S'Mores Cheesecake

Guinea Pig: Kimberly 

THE CLAIM

The blog Will Cook For Smiles recently published this S'Mores Cheesecake recipe in March of this year.  Within a month, it was published by Facebook group Spaceships and Laser Beams, and to date has over 150,000 shares.  Guinea Pig Squad is on the case! Click the link in the photo caption to see the photo and recipe source.

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Kimberly tested this out, and Guinea Pig Jennifer somehow managed to show up to be a taste-tester. : )  

We really don't have much to say about this other than it's DELICIOUS.  Even the instructions are on point, and we don't have any recommendations on changing or altering them.   

[...awkward silence...]

Yeah. It's good! 


CONCLUSION
A safe bet for your 4th of July picnic! 

Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kimberly

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kimberly

Creamy Margarita Popsicles

Guinea Pig: Kelli

THE CLAIM

This past Cinco de Mayo, Huffington Post featured the blog Host the Toast, and their recipe for the most genius invention of summer food ever created: Margarita Popsicles.


Click here for recipe and photo source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Kelli, always eager to party to try new things, gave these a shot. (<<<See what we did there???) 

Her popsicles turned out just like the picture, and she enjoyed them!  If you're tempted to say that it was just the "alcohol talking," you'll be disappointed to hear that there's only 1/4 cup of tequila in the entire batch (12 popsicles).  Furthermore, these were fairly soft popsicles.  Adding much more tequila would likely make them even softer.  Kelli thinks there may be some wiggle room, though, and suggests you may want to try adjusting the water to 3/4 cup and upping the tequila to 1/2 cup.

As a FYI, these are a little on the sweet side.  Upping the tequila may help that, but again, we don't know what it'll do to the freezing consistency.

Kelli says she'll be making them again, and wouldn't hesitate to serve them at a BBQ.

CONCLUSION
A fun party food!  But if you want to make it a PAR-TAY!!!!, try adding a little more tequila.

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelly

Microwave Corn on the Cob

Guinea Pig: Amber

THE CLAIM

Corn on the Cob snobs say that there's two ways to cook corn: on the grill or in a pot of boiling water.  Simply Recipes offered the forbidden alternative: Microwave.  Check out the video below.

Please note that this was originally circulated around facebook as a Vimeo.com video by Simply Recipes (https://vimeo.com/102063234).  However, since Blogger won't accept Vimeo videos, the above is a version of the same video found on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX7vcAsrHos).

 
THE TEST
Guinea Pig Amber put this to the test.  Could it really be that easy?

As it turns out, YES.  It really is that easy.  And it works well.  She says, "My first test was with a single ear as in the video. Cooked 4 minutes on high, cut of the end, squeezed top, and the corn slid out with ultimate ease. Taste was also top notch- even better than boiling and not the least bit soggy."  She also stresses the importance of making sure you cut off the correct end of the corn, or it doesn't work as well.  

But because Amber has a family of four, and because no one wants to do this one ear at a time, Amber started experimenting with microwaving multiple ears at once.  She found the following:

• Four Ears: 8-9 minutes
• Five Ears: 10 minutes, and might need a tad more
• More than Five Ears: microwave 2 minutes at a time until done

So, Amber is sold and has converted to this method for many of her corn recipes.
 

CONCLUSION
It works well!  Quick, easy and clean. Be sure to take into consideration different microwave power levels.  What works on one microwave may work slightly differently on another.

Frozen Peanut Parfait Pie

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM

O.M.G.  

Look at that picture. 

This Taste of Home recipe doesn't need any more introduction than that.  But, what if we told you that the recipe makes TWO pies?  And claims to take only 20 minutes?

So glad to have you attention. : ) 

Click the link in the photo caption for recipe and photo source. 

Click here for recipe and photo source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Karen originally planned to make a meringue pie for Mother's Day, but when it didn't turn out, she had to come up with something fast.  "It was super easy, and I had a lot of the ingredients in the house already."  It was a good thing, too, because all testing subjects agree that it was DELISH!

