Bulgar and Mushroom Burgers

The recipe: Bulgar and Mushroom Burgers from Canadian Living Barbecue (available online here).

The substitutions: none

The verdict: Yum! We invited a vegetarian over for a BBQ, so I was really excited to try making my own veggie burgers. As a former veg myself, I've had plenty of pre-made veggie burgers in my life. These are so much better. The magic comes from sauteing the mushrooms before forming the patties, which makes the burgers juicy and delicious. I used my food processor to get the mushrooms chopped up really fine, which I think also made a difference. I think I'll make these many times again, even if we don't have any vegetarians coming to dinner.

The Cooky Book: Orange Drop Cookies

The Recipe: Orange Drop Cookies from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

The Substitutions: I did not do the frosting.

The Verdict: Success! These were much better received than the Apple Sauce Cookies that made for my first attempt from this reprinted vintage book. As promised, the Orange Drop Cookies were incredibly cakey -- so much in fact that I was tempted to whip up a batch of thick orange flavoured icing and make them into whoopie pies. They would have been perfect. But, even I would feel guilty sending whoopie pies in the kids' snack boxes so they remained very orange-y, not-too-sweet, cake-y cookies. And they're very good. If I wasn't planning to bake my way through the book, I'd actually consider making them again. Well done, Mrs. Paul Lindemeyer of Mason City, Iowa, to whom this recipe is credited. Well done, indeed.

Stuffed Cheddar Burgers

The Recipe: Stuffed Cheddar Burgers from Canadian Living's The Barbecue Collection. Recipe online here

The Substitutions: I added about a quarter cup of barbecue sauce to the mix because that's the way I like it.


The Verdict: Not bad. I've actually tried quite a few recipes from this book (sorry, it's summertime and the bloggin' is lazy) and in general, it's an awesome book. This is not my favourite burger recipe from this book (that would be the Meat Loaf Burgers), but it's not bad. It's a pretty basic burger recipe -- with an egg and bread crumbs included, which is a must for me when it comes to homeburgers. A must. I do like the cheese inside the burger, though the method they use makes it pretty concentrated right in the middle of the burger. And my resident griller (I realized the other day that I don't even know how to turn the barbecue on) was annoyed when the cheese oozed out and caught the burgers on fire. But a good burger is a good burger and these are... well, good burgers.

The Cooky Book: Apple Sauce Cookies

The Recipe: Applesauce Cookies from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book

The Substitutions: I omitted the nuts to make them day care/playschool/summer camp friendly.

The Verdict: The good news is, I finally got my mixer back from being repaired! During the months of being mixer-less, I leafed through my copy of the reprinted Betty Crocker Cooky Book, dreaming of baking my way through it, Julie Powell style. I can't say I'll actually do that, but informally, I'm giving it a go. Applesauce Cookies are the very first recipe in the book, so I figured I'd go for it. Plus, I was intrigued by the inclusion of coffee in this recipe.

As it turns out, you can't actually taste the coffee. After I pulled these out of the oven I tried one with my husband and we both decided that these were "senior citizen cookies." This is not meant as a slight to seniors -- they just have a very old fashioned taste (not surprising seeing as they're from a reprinted vintage cook book that spells the word cookie as "cooky.") There's a lot of spice in them and the apple sauce gives them a very moist texture. Too moist for me. But, lo and behold, when I broke them out for the kids the next day, they LOVED them. Can't get enough of them. And while they're not as healthy a snack as, say, fruit and veg (they are still cookies after all, with sugar and white flour in them), they're a pretty wholesome snack. I don't think I'll be making them again -- especially since the recipe yields 6 doz and the kids are bound to get sick of them by the end of this batch -- but they are a pretty kid-positive cookie.

Project Bolognese: Canadian Living

The Recipe: Bolognese Sauce from Canadian Living online. Recipe available here.

The Substitutions: I added some mushrooms because I had them in the fridge.

The Verdict: I think I may continue on with Project Bolognese because I'm fickle, but as far as the rest of my family is concerned, we already have a winner. I had high hopes for this recipe because it has extra veg in it (carrots and celery), red wine, bacon, milk, and fennel seeds, which I suspected would boost the flavour to the point of being just right. I suspected correctly! This sauce was great -- rich in flavour, nutritious, tomato-y, and much thicker than the Jamie Oliver bolognese. My one complaint is that it may have been a little too thick -- I don't like it when my pasta sauce starts to slip into ketchup-y territory. There was enough in this recipe for two meals and when I reheated the frozen portion I added some water to make it just about perfect. I may have found my meat sauce. Hooray!

Jerk Chicken Casserole

The Recipe: Jerk Chicken Casserole from Betty Crocker's Casserole Recipe Cards Feb/Mar 2009. Recipe online here.

The Substitutions: I used a mix of cinnamon and cloves in place of a pre-bought pumpkin pie spice.

The Verdict: I am a total sucker when it comes to buying those pony sized recipe magazines at the grocery check-out. And I am usually sorry once I get them home. The more mainstream-y American publishers (you know, the Betty Crockers, Better Home and Gardens, and Ladies Home Journals of the world) tend to have so many recipes that consist of processed ingredients that I usually don't end up making any of them. This Betty Crocker Casserole Recipe Cards book is no exception -- a huge portion of the recipes are bulked up by cans of cream soup and huge quantities of mayo. Ick. But I did manage to find this little gem of a casserole.

My husband loves jerk chicken. This is not the most authentic jerk recipe I've seen, but it may be the easiest. Baked with sweet potatoes and black beans, it's also low-cal and healthy. And, may I add, incredibly delicious. Tasty, but not too spicy for the kids, our whole family devoured it. Then I made it a second time and it was also a hit. Betty Crocker, I need to give you some more credit. Just stop putting so much cream of mushroom soup in your recipes and we could actually be friends.

Project Bolognese: Jamie Oliver

The Recipe: Bolognese Sauce from Jamie's Food Revolution

The Substitutions: nada

The Verdict: Okay, here's the deal: I really like a good bolognese sauce. Rich, delicious, perfect over long pasta. But have I managed to find the perfect recipe? Not a chance. I think every couple of weeks or so (and this may stall over the summer), I will try a different bolognese until bolognese nirvana has been found. Sound good? Maybe not for the waistline, but otherwise I'm up for it.

I started with Jamie Oliver because in my current life, he and Martha Stewart seem to be my go tos (note: this will change, I am, after all, fickle). Everything in Food Revolution is designed to be easy and this recipe is no exception. Easy peasy. And I liked that it was full of veg other than just tomatoes. My kids didn't even really notice the carrots and celery, and it's always a bonus if I can shove a little extra nutrition into their white-bread and sweets loving bodies. So those are the pluses. The drawback? Not the most delicious sauce I've ever encountered.

It was okay, although a little watery. Since this is an experiment, I followed the recipe to the letter, but I really wanted to add some balsamic to liven it up a little bit. Is that crazy? Anyway, this is a good one in a pinch, but I must explore further. Bring on the spaghetti!