Night 14

Recipe 42

Cider Vinegar Chicken with Smashed Potatoes and a Watercress and Cucumber Salad

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Red-skinned potatoes

EVOO

Chicken breast halves

S&P

Yellow onions

Thyme

Honey

Garlic cloves

Apple cider vinegar

Chicken stock

Half-and-Half

Unsalted butter

Dijon mustard

Iceberg lettuce (it called for Watercress but Matt couldn't find it)

Seedless cucumber

I suppose I should just let my husband the photographer start taking all the pictures from now on since this picture looks like it belongs in a magazine! This dish was definitely different with the tangy kick from the vinegar but it was soooo good! I'm usually not a fan of caramelized onions but they were really good with the vinegar, broth, and seasonings used. My 16 year old nephew is staying with us this week and I think he didn't stop to breathe before he finished, and then he went back for seconds! I guess 16 year old boys will eat anything you put in front of them though, huh! Matt liked it too though so we'll call it a success!

I'm going to my church's women's retreat tomorrow (yay!!!) and won't get back til later Saturday night, so I'll cook again Sunday night. Have a great weekend!

Mandy

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Bonus Stir-Fry Recipe

Pork and rice stir-fry (using pork tenderloin leftovers from Sunday's dinner)

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

2 tablespoons wok oil (or vegetable oil if you don't have it)

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice

A sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 green onions, chopped on an angle about an inch long

About a pound of leftover cooked pork tenderloin, chopped into bite-sized cubes

About a cup or so of frozen peas

Soy sauce, to taste

Bring chicken stock to a boil and add rice. Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. While rice is cooking, chop all the veggies and meat. Heat a wok or large pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, celery, and green onions. Cook for about a minute and then add the meat and peas to heat through. Add the cooked rice to the pot and use soy sauce liberally, to taste.

Using all leftovers, this dish turned out surprisingly well considering I just winged it!!! It says a lot that Matt gave it the highest rating when he does not usually like leftovers in any form. This made quite a bit, maybe enough for 8 people. My sister is getting here tonight with her three boys so we'll have plenty to feed them when they get here, and if they're not hungry then I'll have some for lunch tomorrow :) I'm sure this dish could easily be made with leftover chicken as and turn out just as good.

Back to the fussing baby!

Mandy

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Night 13

Recipe 331

Rosemary Lemon-Pepper Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Lemon-Parmigiano Dressed Greens and Garlic Croutons

Matt rating ****

Ingredients used:

Pork tenderloins

Lemons

S&P

Garlic cloves

Rosemary

EVOO

Bread

Mayo

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Romaine hearts

The star of this dish was definitely the croutons! I've never made home-made croutons before and they turned out so yummy. I don't think I'll ever buy store-bought croutons again after seeing how easy they were to make. The dressing for the salad was a hit too and was almost like a caesar dressing, but not quite as heavy. The pork wasn't quite all the way cooked through when I pulled it out of the oven so I put it back in for about three more minutes and it turned out a little dry, but still tasted pretty good. I had a whole tenderloin leftover so I'll use it in a rollover dish tomorrow night. Tonight we are having a bbq for my mom so no RR recipe tonight. We're just going to do easy burgers and dogs tonight to keep it simple. Depending on the plans I might cook again Thursday since my mom will be heading to Montana with my sister that day. Not sure what I'll make yet, but I think I'll put the frozen chicken or hamburger to use to save some $$$.

Mandy

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Night 12

Recipe 288

Lime-and-Honey Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad

Matt rating *** (Julie rated it *****)

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Red onion

Garlic cloves

Crushed red pepper flakes

Ground cumin

S&P

Limes

Honey

Chili powder

Salmon fillets

Red bell pepper

Corn kernels

Chicken stock

Black beans

Cilantro

Baby spinach

This is the second fish dish I made this week and once again I have to give Matt props for at least sampling the salmon. Once again I was shocked that he gave it a decent rating! Blake and Julie were good sports about it because this was the first time I've ever made salmon and it came out a little "blackened" on one side, but Julie says she likes it that way...haha! All in all it really did have pretty good flavor. The black bean and corn salad was really yummy and had a nice little kick to it and both Blake and Julie went back for seconds of it, and took the leftovers home! Lucky for Matt, there are only like two or three other salmon recipes in this cookbook and I'll wait awhile to make it for his sake :).

