02-24-13 08:21 AM

Singelli is Offline

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Singelli

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In case vizzed users viewing this thread aren't aware of it, I have created a recipe contest which is running until April 18th. That's a long time for me to remember certain details of the meals I cook, so I decided to describe my experiences as they come. Since the other thread is for contest entries, and to avoid a chaotic thread, I'm creating a separate thread for the results. On to business, shall we?

Mia03:
I cooked your meal last night, and let me tell you, it was certainly an adventure! I'm grateful I had read through the instructions a few times, because you did forget to mention two ingredients: cooking oil and rice! ^.^ Don't worry though... I figured it out!

I was going to try and record it, but I was afraid of being boring and so I asked my comedic husband to have some fun and make a 'cooking video' with me. He used to do live theatre and has always been interested in filming skits and such, so I put it off as "Hey, I'm trying to cook... you want to film funny skits.... let's both have a whirl at our dreams!" Sadly, he didn't fall for it and was very tired. Thus, in order to not seem like TOO much of a dork, I took pictures instead.

So, in all my eight years of living alone, would you believe that I have -never- had cornstarch in my home, much less used it for anything? Thanks heavens play4fun and mrfe were kind enough to tell me what it was used for, because I had no idea! I didn't even know what it looked like.... but thanks to you I now have a box of it in my cabinets. Oh man, if I had known its uses, I would have gotten it long ago! Anyways, here are my ingredients! It seemed like a lot of shopping to do for one meal, but the cost wasn't too high and some of the things I already had.

I followed your instructions and made the sauce first, which greatly confused me. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so viscous, and I was absolutely certain either you had made a typo, or I had mis-copied the instructions! I also put in a lot more red pepper than you called for, because I like my food spicy and the amount you called for seemed like such a sad little touch of spice! I kind of just popped that crushed pepper open and let the whole surface of sauce swim in the little red bundles of joy.

The sauce did have the tendency to settle, I managed to discover. Either the starch or the syrup would sink to the bottom, and I could tell because the color would change. Not wanting my whisk to become permanently glued to the bottom of my bowl, I had to re-stir the sauce frequently.... I probably stirred it around every 7 or 8 minutes the whole time I was cooking. The longer I waited, the harder it was to stir. Imagine if I had never discovered that, and then poured it over the meat and vegetables! Yikes!

I also minced my own garlic cloves. I came dangerously close to cutting myself.... cloves do not like to be cut very easily I guess, and so I gave up before they were really what I'd considered to be minced. Below, you'll see a size comparison with my pinky finger. Also.... garlic is STICKY. It was even worse than an orange's juice, and it drove me batty. Every time I tried to cut a piece, it was like a leech to my finger and impossible to remove! Thus, I gave up and threw them in at that size in the picture.

Finally, I did cheat a little on the meat. I know absolutely nothing about cooking any kind of meat, and I knew Jason would like beef the most. I looked at some very thinly cut steaks but there was too much meat in them, so I went with meat that was pre-cut into cubes. I don't really remember what kind of steak it was, but it smelled awesome even before I dumped it into the pan. I did taste test it a few times while it was in the pan (testing the smallest, fully cooked pieces of course), and it was a chewy meat even when freshly cooked. Thus, the texture wasn't great, but again, I don't know anything about picking out meats

Now, this did take a LOT longer to cook than you specified. In fact, it took me between 45 minutes and an hour. You didn't tell me how hot to make the stove, so I set it at medium, only to turn it on high once the meat was almost cooked. (I prepped the other ingredients between stirring the meat.)

Now, let's talk about those onions! I thought you were absolutely mad when you said I had to include 2 WHOLE onions! As I sat there and cut the things, I kept thinking that you must have meant small onions or something. I kept watching them pile up and pile up, and I have to admit that I almost didn't even chop the second onion. Thankfully, I once saw someone cut an onion in a very unique way, and so I followed that method and didn't end up crying over the ~~dilemma~~ acidic air. You weren't very clear on how to chop the onions either, and so I stuck with dicing them.

Finally, I sliced the carrot into... thin strips. Now, you didn't say which way to slice them, and normally when I think of oriental meals, I imagine the carrots in -long- strips. So that's how I ended up cutting them. It's funny how carrot strips look like bacon, isn't it?

Now, I had another dilemma. See, I don't know what happened to it, but one of our pots has disappeared. Therefore, I really only had two skillets to cook everything in. Realize that while I was cooking the meat in one skillet, rice was cooking in the other. I used the deeper skillet for the rice since it was more akin to a pot, and the more shallow skillet for the meat. Therefore, when the meat was done and I dumped it onto a plate.... I washed the skillet quickly and ..... somehow managed to pile all those ridiculous onions into the skillet along with the broccoli and carrots. Looking like a volcano about to erupt, I could hardly stir the contents. Luckily for me, the rice finished just about at the time my shallow skillet was fit to burst.

I did this funny shuffle of.... everything. My husband was kind enough to give me a helping hand as I poured the rice into a strainer. As he held that hovering over our sink, I washed the deep skillet, transferred the vegetables into the deep skillet, washed the shallow skillet, and then relieved my poor husband so that he could dump the rice onto that one. Our strainer is rather... used and ready to fall apart, so I was praying that the strainer didn't break and leave my rice in the sink. Although I had done a major scrub down of our kitchen earlier in the day, I'm not so sure I would have been willing to eat rice from the sink. XD

(^Action shot! *gasps* Yes, that's me stirring it!^)

It actually took quite some time for the vegetables to cook as well, and I waited for them to brown just slightly before I added the mushrooms and then the meat minutes later. While I was watching it cook though, and looking at the mass amount of food, I suddenly had the thought that there was no way the sauce would take care of it all. Therefore, I quickly doubled the amount of sauce, adding another third cup of corn syrup and soy sauce, two heaping tablespoons of corn starch, another swarm of red peppers, and only a touch of water. As I poured the contents of the glass bowl over the meal, I thought, "That's it. I've screwed it up. This is going to be awful." And I prayed that the rice would soak up most of this liquid disaster.

Sweating a little, I decided to finish cleaning some of the dishes. You see, whenever I DO try to cook, I'm a ... very clean cook. I can't stand a mess, and so I actually clean the whole time I'm cooking. As soon as a utensil or bowl has served its use, I wash it in the few minutes something is sitting on the stove, and I put it away. This way, by the time I'm done cooking, nearly everything has been washed and put away.

