Well, right after I wrote last time about recipes and said we really weren't trying many new ones, I took off again, thanks mostly to Cooking Light. I caught up on some magazine reading and found a couple things to try right away. So, here we go...lots of recipes in the last few months:
Black Pepper-Curry Chicken Saute from Cooking Light - not surprisingly, this was too spicy for the kids, but Mike and I liked it. I will tuck this recipe away for us to have in coming years when the kids are out with friends or off at camp.
BLT Pasta from Cooking Light - I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The flavor just didn't knock my socks off. This is one I will probably toss as we have so many other great pasta dishes we've found.
Chicken and Butternut Gnocchi from Cooking Light - the kids took one look at this meal and decided they weren't going to like it, so it was a bust with the family. I found the flavor to be good with the little bit of pesto cooked in. It makes a huge amount, so this will go to the very back of the recipe folder to be pulled out for a pitch-in or other shared dish event where I can have a few servings.
Hearty Soup - this came from a bagged mix I bought at the Amish market in Shipshewana while on my retreat. You add some beef, tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. We really liked this soup and it will become a staple for cold weekends (along with the several other soup recipes we've found and liked).
Herb Roasted Chicken from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook - I really should have taken a picture when it was still in the roasting pan...but I forgot. You roast veggies with the chicken and it was a great and easy dinner we had with friends. All the kids approved, except for the roasted beets!
Kicky Black Bean Burgers from Cooking Light - Jack kept asking what kind of meat was in them because he didn't believe they were vegetarian. We all enjoyed them and we'll make them again.
Lasagna Rolls from Giada's Family Dinners cookbook - These were great and we will make them again. The recipe takes some time, so definitely a weekend recipe vs. weeknight, but well worth the time investment.
Lemon Cloud Pie from a Pillbury recipe card - I made this for a dinner with friends and it was a hit - even better, there were leftovers, so the kids and Mike all got a piece too. Thumbs up all around!
Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls - I decided on Thanksgiving morning that I'd try making the rolls this year. This is from a recipe card my mother-in-law gave me and it has her notes on it, but we aren't sure if this is her "famous" roll recipe. I was so happy they turned out well and every single one was eaten at dinner!
Pesto Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes from Cooking Light - I don't think it's any secret that I love pesto, so this recipe jumped right out at my when I was reading the magazine, and it didn't disappoint. That crunch of panko breadcrumbs on top of the pesto was perfect! I could take or leave the tomatoes, but the chicken will be made again.
Seared Salmon with Blistered Tomatoes from Cooking Light - I am always looking for a few different ways to cook salmon, and this was a great one! In this recipe, I really liked the mix of fish and tomato, and look forward to having this again.
Sesame Broccoli from Cooking Light - I thought we'd try a few side dishes to liven up our normal sides of frozen veggies. This was yummy - and we will definitely make it again.
Shortcut Shrimp Paella - I love to find quick and easy shrimp meals, and this one was a hit. Again, we left our red pepper and didn't miss it. This is another one that we'll make again soon.
Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros - Kate from Life in Pieces shared this recipe with me and it was absolutely delicious. We all liked the great flavor from the chicken and Mike and I slathered on the sauce too. This also made for good leftovers over a salad. Thanks Kate - this one's a keeper!
Tomatillo Sauce and Tomatillo Chicken Stew from Simply Recipes - another recipe recommended by a friend for my great tomatillo harvest. I've tried for three years to grow tomatillos and was finally successful this year. The green sauce could have been a little spicier (next time, I will add a few more jalepeno seeds). The stew was great and we gobbled it all up.
Upside-down Shepherd's Pie from Cooking Light - I've always loved Shepherd's Pie, but we haven't had it in years because of the effort it takes to make it all come together. This one was fantastic and made easy by using frozen mashed potatoes (which were great, by the way). We will definitely put this one into the rotation.
Waffle Iron Hash Browns from Cooking Light - Another great side dish. We decided to put the waffle iron in the goodwill pile after making this because it just doesn't get as hot as we need it to anymore, so we will be adding a new waffle iron. We really liked this different side dish and look forward to trying it again and getting it a little crispier.
Whew, that's a lot of recipes and a lot of successes. As I copied over the pictures to my "Cooking" folder on the computer, I noticed that we've now passed the 200 mark - wow, 200 new recipes that we've tried and it continues to be fun, so we'll march on towards 250! Hope you've found one or two to try from following our adventures!
Black Pepper-Curry Chicken Saute from Cooking Light - not surprisingly, this was too spicy for the kids, but Mike and I liked it. I will tuck this recipe away for us to have in coming years when the kids are out with friends or off at camp.
