Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries

Guinea Pig: Amber

THE CLAIM

As if you needed more arm twisting to eat french fries, FoodGawker recently promoted this recipe for Oven Baked Garlic Parmesan Fries (published by The Stiers Aesthetic).  AND it includes dipping sauces. (SWOON)  

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

Click here for photo and recipe source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pug Amber gave these a try, and she says both the fries and the sauces are tasty. BUT...

• This recipe is not quick. Aside from cutting up the taters, they have to soak for an hour before baking. Between thr prep and the waiting, GP Amber questions whether the end result is worth it. 
• Watch the baking time. Amber had a few burn victims in her batch.  She suggests flipping the fries after 20 minutes (not 25), and then check the fries after 10 minutes on the other side. 

CONCLUSION
A tasty french fry recipe if you want to put in the time to make it.

 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Amber

 

 

Spicy Whole-Roasted Cauliflower

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM
Cauliflower has become something of a craze in the low carb community over the past few years. It is often the key ingredient in low carb "mashed potatoes," fritters, pizza crusts, etc.  TipHero suggests it can even be roasted as a whole head for a fancy side dish. Click the link in the photo caption for photo and recipe source. 

Click here for recipe and photo source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Karen, our low-carb aficionado, gave this a try with one of her Sunday dinners (despite her insistence that the picture above looks like a brain).   Though it was amazingly simple, she gives this recipe mixed reviews.  She says, "...The spices on this recipe were too much for us. Curry...cumin...chili powder... Had a very potent Middle Eastern/Indian flavor that we didn't particularly enjoy."  However, if you know you're a fan of this spice blend, then this may be a good fit for you.   

Karen did enjoy the roasted method and found the end result to be something between raw and steamed cauliflower.  Note that your cooking time may differ depending on the size of your caulifower.  Karen had to roast hers 10-15 minutes longer just to be able to get a fork through it.  

Since the whole roasting method seems to work, perhaps give this a try with your favorite spices.  Guinea Pig Karen might try a lemon-garlic yogurt glaze next time.  

CONCLUSION

A thumbs up to the roasting method, but the spice blend leaves something to be desired. 

Photo courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Guinea Pig: Kelsey

THE CLAIM
On June 20, 2015, Facebook personality Trisha Renee shared this recipe for slow cooker chicken and dumplings. Will this make it into your next crockpot recipe rotation? Click the link in the photo caption for recipe and photo source.




Click here for recipe and photo source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Kelsey gave this recipe a try.  She says, "This was delish! My husband and toddler both had two bowls!! [...] It is super easy to make. Will be making this one again!"

She offers two recommendations to those playing at home.  First, do consider using a crockpot liner for easy clean-up.  Second, as a reminder, if you use smaller pieces of chicken, it'll cook faster. 

We're not entirely sure who came up with this recipe first, but this is very similar to this extremely popular recipe on AllRecipes.com.  With a rating of 4.5/5 stars after 6,000+ votes, plus Guinea Pig Kelsey's thumbs up, you can be assured this recipe is a keeper.  Guinea Pig Karen has also made this recipe before.  She recommends adding a bag of frozen mixed veggies at the beginning. 

CONCLUSION

An easy-peasy staple to add to your crockpot lineup!

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelsey

Easy Peach Galette

Guinea Pig: Kathy

THE CLAIM
For the culinary-challenged guinea pigs at home, a galette is a flat, rustic pastry or bread, often accompanied by fruit.  To commemorate peach season, we decided to give this CommunityTable recipe a try.  Click the link in the photo caption for photo and recipe source.

Click here for photo and recipe source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Kathy gave this a try and describes it as "most excellent." She initially feared that she went overboard with the cinnamon and sugar, but said it all turned out well.  Unable to wait for it to cool, she had her slice straight out of the oven, topped with whipped cream.

Because it uses a pie crust, it's tempting to think that this will feed as many people as a pie would.  However, remember that galettes are flat.  This recipe will serve four people.

CONCLUSION

Guinea Pig Kathy heartily recommends this, and says she'll be making this again!

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kathy

Nested Potato Skins

Guinea Pig: Jennifer

THE CLAIM
Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen recently featured this idea for a fun twist on hash browns/potato skins.  Click the link in the photo caption for photo source and recipe. 

Click here for photo and recipe source. 

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Jennifer gave this a try, and declares it a resounding hit!  Whether served as a snack or an appetizer, these are sure to please! Jennifer says, "[The recipe] was very easy to follow, the ingredients were simple and inexpensive, and they turned out fantastic and everybody loved them."   They are firm enough that they can be eaten as a finger food. 

Jennifer used frozen hash browns (fully thawed) and says they were dry enough that she didn't need to drain or dry them.