Well, as I was sitting there and washing the glass bowl, it kept nagging on my mind that play4fun and mrfe had told me that cornstarch thickens liquid. And I know from experience as a child that corn syrup crystallizes rather easily. Regardless of those thoughts however, no realization was really dawning quite fully, and I turned to look at the skillet in half curiosity. I almost dropped the bowl when the thought screamed through my head "OH MY GOODNESS THE SAUCE IS DARK BROWN AND IT'S GOING TO HARDEN LIKE A ROCK!!!!" I put the bowl up as quickly as I could and rushed to rescue the meal.

While it was certainly thicker and browner, I caught it just in time and was able to stir it into smoothness before removing the skillet from the burner. How exciting!

Before:

After:

Well, after it was all done and a quick washing of our two plates, I plated the food. It looked and smelt fantastic! It tasted JUST as good. I've got to say, that for my first -real- cooking experience.... it was absolutely delicious! Thank you SO much Mia.... it was great! What's even better? As I bought the ingredients, my husband was speaking of some dinner he wanted to make, and he asked how many meals my dinner would make. As I looked at what seemed to be spare ingredients, I told him I thought it would make one meal. However, even after two heaping plates, there are easily still two dinners let! That just can't be beat, and it's so awesome that it came out to be so much food!

Our plates:

The leftovers!:

Finally, for bragging rights, this is how many dishes were left once the dinner was finished cooking. (Shame on me for bragging!)

So, how did you fare Mia?

Well, I asked my husband to rate the food in two aspects: appearance and taste. I myself rated the food on appearance, taste, originality, cost, and instructions.

Jason's ratings:
Appearance: "An 8 or a 9", so I'm going to average this as 8.5
Taste: "Oh, definitely a 10!"

My ratings:
Appearance: 9 on the bed or rice
Taste: 10 for sure. I'd certainly make this again!
Originality 7. I've seen stuff like this before, though I've never made it myself. There didn't seem to be anything that gave it a unique flare, though it -was- absolutely delicious.
Cost: 7 This meal wasn't terrible expensive, but it wouldn't be something I could have every week if I had to keep buying all the ingredients. Luckily, I now have some of the ingredients for good, so I wouldn't have to buy them all. However, the meat and vegetables would have to be re-bought of course, and there were quite a few of those. The corn syrup and soy sauce would also go quickly.
Instructions: 7. You forgot a few ingredients, and there were a few specific details that were left out and pretty important for someone dumb to cooking like me. XD

Your Total Score: 58.5/70

You've set a high precedent!

Finally, just for fun, I asked my cat to rate it on smell and taste also.
Dorito hovered around my chair the whole time I was eating, and kept pawing at my arm, begging for some. I put my hand down and let him touch my fingers twice after playfully asking how he would rate the smell of it. He gave it a 9/10!

Then I gave him a very tiny piece of the meat and watched him as he ate it. Once he was done, I compared how he begged for more with how he usually begs for foods he really likes it. I think he hesitated because of the spiciness, so I'd have to say he gave it a rating of 7/10.

Thanks for the recipe!!!!

(Also, more than one buffer post would be loverly.

)

In case vizzed users viewing this thread aren't aware of it, I have created a recipe contest which is running until April 18th. That's a long time for me to remember certain details of the meals I cook, so I decided to describe my experiences as they come. Since the other thread is for contest entries, and to avoid a chaotic thread, I'm creating a separate thread for the results. On to business, shall we?

Mia03:
I cooked your meal last night, and let me tell you, it was certainly an adventure! I'm grateful I had read through the instructions a few times, because you did forget to mention two ingredients: cooking oil and rice! ^.^ Don't worry though... I figured it out!

I was going to try and record it, but I was afraid of being boring and so I asked my comedic husband to have some fun and make a 'cooking video' with me. He used to do live theatre and has always been interested in filming skits and such, so I put it off as "Hey, I'm trying to cook... you want to film funny skits.... let's both have a whirl at our dreams!" Sadly, he didn't fall for it and was very tired. Thus, in order to not seem like TOO much of a dork, I took pictures instead.

So, in all my eight years of living alone, would you believe that I have -never- had cornstarch in my home, much less used it for anything? Thanks heavens play4fun and mrfe were kind enough to tell me what it was used for, because I had no idea! I didn't even know what it looked like.... but thanks to you I now have a box of it in my cabinets. Oh man, if I had known its uses, I would have gotten it long ago! Anyways, here are my ingredients! It seemed like a lot of shopping to do for one meal, but the cost wasn't too high and some of the things I already had.

I followed your instructions and made the sauce first, which greatly confused me. I wasn't expecting it to be quite so viscous, and I was absolutely certain either you had made a typo, or I had mis-copied the instructions! I also put in a lot more red pepper than you called for, because I like my food spicy and the amount you called for seemed like such a sad little touch of spice! I kind of just popped that crushed pepper open and let the whole surface of sauce swim in the little red bundles of joy.

The sauce did have the tendency to settle, I managed to discover. Either the starch or the syrup would sink to the bottom, and I could tell because the color would change. Not wanting my whisk to become permanently glued to the bottom of my bowl, I had to re-stir the sauce frequently.... I probably stirred it around every 7 or 8 minutes the whole time I was cooking. The longer I waited, the harder it was to stir. Imagine if I had never discovered that, and then poured it over the meat and vegetables! Yikes!

I also minced my own garlic cloves. I came dangerously close to cutting myself.... cloves do not like to be cut very easily I guess, and so I gave up before they were really what I'd considered to be minced. Below, you'll see a size comparison with my pinky finger. Also.... garlic is STICKY. It was even worse than an orange's juice, and it drove me batty. Every time I tried to cut a piece, it was like a leech to my finger and impossible to remove! Thus, I gave up and threw them in at that size in the picture.