Here are some tips from the Guinea Pig Kitchen: 

• Hot fudge is now sold in microwaveable squeeze pouches, which makes consistent drizzling a lot easier.
• HOT FUDGE, not chocolate sauce.  If you don't know the difference, we feel sorry for you. 
• We actually recommend using 24oz of "frozen whipped topping" (aka Cool Whip) instead of 16oz. The extra volume adds a nice presentation factor.
• You can halve the recipe, but still use 12oz of Cool Whip instead of the recommended 8oz.
• For those of you not used to working with Cool Whip, remember to thaw it.  You want it to be nice and soft when putting these pies together.
• When ready to serve, you will probably need to let it sit out for more than 5 minutes.  Think 10-15 minutes. 

CONCLUSION
AWESOME.  A sure hit for your 4th of July Picnic. 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen.  This particular pie utilized 12oz of frozen topping instead of the recommended 8. 

Apple Pie Cake

Guinea Pig: Sarah

THE CLAIM

Foodgawker recently featured the blog Jo Cooks, which dares to suggest that there can be a union between the Dessert world's most notorious rivalry: Cake and Pie.   Guinea Pig Squad is on the case!  (No arm twisting here!) 

Click the link in the photo caption for recipe and photo source. 

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Sarah volunteered to take on this challenge, and names it.... A SUCCESS!  She says, "Depending on how carefully you spread as per Step 3, the texture of the Apple Pie Cake varies from that of an apple pie with a soggy crust to that of a cake dotted with pockets of apple pie filling. There is something here for everyone to love, and the recipe could not have a more fitting name!"  She likens the texture to something like a zucchini bread. 

Now an expert on Cake-pies (cies? pakes?), she offers these notes to people making the recipe: 

• When it says to “Prepare the yellow cake mix according to instructions…”, it means the instructions in the blog. Not the instructions on the cake box.
  
• Use a firm, fresh apple to avoid sogginess. Sarah used Empire apples.
  
• This is best served the day of baking, as sogginess can set in overnight. 

CONCLUSION
It's good, but don't let it sit too long. 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Sarah

Bacon-Wrapped Cheese-Stuffed Hot Dogs

Guinea Pig: Kathy

THE CLAIM
Mom Spark recently jumped on the Bacon Train to present these bacon-wrapped hot dogs.  See the video below or watch it on YouTube via this link. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Kathy was eager to give this a try, but had some issues with the deceptively simple instructions. She points out, "There isn't a lot of room in a split hotdog for much cheese, but I did my best to stuff it in there." Despite her efforts, all the cheese ended up melting out of the hot dog by the end of the cooking time. 

The bacon turned out chewy instead of crisp. (Kathy used thick-cut bacon.)

Can this recipe be saved?  Perhaps. Based on Kathy's test, we would recommend using a bigger hot dog or sausage of choice - something that has more room to be split than the conventional american hot dog. Second, when splitting, perhaps don't split it all the way to the ends.  This will create a "canoe" effect that will help the cheese pool in the middle (-be sure to cook it cheese-side up).  For crispier bacon, try thin or standard-cut bacon, and choose the grill rather than the oven. 

CONCLUSION
Not as simple as it seems, but could be good with some minor adjustments. 

Low Carb Fettuccine

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM

Uplate Anyway recently featured the unicorn of low-carb recipes, claiming they found the infamous low-carb PASTA.  Furthermore, with only two ingredients, could it get any easier? Click the link in the photo caption for recipe and photo source. 

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Karen stepped up to bat on this one. The recipe works exactly as described and Karen recommends the refrigerator drying method described in the blog.  The texture was very similar to traditional pasta and would probably go a long way towards helping low carb enthusiasts attack their pasta cravings. 

However, Guinea Pig Karen says she won't be making this again for the following reasons: 

• It tastes like cheese. This may seem like a no-brainer, given that one of the two ingredients is mozzarella.  But the cheese taste turns a tomato sauce dish into the pasta equivalent of "mozzarella marinara."  It's hard to get past the idea that you're just eating a lot of cheese.
  
• It doesn't make very much.  This made one serving, which was barely filling. Given the four hour drying time, and the little result, we question whether it's worth the effort.
  
• If this is indeed one serving, even low-carb eaters should be aware that just the mozzarella alone has 22g of fat.  Then there's an egg.   Just something to take into consideration, even if you're not tracking fat intake.

CONCLUSION
It works, but we don't recommend making it an everyday occurrence. 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen