted bun. I think it definitely helps the sandwich retain its shape after it gets so sloppy!

Score: 4.5/5
Prepared: 10/05/09

Rockin' Shrimp Pad Thai - p84

Review: This recipe was huge. Huge. I only ate half. Plus, I had just finished 3 lettuce wraps. My husband was more excited about this recipe and ended up being disappointed by it. He has had pad thai in restaurants and felt this one fell a little short. Overall, I thought it was good (no restaurant comparison) but it used Tofu Shirataki noodles which I still can't get excited about despite multiple successful recipes. It's mental.

Anyway, the dish cooked up very soggy and we had to let it cook longer to try to boil out some of the excess liquid. Add to that, my husband didn't feel that the minuscule peanut butter in the recipe contributed any real flavor and he was mostly mad that it was missing nuts.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/04/09

Veggie-Friendly Asian Lettuce Cups (vegetarian) - p81

Review: These lettuce wraps were surprisingly good. I don't think I've ever had a lettuce wrap in a restaurant but these were good enough to stand on their own. There wasn't any kind of dipping sauce but look at the portion you get! It's 4 WW points for these enormous 3 wraps! My husband was turned off when I read the ingredients but by the time they were ready, he was eying them. I offered him 1 and he ended up eating all 3 (recipe makes 6 total). They weren't too hard to make and they didn't take very long. 3 might be a little much for 1 person - probably best to limit yourself to 1 as an appetizer.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/04/09

Banana Cream Pie Bonanza (vegetarian)

Review: I don't know if this shake tastes exactly like Banana Cream Pie but it was pretty good. Not very filling at all but it was tasty and I think it's only 3 points. Made a yummy breakfast shake but it would probably do better as a dessert. It was really easy to whip together in the morning.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 10/05/09

HG's Too-EZ Mac 'n Cheese - HG Newsletter bonus (contains velveeta)

Review: So, I thought I had the ingredients for this, but alas, I did not. So, I made some substitutions and it turned out great! My husband ABSOLUTELY loved this. Since I had to make substitutions, I wouldn't call it "too-EZ" but I could see how it would be pretty freaking easy once I got the right stuff. FYI, Super Walmart in Brier Creek is supposed to carry the package Green Giant Family Size Cauliflower & Three Cheese Sauce.

Check out the recipe on HG's website:
http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1804

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/01/09

HG's Fiber-Fried Chicken Strips

Review: I am becoming an expert in faux-frying stuff, HG-style. The first time I made these, they were a disaster. The trick is to use Pam to assist the "frying" process. Still, I thought it just tasted like FiberOne. I might be maxed out on FiberOne. My husband ate his with honey mustard dipping sauce and he thought they were great. I'm actually putting down his "score" for them. Maybe next time I'll try the dipping sauce.

Score: 4.5/5
Prepared: 10/01/09

Maris's Big Bowl O' Blob Orange 'n Cream Dessert (jello-base)

Review: I did not think this recipe would be either good or successful. As it turns out, it was both! The secret is letting the jello set overnight. Also, although this recipe used orange, you can check out different flavors. Best part is that it tasted like a creamsicle which was awesome since I was trying to find one. I tried another recipe in August and it was a disaster (http://bethandhg.blogspot.com/2009/08/scoopable-creamsicle-crush-pie-hg.html). So definitely check this one out!

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/01/09

Easy Tropical Sorbet (vegetarian)

Review: Wow, this recipe was soooooooooooo simple and so yummy and so low in points. All qualifications for a GREAT recipe. Only 2 ingredients and you're done in like 1 minute (not counting freezing time). I actually got 3 servings out of it (says I'll get 2) which is SWEET (literally).

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 10/01/09

Super Duper Spaghetti Pie

Review: I had my reservations about this recipe. Everyone I told I was eating Spaghetti Pie said, "OH, that will be SO good." Then I'd describe to them Tofu Shirataki. I really HATE preparing it but I usually like the finished product but I dread the whole process because of my dislike in preparing it. Well, it turns out that I LOVED this recipe. At the last minute I decided my husband wouldn't eat it so I added black olives, pretty much ensuring that I wouldn't have to share.

I was starving that night and I was so freaking happy that I could eat this entire pie (4 servings) for 7 points. Read my typing - SEVEN POINTS FOR FOUR SERVINGS. You know that is insane. Also, I found a small portion without olives and my husband tried it and really liked it. He's so picky, you know it has to be good! Not difficult to make either! I'll be trying this one again!

FYI - this recipe could easily be converted to vegetarian. It called for pepperoni on the top but that could be left off.

Score: 4/5
Prepared: 9/30/09

Too-Good Turkey Wrap

Review: This was a pretty good wrap. It was obviously exploding out of my tortilla. I finally got it altogether but it was a tough fit! It was also a good collection of tastes - plenty of veggies without over-powering the meat. It was a great portion size and EASY to make. My favorite kind of recipe.

Score: 5/5
Prepared: 9/28/09