Finally, I did cheat a little on the meat. I know absolutely nothing about cooking any kind of meat, and I knew Jason would like beef the most. I looked at some very thinly cut steaks but there was too much meat in them, so I went with meat that was pre-cut into cubes. I don't really remember what kind of steak it was, but it smelled awesome even before I dumped it into the pan. I did taste test it a few times while it was in the pan (testing the smallest, fully cooked pieces of course), and it was a chewy meat even when freshly cooked. Thus, the texture wasn't great, but again, I don't know anything about picking out meats

Now, this did take a LOT longer to cook than you specified. In fact, it took me between 45 minutes and an hour. You didn't tell me how hot to make the stove, so I set it at medium, only to turn it on high once the meat was almost cooked. (I prepped the other ingredients between stirring the meat.)

Now, let's talk about those onions! I thought you were absolutely mad when you said I had to include 2 WHOLE onions! As I sat there and cut the things, I kept thinking that you must have meant small onions or something. I kept watching them pile up and pile up, and I have to admit that I almost didn't even chop the second onion. Thankfully, I once saw someone cut an onion in a very unique way, and so I followed that method and didn't end up crying over the ~~dilemma~~ acidic air. You weren't very clear on how to chop the onions either, and so I stuck with dicing them.

Finally, I sliced the carrot into... thin strips. Now, you didn't say which way to slice them, and normally when I think of oriental meals, I imagine the carrots in -long- strips. So that's how I ended up cutting them. It's funny how carrot strips look like bacon, isn't it?

Now, I had another dilemma. See, I don't know what happened to it, but one of our pots has disappeared. Therefore, I really only had two skillets to cook everything in. Realize that while I was cooking the meat in one skillet, rice was cooking in the other. I used the deeper skillet for the rice since it was more akin to a pot, and the more shallow skillet for the meat. Therefore, when the meat was done and I dumped it onto a plate.... I washed the skillet quickly and ..... somehow managed to pile all those ridiculous onions into the skillet along with the broccoli and carrots. Looking like a volcano about to erupt, I could hardly stir the contents. Luckily for me, the rice finished just about at the time my shallow skillet was fit to burst.

I did this funny shuffle of.... everything. My husband was kind enough to give me a helping hand as I poured the rice into a strainer. As he held that hovering over our sink, I washed the deep skillet, transferred the vegetables into the deep skillet, washed the shallow skillet, and then relieved my poor husband so that he could dump the rice onto that one. Our strainer is rather... used and ready to fall apart, so I was praying that the strainer didn't break and leave my rice in the sink. Although I had done a major scrub down of our kitchen earlier in the day, I'm not so sure I would have been willing to eat rice from the sink. XD

(^Action shot! *gasps* Yes, that's me stirring it!^)

It actually took quite some time for the vegetables to cook as well, and I waited for them to brown just slightly before I added the mushrooms and then the meat minutes later. While I was watching it cook though, and looking at the mass amount of food, I suddenly had the thought that there was no way the sauce would take care of it all. Therefore, I quickly doubled the amount of sauce, adding another third cup of corn syrup and soy sauce, two heaping tablespoons of corn starch, another swarm of red peppers, and only a touch of water. As I poured the contents of the glass bowl over the meal, I thought, "That's it. I've screwed it up. This is going to be awful." And I prayed that the rice would soak up most of this liquid disaster.

Sweating a little, I decided to finish cleaning some of the dishes. You see, whenever I DO try to cook, I'm a ... very clean cook. I can't stand a mess, and so I actually clean the whole time I'm cooking. As soon as a utensil or bowl has served its use, I wash it in the few minutes something is sitting on the stove, and I put it away. This way, by the time I'm done cooking, nearly everything has been washed and put away.

Well, as I was sitting there and washing the glass bowl, it kept nagging on my mind that play4fun and mrfe had told me that cornstarch thickens liquid. And I know from experience as a child that corn syrup crystallizes rather easily. Regardless of those thoughts however, no realization was really dawning quite fully, and I turned to look at the skillet in half curiosity. I almost dropped the bowl when the thought screamed through my head "OH MY GOODNESS THE SAUCE IS DARK BROWN AND IT'S GOING TO HARDEN LIKE A ROCK!!!!" I put the bowl up as quickly as I could and rushed to rescue the meal.

While it was certainly thicker and browner, I caught it just in time and was able to stir it into smoothness before removing the skillet from the burner. How exciting!

Before:

After:

Well, after it was all done and a quick washing of our two plates, I plated the food. It looked and smelt fantastic! It tasted JUST as good. I've got to say, that for my first -real- cooking experience.... it was absolutely delicious! Thank you SO much Mia.... it was great! What's even better? As I bought the ingredients, my husband was speaking of some dinner he wanted to make, and he asked how many meals my dinner would make. As I looked at what seemed to be spare ingredients, I told him I thought it would make one meal. However, even after two heaping plates, there are easily still two dinners let! That just can't be beat, and it's so awesome that it came out to be so much food!

Our plates:

The leftovers!:

Finally, for bragging rights, this is how many dishes were left once the dinner was finished cooking. (Shame on me for bragging!)

So, how did you fare Mia?

Well, I asked my husband to rate the food in two aspects: appearance and taste. I myself rated the food on appearance, taste, originality, cost, and instructions.

Jason's ratings:
Appearance: "An 8 or a 9", so I'm going to average this as 8.5
Taste: "Oh, definitely a 10!"

My ratings:
Appearance: 9 on the bed or rice
Taste: 10 for sure. I'd certainly make this again!
Originality 7. I've seen stuff like this before, though I've never made it myself. There didn't seem to be anything that gave it a unique flare, though it -was- absolutely delicious.
Cost: 7 This meal wasn't terrible expensive, but it wouldn't be something I could have every week if I had to keep buying all the ingredients. Luckily, I now have some of the ingredients for good, so I wouldn't have to buy them all. However, the meat and vegetables would have to be re-bought of course, and there were quite a few of those. The corn syrup and soy sauce would also go quickly.
Instructions: 7. You forgot a few ingredients, and there were a few specific details that were left out and pretty important for someone dumb to cooking like me. XD

Your Total Score: 58.5/70

You've set a high precedent!

Finally, just for fun, I asked my cat to rate it on smell and taste also.
Dorito hovered around my chair the whole time I was eating, and kept pawing at my arm, begging for some. I put my hand down and let him touch my fingers twice after playfully asking how he would rate the smell of it. He gave it a 9/10!

