FAQ - Recipe Details

Recipe Details - Frequently Asked Questions

Recipe Categorization

Why do you categorize recipes?

Answer: Every recipe at One Click Dinners is put into categories or groups. These groupings, make it possible for the meal planner program to find the meals that are appropriate for your family. It also allows us to create a powerful recipe search tool.

What do the different recipe categories mean?

Answer:

Recipe Name - All recipes must have a name or title.
Recipe Short Name - A meaningful abbreviation or short form of the recipe name, used for reference on the grocery list.
Main Ingredient - used to select recipes per your family profile exclusions. Also, works together with Recipe Type:
- Some main ingredient categories, specifically bread, fruit, grain, pasta, vegetable and nuts apply only to side recipes.
- Entrees or main dish recipes are grouped under beef, dairy, fish, lamb, meatless, pork, poultry, sausage or shellfish.
Number of Servings - how many people will the recipe feed?
Recipe Type - recipes are grouped according to the role in a meal for which they are best suited, such as an entree, a side dish, a sauce, etc. Most of these types are self evident, except for dependent accompaniment. This is used for recipes that cannot exist on their own but are not sauces. For example, French pancakes (crepes) recipe is a dependent accompaniment because it would never be made and eaten without an accompanying filling recipe.
Flavor - This is a broad, general label indicating the ethnic flavor of the recipe. All recipes have been given an ethnic flavor label. For example, any Cajun, Creole, sole food, or otherwise undistinguishable ethnic flavored recipes are labeled as American. “Flavor” is on your family profile, under selection frequencies. It is used by the meal planner to select recipes that are appealing to your taste.
Season - The season is largely based on the seasonal availability of ingredients and some cooking methods. For example, a recipe that calls for vine-ripened beef steak tomatoes and outdoor grilling is best categorized as Summer.
- Summer season runs from the first week in June through the second week in October.
- Fall/winter season runs from the third week in October through the last week of March.
- Spring season begins with the first week in April and ends the last week in May.
Spice Level - This is optional, as a hot and spicy ranking does not apply to most recipes. However, recipes that have some heat due to their seasoning are given a spice level of Mild, Medium or Hot.
Condiments - refer to items that you probably already have in the refrigerator, such as ketchup, mustard, hot pepper sauce, etc. These are always optional and never included on the grocery list.
Total Work - This is the amount of time requiring your involvement in preparing the recipe. It includes baking, or any cooking process that needs to be monitored. It does not include crock pot cooking time or marinating time.
Unsupervised Time - This is the amount of time when a partially prepared recipe can be left unattended, such as when marinating or crock pot cooking. This time is not included in the Total Work time.
Preparation Time - This is the time required to prepare the ingredients prior to beginning the recipe Preparation. These activities are noted next to the ingredients in the Ingredient list. For example, 1 garlic clove, minced or 1 onion, diced. The time it takes to mince and dice would equal the Preparation Time.
Active Cooking Time - This is the time required to actively work in the kitchen. It includes the preparation time, as described above and the recipe "Preparation" activities. It does not include baking time or unsupervised time.
Cooking Method - This is reserved for recipes requiring special equipment, such as a grill for grilling or a slow cooker for crock pot recipes. We assume that every cook has use of an oven, stove-top, refrigerator and microwave oven.
Original Source - This is the source, author or chef of the original recipe. Although we have altered all these recipes to some degree, from eliminating fat, or reducing cooking time and effort, or just making the recipe more readable, we want to give credit to the original designer and a reference for our subscribers.
Ingredients - Ingredients are listed in the order in which they were recorded. The order reads from left to right.
Preparation - The standard format of our preparation instructions is to begin each sentence with a verb, whenever possible, as we believe the activity is most important, followed by the preferred method. Additionally, we have tried to put each new major activity on a new line, making the recipe easy to read and follow while cooking.
Cooks Notes - Find recommendations for coordinating multiple recipes, alternate cooking methods, helpful tips, etc.
Short Cuts - Short cuts that have not already been incorporated into the recipes can be found in this section.
Variation for Children - These are suggestions for accommodating the tastes of children, by altering the recipe slightly, for their portions; thereby avoiding making them a separate meal, while allowing the adults to enjoy flavorful meal.

Rate and review recipes

Where can I read a recipe review?

Answer: Read subscriber reviews of this recipe by clicking Rate this recipe, just below the categories.

Where can I rate a recipe?

Answer: Click the Rate this recipe link, located just below the category list to review and rate this recipe. While everyone can read recipe reviews, only logged in subscribers can write a review and give it a recipe rating.

Additional recipe information

What information can I find under Cook's Notes?

Answer: Because coordinating several recipes for dinner can be a challenge, the Cook's Notes section will frequently offer a recommended step-by-step order of preparation. You may also find handy cooking tips, quotes from the original chefs, and alternate methods of preparation.

What information can I find in the Short Cuts section?

Answer: This section will frequently offer suggests for speeding up preparation without compromising the integrity of the original recipe.

What is Variation for Children all about?

Answer: The purpose of this section is intended to spare you from making the children a separate meal! The suggested alterations make use of the same basic ingredients, but varies the preparation to appeal to children.

A word about scaling a recipe's serving size

Why don't you automatically scale the recipe fit my family?

Answer: When a recipe is created, all aspects of the recipe work in harmony to chemically balance the ingredients, resulting in the desired taste and texture. Altering the proportions of the ingredients often means that other aspects of the recipe will be affected as well, such as the pan size, cooking temperatures, cooking times, seasonings, etc.

Most programmatic scaling only adjusts the ingredients' quantities, leaving the other adjustments up to the cook. Additionally, there are limits to scaling. Scaling a recipe up or down beyond four times its original serving size may produce unpredictable and undesirable results. Lastly, some types of recipes cannot be scaled successfully at all. These include recipes that have egg whites, such as meringues, souffles, etc. Breads with yeast, and undividable ingredients, such as whole birds are also impossible to accurately scale.

For these reasons, we feel that automatic scaling runs the risk of compromising the integrity and quality of the original recipe and should be left wholly to the cook's best judgment.

You will find all recipes that comprise a One Click Dinners meal are scaled to the same serving size, such as 4 or 6 with a few serving 8.

One Click Dinners: Meal Planning for Time-Starved Families