Night 85

Recipe 228
Chicken in Puttanesca Sauce over Creamy Polenta
Matt rating ****


Ingredients used:

Chicken stock
Whole milk
S&P
EVOO
Chicken tenders
Garlic cloves
Flat anchovy fillets
Red pepper flakes
Oil-cured black olives
Capers
Crushed tomatoes
Flat-leaf parsley
Quick-cooking polenta
Unsalted butter
Parmigiano-Reggiano

Mmmmmmmmm....this was so yummy.  The polenta was the star of this dish and went so well with the puttanesca sauce.  I am a huge fan of creamy polenta with lots of cheese stirred in.  Matt enjoyed it, however Judah, our 18 month old daughter, took one bite and almost started dry-heaving.  I think that there were just too many new flavors in this dish to try to introduce her to, so she ended up eating a lunchable for dinner, lol!

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Mandy

Night 84

Recipe 252
Croque Monsieur with Greens
Matt rating *****


Ingredients used:

Unsalted butter
Flour
Whole milk
Dijon mustard
Freshly grated nutmeg
S&P
Sandwich bread
Sliced ham
Gruyere cheese
White wine vinegar
Apricot jam
Tarragon leaves
EVOO
Mixed baby greens

I made this delicious meal after a hike in the mountains on a crisp fall day.  I was disappointed with how they looked when they came out of the pan, but looks were definitely deceiving in this case!  The sandwiches had a delicious surprise of a creamy sauce on the inside with the ham, and a cheese crust on the outside.  The salad and dressing were a nice contrast to the heaviness of the sandwiches.  My sister and her kids were here and they all raved about how good the sandwiches were.  Matt took one bite out of the sandwich and yelled out "FIVE!" for the rating.  I am making a spinach bisque in the crock pot today (not a Rachael Ray recipe), and I just may have to make these sandwiches again to go along with the creamy soup.  It's a perfectly chilly and rainy fall day for comfort food.

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Mandy

Night 83

Recipe 277
Chorizo-Tomato Stew on Garlic Croutons with Zesty Parsley Sprinkle
Matt rating ****


Ingredients used:

EVOO
Chorizo
Garlic cloves
Yellow onion
Celery
Carrot
Red potatoes
Fresh thyme
S&P
Canned diced fire-roasted tomatoes
Chicken stock
Crusty country-style bread
Flat-leaf parsley
Lemon zest
Orange zest

I love fall for the simple fact that I can make soup to warm up my bones instead of giving in and firing up the furnace.  I was really tempted this morning to turn on the heat for the first time this season, but decided against it at just the thought of making soup later in the day.  Matt gave this four stars just based on the fact that it was soup (stew) - he has never been a fan of soup - period.  So four stars coming from him on this recipe is considered a five in my book!  What's great about this dish is that it is considered a "master recipe", which has a little twist to make it differently at a later date.  Can't wait!

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Mandy

Night 82

Recipe 107
Turkey Club Super Mashers
Matt rating ****1/2


Ingredients used:

Bacon
Potatoes
Coarse salt
Turkey breast cutlets (I used tenderloin)
Coarse black pepper
Poultry seasoning
EVOO
Unsalted butter
Flour
Chicken stock
Thyme
Sour cream
Milk
Fresh spinach (the recipe called for watercress, but the store didn't carry it)
Canned fire-roasted tomatoes
Scallions

I served this meal for company and everyone seemed to like it.  The turkey was delicious and not dry at all, and the potatoes were fabulous with the bacon, spinach, and tomatoes added to them.  Our friends brought over a yummy salad to go alongside and a sinful chocolate cake as dessert.  Needless to say, I was delightfully satisfied when dinner was over.  Even one of the kids that came over who doesn't usually eat meat asked for thirds on the turkey!  Good stuff Maynard!

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Mandy

Night 81

Recipe 114
Thai Shrimp with Basil
Matt rating ****


Ingredients used:


Vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds shrimp
Salt and course black pepper
Fresh ginger
Garlic
Red pepper flakes
Red bell pepper
Scallions
Tamari
Honey
Basil
Iceberg lettuce


I know you are stunned that I made two seafood dishes in one week, considering Matt's aversion to seafood, but in between this meal and the meal I blogged of before, we went away over the weekend.  We had SO much heavy, greasy, bad-for-you food that we both just wanted something light.  Shrimp is one of the seafood-type foods that Matt doesn't mind, although he will always pick steak or fettuccine over shrimp every time.  This had quite a kick to it, considering the only real spice in it was a little bit of red pepper flakes.  This recipe can also be used on chicken or pork and will be just as fabulous, I'm sure!


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Mandy

Night 80

Recipe 181
Scallop Burgers
Matt rating ***


Ingredients used:


Sea scallops
Shallot
Flat leaf parsley
Navel orange zest
Chives
Old Bay Seasoning
Coarse S&P
EVOO
Crusty rolls
Romaine lettuce


This was one of those meals that came together in a flash, thanks to the work of a handy dandy food processor.  Three minutes on each side in the pan and they were done!  I absolutely loved these because it was definitely different, but Matt was not a fan.  I don't think he even ate half of his!  I would have eaten the rest of his for him, but didn't want to look like a pig.  