My mom is flying in from South Carolina tomorrow evening so I will probably not be able to make dinner and it will be a little hit and miss while she is in town. Rest assured, I will continue cooking through this recipe book and this blog. Can't believe I've made twelve recipes already! What is that, like 353 to go or something...sheesh!

Mandy

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Night 11

Recipe 236

Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish and Green Rice Pilaf

Matt rating *** (I would give it 4)

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Unsalted butter

Shallot

Thyme leaves

S&P

Long-grain rice

Dry white wine

Chicken stock

Flat-leaf parsley

Spinach leaves

Basil leaves

Lemon

Catfish fillets

Yellow cornmeal

This post will be short as I am typing one-handed because I am holding a bag of ice in the other on the burns I received while making this dish. Note to self...never grab a frying pan by the handle after it's been in a 400 degree oven!!! Anywho, I finally dared to make an actual fish dish tonight and was very proud of Matt for eating half of his catfish fillet, and for giving it a decent rating! I love catfish so this was a yummy dish for me. I only had to get three ingredients from the store today since I had everything else already. The cornmeal crust was really good and the rice was pretty interesting! I love how RR finds ways to make rice or mashed potatoes interesting by adding different ingredients to them.

Well I can't type much more so hopefully my hand will quit burning before I hit the sack here in a few minutes. I will be taking a two night break since we have dinner at church tomorrow and then I'm eating at a friend's house Thursday. We are having our friends over Friday night and I'll be making them Salmon for their 10 year anniversary! I'll be making chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese for their kids and Matt, since I won't make him eat fish twice in one week :) Have a great night!

Mandy

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Night 10

Recipe 74

Turkey Croquettes with Spinach Mashers and Pan Gravy

Matt Rating ****

Ingredients used:

Potatoes

Course salt

Ground turkey

Celery

Yellow onion

Poultry seasoning

Thyme

Flat-leaf parsley

Course black pepper

Egg yolk

Plain bread crumbs

Vegetable oil

Unsalted butter

Flour

Chicken stock

Cream

Baby spinach leaves

Prepared whole-berry cranberry sauce (I omitted this)

We had our newlywed friends, Kevin and Anne, over for dinner tonight and it was great to fellowship with them! I did some prep work ahead of time by chopping the veggies and mixing in the herbs and seasonings and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours so I wouldn't be rushed at dinner-time getting everything ready. This was a pretty healthful meal that I wasn't shy about going back for seconds (and even thirds on the potatoes!). The baby spinach was added to the mashed potatoes and you'd be surprised at how good it turned out by having a little bit of crunchy green in them! The pan gravy (not pictured) on top of everything just made it that much better. The only complaint that I have about this meal is that there weren't leftovers for lunch tomorrow ;-) It took two batches because my pan wasn't big enough to fit 8 patties, so the second batch came out a little darker because the oil was darker, but they were still pretty tasty.

I haven't decided what to make for dinner tomorrow yet, but I've got to start making some of the fish/seafood dishes and just hope that Matt will like them! Stay tuned and we'll see if I dare to make one tomorrow...

Mandy

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Night 9

Recipe 25

Taco Chili-Mac and Double-Decker Baked Quesadillas

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

Ground beef

Hot sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Ground cumin

Chili powder

Macaroni

Vegetable oil

Jalapeno peppers

Green bell pepper

Onion

Celery

Garlic cloves

S&P

Stewed tomatoes

Crushed tomatoes

Chicken stock

Cilantro

Flour tortillas

Cheddar cheese

Scallions

Pepper Jack

Sour cream (oops, forgot to use it!)

Matt gave this five stars because the baked quesadillas were killer! Good thing I have extra torts and cheese cause I'm gonna make them for a snack tomorrow :) There were so many leftovers that I was able to freeze a big bowl of the chili-mac so Matt can have it when I go to the women's retreat here in a couple of weeks, plus plenty for my lunch tomorrow too!

Well not much else to say since it's so late and we need to get to bed...Judah has been in a mood today so I haven't had time for much else. Hope she sleeps well tonight!!!

My next installment won't be until Sunday as we have plans Friday and Saturday night that will keep me out of the kitchen. Looking forward to the two day break!

