Thank you for visiting my blog!

For those of you new to my blog, I thought I should let you know what my mission is. I am working my way through Rachael Ray's 365: No Repeats cookbook. It is my goal over time to prepare all of the recipes in this book. At the pace I am going, it may take me 5 years, but I am practical enough to realize that there is no way that I can cook every single night of the week, as well as purchase all the ingredients for every recipe every night and still keep up the mortgage payments! I hope you are inspired to get into the kitchen and try some new recipes yourself. Your comments are always welcome and I appreciate you stopping by. May the Lord bless you all!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Night 43


Recipe 237
Crispy Fried Sesame Shrimp, Zucchini, and Mushroom Caps with a Ginger-Soy Dipping Sauce
Matt rating **** 1/2

Ingredients used:

Tamari
Garlic clove
Fresh ginger
Sugar
Lime
Sesame oil
Hot sauce
Vegetable oil
Pancake mix
Sesame seeds
Shrimp
Zucchini
Shiitake mushrooms

OMGoodness!!! The recipe title is just a long way of saying Tempura Shrimp and Veggies...this was delicious! By now you should know that Matt hates "anything that lives in the water and anything that is considered a fungus". I added a salad and fried rice to round out the meal. He ate every last piece of this meal and was raving about the dipping sauce. I don't make many fried dishes so this was quite messy, but was well worth the clean-up. I would give this recipe 5 stars!

<><
Mandy

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Night 42


Recipe 50
Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs...and That's a Compliment!
Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

EVOO
Chicken thighs (I used drumsticks)
S&P
Yellow onion
Garlic cloves
Thyme
Dry white wine
Chicken stock
Red potatoes
Peas
Lemon
Flat-leaf parsley
Crusty bread and salad

I wasn't a huge fan of the chicken itself in this dish, but surprisingly Matt gave this a pretty high rating. I did like the potatoes that were cooked along with the chicken though. Maybe it would have turned out a little better had I actually used the thighs like it called for instead of the drumsticks I had on hand. Oh well, it was tasty enough to eat and Matt was happy...that's all that matters, right?

<><
Mandy

Night 41


Recipe 92
London Broil with Parsley-Horseradish Chimichurri
Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Shoulder steak
Worcestershire sauce
EVOO
S&P
Horseradish
Garlic cloves
Red wine vinegar
Flat-leaf parsley
Lemon

Any steak will make Matt happy, and this one was no exception! The chimichurri was a great compliment to the steak. As you can see from the very small list of ingredients, this was a very simple meal to make. Definitely a keeper!

<><
Mandy

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Night 40


Recipe 351
Pork Chops in a Sweet Chili and Onion Sauce with Creamy Cilantro Potato Salad
Matt rating ***1/2

Ingredients used:

Russet potatoes
S&P
EVOO
Pork chops
Red onion
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Garlic cloves
Dark brown sugar
Chicken stock
Unsalted butter
Mayonnaise
Cilantro leaves
Red wine vinegar
Celery
Red bell peppers

Matt wasn't a big fan of the pork chops because he prefers the way I make them with my own ingredients, but I thought the sweet chili and onion sauce was great! The ladies at my Wednesday morning Bible study loved the leftover potato salad and I ended up giving them the recipe for it, so I would say that that deserved to bump the rating up to at least a 4! I guess I'll keep the potato salad recipe and drop the pork chop recipe :)

<><
Mandy

Night 39


Recipe 33
3 Beans and Some Chicken
Matt rating ****

Ingredients used:

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
EVOO
Thyme
S&P
Chicken breasts
Pancetta (or bacon)
Yellow onion
Red pepper flakes
Dry white wine
Chicken stock
Green beans
Wax beans
Cannellini beans
Flat-leaf parsley

I would say that the star of this dish was definitely the beans! The chicken unfortunately turned out a little dry but the moisture from the beans helped make up for it. Not too bad for yet another chicken recipe!

<><
Mandy