Then I gave him a very tiny piece of the meat and watched him as he ate it. Once he was done, I compared how he begged for more with how he usually begs for foods he really likes it. I think he hesitated because of the spiciness, so I'd have to say he gave it a rating of 7/10.

Thanks for the recipe!!!!

(Also, more than one buffer post would be loverly.

)

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Singelli

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Registered: 08-09-12
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02-24-13 08:27 AM

earthwarrior is Offline

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earthwarrior

Level: 125

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*bump

* Wow over 2,000 words for one recipe. That looks really good! Nice job

Mia03: for coming up with the recipe and you, Singelli, for not burning it XD. (Good job making it too)

I wonder how my English muffin pizza would turn out lol. (I didn't post it yet. I'm still measuring everything)

*bump

* Wow over 2,000 words for one recipe. That looks really good! Nice job

Mia03: for coming up with the recipe and you, Singelli, for not burning it XD. (Good job making it too)

I wonder how my English muffin pizza would turn out lol. (I didn't post it yet. I'm still measuring everything)

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Vizzed's #1 Kid Icarus Uprising Fan! 2nd place in December 2012 VCS!

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02-26-13 03:53 AM

Singelli is Offline

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Singelli

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Alright Jigsaw, it's your turn to be amused. Honestly, when I read your recipe, I wasn't sure whether it really counted as 'cooking' or a recipe. I mean, you honestly told me to take some pre-made cookie dough and frosting, and slap it into a muffin pan. Nonetheless, the apparent simplicity of the idea made me wonder if there was something I was missing, or something that would make your idea worth my time.

Well, the joke was on me! I wondered about half way through if you sent me the 'recipe' as a joke, and I imagined you sitting somewhere giggling at my misfortune. After all, I briefly mentioned my disaster with brownies from a box, and what you asked me to make wasn't too far fetched from that idea. So sit back and giggle away, because this was not my best attempt at creating something to eat.

So my first realization? I was walking down Wal-Mart trying to find cookie dough, and yet every isle I went down failed me. I tried and tried and tried to search every one of those freezers for that familiar tube that I saw my mother use during our childhood, when it suddenly dawned on me: for whatever reason, our Wal-Mart doesn't carry cookie dough in refrigerated cardboard tubes. Does anyone, I wonder, or is that something that isn't done anymore? I feel so out of tune with things... how could I not know this?

Regardless, I had almost given up on the idea since you didn't give me a recipe for making the dough from scratch, but luckily, as I walked up to the register.... lo and behold one of their center presentations had bags of cookie dough mix! I victoriously collected the bag, asked my husband which kind of icing he would prefer (he said vanilla) and was set to bake some cookies!

Oh, and as a side note, would you believe that I didn't have a muffin pan either? Never owned one in my life, but I do now!

So once I was set to make the cookies, there wasn't much to do (or so I thought), after reading the instructions from the bag. They DID require other ingredients, and I suppose I should have checked that while still in the store. However, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I honestly thought the mix would need just water, like many pancake mixes. Luckily though, I happened to have an egg and a stick of butter. The instructions called for the butter to be softened, not melted, and so I put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, as I didn't want to wait for it to soften in room temperature. As I dumped it into the bowl however, I saw that even 10 seconds was enough to melt about a quarter of the stick, so hopefully that wasn't the cause of my future concerns.

Also, the instructions on the back called for ONLY 2 teaspoons of water. Two! Teaspoons! I thought this was absolutely nuts. I mean, I know an egg will add wetness to the mix, as well as the softened butter, but it still didn't seem enough! I added a bit more than that directly from the faucet, but not enough to make any real difference.

As you can see, the water was really doing no good! I whisked and whisked away, but the mixture was so dry that it would all only get trapped up in the whisk, and I'd have to shove it out with my fingers. In short, I was getting nowhere. I even tried taking a spoon and mixing it that way, but the batter was so thick that this didn't do much good either. However, I didn't want to add more water to the bowl because I knew that it was supposed to stand against the walls of the muffin pan.

How did I solve my dilemma? Well....

Yes, I really got into my cooking, quite literally.

This was certainly more effective than anything else, and I can't deny that it was also a bit of fun. Not so easy to clean up though, and I won't even tell ya how I managed to snap that photo without my hands. LOL

I thought the rest would be easy. I spammed the pan, grabbed a gob of dough, and pushed it into the first cup. I wasn't sure how it would stick to the pan when it was spammed up, and I found out that it wouldn't. The problem was that the dough had a strong affinity for my skin, and had no interest in the pan. I DID manage, but this supposed 10 minute idea of yours quickly became a 45 minute process. This is the point where I really imagined you sitting back in a chair and laughing. "Did she really think I was serious?!?"

Well, I was determined and I did eventually get it done. I found out that by pushing a larger glob of dough in and sort of pulling it up to the lip, scraping my fingers off there.... the dough would stay sufficiently enough. I know dough rises though, so I was very hesitant about doing this, but nothing else left dough in the pan. Also, you never told me how 'thick' the doughy walls should be, and so I made my best guess. I can't even remember the last time I made cookies on a sheet, much less in a muffin pan!

I was even more worried when it came to placing the icing. Sugar cookie is already terribly sweet, and I've never been a huge fan of icing or frosting period. In fact, even on cakes, I can hardly stand it unless it's the kind that tastes and feels like cool whip. You never said how much to place within each cup, so I guessed that I was supposed to fill each cup. I did so, grimacing at the site and wondering if I should have made the cookie walls even thicker. I grimaced even further when my spoon hit the bottom of that icing container.

You hadn't told me what temperature to make the stove either, so luckily I had read the back of the bag and already pre-heated the oven. In they went, and I glanced at the clock to watch for ten minutes. At that time, they at least appeared to be done, so I pulled them out. I've got to admit that they didn't -look- bad. The icing had smoothed over and looked creamy, the cookie dough had turned a pretty golden color, and nothing had bubbled over too badly! I was beginning to think I had done something right.

Before:

After:

I knew, of course, that I should let them sit and cool, but I also thought I should make sure they weren't sticking to the sides of the muffin pan. Well, as I tried to loosen the first one, it didn't stick to the walls.... but it did break. All that now melted icing poured right out, and I almost had myself a good laugh! Deciding the rest of the 'cookies' would be alright, I filled a mug with milk and ate the liquid mess before me. The dough was cooked, but the icing was quite viscous. As I sat there eating it in the manner I had seen people eat soufflés on television, I have to admit I felt like I was eating pure sugar. Even using the milk to wash it down hardly made it any more bearable.

