Chicken and Tortellini

Guinea Pig:  Sarah

THE CLAIM

Family Circle (www.familycircle.com) presented this "15-minute Chicken and Tortellini Recipe" on their February 18, 2015 Facebook Feed.


Click here for Photo and Recipe Source




























THE TEST

As a disclaimer, we do need to admit that we changed up the recipe a little bit.  Instead of using spinach and cheese tortellini, we used half spinach-ricotta tortellini and half mushroom tortellini. We don't normally make big substitutions like this, but it turns out in this case, it probably doesn't matter that we did.

When you read the recipe, do you notice anything missing?  Anything important?  Spices, for example? Aside from salt, which is pretty much a given, there's no spices listed whatsoever.  And wouldn't you know it - we found this to be incredibly bland. Guinea Pig Sarah and her husband tried in vain to save the dish by adding some basil, oregano and garlic to the finished product, but the result was still less than stellar. 

Guinea Pig Sarah indicated she would not attempt this recipe again, even with the addition of spices. 
But for those of you who do want to give it a shot, here's some tips: 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Sarah

This recipe takes longer than 15 minutes to make.  Budget your time for 30-45 minutes, depending on your speed in the kitchen.

1. Watch your tortellini cooking/sitting time.  You want to mix everything together as soon as the tortellini are done to avoid "tortellini mush."
2. The final instruction indicates you should add the tortellini to the stuff in the pan.  Do it the other way around (adding everything to the pot) unless you have the largest skillet ever made. 
3. SPICES.  Possibly even Italian dressing.  Something to give this some life! 

CONCLUSION

A crime against pasta dishes as it is, but it has potential.  Season appropriately.

 

Avocado Deviled Eggs

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM

Leighton McCool Fitness recently featured Deviled Avocado Eggs on her Facebook feed, making deviled egg and guacamole enthusiasts everywhere wonder, "WHY HAVE I NOT THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE??????"   (Click the link to see the recipe.)  Will these be the star of your Easter brunch?



Photo and Recipe from Leighton McCool Fitness

THE TEST


Leftover Mash After Filling
Six Egg Halves
-Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

We made these as a low-carb side for a Sunday dinner.  The recipe instructions are very general, not even specifying
how many eggs you should use.  It does say "3 egg yolks" which we interpreted as 3 eggs/6 egg halves.  (Note that the picture has 6 eggs/12 egg halves.)   It's as easy to make as egg salad - peel egg, cut, and mash.

The avocado/egg mash was pretty good - similar to a rich guacamole.  However, something bizarre happened when adding it back into the egg white.  Despite liking the mash and egg whites, the combination of the two was not at all appetizing.  Says Guinea Pig Karen, "I don't get it.  I love them both individually, but together they were just horrible.  I could only eat two! Normally I could pop deviled eggs like candy and eat guacamole by the spoonful."

In regards to quantity, there was some leftover mash in the bowl that could probably make some more eggs.  Perhap increasing the egg count to 6 (as pictured) was the original intent, but then you'll have 3 random hard boiled egg yolks leftover.  (For salads, maybe?)

For those worried about discoloration, we did check the eggs after a few hours to see if the guacamole was getting brown.  Discoloration after a few hours was minimal. 

CONCLUSION

A true disappointment. 

Proves that AWESOME + AWESOME =/= MORE AWESOME.

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

Blueberry Yum Yum

Guinea Pig:  Kathy

THE CLAIM
Southern Bite recently featured a recipe for "Blueberry Yum Yum."  If your mouth doesn't water at the sight of this dessert, you're not human. 

Check out the recipe, and other things Southern Bite has to offer HERE.

Photo and Recipe Source: CLICK HERE

THE TEST
We made this recipe for a book club meeting.  The verdict: THUMBS UP! And we're happy to report that the leftovers held up well (-didn't get soggy). 

Guinea Pig Kathy did note that it could use more blueberry filling.  The amount given was barely enough to spread over the pan, and got lost under the Cool Whip topping.  Try using a large jar of pie filling, or two cans.


CONCLUSION

Yum Yum!  But if you want blueberry yum yum, add more blueberry filling.

Three Packet Pot Roast

Guinea Pig: Jenna

THE CLAIM
A delicious pot roast, using only three seasoning packets, chuck roast and water!

This recipe (and the image below) were found on the facebook page of weight loss personality Courtney Luper.  See this recipe, as well as Courtney's other stuff, here. (Recipe is below the picture on that page.)



Photo source: Click Here

 

THE TEST

We made the dish according to package directions (though we did add some pot roast staples - carrots and onions).  It smelled delicious as it cooked! However, the results were disappointing. Guinea Pig Jenna and her husband thought it was far too salty. For those concerned about the "ranch" flavor, it wasn't really discernable.

For those who want to try this at home, try omitting the the gravy mix and use (low sodium) beef broth and corn starch instead. Alternatively, you could try Allrecipe.com's "Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Roast," which is just as easy.  


CONCLUSION

Pass on this recipe unless you're looking for a good salt-lick.

Funfetti Cookies

Guinea Pig: Jennifer


THE CLAIM
A scrumptious-looking take on the traditional sugar cookie, as presented by the blog "Heavenly Recipes."

To see the original recipe, as well as other goodies on Heavenly Recipes, see: http://myheavenlyrecipes.com/funfetti-cookie-recipe/ 

Source: http://myheavenlyrecipes.com/funfetti-cookie-recipe/ 

THE TEST

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Jennifer.
Green food coloring added.

