The Cooky Book: Jam Bars

The Recipe: Jam Bars from Betty Crocker's The Cooky Book

The Substitutions: Per usual, I used butter for shortening. I also used the jam version rather than the original Date Bars, which was just not going to fly around here.

The Verdict: I really like this oatmeal/fruit kind of treats for the kids school/babysitting snacks. But I will say, I have had better versions. More hippie versions, should I say? This one is pretty yummy, as far as your classic fruit sandwiched between layers of oatmeal squares go, but man, is it ever sweet. Like pow! Henry, of course, can't get enough of these things. But I couldn't even finish one off because it was like spooning brown sugar directly into my mouth. So yes, this one is a hit, but I'm unable to congratulate myself for making the kids a wholesome snack. And is there any other reason to bake with oatmeal?

The Cooky Book: Butterscotch Brownies

The Recipe: Butterscotch Brownies from Betty Crocker's The Cooky Book.

The Substitutions: Omitted nuts and made the coconut version.

The Verdict: After months of bland drop cookies, these were a real treat to make. They were so easy -- I mixed them with a spoon and then just poured them into the pan. So easy. And they're actually pretty good. Everyone in the family agreed that chocolate brownies would have been preferable (what is with Betty Crocker's aversion to chocolate?), but the children have been eating them up with glee. And the best part about bars (or as they call them in these parts, squares) is that the batch is small, so I can move onto something else sooner rather than later.

Stuffed Shells

The Recipe: Stuffed Shells from the November 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The Substitutions: I used red cabbage rather than radicchio.

The Verdict: This was in the "Confident Cook" section of MSL, and it's really fussy, so I'm sort of shocked I made it at all. But I'm glad I did. These shells are stuffed with cabbage and prosciutto, plus the obligatory cheeses. Simple, but kind of time-consuming. Still, I found it kind of meditative to stuff those pasta shells by hand.

Thankfully, they were appreciated by all. These would be really easy to make vegetarian, but I must say, the prosciutto gives them a great flavour and is probably my favourite part of the whole thing. Either way, I was glad to have taken on a classic and not had it end in disaster.

Cocoa Croissant Pudding

The Recipe: Croissant Pudding from the Martha Stewart website.

The Substitutions: I dumped in a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to give it a chocolate taste. I also used whole wheat croissants.

The Verdict: I had some stale croissants staring me in the face, so I went online to find a croissant pudding recipe that called for ingredients I had in my kitchen (i.e. no heavy cream). This one is simple, easy, and really delicious. If I hadn't added cocoa I might have thrown in some cinnamon, because it could have run kind of bland. But this was just perfect, especially when served with some Moose Tracks ice cream.

The Cooky Book: Jubilee Jumbles

The Recipe: Jubilee Jumbles from Betty Crocker's The Cooky Book

The Substitutions: I subbed butter for shortening and skipped the nuts. To prevent the cookies from being fatally boring, I added coconut and leftover Halloween Smarties.

The Verdict: Big time fail. According to the Cooky Book, these cookies were developed by General Mills in 1955 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Gold Medal Flour. Someone at General Mills must have secretly resented Gold Medal Flour, because these are not worthy of a celebration. They're a very basic cookie, but are really... off. I think it might be the inclusion of a full cup of sour cream -- they're just too soft and gooey and mushy. My kids like them because of the inclusion of Smarties, but generally these are a total dud.

Roast Beef With winter Vegetables

The Recipe: Roast Beef with Cabbage, Squash, and Carrots from the November 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

The Substitutions: I used acorn squash instead of butternut.

The Verdict: Doesn't this roast look beautiful? Like seriously gorgeous. Oh, how looks can deceive. I have a confession to make: I can't roast meat to save my life. I don't think there's anything wrong with my oven, because my baked goods turn out fine, but I am really bad at judging the size of a cut of meat and adjusting cooking times. Maybe it's because I was a vegetarian until I was 25 and never learned how to cook meat from my mother. Maybe it's because I can never find the exact cut of meat in the grocery store that's called for in a recipe. Maybe I'm just dumb. I don't know.

Anyway, I cooked this sucker (which was only slightly heavier than the cut called for in the recipe, but admittedly thicker and rounder) for about a half hour longer than called for and it was still a bloodbath. Like, really rare. I realize this is not the fault of the recipe, but I do find Martha Stewart recipes often have ridiculously short cooking times. Anyway, it made for a bit of a dinner disaster.

What we were able to eat (at a late hour) was not bad, though. These vegetables were quite tasty, though it was a little heavy on the cabbage. Not a bad recipe. If you know how to cook a roast, that is.

Charmoula Chicken

The Recipe: Charmoula Chicken from the Canadian Living Slow Cooker Collection. Similar (non-crock pot) recipe here.

The Substitutions: nada

The Verdict: Yum! I will admit, this is actually the second time I've made this in the last two weeks. It is really good -- flavourful, without being super spicy or zingy or zesty or whatever makes over flavoured dishes so overwhelming. I served mind with a nice crusty bread, lots of butter and some green beans, but it would also be nice over rice. It is one of those annoying slow cooker recipes that involves browning everything and cooking the onions beforehand (I prefer the dump and plug in variety) and there's no veg in it, so it's not the kind of thing where you can walk in the door at 6 pm and be eating five minutes later. But it's so tasty, none of that matters. Did I say yum?