JavaJo in the Kitchen

Chicken & Spinach Casserole, Everyday Food # 76, p 51

2010-12-08T10:44:00.000-06:00

TASTE : Yummy!!

PREP: Fairly Easy

REPEAT: Yes!

This one is very tasty and great for the family. Kids didn't mind the spinach this time. For us I would double or triple the batch.

The full recipe is posted on EverydayFoodMag here :
Everyday Food - Chicken & Spinach Casserole

Rotisserie chicken (or leftover turkey!), fresh spinach, milk, onions, bread, lemon juice.

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo, "The Food You Crave" by Ellie Krieger, p 86

2010-11-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo

TASTE: YUM!
PREP: Easy
REPEAT : YES!

The whole family enjoyed this soup. I used one large chicken breast so the soup was also quite economical. I think I only used 2 T of lemon juice because that's what I thought it called for but it should have been 3. Three would have provided a little more tang which I would have liked a little better, but everyone in the family really like the soup. I've been wanting to make more varieties of soups for some time and to get to the point that the soup would be something I might order at a nice restaurant. This was one of them! I used WW Orzo and homemade chicken broth that I had in the freezer.

Ingredients : Whole Wheat Orzo, chicken broth, carrots, celery, onions, thyme, chicken, eggs, lemon

Cheesy Black Bean Quesadilla Rolls - Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers

2010-08-05T11:46:00.000-05:00

PREP : Easy / TASTE: Great! / REPEAT : YES!!!

This recipe was on the box of Morningstar Chipotle Black Bean burgers that I bought at Costco. LOVED this! It was easy to make and great tasting. One thing I did differently was with regards to rolling it up. They suggested cutting a tortilla into a triangle and wrapping the ends over the middle. I thought that was a waste of tortilla, it increased the cost by utilizing more tortillas than necessary and they wouldn't be all that great to eat that way. So, I rolled the mixture in the tortillas and then sliced in the center diagonally. I also took some Homemade Gourmet Chipotle seasoning I had and mixed it with Litehouse Homestyle Ranch (love this stuff!). I also only had cheddar cheese so that is what I used. I'm sure it will be even better with a mix of cheeses. The salsa is homemade.

RECIPE:
2 Morningstar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Burgers, thawed and cut into 1/4" pieces
1/2 c salsa
1/2 c shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 c shredded Pepper Jack cheese
2 t Southwest or Mexican seasoning (I used chipotle from Homemade Gourmet because it is what I had)
10 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 T butter, melted
2 1/2 " cups shredded lettuce (optional)
2 T finely chopped red or green bell pepper (optional) (I didn't cut mine enough)

1. In medium bowl toss together burgers, salsa, cheese and seasoning. (NOTE: the burgers do crumble when cut into small pieces but it really doesn't matter)
2. Place 2 TB (appx, maybe more since I changed how I rolled these up) of the mixture in a tortilla.
3. Roll up and cut diagonally in half. Place a toothpick diagonally through top fold and bottom to hold in place and place pieces on a baking sheet pan.
4. Melt butter and spread over top roll ups.
5. Bake at 375 degrees 9-12 minutes.

Serves 5 (according to recipe). I did 1 and 1/2 times the recipe for our family and used two half-size baking sheet pans to bake them.

Chicken Curry - The Food of India : Authentic Recipes from the Spicy Subcontinent

2010-08-04T12:24:00.000-05:00

PREP : OK
TASTE : Very Good
REPEAT : Probably yes.
Though I want to try various curry recipes and find out which one we like the best.

This was a great recipe to begin my forray into Indian cooking. Our family loves Indian food and my husband has particularly requested that I learn to make Indian food. This is a task that I would love to take on and do well with. Indian food has such a wonderful depth of flavor and there are few, if any, Indian dishes that we have tried and did not care for. Anything with turmeric is especially of interest to me due to the benefits of using turmeric. For information on this I defer to Shoshonna Perl of Bulk Herb Store, http://www.bulkherbstore.com/TRP?s=turmeric

While working through this recipe I gave my first attempt to document the steps I took in pictures. Please bear with me as this is new to me and it will take me awhile to get the hang of quality pictures while trying to cook or bake at the same time!

So, first step. I missed it. Sorry! I should have shown you what the amount of onions looked like in the pot prior to browning them. The longer onions cook, the more they reduce and carmelize; well, that is if you cook them over the right level of heat. If you have the heat up too high they will burn and then who cares what size they are! OK - so here is a picture of the onions after the "turned brown", which is what the cookbook stated for the recipe. I'm not a chef so I don't know if this is technically as far as they should have gone or if I should have browned them further. I was concerned with the pot getting too dry and starting to burn rather than caramelize the onions so I stopped at this point.

Here I added seeded and chopped tomatoes from my garden. The recipe called for two medium sized tomatoes so I just guessed as to how many of my smaller Juliet tomatoes to use and it seemed fine. You could probably scrape it all out and put it into a blender but since I have an immersion blender I chose to use it. It was a little clumpy and took some patience but I eventually ended up with a nicely pureed product.

The recipe didn't clarify whether or not the chicken was supposed to cook separately or in the mixture. I decided to cut it into chunks and season with salt, pepper and turmeric and saute it prior to adding to the pot. This worked out fine. The first picture shows the chicken added and the second is after the addition of water and a couple tablespoons of cream. Which, by the way, I tend to use Fat Free Evaporated Milk instead of cream in dishes like this. One reason is the calorie and fat reduction and another is because it is stable and I don't have to worry about it breaking, becoming clumpy, in the dish.

All in all, YUM! Not too spicy and quite delish!

Terriyaki Chicken - Healthy Meals for Less by Jonni McCoy

2010-07-17T17:22:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy / TASTE : Good / REPEAT : Probably

Though this dish doesn't look that great in the crockpot it actually had some great flavor and paired nicely with couscous, which is how we ate it. Not all the family thought it was great, but it was easy to make. Daimeian noted that he prefers couscous over rice. Because I intend to make a crockpot dish once a week I will probably do this again.

NOTE : This picture shows the full breasts I used just starting to get shredded. I later fully shredded the chicken. In the future I might add just a little more liquid to cook the chicken with. This is just because I like the extra liquid to mop up with or drizzle onto the couscous or rice. The batch pictured is a double batch from the original recipe.

Basic Basil Pesto - Joy of Cooking

2010-07-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

TASTE : Great
PREP : Super easy
REPEAT : Again and again

No pics this time as I did this one in a rush. My friend took the batch home to try on salmon for dinner. I plan to make more and may try the sun-dried tomato version also in Joy of Cooking. When I have a chance, I'm hoping to compare basic basil pesto recipes from Joy of Cooking and other cookbooks that I've seen it in. It's so basic, how much can it change unless you are purposefully adding flair to it? However, I recently saw a recipe in my Cooking Light magazine that I want to try. It has a pesto of sorts without basil, but it's origin is not Italian. Will share more when I try it.

Lentil Soup - Moosewood Cookbook, p 25

2010-07-10T18:19:00.000-05:00

TASTE : Good
PREP : Easy
REPEAT : probably not

I modified this simple soup with bits of ham from the spiral sliced ham we cooked the night before. The drizzle of red wine vinegar was great and melted cheese on top was a nice personal touch. Okay, I know Moosewood recipes are for vegetarians and/or vegans, but I am not either one of these and don't care to be. However, my family does not care for lentils so they did not eat much of the soup which leaves me to eat up a large batch of the soup with the roasted veggies I prepared at the same time. Feta on top of the veggies nice and hot...mmmmm...

Hollandaise, Blender Version - Mastering the Art of French Cooking V. 1

2010-07-10T15:59:00.001-05:00

My foray into Julia Child's acclaimed kitchen wisdom and the infamous Mastering the Art of French Cooking is a simple sauce, Hollandaise made in the blender. For the sake of time and because I have never tried this type of emulsion by hand before, i went with the blender version. It was VERY VERY easy and VERY VERY good! Ok, so my children have yet to mature their taste buds to fabulous rich sauces such as this, but my palette was in over drive. Could I quote from the movie "Julie and Julia"? "It's eggs and butter that have been whipped into submission. Yum!" Oh yes, YUM!

Just a side note, the timing worked out great. I needed egg whites for the frosting a day and a half ago and had yolks needing to be used so they were perfect to go with eggs and bagels this morning. I know the picture isn't great, but I took a bite before remembering to take a picture so I had to improvise.

Seven Minute Frosting - Martha Stewart Cupcakes

2010-07-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

PREP : Fair
TASTE: YUCK! - personal reflection, some liked it
REPEAT : probably not

This is a frosting recipe that calls for whipped egg whites and a heated sugar drizzled into the egg whites. I've made this before, maybe similar, maybe just about the same, with a recipe from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking cookbook. I couldn't stand it then and I can't stand it now. To me it's very greasy tasting. It's stable but gross. Tyler liked it plain, Liana liked it on the cupcakes. I thought it was awful. However, I should state that it did have a marshmallow flavor to it. Perhaps it might be a good basis for a recipe needing some sort of a marshmallow cream to it.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes - Martha Stewart Cupcakes

2010-07-10T11:26:00.000-05:00

TASTE: Good
PREP : Fair
REPEAT : Yes

The family really liked these cupcakes. I thought they were good fresh but not in my top list of cupcakes to indulge on. For this batch I did them as the recipe called for ingredients, including all-purpose flour (though I used organic non-bleached which supposedly can affect the crumb texture) and cake flour. I intend on trying this again with some substitutes. I'm thinking that if I sift my fresh ground soft white wheat flour than I will reduce the bran in the muffin. This will give me a more cake flour texture and still mostly unadulterated content. I'll post the results in comparison when I get to it. I must note that the original recipe did result in a very fine and soft cupcake crumb.

Chicken Pot Pie (Sue Gregg, "Meals in Minutes", p 43)

2010-07-04T10:06:00.001-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Good
REPEAT: Yes

Overall the family apparently enjoyed this dish. I wasn't home when they ate it. Plan ahead to prepare the topping to allow for the two-stage nutrition process with the grains. I substituted zucchini and garlic for the carrots and celery because I had it on hand. Then, instead of frozen peas I used frozen mixed vegetable medley from Costco which was all organic veggies. Would repeat this one. Reminder to myself, yes the chicken goes in the sauce mixture raw and cooks in the oven. :)

UPDATE July 28th, 2009

Made two batches yesterday. One for our family and one to bring as a meal for someone at church. I might go lighter on the Thyme next time, or at least measure it accurately. Too much and it has a weird taste for me. However, the dish overall was really good and quite easy to make. Another thing I need to do is to make sure that mixture is thickened prior to putting in the last veggies and chicken and putting it into the oven. This time the dish came out of the oven a little watery. Given some time to sit it will still set nicely.

Sloppy Joes (Ellie Krieger, "The Food You Crave" p 91)

2010-05-29T15:50:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE : OK
REPEAT : Maybe with modifications

This version of sloppy joes utilizes extra veggies that some in my family don't care for, like the bell peppers, but I enjoy having veggies in the sandwich. However, it was a bit too soupy and that may be do to the amount of tomato sauce. Reheating the filling for sandwiches seemed to be OK. It is highly rated on the Food Network site (recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/sloppy-joes-recipe/index.html) but we didn't care of it so much. However, I may try with some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as one review suggested.

INGREDIENTS : ground beef, onion, garlic, jalepeno, red pepper, pinto beans or red beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire, mustard

Whole Wheat Speghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorina Cheese - Giada's Family Dinners, Giada DeLaurentis, pg 148

2010-02-19T20:23:00.001-06:00

TASTE: very good
REPEAT: yes
PREP : Average to easy

I didn't have pecorino for this so I had to substitute with the cheap Parmesan in a bottle. It is actually a recipe that calls for whole wheat spaghetti so the amount of liquid was already correct. I liked the saltiness of the kalamata olives and the taste combination with extra cheese and pine nuts so I topped the serving off with more than what was called for. Daimeian really enjoyed it and didn't seem to miss the meat. Wish I had taken a picture.

Lemon-Pepper Pasta w/ Chicken - Better Homes & Garden Diabetic Cookbook p 53

2010-02-15T11:59:00.000-06:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE : OK
REPEAT : Perhaps, with modifications

I don't remember the specifics on this one and only have a few scribbled notes from trying it some time ago. I think I didn't have the lemon-pepper pasta called for and used plain, probably whole wheat, pasta. My notes stated that it needed more flavor. I suppose that if I used lemon-pepper pasta it would have tasted better.

Basically, cook flavored pasta, drain and toss with EVOO. Cook chicken, red pepper wedges or thin strips, dried marjoram and garlice until chicken is cooked through. Stir in 1 T lemon juice and scrape up brown bits. Toss in pasta and 1 c. thawed frozen peas.

Cinnamon Sopapilla Cheesecake - modified and lightened

2010-01-08T17:28:00.000-06:00

The base recipe for this dessert can be found all over the internet. When I made it I substituted Sucanat for refined white sugar. When you substitute with Sucanat the molasses turns things darker. In this case it is a cream cheese filling that turns brown. It will still taste great, but it changes the color and may not be as appetizing to some people. Because this batch was made for a Christmas Party, I only substituted half of the sugar.

My modifications include fat-free and reduced fat cream cheese in place of full fat and half the butter most recipes call for. Most recipes call for a full 1/2 cup of melted butter to pour over the top. That's a full stick! In this batch I used half of that, only a quarter, and felt like I could have used even less, perhaps only 3 tablespoons. In the batch pictured above I melted 1/4 cup (4 T) and found there to be a lot of butter puddles over the crescent rolls half way through the process. So, I stopped putting it on one half of the batch and added the rest to the other half to give it the equivalency to using just over half the recommended butter. I wanted to see how much difference it made. In the picture the half with more butter on top is the lower half from left to right. Finally, I don't use as much sugar as is called for on the top. You just don't need it.

The recipe below is my modified version. I haven't tried it with reduced-fat crescent rolls because I haven't seen them in the stores lately. Hand mixing is probably the standard method for the the cream cheese, butter and vanilla mixture. Whipping the cream cheese in a stand mixer will fluff it up and make the filling thicker.

2 8 count packages of crescent rolls
1 8 oz package, fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 8 oz package, reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar (or Sucanat or blend)
1 t vanilla
3-4 T butter, melted
2-3 T sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

DIRECTIONS :
1. Lay out one can of crescent rolls at the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

2. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix both packages of cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla and mix until well blended. Spread mixture over crescent rolls in the pan.

3. Lay second can of crescent rolls carefully over cream cheese mixture.

4. Spread melted butter evenly over top of rolls.

5. Stir together 2-3 T sugar and cinnamon (amount listed is appx). Sprinkle over top.

In the future I will be attempting a slight reduction in the sugar for the cream cheese mixture. Perhaps even a sugar and stevia combination to reduce the overall sugar content further.

Apple Dumplin's Caramel Apple Cupcakes, Berry Yummy Cookbook, p 66-67

2009-12-28T12:49:00.000-06:00

PREP : Normal
TASTE : OK
REPEAT : Probably not

This was fun to do for Liana and I since it was a recipe from her Stawberry Shortcake cookbook. I don't recall if I substituted whole wheat flour with all-purpose or not. Since we were in the mode of baking sugary stuff I probably just used unbleached all-purpose.

Tanner really liked these but the rest of us really didn't care for them. They were OK, but too sweet for me.

Creamy Chicken & Pesto WW Pasta w/ Sun Dried Tomatoes

2009-12-28T09:56:00.001-06:00

PREP : Depends on having pesto on hand.
TASTE : SUPER yummy!
REPEAT : Yes!

This is a successful trial at a personal dish. I will include the basic ingredients that I used, but I didn't measure as I made it. While it is a creamy pasta, and tastes very rich, I don't believe it was nearly as high in fat as a similar pasta would be in a restaurant. This is due to using fat-free evaporated milk for the majority of the cream. In addition, this dish took advantage of whole wheat penne pasta.

I began the dish because I had just made homemade pesto and I had some ingredients that needed to be used, like thawed chicken, lots of frozen chicken stock taking up space in the freezer and sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. The recipe for the pesto was from Joy of Cooking and was pretty much a basic basil pesto recipe. Lots of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, salt and olive oil.

My ingredient list is not exact. It was a couple months ago that I made this and I am trying to remember the details. I'm also going to have to learn to measure better in the future so I can be more precise at logging personal recipes and recipe modifications.

2 T light olive or grapeseed oil
1 box whole wheat penne pasta
1/2 medium yellow or white onion, chopped
1-3 cloves of garlic (as desired), minced
2-3 T sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
4 c of chicken stock/chicken broth
2 T unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cans fat-free evaporated milk
1/2 c heavy cream (opt., though I think it gave the rich flavor while adding a relatively small amount of fat)

1. Cook whole wheat penne pasta to al dente (still a bit firm) . Drain and set aside.

2. Cook up the chicken breasts with just a little oil heated up in the dutch oven. The chicken was patted dry, seasoned with salt, pepper and probably some Canadian Steak Seasoning (a favorite blend that I get from Sam's Club). I cook chicken breasts with the lid on for the first few minutes to heat up the inside of the meat. Once the meat is no longer translucent I take the lid off to get each side browned up well. After the chicken rests for a few minutes, slice up, or cut into cubes, as preferred.

*TIP* It is important to keep an eye on the chicken while cooking. If it starts to brown and the oil/fat around the chicken are getting dark in the bottom of the pot, shift the chicken around to loosen and pick up the bits so that they don't burn.

3. Add a little drizzle of oil and add chopped onions and garlic (optional) and chopped up sun-dried tomatoes. (I used the kind packed in olive oil. ) Deglaze with the vegetables and little bit of oil over medium heat. Cook to tender yet firm.

4. Add 2 T flour and appx. a quarter cup of chicken stock. Cook for 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Begin to add stock and fat-free milk in turns (about a cup at a time) with the pesto. Continue heating and stirring. Add cream.

*TIP* Step 4 should take about 5 minutes or so. At this point the cream sauce should fill about half, or more, of a 5 quart pot. In my experience, WW pasta tends to soak up more liquid and requires a larger amount of sauce then other pastas. I like my pastas creamy and I like the sauce to be plentiful. If you do not, you may wish to adjust with smaller amounts of broth and cream/milk.

5. Stir in pasta and warm through. Add salt to taste.

If you try this recipe, please let me know how it goes. I plan to try again in the future and will update this post with any changes necessary.

ENJOY!

Tortilla Pie with Chicken, Everyday Food # 61, April 2009, p96

2009-09-30T07:57:00.000-05:00

TASTE: Very Good
PREP: Easy
REPEAT : YES (D' said, "it's a keeper)

This mexican type lasagna includes corn tortillas (toasted), cooked shredded chicken, sour cream, gr. salsa, green chili's and Mont. Jack cheese. I wasn't up to making the salsa so I bought jarred green salsa and used it. I also had a Monterey Jack/Colby cheese blend. Mont Jack only or Jack and Cheddar would have been better. Since I forgot about the canned gr. chilies and didn't have any on hand I used anaheim's fresh from the garden and a jalepeno with no seeds. It wasn't hot at all.

Would try again with homemade green salsa and red salsa.

Tilapia Tostadas w/ Roasted Corn Relish, Cooking Light, Aug 2009, 114

2009-08-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

TASTE: Very Good
PREP: Medium
REPEAT: Yes.

Liana didn't want to try this one but both her and Riley ate it all up. The older boys weren't around to try it. The recipe calls for the tilapia to be dredged in cornmeal but I didn't have it because I couldn't get it fresh. I refuse to buy it enriched on the shelves so I used pecans for the breading. They were in the freezer so I just threw some into a coffee grinder and ground them up. I added a little ground flour that was in the freezer with the ground pecans. It ended up being a great blend.

For tostadas I had some homemade whole wheat flour tortillas and some corn ones that I put in the broiler of the toaster oven. The recipe calls for tortillas sprayed with oil and toasted in the broiler. Layered with finely shredded cabbage, pan fried (in this case pecan crusted) tilapia chunks, roasted corn salsa (corn, red bell pepper, red onion, jalepeno and onion) mixed with avocado and lime juice. All of this is topped with sour cream mixed with salsa verde.

Overall it was a pretty easy dish to make and it looked like a dish you might get at a nice restaurant. Nice change of mexican fare for us and I will likely repeat this one.

Mexican Meatloaf (Homemade Gourmet card)

2009-05-04T16:03:00.000-05:00

PREP: OK
TASTE : OK
REPEAT : Probably not

No one really cared for this. Yes, I used 1/2 gr. turkey over meat, but it had more to do with the overall lack of flavor I think. Also, the large bits of corn made it fall apart in places and was unattractive. I ate it ok with extra cheese on top and extra salsa, but it was bland otherwise.

Linguine with Garlic Cream Sauce (Cook's Illustrated.com)

2009-01-23T15:34:00.000-06:00

PREP: OK, if not worried about the garlic puree
TASTE: VERY good
REPEAT : Yes (although I might double the sauce if making for whole wheat pasta )

Yes, I forgot again, to make more sauce than suggested if I am using it with whole wheat pasta. It just always ends up dry otherwise. I didn't use heavy cream either, but fat free evaporated whole milk. I've found that I get good results with this substitute, and besides, it was what I had available. Tyler LOVED this and the stuffed chicken (with basil and sun dried tomatoes).

Garlic puree is just 4 heads of garlic poached in 1 cup of milk. Then, rinsed (save milk for this dish) and wrapped with EVOO in aluminum foil and roasted for 1 hour. Push out the garlic and smoosh together. :)

Bring 1 c milk, 1/2 c cream, 1/4 t red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 t fresh oregano (or 1/2 t dried) to boil, then simmer whisking frequently. Once reduced about half, add 1/4 c garlic puree. Whisk 2-3 minutes and then add 1/4 c. parmesan (I added more), salt and pepper to taste and then as thickened, pour over linguine. Add pasta water if needed to thin.

Eggnog Cheese Pie with Bourbon Cream (Cooking Light, December 2004, p220)

2009-01-23T14:58:00.000-06:00

PREP: A bit more work due to extra bowls and the number of steps
TASTE : Yummy!! (so good I had to make two of them!)
REPEAT : Most definitely

Basic graham cracker crust, pre cooked. I skipped making the bourbon cream because I didn't want to spend the money on the bourbon and I had some natural whipped topping anyway. So the filling requires you to drain the yogurt. Well, I didn't have plain yogurt anyway so I just used fat free sour cream without draining and it worked just fine. Also used one full block of 1/3 less fat cream cheese instead of 1/2 and 1/2 fat free, just because it is what I had on hand. There is 3/4 c eggnog in the recipe, and whipped egg whites folded in just before baking.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Cheese, Tomato, Basil (Everyday Food # 32, p 104)

2009-01-23T13:33:00.000-06:00

PREP : Easy
TASTE : Very Good
REPEAT : Yes

Well, the recipe called for bone in chicken breast halves. After making it I looked more closely and saw the skin on. This would have helped it from turning out as dry as it did. Other than that, it is an EASY recipe that everyone loved. I also used shredded cheese instead of a slice, which have made a difference. Finally, I thawed out two packs of chicken which ended up being 2 breasts and numerous tenders! I ended up putting the filling on top of the chicken tenders and they got overcooked. Definitely want to stuff, and probably use the bone in, skin on chicken.

Also, the recipe called for 1 t of salt in the filling. This seemed far too high and I only used a fraction and it was fine.

Recipe recap : (Abridged)

Preheat oven to 450
Slice chicken (if needed) and/or flatten to make room for filling.
Chop up 1/2 c. fresh packed basil leaves, about 8 sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil), 2 garlic cloves and 1 t fresh grated orange zest (skipped this part), (1 t?) salt and pepper.
Divide mix into 4 bone-in, chicken breasts.
Add 1 slice of mozzarella and close up with toothpicks.
Roast on baking sheet about 30-35 minutes.

Served with linguine with garlic cream puree. MMMmmmm...

Lighter General Tso's Chicken (Everyday Food # 56, p 34)

2009-01-23T13:25:00.000-06:00

Prep: OK
Taste: OK
Repeat : Maybe

It wasn't bad, I just either need to work on tips for cooking this type of breaded item so that the breading doesn't all fall off! Probably faster and easier than other recipes, but it may be worth looking for another one. Wouldn't hurt to do again either.

Key ingredients: Snow peas, garlic, fresh ginger, light-brown sugar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, skinless chicken

Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie (Everyday Food # 56, p 104)

2009-01-23T12:53:00.000-06:00

Prep: OK
Taste: OK - Good (not bad, good comfort food)
Repeat : Yes, probably

This was fairly good, better with Canadian Steak Seasoning by Tone's (found at Sam's Club). Prep was OK, not a big deal. The potatoes were too runny on my end so I need to figure out some way to make them just right on top so they don't seep into the food on the bottom and don't get too dried out on top. I am thinking that adding the cheese on the top half way through would be helpful too. I probably also used the wrong type of potatoes and may have boiled them too long.

Recipe recap :

Preheat oven to 450
Boil 2 pounds peeled, sliced baking potatoes covered 1 in" above with salted water.
In another 5 quart pot, heat oil and cook 6 med carrots, quartered and thinly sliced, 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced, 1 lg chopped onion and 1/2 t thyme until tender (8-10 min)
Add 1/4 c flour and 1/4 c. tomato paste cook 1 minutes
Add 2 lb gr. beef chuck and cook to brown
Add 1 c water, bring to a boil and simmer 1 minute. Set aside.
Drain potatoes, return to pan and cook over medium until liquid is evaporated (OH, maybe this is what I missed doing!) and film develops, about 1 min. Remove from heat.
Add 1c milk and 1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Pour beef into 9X13 pan, cover with potatoes and then cheese. Bake until bubbly about 20 minutes.

Easiest Indian Stew (Everyday Food # 58, p 92)

2009-01-23T12:46:00.001-06:00

Prep : Easy
Taste : Very Good (especially with cilantro and plain yogurt on top)
Repeat : YES

Such an easy recipe and really quite good. I think I cooked up some chicken to have with it, otherwise it is meant to be eaten over rice. Of course, we had brown rice.

Recipe: (abridged)

Cook rice to serve this with.
Cook 1 med. minced onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves in 1 T oil to tender.
Add 1 T curry powder, 1 t ground ginger and cook to fragrant (about 1 min)
Add 3 c. GOOD quality tomato sauce, (2) 15 oz cans of rinsed/drained chickpeas & 1 1/2 c. water. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. About 8-10 minutes.
Stir in 1 T fresh lime juice, season with salt and pepper.
Serve over rice with dollop of plain yogurt and chopped cilantro.

YUM!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes (TasteofHome.com)

2008-11-30T18:05:00.000-06:00

TASTE : Very good (though still not what I remember from my friend's mom's recipe!)
PREP: Easy
REPEAT : Yes

I made these in silicone baking cups. They were hot and gooey and I actually just liked eating them out of the cup still quite warm and gooey. I suppose you could bake longer (or in a more accurate oven) and have them not gooey, but I liked them gooey) The frosting was far more than enough for one batch. I used it liberally on two batches and still had some left over.

KEY INGREDIENTS: cream cheese (softened), sugar, egg, semi-sweet chocolate chips, flour, cocoa powder, white vinegar

FROSTING: 3 3/4 c confectioner's sugar, 3 T baking cocoa, 1/2 c butter melted, 6 T milk, 1 t vanilla extract. Beat and top on cooled muffins.

Crab Cakes and Lemon Dill Mayonaisse (SouthernLiving.com)

2008-11-30T17:48:00.001-06:00

TASTE : Very Good
PREP : Easy
REPEAT : Yes

We used cheap fake crab meat for this and I processed it in the food processor. Still great tasting crab cakes for less money! I also processed the saltines in the processor to get the required crumbs. Served with the lemon-dill mayo was especially yummy. No, they aren't like the gourmet ones in a restaurant, but made with the fake crab meat, it is an inexpensive meal for the family served with some veggies.

KEY INGREDIENTS: saltines, eggs, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, ground red pepper, hot sauce, lump crab meat (or crab alternative)

LEMON DILL MAYONNAISE : 1 c mayo, 2 t lemon rind, 3/4 t dillweed, 1/4 t garlic powder, 1/4 hot sauce. Stir together and chill. Keeps for a couple weeks.

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake (MarthaStewart.com/Everyday Food)

2008-11-30T17:42:00.000-06:00

TASTE : Very good
PREP: Easy
REPEAT : Yes

This cake was very easy to make. I did it with whole wheat flour, I think?, and it still tasted great. It's been awhile so I may have used some AP flour. What I remember though is that the cake fell apart. The blueberries clusted in the middle it seemd and everywhere they clustered, it was too moist and the cake was falling apart when I tried to get it out of the pan. I'[m not sure if it's because the blueberries had been frozen and then thawed. Maybe fresh that were washed and well dried would be better? May try dried blueberries next time.

KEY INGREDIENTS: flour, baking powder, butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, blueberries and lemon zest.

ICING/GLAZE : 1/4 c. lemon juice and 2 and 1/2 cups confectionar's (powdered) sugar

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip (Olive Garden, CopyKat.com)

2008-11-30T17:37:00.000-06:00

TASTE : Excellent
PREP : Easy
REPEAT : Again and again

VERY tasty and easy to prep hot dip to serve for guests or at parties.

Mix 8 oz pkg light cream cheese (softened), 1 can artichoke hearts (drained and chopped), 1 small package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained very well), 1/4 c mayonaisse, 1/4 c parmesan, 1/4 c. romano (or double parmesan), 1 clove garlic (finely minced), 1/2 tsp dry basil, 1/4 t garlic salt. Put into greased baking dish. Top with 1/4 c shredded mozzarella and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Pork Tenderloin with seasoned rub (Ellie Krieger, FoodNetwork.com)

2008-11-30T17:32:00.000-06:00

TASTE: Good
PREP : Very easy
REPEAT : Yes

Very easy to prepare the rub and use on a pork tenderloin. She recommends sauteeing the garlic for a couple minutes then adding the pork to the pan. This will burn the garlic. I think it is best to saute the garlic, remove it, then place it back after searing the pork and putting the pan into the oven to roast for 20 minutes. I had to use garlic salt insted of powder and therefore didn't put salt in the mix but rather added a little extra, but it was still too salty. The way she suggests it is probably just right.

Key ingredients: ground coriander, ground cumin, dried thyme, garlic powder, dried oregano, EVOO and garlic, and of course the pork loin.

Blender Sunshine Muffins (Sue Gregg, Breakfasts, p 195)

2008-11-12T10:47:00.001-06:00

TASTE: Very Good
PREP: Fairly easy
REPEAT: Yes! Family Hit

NOTES: Pulled the "Breakfast" book out today. Happened to have some orange juice on hand. No oranges for orange peel though so I skipped that part. There is no milk in this recipe. I love these blender recipes where I can put whole wheat berries in the blender rather than milling them, it saves me from the extra work of cleaning up the mill parts. Daimeian said he liked these best of the muffins I've made so far (not really that many). Anyway, will probably make this many times more in the future.

INGREDIENTS: sucanat, cinnamon, orange juice, honey, 1 egg, whole wheat pastry grains, carrot, raisins

Margaritas - (America's Test Kitchen, )

2008-08-21T21:50:00.000-05:00

TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT : Of course!
PREP : depends on the juiciness of the fruit!

This recipe calls for basically a 1 : 1 ratio of lime/lemon juice freshly squeezed with tequila and triple sec. Some sugar (stevia liquid worked fine) and a pinch of salt. Good enough for us! Won't buy pre-mixed stuff full of high fructose corn syrup no more! Worth the money saved and the taste and freshness to just squeeze some limes and lemons.

Recipe does call for zest of lemons and limes as well, and allowing the juice to sit for 4-24 hours first. OK if you don't too in our opinion.

Guacamole - MMMMmmmmm...That's my special recipe.

2008-08-21T21:33:00.001-05:00

I can't tall you what it is, and I never measure the ingredients, but mmmmmmm......it is GOOOOD!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad - (Cooking Light, August 2006, p. 180)

2008-08-21T21:29:00.001-05:00

Taste: Very Good
Repeat: Yes
Prep : Average

This is a really great salad that I've made several times and have taken as a dish to various functions. It's usually a hit. Even though there is chipotle in adobo in the dressing, it's not too spicy because of the sour cream. The salad is romain lettuce, red onion, black beans, corn, avocado and tomoto and the dressing is light sour cream, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, chipotle and salt. This one's a keeper!

Smoky Chipotle-Chicken Corn Chowder w Salsa Salad - (Express Lane Meals, Rachael Ray, p. 224)

2008-02-29T08:58:00.000-06:00

TASTE: Good
PREP: Fairly quick
REPEAT: Yes (Daimeian made a point of saying definitely a repeat)

Easy enough to prepare, this dish was mostly a chicken in broth/stock with crushed chips and some seasoning. I thought it was a little bland (as I've found most RR recipes to be), but Daimeian and most of the kids really enjoyed it. Definitely better with the salsa salad.

Next time, keep the size of soup the same as the recipe calls for. It was plenty. She says it serves 4, but it serves more than that (which is typical in RR recipes). I could make it just a bit larger for our family, but probably would not double it. However, I would nearly double the salsa salad. It was gone before the soup.

Key Ingredients: chipotle chili in adobo, celery, tortilla chips, chicken and stock, frozen corn, Dijon mustard, avocados, cilantro, romaine, red onion, parsley

Fish Tacos w/ Avocado Dressing - (Express Lane Meals, Rachael Ray, p. 161)

2008-02-29T08:50:00.001-06:00

TASTE: Quite good
PREP: Fairly quick
REPEAT: Yes

This recipe called for halibut which I didn't have. I used Mahi Mahi and Tilapia because I had some in the freezer. I had to adjust amounts of ingredients as I went with the recipe because of the amount of fish I had. Once seasoned, I flaked both types together and they tasted fine, not super full of flavor, but fine. I could've had a little more salt on the fish perhaps, but then it might have been too dry.

The avocado dressing was easy enough, but when RR calls for the juice of two limes it's really hard to know how much to use. I had limes from Sam's Club that were larger and very juicy. I tried to reduce some but the lime still overpowered the dressing flavor.

Next time, add more salt somewhere towards the end to bring out the flavor of the fish and corn mixture. Overall it was a nice change to our regular tacos and it cooked up quickly.

Key Ingredients: limes, tilapia or halibut, corn, jalepeno, avocados, cilantro, corn, chicken stock, romaine hearts, red wine vinegar

Cuban Black Bean Soup - (Cooking Light Magazine, Jan/Feb 2008, p93)

2008-02-29T08:15:00.001-06:00

TASTE: OK
PREP: Average
REPEAT: Probably not

Well, I love black beans and I am trying to find a variety of ways to use them. Good for you and cheap too. I want to find out how to prepare recipes, prepare them well, with dried beans. Let's just say I still have a way to go. :) The beans I used might have been too old because they never did soften enough. However, I have never had success with any method of soaking beans in the past anyway.

For this, I followed the recipe from Cooking Light. It did not suggest soaking the beans so I didn't. In fact, it used the water that the beans cooked in for the soup. IF I tried it again, I would soak overnight first with fresher dried beans then still prepare as suggested. I would also put the ham into the soup rather than as a topping. Some things are better put on fresh, like the chopped cilantro and the sour cream, others, like the ham and even the jalepeno pepper, could provide more flavor to the soup by adding them at least toward the end. I never added pumpkin seeds as in the recipe. Didn't have them and I had no desire to try and find them for this. Glad I didn't. Finally, the mixture of onions, shallots and peppers smelled great when they were cooked, but when I pureed them and put them back in the soup they seem to have lost their potency.

Black Bean Salad - (Cooking Light, June 1998 p. 116)

2008-02-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

TASTE: Very Good
PREP: Very Easy
REPEAT: Yes

This recipe was desinged to be a sole topping over gourmet greens. I served this with cooked chicken and it really added to the overall taste. I would definitely DOUBLE the recipe in the future and keep this one on hand. So easy to put together and I often have these types of ingredients on hand. Tyler really enjoyed this one also; a good way to get some veggies into that boy!

KEY INGREDIENTS: cilantro, parsley, black beans, lime juice, tomato, avocado, green onions, jalapeno

Buffalo Chicken Chili - (RachaelRayShow.com)

2007-09-23T08:29:00.000-05:00

PREP: Average to easy
TASTE: Good
REPEAT: Yes

NOTES: Happened to have the ingredients on hand that were needed for this recipe. It wasn't very much to put together even though the ingredient list looks like it. It was good but not great. Something that made for an interesting twist and we'll probably try again, but not a favorite. Would try to get celery cooked slower and longer probably so they don't come out crunchyin the chili.

INGREDIENTS: ground chicken breast, carrot, onion, celery, garlic, smoked paprika, chicken stock, hot sauce, tomato sauce, blue cheese, parsely (optional for topping w/ chips which I don't use).

Pasta w/ Arugula, Goat Chese and Sun Dried Tomato es - America's Test Kitchen/Cook'sIllustrated.com & January, 2004 (& oven fried potatoes)

2007-09-23T08:18:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes

NOTES: POTATOES - We were grilling some steaks for dinner and needed something to go with it. I had only a few small potatoes from Christian's grandfather's garden and cut those into pieces. I precooked them a little in the microwave to soften them and cut them and put them on a baking sheet, drizzled with EVOO and then sprinkled a Sun Dried tomato based herb mixture from my "dipping spices" and broiled them for a few minutes. They came out PERFECT.

The herb choice above came about as a result of choosing a pasta dish from Cookillustrated.com to try. I used whole wheat egg noodles (instead of campanelli or fuselli because I didn't have either). They ended up being a fine choice. While boiling the water I rinsed and dried off the jar of Sun Dried Tomatoes and threw them in the food processor with 5 T EVOO, 1/4 cup of lighlty toasted walnuts, 1/2 cup of parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp of pepper. When the noodles were done, I saved 3/4 c water from the noodles and put in some of the mesculun mix (minus the frisee and radiccio) because I didn't have 10 oz of arugula. Because I wasn't sure how the other lettuces would wilt, I only put in a couple handfuls. Then, mix the reserved water with the pesto and stri into the pasta. YUM. Serve with a dollop, 1/2 oz piece of goat cheese. EVEN YUMMIER!

REPEAT NOTES: Try with the other type of pasta, but the egg noodles were great. Try with full amount of arugula. Great, easy dish.

Hot and Sour Soup - (America's Test Kitchen Test Kitchen Favorites, p 116-117)

2007-09-15T10:36:00.001-05:00

PREP: Average
TASTE: VERY good
REPEAT: YES

NOTES: As per some of my previous posts, I've got to remember to NOT buy the pork chops that have the bone and fat in them. It is a pain to cut up and very time consuming. This soup could be quick and easy once I get the recipe down in my head so I know what steps to do when, and when I have a good cut of pork loin or boneless chop to cut up. Liana really liked the soup, Tyler and I enjoyed it. Tanner didn't want it. Also, the conversion for the black vinegar of 5 T recommened 1T balsamic vinegar and 1T redwine vinegar. I would at least double that portion because it needed more sour taste to it. Also, the chili oil I bought must not have been that hot. I used a little more than 1tsp (2 were recommended for the heat). The balance was good, but could have used the full 2tsp and been just fine.

Curry Chickpeas (RachaelRayShow.com)

2007-07-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

PREP: VERY easy
TASTE: not so good
REPEAT: no

VERY easy and quick but just didn't have a good taste. Maybe I needed to cook the chickpeas slower, but didn't care for the combo of curry and cinnamon.

Stuffed Chicken Cutlets (Everyday Food #35, September 2006, p42)

2007-06-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: VERY good
REPEAT: YES, definitely
NOTES: Daimeian REALLY liked this one. Easy to put together. I used chicken breasts and pounded them flat instead of using chicken cutlets. Had leftover tomato sauce to pour over top. Added some spaghetti (Italian) seasoning to the sauce and heated it up together to put over the chicken.

KEY INGREDIENTS: feta cheese, jarred roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, scallions (green onions), oregano (even forgot to put this in!)

Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Torellini (Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals, p48-49)

2007-06-19T08:52:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy to Average
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes, definitely
NOTES: Used whole wheat cheese filled ravioli and a 16 ounce bag of cut spinach. Both substitutes worked just fine. The dish was very tasty and Daimeian and I both really enjoyed it.

KEY INGREDIENTS: frozen spinach, chicken stock, heavy cream, artichoke hearts, parmesan-reggiano, cheesy tortellini or ravioli

Cowboy Spaghetti (Rachael Ray, Express Lane Meals, p60-61)

2007-06-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Again, I used whole wheat spaghetti. Daimeian and I would both prefer more sauce so next time I would double the sauce portion, and only up the spaghetti portion by half more. OR, reduce the spaghetti portion to 3/4 pound for one sauce portion. Overall good and a nice twist on spaghetti.

KEY INGREDIENTS: bacon, ground sirloin (beef), worchestershire, hot sauce, fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, scallions, cheddar cheese

Chipotle Pork Tacos w/ Pineapple Salsa (Cooking Light, May 2007, p127)

2007-06-16T13:19:00.001-05:00

PREP: Medium to Long (depending on cut of pork)
TASTE: Excellent
REPEAT: Yes, definitely
NOTES: This pork taco filling was just so, so good. The pineapple salsa was good as well, but much better with the pork recipe than with something else.

KEY INGREDIENTS: pineapple, apple, shallots, lime juice, onion, pork, chicken broth, cider vinegar, oregano, cherry tomatoes, chipotle chiles

Stir Fry Pork ("Pork, asparagus and baby corn stir-fry, Bowl Food, p276)

2007-06-16T13:16:00.001-05:00

PREP: Medium (Easy if pork is easy to cut)
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Recipe called for asparagus and baby corn. Didn't have these so I modified and made with green beans and carrots. Also used canned muchrooms. Was a little salty. Ran out of oyster sauce and used bean sauce instead. The pork I had was time consuming to cut; fatty and on the bone since it was a cheaper cut.

KEY INGREDIENTS:

Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Chip Cookies (Everyday Food, March 2005, p150)

2007-06-16T13:11:00.000-05:00

PREP: Super Easy
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes, definitely
NOTES: Tried this super easy recipe with a little bit of peanuts leftover from McDonalds or somewhere and have made it many times without any nuts. Tastes just fine without the peanuts. It's good to have them, but I wouldn't run out to get them unless you just love peanuts. Super easy, super tasty. YUM!

KEY INGREDIENTS: peanut butter, chocolate chips, eggs, sugar, salt, baking soda

Chicken w/ Tomatoes & Mushrooms (Everyday Food, October 2005, p87)

2007-06-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Good to Very Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Had chicken quarters (halves?) that I needed to use so I used them in this dish. They had skin and bones and I wouldn't do that again. The recipe is a version of chicken cacciatore, which typically is full pieces of chicken, but I don't care to fish out the skin and bones when I don't need to. When I started the recipe I thought I had twice as much chicken as the recipe called for so I planned to do a double batch. I ended up with too much tomatoes to break down properly like they were supposed to. I THINK they would do what they are supposed to do better if I followed the recipe better. Could do 2 separate pots or dutch ovens if I wanted to double.

KEY INGREDIENTS: chicken breasts, mushrooms, garlic, stewed tomatoes, dried oregano

African Ground Nut Stew w/ Sr. Cream-Chive Topping (Cooking Light, May 2007, p

2007-06-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy (15 minutes)
TASTE: OK, kind of blah
REPEAT: No
NOTES: Added meat to this meal to add flavor and protein which helped. The kids didn't like it. I had made it due to having ingredients on hand but not worth doing again.

Easy Fluffy White Frosting (King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, p435)

2007-06-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

PREP: Quick and Easy (5-10 min)
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: My second attempt at frosting. This one turned out MUCH better. Sweeter, less greasy and when dried some cystallized on the outer edge like what I'm used to in store bought cakes. My wonderfully talented hubby decorated this cake. He spent several hours doing it and only practiced on a practice cake the night before. This was his first cake to decorate and I think he did a fabulous job!

KEY INGREDIENTS: powdered (confectioner's) sugar,

Buttercream Frosting (King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, p430)

2007-06-16T12:17:00.000-05:00

PREP: Somewhat intensive
TASTE: Gross
REPEAT: NO, possible the taste had to do with how I made it, but don't thinks it's worth trying again.
NOTES: This was the first frosting I've tried by scratch and made it for Riley's train. I found that when you make frosting with vegetable shortening, DO NOT use BUTTER flavored. It colors the frosting and when you try to add coloring, like black, you get something different, like purple! Had to make this candy mixture at just the right temp and watch it go in slowly etc. Too intensive for me and definitely not worth the work for the nasty oily taste.

Classic Butter Cake (King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, P368)

2007-06-16T12:08:00.000-05:00

PREP: Quick (10-15 minutes)
TASTE: VERY good fresh, a bit heavy a day or so later
REPEAT: YES definitely
NOTES: Tried this cake for our son Riley's 4 year birthday party. It was his turn to have a big party and the theme was Thomas the Tank engine, of course! The cake came out VERY moist and perfectly rich and yummy. By the second day, after getting frosted and decorated, it started to dry out and feel very heavy. The kids didn't like it as much as store bought at this point. It's quick to make and cooks quickly too so it might be a great desert cake with whipped topping and fresh fuit. Nice whole grain cake recipe.

Spicy Bloody Mary Burger (RachaelRayShow.com)

2007-06-15T12:18:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy to Average
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Probably
NOTES: Definitely spicy, this burger is BIG and pretty darn good. The bloody mary tasting ketchup was a bit too chunky for me...definitely need to FINEly chop the celery and onion. Mine were only chopped, and thick, which made the sauce a bit too chunky. The burger were VERY Big. Too big for my kiddos and even myself. Next time I would make 6-8 servings out of 4. One serving is 1/4 lb of beef. I had to replace horseradish with Brat Mustard (made with horseradish) because I didn't have the horseradish itself.

KEY INGREDIENTS: gr. beef (sirloin), celery, onion, horseradish, tomato sauce, hot sauce, celery salt, worcerstershire, grill seasoning, parsley

Grilled Chicken and Tampenade Sandwiches (Cooking Light, June 2007, p 204)

2007-06-15T09:51:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Easy to grill chicken and mix together the tampenade. Next time I may actually measure the balsamic vinegar so I don't get too much. :) I used Whole Wheat rolls of some other kind which worked fine. I hollowed out much of the bread in my sandwich and put the extra bread into my mini cuisinart for bread crumbs. We ate with spinach in the sandwich and on the side and, well, I added just a bit of my favorite dressing from HEB, the Chipotle Thousand Island. Not so good for the fat and calories end, but OH SO GOOD in flavor!