I took a look at the pan and thought about loosing the rest, but I didn't want to break them like I had broken the first. I left them overnight in hopes that things would amend themselves, but when I got up this morning, here is what awaited me:

The icing had sunk in, and even worse, every single one of those cookie muffins is stuck to the pan! I managed to loose one, but had to keep it on a spoon as I asked my husband for opinion.

Jigsaw, I gotta say that you didn't fare well this time!

Jason's ratings:

Taste: "Maybe a 3." Like me, he thought they were entirely too sweet.
Appearance: "I'm not even going to comment." I asked him if that meant a 0, and he said he would rate it a negative if he could. Therefore, I'm going to stick with 0. I do acknowledge that is likely my fault in part, but the instructions also weren't clear, which is all on you!

My ratings:

Appearance :2. There's not much to see when you're looking at a cookie, much less a disaster like my own.
Taste :1. Sugar is always good, but I can only handle so much. I felt like I was trying to infuse my veins with it by eating these cookies, and I'm not sure I can even handle another one.
Originality :4. I haven't seen it before, but it's no different from any other cookie in terms of taste and ingredients. Only the shape is unique.
Cost :10. That's a no brainer and probably the most cost effective snack anyone could make.
Instructions :1. The instructions weren't very thorough since there really was nothing to make other than what someone else had already established. Really, you only told me to take someone else's recipe and stick it on a muffin pan verses on a cookie sheet. I probably shouldn't have accepted it based off my own rules, honestly, but I was hoping there was something I was missing. LOL

I'm sorry Jigsaw, but you scored a

21/70

Joke on me? Well if so, it was well worth it.

Just summoning since my summons haven't been going through:

Mia03 : See first post.

JigSaw :

Also, Sorry for the larger images. I didn't want them to be that large, but I also don't want to re-upload them. lol

Alright Jigsaw, it's your turn to be amused. Honestly, when I read your recipe, I wasn't sure whether it really counted as 'cooking' or a recipe. I mean, you honestly told me to take some pre-made cookie dough and frosting, and slap it into a muffin pan. Nonetheless, the apparent simplicity of the idea made me wonder if there was something I was missing, or something that would make your idea worth my time.

Well, the joke was on me! I wondered about half way through if you sent me the 'recipe' as a joke, and I imagined you sitting somewhere giggling at my misfortune. After all, I briefly mentioned my disaster with brownies from a box, and what you asked me to make wasn't too far fetched from that idea. So sit back and giggle away, because this was not my best attempt at creating something to eat.

So my first realization? I was walking down Wal-Mart trying to find cookie dough, and yet every isle I went down failed me. I tried and tried and tried to search every one of those freezers for that familiar tube that I saw my mother use during our childhood, when it suddenly dawned on me: for whatever reason, our Wal-Mart doesn't carry cookie dough in refrigerated cardboard tubes. Does anyone, I wonder, or is that something that isn't done anymore? I feel so out of tune with things... how could I not know this?

Regardless, I had almost given up on the idea since you didn't give me a recipe for making the dough from scratch, but luckily, as I walked up to the register.... lo and behold one of their center presentations had bags of cookie dough mix! I victoriously collected the bag, asked my husband which kind of icing he would prefer (he said vanilla) and was set to bake some cookies!

Oh, and as a side note, would you believe that I didn't have a muffin pan either? Never owned one in my life, but I do now!

So once I was set to make the cookies, there wasn't much to do (or so I thought), after reading the instructions from the bag. They DID require other ingredients, and I suppose I should have checked that while still in the store. However, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I honestly thought the mix would need just water, like many pancake mixes. Luckily though, I happened to have an egg and a stick of butter. The instructions called for the butter to be softened, not melted, and so I put it in the microwave for about 10 seconds, as I didn't want to wait for it to soften in room temperature. As I dumped it into the bowl however, I saw that even 10 seconds was enough to melt about a quarter of the stick, so hopefully that wasn't the cause of my future concerns.

Also, the instructions on the back called for ONLY 2 teaspoons of water. Two! Teaspoons! I thought this was absolutely nuts. I mean, I know an egg will add wetness to the mix, as well as the softened butter, but it still didn't seem enough! I added a bit more than that directly from the faucet, but not enough to make any real difference.

As you can see, the water was really doing no good! I whisked and whisked away, but the mixture was so dry that it would all only get trapped up in the whisk, and I'd have to shove it out with my fingers. In short, I was getting nowhere. I even tried taking a spoon and mixing it that way, but the batter was so thick that this didn't do much good either. However, I didn't want to add more water to the bowl because I knew that it was supposed to stand against the walls of the muffin pan.

How did I solve my dilemma? Well....

Yes, I really got into my cooking, quite literally.

This was certainly more effective than anything else, and I can't deny that it was also a bit of fun. Not so easy to clean up though, and I won't even tell ya how I managed to snap that photo without my hands. LOL

I thought the rest would be easy. I spammed the pan, grabbed a gob of dough, and pushed it into the first cup. I wasn't sure how it would stick to the pan when it was spammed up, and I found out that it wouldn't. The problem was that the dough had a strong affinity for my skin, and had no interest in the pan. I DID manage, but this supposed 10 minute idea of yours quickly became a 45 minute process. This is the point where I really imagined you sitting back in a chair and laughing. "Did she really think I was serious?!?"

Well, I was determined and I did eventually get it done. I found out that by pushing a larger glob of dough in and sort of pulling it up to the lip, scraping my fingers off there.... the dough would stay sufficiently enough. I know dough rises though, so I was very hesitant about doing this, but nothing else left dough in the pan. Also, you never told me how 'thick' the doughy walls should be, and so I made my best guess. I can't even remember the last time I made cookies on a sheet, much less in a muffin pan!

I was even more worried when it came to placing the icing. Sugar cookie is already terribly sweet, and I've never been a huge fan of icing or frosting period. In fact, even on cakes, I can hardly stand it unless it's the kind that tastes and feels like cool whip. You never said how much to place within each cup, so I guessed that I was supposed to fill each cup. I did so, grimacing at the site and wondering if I should have made the cookie walls even thicker. I grimaced even further when my spoon hit the bottom of that icing container.

You hadn't told me what temperature to make the stove either, so luckily I had read the back of the bag and already pre-heated the oven. In they went, and I glanced at the clock to watch for ten minutes. At that time, they at least appeared to be done, so I pulled them out. I've got to admit that they didn't -look- bad. The icing had smoothed over and looked creamy, the cookie dough had turned a pretty golden color, and nothing had bubbled over too badly! I was beginning to think I had done something right.

Before:

After:

I knew, of course, that I should let them sit and cool, but I also thought I should make sure they weren't sticking to the sides of the muffin pan. Well, as I tried to loosen the first one, it didn't stick to the walls.... but it did break. All that now melted icing poured right out, and I almost had myself a good laugh! Deciding the rest of the 'cookies' would be alright, I filled a mug with milk and ate the liquid mess before me. The dough was cooked, but the icing was quite viscous. As I sat there eating it in the manner I had seen people eat soufflés on television, I have to admit I felt like I was eating pure sugar. Even using the milk to wash it down hardly made it any more bearable.

I took a look at the pan and thought about loosing the rest, but I didn't want to break them like I had broken the first. I left them overnight in hopes that things would amend themselves, but when I got up this morning, here is what awaited me:

The icing had sunk in, and even worse, every single one of those cookie muffins is stuck to the pan! I managed to loose one, but had to keep it on a spoon as I asked my husband for opinion.

Jigsaw, I gotta say that you didn't fare well this time!

Jason's ratings:

Taste: "Maybe a 3." Like me, he thought they were entirely too sweet.
Appearance: "I'm not even going to comment." I asked him if that meant a 0, and he said he would rate it a negative if he could. Therefore, I'm going to stick with 0. I do acknowledge that is likely my fault in part, but the instructions also weren't clear, which is all on you!

My ratings:

Appearance :2. There's not much to see when you're looking at a cookie, much less a disaster like my own.
Taste :1. Sugar is always good, but I can only handle so much. I felt like I was trying to infuse my veins with it by eating these cookies, and I'm not sure I can even handle another one.
Originality :4. I haven't seen it before, but it's no different from any other cookie in terms of taste and ingredients. Only the shape is unique.
Cost :10. That's a no brainer and probably the most cost effective snack anyone could make.
Instructions :1. The instructions weren't very thorough since there really was nothing to make other than what someone else had already established. Really, you only told me to take someone else's recipe and stick it on a muffin pan verses on a cookie sheet. I probably shouldn't have accepted it based off my own rules, honestly, but I was hoping there was something I was missing. LOL

I'm sorry Jigsaw, but you scored a

21/70

Joke on me? Well if so, it was well worth it.

Just summoning since my summons haven't been going through:

Mia03 : See first post.

JigSaw :

Also, Sorry for the larger images. I didn't want them to be that large, but I also don't want to re-upload them. lol

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02-26-13 04:35 AM

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you should try and make some no-bake cookies there super easy and yummy

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This was something I created in 5th grade for a bake sale but I'll be honest, I didn't do the cooking nor did I pay attention to the instructions on how to cook them

The real way to bake them is for 20 minutes, then put frosting in after. Opps... I was way off hahaha. But that would be cheating if I were to grab the real instructions to bake them.

This was something I created in 5th grade for a bake sale but I'll be honest, I didn't do the cooking nor did I pay attention to the instructions on how to cook them

The real way to bake them is for 20 minutes, then put frosting in after. Opps... I was way off hahaha. But that would be cheating if I were to grab the real instructions to bake them.

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JigSaw : LOL How in the world is there a meme fitting this thread? Please tell me you made that one yourself! *giggles*

I actually did consider putting the icing in afterwards, but you did very specifically mention to put the icing in first, THEN place it all in the oven. I only followed your instructions! Well, now we know, right? Note to future self: Never cook balls of icing in the oven!

Thanks though... I still had fun! I thought this would be a recipe in which I'd have nothing to write bout. Boy was I wrong!

Also, you wanna know something funny? The VERY first time I read your thread and saw where you said "spam up the sides of the muffin tray" (Yea, I'm paraphrasing), I totally thought you meant SPAM. You know... like the meat.

I was confused for a few moments, trying to figure out why you'd possible want me to cook spam with cookie dough.

It reminds me of this time when I was younger and I ate a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough with a slice of cheese and salsa wrapped around it.... just to gross out my family.

JigSaw : LOL How in the world is there a meme fitting this thread? Please tell me you made that one yourself! *giggles*

I actually did consider putting the icing in afterwards, but you did very specifically mention to put the icing in first, THEN place it all in the oven. I only followed your instructions! Well, now we know, right? Note to future self: Never cook balls of icing in the oven!

Thanks though... I still had fun! I thought this would be a recipe in which I'd have nothing to write bout. Boy was I wrong!

Also, you wanna know something funny? The VERY first time I read your thread and saw where you said "spam up the sides of the muffin tray" (Yea, I'm paraphrasing), I totally thought you meant SPAM. You know... like the meat.

I was confused for a few moments, trying to figure out why you'd possible want me to cook spam with cookie dough.

It reminds me of this time when I was younger and I ate a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough with a slice of cheese and salsa wrapped around it.... just to gross out my family.

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I think the lesson learned here is if you are going to bake have someone else do it

As for the spam, oh yea that would have been really gross LOL. I would have laughed harder if you actually did use the meat hahaha. You were probably thinking wth is this, I'm not cooking that.

Better off eating raw cookie dough with frosting then wasting 45 mins trying to bake something that looks like something out of aliens.

Baking sweets usually turns into a disaster. They are only good for one or two bites, then its gross. I think its best to just stick with dinner meals next time

I think the lesson learned here is if you are going to bake have someone else do it

As for the spam, oh yea that would have been really gross LOL. I would have laughed harder if you actually did use the meat hahaha. You were probably thinking wth is this, I'm not cooking that.

Better off eating raw cookie dough with frosting then wasting 45 mins trying to bake something that looks like something out of aliens.

