Night 44

Recipe 24
Salsa Stoup and Double-Decker Baked Quesadillas
Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

Vegetable oil
Jalepeno peppers
Green bell pepper
Onion
Celery
Garlic cloves
S&P
Stewed tomatoes
Crushed tomatoes
Chicken stock
Cilantro
Flour tortillas
Cheddar
Scallions
Pepper Jack
Sour cream

Once again, I was pretty surprised that Matt gave this such a high rating considering all the tomatoes used. There have been other recipes that have called for the quesadillas though and I think that those make up for the tomatoes because he absolutely loves all the cheese! This spicy meal fills you up without filling you out! Good stuff, Maynard!!!

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Mandy

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!

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Mandy

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?

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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!

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Mandy

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 :)

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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!

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Mandy

Night 38

Recipe 202

Fall Minestrone

Matt rating ****

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Pancetta (I used bacon)

Red pepper flakes

Garlic cloves

Portobello mushroom caps

Onions

Carrots

Celery ribs

Salt and pepper

Fresh rosemary

Fresh sage (I didn't have any)

Zucchini

Kale

Cannellini beans

Diced tomatoes

Chicken stock

Vegetable stock

Parmigiano cheese

Ditalini pasta

Crusty bread

Matt isn't a really big fan of soup, and I sort of had to talk his rating up. I personally thought this soup was really good. I've never cooked with kale before, but I've had it in soup at the Olive Garden before and I knew I would like it. I'm glad to have plenty left over for lunch tomorrow!

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Mandy