Mandy

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Night 8

Pan-Roasted Garlic and Herb Chicken Breasts with Chopped Salad and Creamy Caper Dressing

Matt rating ***1/2 (I'd give it 4)

Ingredients used:

Garlic cloves

Flat-leaf parsley

Hot sauce

EVOO

S&P

Chicken breasts

Mayo

Capers

Red wine vinegar

Dijon mustard

Cherry tomatoes

Radicchio

Scallions

Cucumber

This recipe was super easy to make taking all of about 20 minutes. It called for the chicken to be marinated for only five minutes, but I marinated it for about two hours in the fridge. I started it by browning it in a pan for a few minutes and then finished it off in the oven. I probably needed to cut down the oven time just a little bit but it still turned out really tasty. The salad was a little different because of the strong tasting radicchio lettuce used, but the creamy dressing and all the other veggies balanced it out - it was a very colorful salad. I would probably use half of the radicchio next time and use another crisp lettuce like iceberg to even the taste out a little better. The crunch in the salad was great and the dressing was soooo yummy. I'll definitely use the dressing again for another salad.

Once again I have the night off tomorrow night for Fellowship at the Farm with free hot dogs and hamburgers...hope to see you there! Come back Thursday for a review of Taco Chili-Mac!

Mandy

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Bonus Recipe

Since I have quite a bit of produce in my fridge that I know I won't go through before it goes bad, I decided to make a vegetable and bean soup for lunch today that will keep me fed for lunch for the rest of the week. I make this soup different each time just depending on what I have on hand. It started off as a Campbell's recipe that I have added to and tweaked to suit my taste and ingredients. I know, I know, it's like 97 degrees outside and I'm making soup, but I've got air conditioning, so it's okay!

Vegetable and Bean Soup

Ingredients used:

2 tablespoons EVOO

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stocks, chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

Dash or two of red pepper flakes

1 quart box chicken stock

14 oz can crushed tomatoes

14 oz can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted this time)

1/2 to 1 cup short cut pasta (I used ditallini today)

14 oz can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed (I usually use kidney beans but these are just as good)

Handful Italian parsley, chopped

Parmigiano-Regianno cheese, for sprinkling on top

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, and veggies. Save the parsley for the end. Cook 3-5 minutes until veggies are tender-crisp and then add chicken stock and both cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes until pasta is al dente. Add the beans and heat through. Stir in parsley and ladle into bowls. Top with the cheese and enjoy!

About 8 servings or so?

Night 7

Recipe 53

Eggs-traordinary Stuffed Toasty Baskets

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Bacon

Garlic

Onion

Red pepper flakes

S&P

Soft white sandwich bread

Unsalted butter

Tomato

Eggs

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner? Matt would eat breakfast every night if I made it. He took one bite of this dish and yelled out "5 stars, even with tomatoes!!!!" Guess this one is a winner! Again, this was a super easy dish to make. It called for a green salad on the side, but salad just doesn't seem to go with breakfast food for me. We didn't miss it. We definitely could have eaten another one of these though! Luckily this is a master recipe and there is a variation to use for another recipe down the road where you swap out chorizo for the bacon and add green olives...sounds interesting! This would definitely be a great recipe to use for the whole family!

Mandy

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Night 6

Recipe 126

Spicy Shrimp and Penne with Puttanesca Sauce

Matt rating **** (I would rate this 5 stars!)

Ingredients used:

Penne pasta

Course salt

EVOO

Garlic cloves

Red pepper flakes

Anchovy fillets

Kalamata olives

Capers

Canned crushed tomatoes

Canned diced tomatoes

Shrimp

Flat-leaf parsley

(I also added freshly grated parmesan cheese)

I absolutely love puttanesca sauce, so any dish with it will be a winner to me! Puttanesca is named after "ladies of the night" because it's spicy, fast, and easy!!! This dish took me less than 30 minutes to make, and would have been even less time if I would have purchased pre-peeled shrimp, but I got the shrimp that was on sale that just needed a quick peel since it was already de-veined.

I inhaled this dish before Matt had even eaten three bites of his. I am very proud of him considering this had tomatoes, anchovies, and shrimp, all things he is not fond of. He finished every shrimp on his plate and actually gave the dish a better rating than I was expecting. This is a keeper for me, but maybe on a night when I am having girlfriends over.

Well the baby is crying so back to mommy-duty I go!

Mandy

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