Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM
C is for Cookie, but is it good enough for me? Foodgawker recently featured these lovelies from Sally's Baking Addiction.  Click the link in the photo caption for photo and recipe source. 

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
We made these for a group gathering, and they were among the first desserts to disappear!  These cookies are pretty good, but there's some important things you need to know when making them. 

This recipe asks that you refrigerate the dough for a short while before shaping and baking.  One of the recipe notes suggests that the dough can be made a day ahead of time and refrigerated. Oddly, when you only refrigerate it overnight, the instructions indicate you should then let it warm to room temperature before using.  It doesn't say this when refrigerating for a few hours.   We really didn't understand why there's a difference, especially since the notes also say you can put frozen dough balls in the oven without thawing or drastically increasing the baking time.  So we didn't let the dough return to room temperature before shaping.  The dough was a little stiff, but still malleable.  If making the dough ahead of time, you don't need to wait until it's room temperature, but maybe 30-60 minutes would make it easier to work with. 

We found that 10-11 minutes was not nearly enough baking time. (We don't think this is attributed to the overnight refrigeration because the notes indicate frozen dough only needs one additional minute of baking.)   Upon opening the oven, the dough balls were not nearly flattened and still very doughy.  We had to increase baking time to 15 minutes, plus the 5 recommended minutes of cooling on the cookie sheet. 

Cookies are more rounded than flat.  But they taste pretty good.  Nothing to swoon over, but a good cookie is a good cookie. 



CONCLUSION
A decent cookie, but expect to increase the baking time. 

Photo courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen



Lemon Butter Chicken

Guinea Pig: Kathy

THE CLAIM
When Lemon Butter Chicken (from the blog Damn Delicious) hit Facebook a few weeks ago, it was a tidal wave of shares.  Touitng a butter sauce good enough to drink, and this mouth-watering photo, it's not hard to see why.  Click the link in the photo caption to see photo and recipe source. 

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
No doubt, this recipe LOOKED delicious when making it. Imagine our surprise when it really wasn't that great.  Says Guinea Pig Kathy, "Maybe I used too much garlic [...], but the sauce never really thickened up and I am not quite sure what the wilted spinach did for the sauce.  As for wanting to drink it? Not so much!!"  

This recipe used a lot of garlic, but that seems to be the extent of the flavor complexity.  If you don't have a lot of the ingredients on hand already, it seems like a somewhat expensive sauce for so little payoff. Guinea Pig Kathy says she would not attempt to make this again, even with recipe adjustments. 

If you want to make something like this at home, you may want to check out this chicken scampi recipe from Allrecipes.com.   It seems to be crowd favorite, with a similar concept. 


CONCLUSION
Not as good as we hoped.  As much as we love garlic butter sauces, this one wasn't our favorite. 



Spaghetti Soup

Guinea Pig: Jenna

THE CLAIM
Campbell's Kitchen offers this quick, soul-warming recipe for spaghetti soup.  And if your Spring weather is as cool as ours, it seems like "soup weather" may be sticking around for the foreseeable future.  Click the link in the photo caption for the recipe and photo source.

Click here for photo and recipe source.



THE TEST
As promised, the soup did come together easily.  However, the results were lack-luster.  As Guinea Pig Jenna puts it, "It was neither overwhelming good or bad - a meal that would do in a pinch on a chilly day."

It seems that the name "Spaghetti" Soup may be a bit of a misnomer.  When one thinks of spaghetti, they often think of more than just the pasta shape.  Images of meatballs and a rich tomato sauce are almost assumed when someone talks about a spaghetti dinner.  You will note when looking at this recipe that the meat is not beef (-it's chicken), and the spices are lacking.  Guinea Pig Jenna omitted the optional parsley, and found the soup to be fairly bland.  It was more of a chicken-vegetable soup than italian cuisine.

If you want to try this at home, plan on spicing it up with some fresh garlic and italian seasoning.  Maybe consider frozen meatballs in place of the chicken, or topping with parmesan and croutons.  As with most "tomatoey" dishes, the flavors will likely pull through better over time.  Consider making this the day before you plan on serving it. 

CONCLUSION
It's okay in a pinch, but could be greatly improved.



Garlic Parmesan Cheese Bombs

Guinea Pig: Jennifer

THE CLAIM
Mmmmmmmm.... cheesey bread.  The Recipe Critic offers this crazy-simple recipe for cheesey garlic rolls.  See recipe and photo source by clicking on the link in the photo caption.