Baking sweets usually turns into a disaster. They are only good for one or two bites, then its gross. I think its best to just stick with dinner meals next time

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Wow, what you made from Mia's instructions look absolutely delicious! I might hafta look into that recipe myself :o

It oddly looks like curry though even though it's not supposed to be. Either way, it looks great and if you say it tastes great, I'm gonna take your word for it. I don't think my spur-of-the-moment idea is gonna compare >.>

*will have to come up with something better for 2nd submission*

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Singelli : I'm glad you liked the meal. I"m pretty sure I said everything that was needed. The carrots looked right since they were supposed to be cut into strips. To mince a garlic clove you have to put your big knife on the clove and smack it until it kind of falls apart and you can take the skin off. Then just cut it as small as possible. I did mention the oil and the rice part. (It was more towards the end) For a reminder you have to stir the cornstarch mixture frequently so it doesn't get congealed. Also a little red pepper goes a long way. As for the sauce I think it would have been just as good to use only a single serving, but double is okay too. Glad it went good for you though.

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Ok here's the recipe, and instructions!

RECIPE
2 cups buttermilk
1 + 3/4 pounds chicken tenders
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumn
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or sweet)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup panko crumbs
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
ranch dressing

INSTRUCTIONS
A few hours before cooking marinate the chicken tenders in buttermilk, cover and refrigerate. Make the dressing too and refrigerate.
When ready to cook set up a dredging station.
In a small bowl mix chile powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few generous cracks of black pepper.
In a wide, shallow dish with short sides mix the flour with half of the spice mixture.
In a seperate, wide shallow dish with short sides mix the cheese with the panko crumbs and half of the spice mixture.
In a bowl whisk the eggs and milk together. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Remove chicken from buttermilk; allow excess to drain off.
Use tongs to coat chicken with flour, then egg then cheesy panko crumbs - patting them on if needed. Place on baking sheet.
Repeat until all the chicken is coated.
Bake until chicken is golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature of 165 - 174 F.) Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing for dipping.

It is gonna taste good! My mom's made it hundreds of times! If its gonna take long, I don't mind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT
If you want the recipe for the Dressing, here it is.

RECIPE
1/3 cup mayonnaise (regular or canola)
2/3 cup sour cream (regular or light)
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more if needed
1/2 â€“ 1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons fresh
sea or kosher salt and fresh pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayo and sour cream, slowly whisk in buttermilk until you reach a consistency you like, adding more than specified if needed.
Whisk in garlic, vinegar, parsley, chives and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. From here you can tweak it to your own individual taste by adding more sour cream, mayo, vinegar or herbs.

There we go.

Here's what the Chicken should look like when done:

Here's what the dipping should look like when done:

Well thats all.

Ok here's the recipe, and instructions!

RECIPE
2 cups buttermilk
1 + 3/4 pounds chicken tenders
1 tablespoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumn
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or sweet)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 cup panko crumbs
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
ranch dressing

INSTRUCTIONS
A few hours before cooking marinate the chicken tenders in buttermilk, cover and refrigerate. Make the dressing too and refrigerate.
When ready to cook set up a dredging station.
In a small bowl mix chile powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few generous cracks of black pepper.
In a wide, shallow dish with short sides mix the flour with half of the spice mixture.
In a seperate, wide shallow dish with short sides mix the cheese with the panko crumbs and half of the spice mixture.
In a bowl whisk the eggs and milk together. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Remove chicken from buttermilk; allow excess to drain off.
Use tongs to coat chicken with flour, then egg then cheesy panko crumbs - patting them on if needed. Place on baking sheet.
Repeat until all the chicken is coated.
Bake until chicken is golden brown and cooked through (internal temperature of 165 - 174 F.) Serve with buttermilk ranch dressing for dipping.

It is gonna taste good! My mom's made it hundreds of times! If its gonna take long, I don't mind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT
If you want the recipe for the Dressing, here it is.

RECIPE
1/3 cup mayonnaise (regular or canola)
2/3 cup sour cream (regular or light)
3/4 cup buttermilk, plus more if needed
1/2 â€“ 1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons fresh
sea or kosher salt and fresh pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the mayo and sour cream, slowly whisk in buttermilk until you reach a consistency you like, adding more than specified if needed.
Whisk in garlic, vinegar, parsley, chives and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. From here you can tweak it to your own individual taste by adding more sour cream, mayo, vinegar or herbs.

There we go.

Here's what the Chicken should look like when done:

Here's what the dipping should look like when done:

Well thats all.

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02-28-13 08:42 AM

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I'm eager with anticipation to see who's recipe is next!

Yours looks great XHero111.

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Light Knight : It does indeed look very good.

I'll be doing them in the order I receive them. Hopefully that doesn't take away your surprise. If it does, I'll start doing them randomly.

Also, I plan to work on the next one this Saturday. ^.^

Light Knight : It does indeed look very good.

I'll be doing them in the order I receive them. Hopefully that doesn't take away your surprise. If it does, I'll start doing them randomly.

Also, I plan to work on the next one this Saturday. ^.^

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No, knowing who's next is fine.

That means the Hungarian dish is next. I'm very excited to see this, as Hungarian food isn't very popular around here, and I'm not sure what to expect (as you can see, I sort of wish I was eating it too).

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Light Knight : Haha, I'll send some in the mail if you send me your address.

I do have some bad news though.... something occurred in mine and Jason's lives that we weren't expecting (monetarily wise), and so money is..... super tight right now. My husband explained it this way: "Well, it's back to living on Ramen for a while!"

That being said, I might not actually make any recipes this month....

Light Knight : Haha, I'll send some in the mail if you send me your address.

I do have some bad news though.... something occurred in mine and Jason's lives that we weren't expecting (monetarily wise), and so money is..... super tight right now. My husband explained it this way: "Well, it's back to living on Ramen for a while!"

That being said, I might not actually make any recipes this month....

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Oh no! So sorry to hear your money situation isn't 100%. I really hope it all clears up.

Don't worry about getting this recipes done in a hurry. We aren't going anywhere.

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Local Mods :
Please close this as well, for the sake that I won't be doing this any longer, and to help prevent spam. Plus, I'd rather not have any notifications.

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Yet another cooking thread closed per the request of the thread author.

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So, I've actually gone through a few more recipes since I wrote here last, but I've been too busy to write about them or rate them. I'm going to go ahead and record the results of mrfe's recipe, the Hungarian Gooyash. First, the ingredients!