Two tips, straight out of Jennifer's Kitchen: 

1. Use a touch more Pam (or other cooking spray) on the bottom of the tins than you think may be necessary.  These tend to stick a little bit, and more oil might help. 
   
2. Jennifer used some of the leftover batter to make miniature versions of these in her mini muffin tin.  The result? She likes them better, and says they were easier to pop out of the tin.  

CONCLUSION

A great snack for your next barbecue, picnic or Game Day. 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Jennifer

(One Pot) Spicy Thai Noodles

Guinea Pig: Jenna

THE CLAIM
FoodGawker recently featured Domestic Superhero's drool-worthy spicy thai noodle recipe.  Asian cuisine can be daunting to make, but what if we told you this is a one pot recipe??? Click the link in the photo caption for recipe and photo source.

Click here for photo and recipe source.

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Jenna, lover of spicy and noodley things, gave this one a try.  She did add the optional chicken for protein, but this recipe could be vegetarian "as is." Jenna says, "I made this for dinner after a busy day of traveling and it couldn't have been more simple or satisfying."  If you do want to add chicken, she recommends adding it earlier so it has more time to soak in more flavor. 

This recipe makes 3-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

CONCLUSION

A total keeper - easier and faster than takeout!

Marshmallow Shot Glasses

Guinea Pig: Karen

THE CLAIM

Too cute!  Delish.com recently featured Blogger Cheri Alberts from The Watering Mouth, and her awesome idea for shot glasses. .  Check out this video (or view it on YouTube by clicking here.).

THE TEST
Guinea Pig Karen put this to the test.  The result? It "kinda/sorta" works.  This is a recipe that you will have to practice a few times before getting it right, and then it will be time consuming to do more than a few at a time.  Her first several attempts didn't work out.  She says, "When browning the marshmallows, you should strive to brown them evenly to the point where the marshmallow gets soft enough that it's difficult to keep on the fork. If you take it off the fork too soon, it wont implode while cooling."
 
One important correction: the video says to use regular sized marshmallows, but they're clearly using jumbo marshmallows.  GP Karen also used jumbo marshmallows for this test, and she can't imagine using anything smaller.  She also used a gas stove, and was surprised at how easily the marshmallows caught fire.

As far as holding liquid, they only held a little bit, and only worked for about 10-15 seconds before leaking. 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Karen
Note the different levels of "implosion." The ones on top weren't soft
enough when they were taken off the fork, and didn't implode.  The
one on the bottom was barely able to stay on the fork when it was taken off.

CONCLUSION
Cute, but not worth it, especially if you have to try to make a lot of them for a party.

Valentine Cookies

Guinea Pig: Kelli

THE CLAIM

This YouTube video by Eugenie Kitchen suggests that making these BEAUTIFUL sugar cookies is as simple as playing with Play-Doh.  True? Watch the video below or click here to view it in YouTube. 

THE TEST
It's important to preface this review by saying that Guinea Pig Kelli is a trained, professional pastry chef.  She has wisdom in the kitchen that most of us do not.  

So how did it go?  Despite this being the kind of thing that Pinterest Fails are made of, Kelli did a remarkably good job!  She says, "... if you search YouTube for "Eugeinie Kitchen" you will find this woman is an expert at rainbows! She must also be an engineer [with] the way she measures all components. That's a little over MY head. I'm not the biggest fan of having to be precise.  .... This might be a little too much for the average person to pull off. It was very time consuming." 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelli

She noted that the instructions may have been oversimplified, so Kelli provides these notes for those trying to do this at home: 

• It is VERY important to measure your heart cookie cutter and figure out how thick each rainbow color needs to be rolled out. Kelli didn't do this, and she ended up having to bend her cookie cutter to make all the layers fit.  (Note the slightly "rounded" heart in her picture.)
  
• After you build your rainbow brick, you cut strips the width of your cookie cutter. You're not going to get many hearts - there will be a lot of waste.  However, you can line up the strips end to end to get more heart cut outs. It will result in a slight crease in the layers (see next picture), but it will reduce waste.  

  

  Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelli.
  Placing the rainbow bricks end to end reduces waste,
  but will create a crease in the rainbow pattern.

  
  
• The sugar dough roll part works just like the video says it does.
  
• Any sort of sprinkles will do for the outside.
  
• When baked at 325 for 15 minutes, they will be done, but they will still look much like the "raw" state.
  
• You can make cookies with just the layers (no sugar cookie around it). 

Photo Courtesy of Guinea Pig Kelli

So they turned out beautiful, but how did they taste?  Guinea Pig Kelli suggests that they're just an average sugar cookie, and that she might change up her sugar cookie recipe next time, or add more vanilla.  

CONCLUSION
An impressive cookie if you're willing to put the effort in!  A show-stopper for sure!