Click here for recipe and photo source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Jennifer and her husband were the lucky testers for this recipe.  Their verdict?  It's good!  Jennifer says, "These are seriously simple and took less than 5 minutes to prepare and get in the oven. The overall taste is pretty much what you would expect, there was a little too much garlic powder for me personally as I still have garlic aftertaste in my mouth a few hours later, but are there any left? No!"

She goes on to comment that these are also budget friendly and are a great way to compliment a meal. 

A few things to consider when making these:

• As they cool, the cheese hardens and gets a little gross.  Plan on serving them when they're warm. Perhaps this makes them a better side dish than party appetizer.
• Guinea Pig Jennifer suggests trying to put the spices on the inside of the bun rather than on the outside. 
• Minced Garlic > Garlic Powder.  Perhaps try substituting some minced garlic instead of the powder. 
• Gum and after dinner mints are a good idea. : )

CONCLUSION
No problems here!  Just be sure to get 'em while they're hot!



Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Jennifer

Ice Cubes in the Dryer

Guinea Pig:  Jenna

THE CLAIM
Very few people claim to like ironing (or have the time for it).  JumbleJoy offers a solution to your ironing woes using just ice cubes and your dryer.


THE TEST
We all know that steam can remove wrinkles.  Hence our irons have the "steam button," and clothing steamers are becoming a common household item. You know how fresh loads of laundry come out with relatively few wrinkles? Wet clothes + hot dryer = steam. 

Guinea Pig Jenna gave this method a try with some khaki shorts.  Because she did a few pairs of shorts (as opposed to just one item, as in the video) she gave it a little more time than 5 minutes.  The result?  It worked well!  She did comment that it was loud for the first few minutes (as the ice cubes rattled around the dryer).

Guinea Pig Karen, inspired by Guinea Pig Jenna's success, also gave this a try.  This time, though, she simply added a damp (not sopping wet) washcloth to the dryer.  Equally successful without the noise. Her blazer came out perfect.

Other popular suggestions include using a frozen sponge (-though we suspect a damp sponge would work just as well-) or hanging up the item in your steamy bathroom while you shower.  Regardless of the method you use, you can count on this one to work if you need to de-wrinkle something in a hurry.

CONCLUSION
Thumbs up! Just be careful about what fabrics you put in the dryer. If you wouldn't put it in the dryer as part of normal clothing maintenance, don't try using this method here.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Guinea Pig:  Kelli

THE CLAIM

The Ooey-Gooey Cinnabon of Pancakes, as presented by the blog Life in the Lofthouse.  And with a  drool-worthy picture like the one below, it's no wonder that this recipe has over 125,000 shares on Pintrest!  (Click the link in the photo caption to be taken to the photo and recipe source.)



Click here for Photo and Recipe Source

THE TEST



Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelli.
The two on the left are scratch
pancakes and the large one on
the right is the pancake mix

Guinea Pig Kelli made this for the whole family.  The result?  YUM.  But there's some things you need to know before you make it.  
First, in order to stay together, these pancakes are stiffer than your average light-and-fully-flap-jacks.  The blog notes that you can substitute pancake mix, so Guinea Pig Kelli gave it a try after following the original recipe. She used Bisquick, and it didn't work so well. She says, "The pancakes from the mix didn't hold up well at all. They were too soft. It was difficult to turn them over because they were much softer. The brown sugar swirl carmelized and turned into a hard candy swirl in the pancake. I didn't care for this. It got stuck in my teeth and was very hard." Stick with the pancake recipe from scratch.

When you make the pancake batter, be sure to double it.  Otherwise, you will have a ton of brown sugar mixture and not enough pancakes to use it all.

Be prepared for a bit of a mess.  The brown sugar/butter mixture tends to separate and it can get messy when trying to flip the pancakes.  Also, it's easier to put the cream cheese mixture on straight out of the pan.  
CONCLUSION
Breakfast at its best!  We recommend giving this one a try!

Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Guinea Pig:  Amber

THE CLAIM
Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasta..... Carbo-licious paaaasta.......

This picture looks so good, we'll bet half of you are licking your computer screen!*   The Blog Julie's Album recently featured this recipe, which has been spreading like wildfire around Facebook.  Click the link in the photo caption to be taken to the photo and recipe source!

*Guinea Pig Squad does not recommend licking electronic devices, computer screens included.



Click here for Photo and Recipe Source

THE TEST



Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Amber

Guinea Pig Amber was all too eager to give this recipe a try on her family, AND to rave about how good it was
(making the rest of us guinea pigs jealous, lol!).  The adults loved it, though the red pepper in the recipe made it a little too spicy for her toddler and pre-schooler.  Next time she said she'll take some of the pasta out before adding the seasoning to see if that helps.  She served it with asparagus. The leftovers made great lunches!

This is a quick meal (30-minutes from start to finish), though it does require focus the first time you make it.  Once you get the hang of it, though, it'll probably be easy-peasy.  It's not to taxing on the grocery budget either, especially if you have things like half and half or sun dried tomatoes on hand already.  
If you want to try this at home consider these tips:

• Go ahead and add a full 7oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes (-the ones in oil). They really add to the flavor.
• Fresh basil is always a good thing.
• Ease up on the red pepper flakes if you're sensitive to spicy foods.
• Want something a little richer? Try heavy cream instead of half and half. : )

CONCLUSION

NOM!  De - lish! A keeper for sure!  

(Low Carb) Muffin in a Minute

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM
Anyone on a low carb diet knows that there's only so many days you can eat eggs and bacon for breakfast.  Atkins offers a low-carb muffin recipe that prepped and fully cooked in under five minutes.  Click the link in the photo caption to be taken to the recipe and photo source.



Click here for Recipe and Photo Source
















THE TEST


Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

This recipe, as it appears in print, is a little scary.  First of all, the ingredient list seems very lack-luster. ('Wooooo.... flaxseed meal.... awe-some....')
Second, a teaspoon of cinnamon per muffin? That's a lot by most muffin standards.  Third, microwave? For just a minute? What?

What if we told you that it not only works, but works well? No joke! Guinea Pig Karen has now made these mulitple times in her 1-cup pyrex dishes without an issue.  "I was skeptical, and they smelled kind of funky coming out of the microwave, but they're actually really good!" she says. "They're like bran muffins!"  The consistency is somewhere between a muffin and bread, and go very well with butter or cream cheese.  We're not sure how they would toast, as the recipe recommends, and we didn't feel a need to try.
 
One down side is they're not pretty.  This 'muffin' is less muffin-shaped, and more like a lopsided hockey puck.  But when you're talking about a breakfast that rings in at about 2g carbohydrates, 10g fiber and 12g protein, you can't get much better than this.



Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

Some tips from Guinea Pig Karen:

• The recipe doesn't specify, but use Golden flaxseed meal.
• Use oil instead of butter in the recipe.  It's just easier to measure.
• When stirring this together, stir it for a good minute to make sure everything mixes thoroughly. 
• These are FILLING.  One is satisfying, and it's hard to get through two.
• Maybe try adding some blueberries or chocolate chips if your diet allows!

CONCLUSION

Great for what it is: a fairly healthy, low-carb recipe.  

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

DIY Vicks Shower Pucks

Guinea Pig:  Kelsey

THE CLAIM

A twist on a timeless classic.  Create Vicks VapoRub Shower Pucks, and steam your sinus congestion away.
(Click link in photo caption to be taken to photo and recipe source.)


 Click Here for Recipe and Photo Source
































THE TEST

Guinea Pig Kelsey and her husband, both plagued with sinus shenanigans, were eager to try this out. They comment that Vicks typically works well for them.   

When reading the recipe, you might be imagining a scenario where your bathroom and house will forever reek of Vicks VapoRub. (Depending on your sinus issues, this may not be a bad thing.)  Turns out, that's not the case at all.  In fact, these were quite weak, and did not help much with the sinus issues.  All reports indicate that there was basically no Vicks smell in the shower at all. The most smell you get is when you make them.

Not to be deterred (and perhaps a little desperate for sinus relief), Guinea Pig Kelsey tried the recipe a second time, this time using 4.5 tsp of VapoRub.  No luck there either.  Apparently, once they dry, most of the scent goes away (even when stored in an airtight container).

When reporting her findings to Guinea Pig Squad, one of the team suggested that she try adding Uncle Henry's Breathing Mix to the recipe.  While we didn't test that out, it's something you may want to consider if you try this at home. 


CONCLUSION

Don't mess with success.   Use Vicks as intended, and skip this recipe.