I know the meat was frozen, but I figured it didn't matter too much, since I'd be tossing it in the pot to cook anyways. XD I wasn't sure what qualified as 'stewing beef', so I figured this would be the best I could find. I do have to say... I don't know whether your created the measurements yourself, or your mother wrote them that way.... but 'them are my kind of instructions!' I can't tell ya how helpful your comparisons were (i.e. the size of a man's fist, or 3-4 bigguns), and I greatly appreciated them! I really wasn't sure about which types of onions to get though. I was pretty sure that white onions don't look pink when they are cooked, but you also didn't state to buy purple onions. Thus, I decided to go with white ones. I figured it can't make much of a difference anyways, right?

Do you like my cutting board, by the way? There's a little chef guy under all that onion. It's pretty cute. First time I used the thing, too. Oh, and an action shot, since I discovered the timer on my camera. XD No longer do I need to find inventive ways to take photos of hands covered in cookie dough! ^.^

I decided to try and cut the potatoes in a more time efficient way, similar to the way I cut the onions. It wasn't as easy, for some reason, so I'm not sure if I really saved any time or not. lol I actually sliced them while waiting for the skillet to heat up, but I suppose I really shouldn't have cut them up so early. I was just bored and trying to get prepared ahead of time.

Here's what happened to the onions: I used too much oil, not much splattering occurred, and they really just became more translucent as they cooked. I decided to add the paprika and water before they turned brown instead of pink, and hoped I hadn't given up too early.

While I let those soak a little, I went ahead and 'diced' the garlic. Here though, your custom instructions confused me a little. I was sure you meant just one -clove-, but you also stated that the amount would be 3 tablespoons. I can't even imagine this little bit being one tablespoon, so I compromised and diced two cloves. I definitely prayed right about then, that the dish wouldn't knock someone out!

I will state that I hated cutting the garlic this time almost more than I hated it last time. I think part of me hoped it would be more bearable since I knew what to expect, but being aware of what would happen only made the stickiness more noticeable. I mean, my finger looks like I covered it in oil, and my hands were dry when I started dicing these up! Gross! I think I'm almost sold on paying the extra bit to get the garlic pre-diced.

I finally added the beef, the water, and all the spices. I got a little frisky here, nervous after seeing how full the skillet was. I had debated using a larger pot, only to discover that we didn't have one any more. I even though about using the crock pot, but then realized that it was likely smaller than the skillet. As you can see in these pictures though, things were getting crowded!

I let it cook before adding the carrots, but every time I made a poke at the meat, it was chewy. You never did say how high to keep the stove flames, so I had the flames about half way between 'medium' and 'high'. After a little more than an hour, I didn't want to let those potatoes sit out any longer. Your instructions also said that the water should half way cover the meat. I didn't know if you meant half of the water should have evaporated during that 50 minutes.... or if I never should have filled the pot with so much water or.... I was just super confused. I pressed forward though, and it dawned on me... was I even supposed to leave the water in there?!

Nowhere in the instructions was there any mention of a sauce, but I also couldn't imagine all this turning into some kind of soup. I didn't want to cheat and ask you, mrfe, because I felt I should follow the instructions as given. However, just so any other readers know, I DID pm him and ask him later. I was hoping he'd respond before the dish was done, but he didn't respond in time and I had went with the correct decision: keep the juice because this dish was a soup!

I really enjoyed looking at this colorful dish, but the fact didn't escape me that I -still- had to put more ingredients into this medley. I kept looking at the monstrous green pepper and wincing.... how would it fit???

Although the instructions didn't say, I went ahead and cut the 'stem' of the green pepper out, as well as off the tomatoes. I wasn't sure if it would matter because I didn't know how they would be eaten in the dish. I decided I'd rather be safe, and slowly proceeded to make room for the last pieces of this puzzle.

Slowly.... ever so slowly... I pushed, twisted, urged, and begged those last few pieces to go in. I watched as the soup rose, and rose... and rose, and I wondered if this would be the last meal I made for quite some time. After a few more uttered prayers..... I was singing sweet hallelujahs. It fit! It fit!

Looks great, doesn't it?!?! I didn't get a picture of it after it cooked some more because Jason was just getting out of bed and I simply wanted to plate it. I did a quick test taste and found the flavor of the soup to be rather dull. I also didn't have normal cheese, and so in an effort to solve both problems, I stuck some pepperjack Colby on two toasted hamburger buns.

That cheese? I'll say this... it made ALL the difference in the world! I was -astounded- at the difference it made in the dish... and the dish suddenly went from bland, to absolutely delicious! It was almost as though that cheese was made specifically for that dish. My husband actually agreed, and was absolutely in love with it.

So I didn't have many fascinating stories about this 'adventure', but at least I finished the task without losing a finger! How did you fare?

Jason's ratings:

Taste: "A 5 without the cheese, and a 9 with the cheese." Since the cheese wasn't really dictated by your recipe, I decided to go with a nice compromise, and give this rating a 7.
Appearance: "A 7 or 8." When I asked him, he was distracted by other things, because I'm fairly certain he gave a MUCH lower rating when I first asked (and just forgot to record the answer). Thus, I'm going to go with the 7 on this one.

My ratings:

Appearance :4. I really thought this looked awesome when all the ingredients were added and it first began to cook. However, I've also got to say that it was rather unsightly once it was poured into a bowl. I still thought the cheese was the nicest part of it, even in appearance. XD
Taste :7. I'm going to go with 7 on this myself. It was just far too plain without the Colby pepperjack, but stunning with it.
Originality :6. After all, it's kind of like a beef stew, right? It simply didn't have the flavoring of one, and so I'm not certain there was much to make it -unique-, per se. Maybe it was its original blandness that made it unique for me. On the upside, it was healthy enough!
Cost :10. Awesome. The meat was expensive, but that's to be expected. Besides, the carrots and potatoes will certainly last through another meal, and I didn't have to buy some things like the garlic.
Instructions : 8. The instructions were awesome. They were probably the best I've seen in the competition so far. I mainly took off for the confusion of white onions versus purple onions, and (even more so), for the confusion on water and when to add it or take it out.

mrfe :
You didn't fare too badly! You made a

50/70

That's not too bad, and even places you in second place right now! Great job!