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!

<><

Mandy