This recipe was made as directed with two exceptions. First, we added green food coloring for St. Patty's day.  Second, we also refrigerated the dough overnight instead of for just an hour.  We don't believe either of these things would yield a significant difference in the results.



The tasted good - but perhaps not as mouth-wateringly good as the blog photo promised.  They were kind of basic, and the sprinkles were actually a little overbearing.  (Who knew that was possible?)  Says Guinea Pig Jennifer, "I think I would cut it to half a cup and it would still be PLENTY. I mean, if I wanted to eat sprinkles I would eat them from the tub..."

 

The original blog poster's intent (as stated in her blog posting) is that she was trying to achieve a super soft cookie through chilling the dough and underbaking.  We ADORE soft cookies, but we found these to be underbaked (-and again, we don't think the longer chilling time contributed to that).  

CONCLUSION

An "okay" cookie with room for improvement.  We recommend halving the sprinkles and baking a little longer.

Diaper - Soil Experiment

Guinea Pig: Carrie

THE CLAIM

According to the video below, featured on facebook in Wimp.com's "Colored Water" post, you can mix potting soil with the absorbant powder found in diapers to create a mixture that retains moisture for your plants for a long period of time.

THE TEST


Per the instructions in the video, we dissected a (Luvs) diaper and mixed it with some potting soil when re-potting a houseplant.  As the video suggested, we found this did in fact retain the moisture in the soil a little longer than soil without the mixture.  Instead of watering once a wek, watering could now be spaced out about 9-10 days.
 
However, there are drawbacks to this method, as pointed out by Guinea Pig Carrie.  She says, "... It makes a mess.  If you've ever experienced the horror that is an exploded diaper full of baby pee, you know what I'm talking about. The crystals that do the absorbing find their way into every nook and cranny and they're sticky little buggers. Even dry for this experiment, they didn't stay neatly contained between diaper and pot. Plus you have to destroy a fifteen cent diaper. " The mess was amplified by the fact that the soil from the original potted plant was still a little damp. 

No worries about that powder-fresh diaper smell.  There was no discernable change in the smell of the plant or soil.
 
Also, this powder can be bought in a store without the need for dissecting a diaper.  Shop for "Sodium Polyacrylate."

  
 

CONCLUSION
It does allow you to go slightly longer between watering, but it's messy. If you REALLY want to try this, consider buying the powder as it will cut down some on the waste and mess.

Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bites

Guinea Pig: Joanna

THE CLAIM

Seemingly scrumptious quinoa snacks, as featured on the blog Alida's Kitchen. 

To see the recipe, and other things Alida's cooking up, see: http://alidaskitchen.com/2014/03/27/broccoli-cheddar-quinoa-bites/



(Image and Recipe Source: http://alidaskitchen.com/2014/03/27/broccoli-cheddar-quinoa-bites/)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE TEST




Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Joanna

Made the recipe as directed.   Five minutes of cooling time was not enough for these to set properly, and we suspect that letting them sit longer would help them firm up more.  Our recipe only made 24 mini-muffins.  Perhaps if we had stretched out the batter, the smaller bites would have cooked more thoroughly, and they would have set better.

 



As far as taste goes, they're just so-so and kind of boring.  Guinea Pig Joanna describes them as, "Sort of crunchy cafeteria mac n' cheese meets Trader Joes' mini quiches meets hippy question mark." They were good enough to eat when starving, but not good enough to seek out as leftovers.

  

Tips for the future: Try adding jalapeno to add more life to these snacks. Baking in mini cupcake cups may also help with setting.

 

CONCLUSION
A good base recipe for a relatively healthy snack, but needs some spicing up.



Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Joanna

 

Loaded Cauliflower

Guinea Pig: Amber

THE CLAIM
Delicious-looking, low carb cauliflower dish. 

This recipe was presented by Facebook Weight Loss Personality Courtney Luper. To see the original recipe (as well as link to her facebook page), click here.

 

Image Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10204265967342778&set=a.1077534732028.2014125.1036045651&type=1

 

THE TEST

This was made on a weeknight with green beans and lemon pepper chicken. While cauliflower was boiling, we mixed the other ingredients. While the casserole was baking, we were able to get the rest of dinner prepared.

It was a hit!  Everyone loved it, even a toddler and a non-cauliflower eater (who said it didn't taste like cauliflower).  It served two adults and two toddlers, with enough left over for lunches for both adults the next day.  Reheated well (though it did need to be stirred to mix in the oils again). 




Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Amber

CONCLUSION

Loved it, and Guinea Pig Amber says she'd make it again.  Even suggested it for a holiday meal.

A note: The recipe called for a "large" head of cauliflower.  The head used for this test was about 6". We suggest using a larger head for this recipe, or decrease the wet ingredients in the future.

Used Tea Bags / Dishwashing

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM
According to this video (which is circulating around Facebook), used tea bags can be used for a variety of things.  It claims that you can use tea bags to aid in dishwashing.



THE TEST
To test out this theory, we broke down the experiment into two parts. On the first night, we cooked some ground beef and cleaned the pan by soaking it overnight in plain, hot water. The next morning, the grease wiped off surprisingly well given that no degreasing agent was used. However, the pan did smell like old hamburger meat. We used dish soap to finish the job (and get rid of the smell).

The next night we cooked some bacon (same pan), and this time soaked the pan in hot water over night with six used tea bags. The next morning the grease wiped away about as easily as it did with plain water. And the pan smelled like bacon and earl grey.  We again used dish soap to remove residule grease and smell.

CONCLUSION
Water with used tea bags doesn't clean much better than water without tea bags.

We wonder whether or not soaking tea water in your sink repeatedly over time would stain your dishes and/or sink.