Why do we ask you to review three Taste of Home recipes a month?

Reviewing recipes might seem trivial, but your expertise gives our readers confidence that they can expect great results when they try the recipe in their own kitchen.

We know how much you love the Taste of Home brand, so we’re certain you’re cooking TOH recipes all the time. Reviewing them is easy— we’re not expecting you to write a novel. Even a simple "Our family loved this" will work.

Maybe you made some changes to the recipe. Did you lighten it up successfully, reduce the sodium or even swap out one ingredient for another? That’s a great basis for a review.

I like to take some of the "scary" out of a technique or ingredient. For example, the Banana Oatmeal Cookie recipe doesn't use a traditional creaming method, so my review says:

"These are very nice cookies. With or without nuts, they're a fantastic alternative to banana bread when you have bananas to use up. Don't be afraid to follow the instructions as written. They're different from standard cookie baking procedure, but they work fine. Use parchment or a Silpat so you don’t have to grease your pan. I threw in a half tsp. of banana extract that ramped up the banana flavor nicely. If you add nuts, take the time to toast them before you use them. Your effort will be rewarded with wonderful flavor."

Keep in mind that at the end of the day, I’m not counting. I don’t have a chart where I’m marking off, "Suzy Field Editor reviewed three recipes for June, July and August, but she only did two in May." I’m going to look at your account and say, "Woo-hoo! Suzy is cooking and reviewing!" You might do two this month, five next month, and then maybe you only have time for one. It’s all good, trust me.

Happy cooking, my friends!
Sue
sue.stetzel@rd.com