KEY INGREDIENTS: kalamata olives, basil, parsley, balsamic vinegar, oregano (OOPS, I think I forgot this!), feta cheese

Barley Roasted Vegetable & Feta Salad (Cooking Light, June 2007, p 222)

2007-06-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

PREP: Average
TASTE: Fair
REPEAT: No
NOTES: Again, I planned unnecessarily for a double batch because of our family size, without considering the fact that it was a new recipe. Got to stop doing that! Also, I need to remember that if I am making a dish without meat, I need to prepare some meat on the side to go with it. Guess it's easy to tell that we are NOT vegetarians. It should be noted, however, that the dish was pretty filling without the meat for those who are vegetarians. Personally, I didn't care for the combination of the red wine vinegar with the dill. At least, I think that's the combo of flavors that kind of put me off. The kids wouldn't touch it so now I have this HUGE double batch of the stuff and I will, of course, try to eat what I can of it so it doesn't go to waste and more importantly, my grocery money doesn't go to waste.
BARLEY NOTES: Not sure if it was due to the double batch size of barley being cooked, but the level of water to barley and the cooking time were way off. I doubled the barley (Hulled Barley and it called for Pearl, maybe another reason for the difference?) to 2 cups and I'm not sure if I doubled the 4 cups of water or not. In any case, the Barley took 2 hours to finish, and even then the water wasn't all used. I had to pour out quite a bit of water at the end just to eat it, but the barley itself was fine. I think.

KEY INGREDIENTS: eggplant, red pepper, pearl barley, zucchini, yellow squash, parsley, mint, dill, orange rind, feta cheese

Lemon Cheesecake Bars (Everyday Food, MarthaStewart.com)

2007-06-14T14:17:00.000-05:00

PREP: Quick
Taste: Good to Very Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Kids really liked it. I prefer a thicker cheese cake filling. Small bars may be nice for bringing a desert to a potluck or something.

KEY INGREDIENTS: Cream Cheese, lemons, graham crackers, sugar

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup (Rachael Ray, FoodNetwork.com)

2007-06-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

PREP: Super Easy
TASTE: VERY Good
REPEAT: Yes
NOTES: Very quick to put together. Includes cumin and curry and tastes like a pumpkin curry. Good with a little more salt and especially with some cooked canadian bacon cut into the soup.

KEY INGREDIENTS: canned pumpkin, curry, cumin, chicken broth, heavy cream

Smoky BBQ Chili (Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2007, p208)

2007-06-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

PREP: Medium to average
TASTE: Good to OK
REPEAT: Maybe
NOTES: Tasted a bit ketchup. Meat prices, but an interesting change. Prefer my standard chili.

Key Ingredients: pasilla chiles, dried red chiles, chipotle chiles, chicken broth, pork loin, top round, honey mustard, pinto beans, molasses

Vegetable Lo Mein w/ Edamame & Mustard Greens (Cooking Light, March 2007)

2007-06-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

PREP: Time consuming and somewhat to difficult to manage timing
TASTE : OK
REPEAT: No
NOTE: Not worth the work and lacked flavor. Overall kind of bland. Did use whole wheat Lo Mein noodles, but still just kind of blah. Can probably do a variation with more flavor.

Chai Latte Brownies (Cooking Light, March 2007, p260) )

2007-06-14T13:44:00.001-05:00

Prep: Easy
Taste: VERY dry
Repeat: No
NOTES: Maybe try the chai seasonings in a different recipe. Way too dry on this one. Made with whole wheat pastry flour. Maybe I'd try again with more milk and chocolate.

KEY INGREDIENTS: whole cloves, cardamom pods, whole allspice, cinnamon stick, choc chips

Mozzarrella Sticks (Giada DeLaurentis, FoodNetwork.com)

2007-06-14T13:15:00.000-05:00

PREP: Easy
TASTE: Very Good
REPEAT: Yes, definitely
NOTES: Tried this recipe for our "Teen Fellowship" night. Easy enough I thought, and I was right. I bought a huge block of mozzarella from Sam's and found that that was too much. I used 1/3 of it and filled 1 and a half baking sheets. The baking sheets are the 2 for packs sold at Sam's Club for around $11. GREAT deal.

Anyway, I had some whole wheat bread crumbs already processed and bagged in the freezer. I just dumped them into a bowl, added Italian Seasoning and some parmesan that I had previously gotten from Sam's and finely grated in my Bosch slicer/shredder. I didn't really measure, I just guessed.

Had some difficulty keeping the sticks well coated, even with the egg mixture. Found that it got worse as I got to parts of the bread mixture that had gotten moist from already touching the egg mixture.

Served with jarred marinara. Maybe I'll try my own soon. Fried in Smart Balance shortening melted in 5 quart cast iron dutch oven.

Be ready to turn over and remove sticks within seconds. Burns quickly. Once bread mixture is mixed up, use only a small amount in the bowl for rolling the sticks at a time. Reserve the rest to pour in as needed so it doesn't get moistened which makes it hard to stick to the cheese.

KEY INGREDIENTS: mozzarella, bread crumbs, eggs, parmesan

Pasta in a Creamy Artichoke & Saffron Sauce (Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals, p70)

2007-06-14T13:08:00.000-05:00

TASTE: OK
PREP: Fairly easy
REPEAT: MAYBE (single batch, less pasta or more flavor and cream and add chicken)
NOTES: Made a double batch thinking that we needed it since it serves 4 and there are 6 of us. Of course, I was thinking 7 at the time forgetting that Christian wasn't here. In any case, I'm not sure if it was the recipe or the whole wheat pasta, but it really wasn't so creamy, at least not in the sense that I expected. Flavor was OK to Good, but not a hit with anyone else in the family. Maybe would have been better with chicken seasoned, grilled and chopped up into the dish. I ended up eating it with alfredo sauce to make it a creamier dish. Could try using less pasta in case it was the whole wheat that made it less creamy.

KEY INGREDIENTS: saffron, artichoke hearts quartered, heavy cream, white wine, parmesan, parsley

It shouldn't be so hard to figure out...Right?

2007-06-13T21:35:00.000-05:00

So people like Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and so on and so on, make it seem like such a cinch to whip up a fun, tempting and appetizing recipe. Magazines show beautiful pictures and use delectable words to whet the appetite and stir up some inner drive to get cooking in the kitchen. For me, I want to get cookin' so I can get eatin'! I hate paying the high costs of foods prepared at a restaurant, but I do enjoy being served and the great food I've gotten at some places. Well, as a mom who's wanting to help our family stay out of debt and plan for our future, I'll take the trade off; I'll work in the kitchen and learn how to make great food while saving money on how much it costs to eat it.

Goals:

Improve techniques in the kitchen. Cutting, cleaning as you go, knowing how much to prepare etc. and speed in preparation.

Prepare a variety of food that offers healthy options and keeps costs down. Not all rice and beans recipes, but certainly better than pre-pared foods at a restaurant or even in the grocers freezer.

Blog recipes tried and tips that work, or don't, to keep a record of things I am learning. Maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes and victories as well. :)