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Mandy

Night 79

Recipe 95

Island Bird: Pineapple-Rum Chicken

Matt rating ****1/2

*Sorry, forgot to take a pic for this one!!!*

Ingredients used:

Rice

Pineapple

Vegetable oil

Yellow onion

Garlic

Coarse salt

Red pepper flakes

Spiced rum

Chicken stock

Chicken breast halves

Coarse black pepper

Flat-leaf parsley

Cilantro

So I quickly redeemed myself by making this meal after such a sub-par meal a couple of nights before. We had company over and they all seemed to enjoy it. I have always had an aversion to mixing meat and fruit (i.e. pork chops and apple sauce, pineapple on pizza, etc.) but since I am always giving Matt a hard time about trying things he thinks he doesn't like, I had to give this a try. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out! And boy, it went a long way! This meal fed 7 people (and a toddler) with some food left over, and that was with only 2 1/2 pounds of meat. I both love and hate proving myself wrong...

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Mandy

Night 78

Recipe 47

Couple-of-Minute Steaks and Potato Ragout

Matt rating ***

Ingredients used:

Cube steaks

Worcestershire sauce

Black pepper

EVOO

Baking potatoes

Coarse salt

Thyme

Rosemary

Yellow onion

Garlic

Dry white whit

Chicken stock

Cherry tomatoes

Flat-leaf parsley

Butter

You would think that with Matt being a midwestern guy that steak and potatoes would receive a higher rating, wouldn't you? I can't say I blame him on this one though. While I thought the potatoes were pretty tasty, the "cube" steak was what I call peasant steak...it seems to be just glorified hamburger. In all fairness, I don't think there is much you can do to make cube steak better, except to use it in salisbury steak - and even then, it's still glorified hamburger meat with a sauce to disguise it! The best part about this meal is that I had everything on hand, including the herbs and tomatoes that I have growing in my garden, except for that dreaded cube steak...so, it was very budget friendly! Definitely NOT a keeper.

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Mandy

Night 77

Recipe 182

Chicken with White and Wild Rice Soup

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

White and wild rice blend

EVOO

Yellow onion

Garlic

Carrots

Celery

Bay leaf

Thyme

S&P

Chicken stock

Chicken tenders

Flat-leaf parsley

Dill

Lemon

Hot sauce

So after Matt brought back the frozen breaded chicken tenders (ya know, the chicken-nugget type frozen thing?) and told me that there was no such thing as chicken tenders, he went back to the store to bring me back regular boneless-skinless chicken breasts instead. He brought back a package of chicken tenderloins and told me that was all they had...ummm...okay? I had to explain to him that chicken "tenders" was just short for chicken tenderloins, hahaha! So after a false start, I was able to get dinner on the table in a flash. Matt and I both loved it - Judah, on the other hand, put it in her mouth and spit it right back out. Everybody's a critic, right?

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Mandy

Night 76

Recipe 36

BLT Pasta Bake: Bacon, Leeks, and Tomatoes

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt

Elbow macaroni

EVOO

Bacon

Leeks

Coarse black pepper

Unsalted butter

Flour

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Milk

Chicken stock

Gruyere cheese

Dijon mustard

Cherry tomatoes (from my garden!)

Plain bread crumbs

I figured that for my last night with Matt before I leave town for a week that I would make him something cheesy that he would no doubt enjoy. As always, cheese never fails with my husband! I would consider this recipe another take on grown-up macaroni and cheese. This made A LOT, so I was able to put some into a casserole dish to freeze for a later date. There was also plenty left over to get Matt through a couple of lunches while I'm gone. With only 7 hours left until I need to get up to catch my flight, I'd better post this and hit the sack!

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Mandy

Night 75

Recipe 138

Spinach and Artichoke Calzones

Matt rating **1/2 (I would give it ***1/2)

Ingredients used:

S&P

Walnut pieces

Artichoke hearts

Garlic

Lemon zest

Flat-leaf parsley

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Grated nutmeg

Ricotta cheese

Frozen chopped spinach

Pizza dough

Flour

Shredded Italian cheese

I was blown away with how easy it was to make calzones! I will definitely make them again, but maybe next time make them with a meat and cheese filling to suit Matt's tastes. He wasn't too much into all the spinach, but I thought it was pretty tasty. The only thing I would have done differently for this specific recipe is to add some marinara sauce for dipping. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty decent!

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Mandy

Night 74

Recipe 51

Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs Spanish Style

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Chicken thighs

S&P

Yellow onion

Garlic

Thyme

Chorizo

Dry white wine

Chicken stock

Red potatoes

Roasted red peppers

Frozen peas

Flat-leaf parsley

Crusty bread

This was a spin off of a master recipe that I cooked back in December that received the same rating from Matt. I used bone-in chicken thighs that I got from my food co-op, so I cooked them for a little bit longer than called for. The addition of chorizo and roasted red peppers made it into a totally different tasting dish, and even Judah liked it! The crusty bread was great for sopping up all the yummy juice.

