The final results from the 2nd round of the tournament!
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| Ham and Swiss Frittata |
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Recipe:
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Prep time/ease of ingredients
(10 points) |
Likeliness of making it again
(30 points) |
Overall flavor (50 points)
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Value $ (10 points)
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10
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10
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20
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7
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|
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8
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15
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40
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6
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Recipe 1 notes and review:
The Value raking of 7 was warranted because the cilantro and lime
juice wouldn’t be something in everyone’s home, so you would have to purchase it specifically for the recipe. This recipe wasn’t anything too special, semi-monotone even with the addition of salt and pepper. The garlic flavor was strong, and the sour of the lime juice wasn’t very complimentary. The rice had a strong flavor of tomato, but certainly came close to some Mexican restaurants we have visited. Would have liked a drier rice, less tomato juice soaked rice, maybe? |
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Recipe 2 notes and review:
This recipe was easy to prep, but when you’re going for a breakfast
type meal, the 90 minute or so wait can be irritating. I would add cooked sausage instead of bacon bits and ham (even though the ham I used was fresh ham), and also some chopped green onion for additional color and flavor. It didn’t need much seasoning after it was cooked. We didn’t use salsa, just added some Texas Pete drizzled over top. I also didn’t use an extra dish inside the crock pot, as I have an average size crock pot and none of my dishes would have fit in it. However, I did spray the inside of the crock pot well with cooking spray per one of the notes on the recipe online, and it released very well. In fact, I’m confident that if I had tried to…I could have flipped it out of the crock pot and on to a serving platter for a pretty presentation. |
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Final Score:
Mexican Rice: 47
Ham Frittata: 69
Review by Jennifer
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| Turkey Lasagna |
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Recipe:
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Prep time/ease of ingredients (10 points)
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Likeliness of making it again (30 points)
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Overall flavor (50 points)
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Value $ (10 points)
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8
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25
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45
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9
|
|
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7
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15
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40
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7
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|
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Recipe 1 notes and review:
I usually stray away from slow cooker recipes that require pre-cooking, but I was excited to give these a try. I liked that I only had to pre-cook the turkey sausage, but could throw the veggies in uncooked. I normally keep all the ingredients on hand except for ricotta cheese, so that was an easy thing to pick up on our weekly milk and veggie run and made for a good value for my family. The flavor was really good even though the turkey sausage was lean. I liked the mushrooms and peppers (and I did add the optional onion).
It came out of the slow cooker beautifully just like a regular lasagna. It stayed layered and thick and was delicious! I forgot to take pictures of the first servings, but it was fine because my husband happily went back for seconds. I will definitely make it again!
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Recipe 2 notes and review:
This recipe was a bit more involved having me pre-cook the meat along with adding the veggies on the heat along with mixing the egg and ricotta before adding everything together. Usually with the slow cooker I am a chop and dump kind of girl. This recipe had a few too many steps for me! I had a difficult time finding whole-wheat lasagna noodles (it took 3 stores to find them!). I had to buy the regular sausage, ricotta and whole wheat noodles just for this recipe. The whole wheat pasta made it a bit pricier than using regular pasta. This recipe called for twice the ricotta along with an egg, and it was really wet. The whole wheat pasta didn’t seem to soften quite as much and was a little more al dente than we like our lasagna. Because of the high moisture level, it came out of the crock pot as more of just a mixed pasta dish than a layered lasagna. Because of this, I had to serve it in a bowl instead of a plate because it had so much liquid.
The taste was good, but it was a bit rich from the extra ricotta and egg. Honestly, we preferred the freshness of the other recipe better, along with the texture that was more “lasagna like” Overall, my husband declared that I should make the turkey lasagna at least once a month, but he told me I didn’t have to make the whole wheat lasagna again.
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Final Score:
Turkey Lasagna: 87
Whole Wheat Lasagna: 69
Review by Brittney
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| Salsa Rice Bake |
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Recipe:
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Prep time/ease of ingredients
(10 points) |
Likeliness of making it again
(30 points) |
Overall flavor (50 points)
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Value $ (10 points)
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8
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7
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45
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8
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7
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0
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20
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5
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Recipe 1 notes and review:
I made everything exactly as
described. My son did not like it. He’s nearly 4 so I don’t think it’s unusual. My husband and I agreed that it was good, but it lacked something, possibly corn. I also think the entire can of chili peppers was a bit too much. The ingredients were all easy to find and the prep time was short. I cooked the rice and the sausage in about 15 minutes. |
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Recipe 2 notes and review:
Peeling the potatoes was a pain.
Then I had to chop them. Then peel garlic. It was a bit too much for a crockpot recipe. The water requirements should be “cover potatoes” because they started to turn brown because they weren’t covered. Overall cooking time was 5 hours. Mashing was difficult in a crockpot. The garlic and bay leaf gave the potatoes an interesting taste. None of us in the family (son and husband) liked them. We agreed that the buttermilk was too much of a sour taste and spending nearly $2 on it made this rather pricy, not to mention that I do not usually have bay leaves on hand. I will not be making these again. |
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Final Score:
Salsa Rice Bake: 68
Mashed Potatoes: 32
Review by LeeAnn
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