BLT Pasta from Cooking Light - I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The flavor just didn't knock my socks off. This is one I will probably toss as we have so many other great pasta dishes we've found.
Chicken and Butternut Gnocchi from Cooking Light - the kids took one look at this meal and decided they weren't going to like it, so it was a bust with the family. I found the flavor to be good with the little bit of pesto cooked in. It makes a huge amount, so this will go to the very back of the recipe folder to be pulled out for a pitch-in or other shared dish event where I can have a few servings.
Hearty Soup - this came from a bagged mix I bought at the Amish market in Shipshewana while on my retreat. You add some beef, tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. We really liked this soup and it will become a staple for cold weekends (along with the several other soup recipes we've found and liked).
Herb Roasted Chicken from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook - I really should have taken a picture when it was still in the roasting pan...but I forgot. You roast veggies with the chicken and it was a great and easy dinner we had with friends. All the kids approved, except for the roasted beets!
Kicky Black Bean Burgers from Cooking Light - Jack kept asking what kind of meat was in them because he didn't believe they were vegetarian. We all enjoyed them and we'll make them again.
Lasagna Rolls from Giada's Family Dinners cookbook - These were great and we will make them again. The recipe takes some time, so definitely a weekend recipe vs. weeknight, but well worth the time investment.
Lemon Cloud Pie from a Pillbury recipe card - I made this for a dinner with friends and it was a hit - even better, there were leftovers, so the kids and Mike all got a piece too. Thumbs up all around!
Perfectly Easy Dinner Rolls - I decided on Thanksgiving morning that I'd try making the rolls this year. This is from a recipe card my mother-in-law gave me and it has her notes on it, but we aren't sure if this is her "famous" roll recipe. I was so happy they turned out well and every single one was eaten at dinner!
Pesto Chicken with Blistered Tomatoes from Cooking Light - I don't think it's any secret that I love pesto, so this recipe jumped right out at my when I was reading the magazine, and it didn't disappoint. That crunch of panko breadcrumbs on top of the pesto was perfect! I could take or leave the tomatoes, but the chicken will be made again.
Quick Mongolian Beef Stir-fry from Cooking Light - We have another mongolian beef recipe that we like, but it takes planning ahead and the crock pot. This one was quick and not quite as satisfying, but still had good flavor. We left out the red peppers and added some mushrooms instead. I am a little torn on whether to keep this recipe, but I think we'll try it again before making a call.
Seared Salmon with Blistered Tomatoes from Cooking Light - I am always looking for a few different ways to cook salmon, and this was a great one! In this recipe, I really liked the mix of fish and tomato, and look forward to having this again.
Sesame Broccoli from Cooking Light - I thought we'd try a few side dishes to liven up our normal sides of frozen veggies. This was yummy - and we will definitely make it again.
Shortcut Shrimp Paella - I love to find quick and easy shrimp meals, and this one was a hit. Again, we left our red pepper and didn't miss it. This is another one that we'll make again soon.
Slow Cooker Chicken Gyros - Kate from Life in Pieces shared this recipe with me and it was absolutely delicious. We all liked the great flavor from the chicken and Mike and I slathered on the sauce too. This also made for good leftovers over a salad. Thanks Kate - this one's a keeper!
Tomatillo Sauce and Tomatillo Chicken Stew from Simply Recipes - another recipe recommended by a friend for my great tomatillo harvest. I've tried for three years to grow tomatillos and was finally successful this year. The green sauce could have been a little spicier (next time, I will add a few more jalepeno seeds). The stew was great and we gobbled it all up.
Upside-down Shepherd's Pie from Cooking Light - I've always loved Shepherd's Pie, but we haven't had it in years because of the effort it takes to make it all come together. This one was fantastic and made easy by using frozen mashed potatoes (which were great, by the way). We will definitely put this one into the rotation.
Waffle Iron Hash Browns from Cooking Light - Another great side dish. We decided to put the waffle iron in the goodwill pile after making this because it just doesn't get as hot as we need it to anymore, so we will be adding a new waffle iron. We really liked this different side dish and look forward to trying it again and getting it a little crispier.
Whew, that's a lot of recipes and a lot of successes. As I copied over the pictures to my "Cooking" folder on the computer, I noticed that we've now passed the 200 mark - wow, 200 new recipes that we've tried and it continues to be fun, so we'll march on towards 250! Hope you've found one or two to try from following our adventures!
Comments
Have a very Merry Christmas!