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Mandy

Night 73

Recipe 304

Zucchini and Bow Ties

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt

Bow-tie pasta

EVOO

Garlic cloves

Zucchini

Coarse black pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fresh basil

Changes to recipe:

Penne pasta instead of bow-tie

Garlic salt instead of garlic cloves (how was I out of garlic cloves?!?!?)

Added one yellow squash

Added fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden

This was a perfect summertime recipe with fresh veggies from my food co-op pickup yesterday as well as fresh basil and cherry tomatoes from my garden. Matt gave this a great rating, in spite of the fact that it didn't have any meat in it. It is great cold as well, as we found out after putting it on ice and taking it to a music festival at Deer Valley today. Smacky!

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Mandy

Night 72

Recipe 113

Ginger-Soy Chicken on Shredded Lettuce

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Vegetable oil

Chicken breast cutlets

S&P

Fresh ginger

Garlic cloves

Red pepper flakes

Scallions

Tamari

Honey

I added/changed:

Added white rice

Changed out iceberg lettuce for a salad with asian dressing

This is considered MYOTO (Make Your Own Take-Out). It was really easy to make and was really good for at-home Chinese food! Made extra to take to a friend who was suffering from a back injury and his roommate, plus more for another family. I hope they like it as much as we did!

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Mandy

Recipe 71

Recipe 197

About-15-Minute Soup with Spinach, Artichokes, and Tortellini

Matt rating ***

Ingredients used:

EVOO

White mushrooms

Onion

S&P

Artichoke hearts

Chicken stock

Refrigerated tortellini

Fresh spinach

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Crusty bread

This recipe was "souper" easy and yummy, pun intended! Yes, it was 95 degrees outside today, but I needed an easy recipe because I had a swim class to get to with my daughter. Matt is not a big soup fan, so I highly doubt we will ever see a 5 star rating out of a soup. I would have given this one about 4 out of 5. The good thing about Matt not being a soup fan? I get more leftovers!

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Mandy

Night 70

Recipe 48

Sausage and Spinach Pastry Squares with Cherry Tomato-Arugula Salad

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Sweet Italian sausage

Yellow onion

Fresh sage

S&P

Puff pastry

Dijon mustard

Frozen chopped spinach

Lemon

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cherry tomatoes

Red wine vinegar

Shallot

Flat-leaf parsley

Arugula

Matt and I both LOVED this dinner. Thankfully we ended up taking half of it to some friends, otherwise we would have eaten it all and been miserably full! Matt called it a hot pocket - I would upgrade that title to a grown up hot pocket. It was definitely smacky!

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Mandy

Night 69

Recipe 176

Chicken in a Fresh Tomato and Eggplant Sauce with Spaghetti

Matt rating ***1/2

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt

Spaghetti

EVOO

Eggplant

Chicken tenders

Yellow onion

Garlic cloves

Coarse black pepper

Red pepper flakes

Cherry tomatoes

Flat-leaf parsley

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Crusty bread

Sorry, forgot to take a pic for this one! Due to the tomatoes and eggplant, this wasn't a favorite of Matt's. I thought it was pretty good, and I would consider it a pretty healthy dish as well. I used the whole wheat spaghetti which added another level of healthiness in my book!

Night 68

Recipe 4

Mac-n-Cheddar with Broccoli

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

S&P

Elbow macaroni

Broccoli florets

EVOO

Unsalted butter

Onion

Flour

Paprika

Whole milk

Chicken stock

Yellow cheddar

Dijon mustard

I doubled this recipe as I was delivering a meal to someone who just had surgery. I ended up with enough for us, them, leftovers for lunch tomorrow, and a whole additional pan that I put in the freezer for a later date! I added a salad and some garlic rolls to round out the meal. Very satisfying!

Mandy

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Night 67

Recipe 297

Chicken No. 14,756 - Chicken in "Lighter" Mustard and Lemon Sauce

Matt rating ****

Ingredients used:

Chicken breasts

Thyme leaves

Lemon

S&P

EVOO

Chicken stock

Dijon mustard

Plain yogurt

Flat-leaf parsley

Couscous

I also made this dish for company and got a lot of "oohs" and "ahhs" as I was dishing it up - man I wish I would have taken a picture because it was a good looking chicken! The dijon mustard and lemon were the standout flavors, but not too bold in my opinion. Another keeper for sure!

Mandy

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Night 66

Recipe 192

Ricotta Pasta with Grape Tomatoes, Peas, and Basil

Matt rating ***1/2

Ingredients used:

Penne pasta

Ricotta cheese

Unsalted butter

Parmigiano-Reggiano

EVOO

Onion

Frozen green peas

Flat-leaf parsley

Coarse black pepper

Basil leaves

Grape tomatoes

I made this for company and it turned out okay...definitely not one that I will repeat as a main dish though, but as a side perhaps, like I did the night after! No picture as we got too busy with company, but it looked pretty anyway.

Mandy

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