Last year, I started spacing out the sharing of recipes because we were in a little bit of a "rut." When I say rut, I mean nothing like when we started this challenge and had about 10 different meals that we rotated, but I wasn't finding many new recipes to try. I guess I got kick-started over the holidays, because I have a lot to share.
I'll start with a few bombs. It isn't often that a recipe totally bombs in our house, but we had two in a row!
The first one is from Midwest Living, called Sheet-Pan Sausage and Fall Vegetables. we really enjoy sausage, so I was looking for a different way to cook it. This one looked good, but the flavors just didn't do a thing for us. We'll be putting our sausage on the grill next time.
The second bomb was Maui Beef on Coconut Rice from our Trader Joe's Cookbook. I had never cooked short ribs before, followed the recipe and they looked great. I cut into the first one and it was almost raw! Ewww! We put them back under the broiler for a bit, but they never got quite done enough for our taste. About the only part of this recipe that we liked was the coconut rice. They might look pretty on the plate, but we won't be making this one again!
Things looked up from there - here are the remaining recipes we've tried lately, in no particular order.
Beef & Noodles - for those of you who cross-stitch, you probably know of Vonna, the Twisted Stitcher. She posted her menu for the week on facebook and had this on it. She was generous to share the recipe - we tried it last week and it was great. Even better on the second day when the noodles really absorbed the sauce. Keep an eye on her website to see if she adds the recipe there.
A fairly easy weeknight meal in this Campbell's Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie. I cut this one out of a magazine years ago (the ad on the back says the offer is good if you respond before Nov 15, 1997!), so this one's been percolating a long time. It was a great and pretty easy chicken pot pie. I didn't find the exact recipe, but there are several that look close from this google search. Ours called for Bisquick for the topping.
Mmmm, crusty, crunchy Hellman's Parmesan Crusted Chicken from the Quilter's Cookbook gifted to me by my friend Kathy. There's something about that layer of mayo and the crunch of the bread crumbs. We loved this!
This one is an old standby for us, but I am not sure I've shared it before. It is a made up recipe, although originally it may have been in the Trader Joe's flyer. It is lemon pepper pasta with tuna in oil and capers. Drizzle some olive oil over the top and add some more pepper and this is a hit in our house. It is also a super easy meal to make!
This one didn't photograph well (but you can see the bunny from Jenna's plate peeking out), but it tasted great. It is Mexican Crock Pot chicken. We shredded the chicken after this picture and loaded it into corn tortillas with the beans and salsa on top and it was lick-your-fingers yummy.
Another super yummy dish here - Mexican Lasagna from one of my favorite cookbooks - Fix it and Enjoy it. With corn tortillas, salsa, and beans instead of regular lasagna ingredients, it was a hit. I gobbled up all the leftovers before anyone else could get them!
Another Quilter's Cookbook recipe - Oven Fried Fish. This had good texture, but I think we picked the wrong fish. We'll try this again with something a little thicker.
Here's another quick and easy one that was shared by a friend - Pork Chops in Mushroom sauce. I'll share the recipe for this one - place chops in bottom of a glass pan, cover with 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/2 can water, and onion soup mix. Add extra mushrooms to the top if desired. Bake for 45 minutes at 325. This one was a nice pork chop recipe, but was a little salty for me. We did enjoy putting the extra sauce on the rice though.
This one was advertised as a 15-minute meal by Rachael Ray. My husband, who made this, said it was more than 30 minutes. I think it was worth every minute for this Skillet Tamale Pie, made with polenta, which was tasty.
Jack's plate gets a cameo in this one - good thing I took the picture quickly, because he devoured these Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas from the Quilter's Cookbook. I am a sucker for sour cream enchiladas, and the only disappointment in these is that there weren't any left for lunch the next day!
Whew, after all those dinners, it's time for dessert! My mom cooked dinner on Christmas night, so I made dessert. This recipe for Holiday Chocolate Mint Bars came from a magazine that also has a 1997 date on it! It was a very thick bar - a lot like a Texas sheet cake - with a nice layer of mint below the chocolate on top. It was sinfully rich, but delicious!
Hope you enjoyed this little trip through our kitchen and found something that looks good to try! Oh, and don't worry, I know winter isn't over yet! We still have a few new recipes to try in the next couple weeks. I'll try not to wait to long to share the next set.
I'll start with a few bombs. It isn't often that a recipe totally bombs in our house, but we had two in a row!
The first one is from Midwest Living, called Sheet-Pan Sausage and Fall Vegetables. we really enjoy sausage, so I was looking for a different way to cook it. This one looked good, but the flavors just didn't do a thing for us. We'll be putting our sausage on the grill next time.
The second bomb was Maui Beef on Coconut Rice from our Trader Joe's Cookbook. I had never cooked short ribs before, followed the recipe and they looked great. I cut into the first one and it was almost raw! Ewww! We put them back under the broiler for a bit, but they never got quite done enough for our taste. About the only part of this recipe that we liked was the coconut rice. They might look pretty on the plate, but we won't be making this one again!
Things looked up from there - here are the remaining recipes we've tried lately, in no particular order.
Beef & Noodles - for those of you who cross-stitch, you probably know of Vonna, the Twisted Stitcher. She posted her menu for the week on facebook and had this on it. She was generous to share the recipe - we tried it last week and it was great. Even better on the second day when the noodles really absorbed the sauce. Keep an eye on her website to see if she adds the recipe there.
A fairly easy weeknight meal in this Campbell's Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie. I cut this one out of a magazine years ago (the ad on the back says the offer is good if you respond before Nov 15, 1997!), so this one's been percolating a long time. It was a great and pretty easy chicken pot pie. I didn't find the exact recipe, but there are several that look close from this google search. Ours called for Bisquick for the topping.
Our last dinner meal - and one of the most recent too - South of the Border Pie - a nice vegetarian dish from the Better Homes and Garden's cookbook. We forgot to put the salsa in the pie, but topped it when we ate it and the flavor was great.
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