Night 47

Recipe 153
Southwest Pasta Bake
Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt
Penne (I used whole wheat)
Vegetable oil
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Chili powder
Black pepper
Yellow onion
Garlic cloves
Jalepeno
Unsalted butter
Flour
Milk
Sharp yellow Cheddar
Cilantro
Flat-leaf parsley

This was definitely a keeper recipe and one that I may use for a meal exchange group that I am a part of. Very tasty and super filling! I snuck whole wheat pasta into this dish figuring that all the cheese and seasoning would hide it from Matt - he didn't even notice! I guess I'm getting practice for hiding good stuff into meals for when Judah is old enough to have an opinion ;-) There are plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow and I will freeze the rest for another night when I don't feel like cooking.

No meals are planned for the next two nights...maybe Thursday? Stay tuned...

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Mandy

Night 46

Recipe 100
Gravy-Smothered Cajun-Style Meatloaf Patties with Maple Pecan-Glazed String Beans
Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Ground beef
Ground pork
Plain bread crumbs
Milk
Egg
S&P
Worcestershire sauce
Freshly grated nutmeg
Tomato paste
Green bell pepper
Garlic clove
Scallions
Vegetable oil
Pecan halves
Chicken stock
Green beans
Unsalted butter
Maple syrup
Onion
Red pepper flakes
Flour
Heavy cream
Flat-leaf parsley

Okay so I know this seems like a lot of ingredients for one recipe, but the majority of them we all have on hand. Matt LOVED the green beans - and as you know by now if you've been reading this blog, he is not big on green anything! My favorite part of the meal was the gravy. The meatloaf patties would have been a little too plain without it, which surprised me considering how much "stuff" went into them.

I will soon be headed back into my kitchen to make tonight's meal - Southwestern Pasta Bake. If I have enough time tonight I will post then, if not, come back tomorrow.

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Mandy

Night 45

Recipe 104
Garlic and Herb Chicken with Romesco Sauce on Spicy Greens
Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Garlic cloves
EVOO
Flat-leaf parsley
S&P
Thyme
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Sliced almonds
Sandwich bread
Roasted red peppers
Red wine vinegar
Plum tomato
Arugula

I must say that I LOVE my food processor! It makes recipes like this super easy to make. This took a grand total of about 20 minutes from start to finish, with easy cleanup! The Romesco sauce that goes over the top of the chicken is really yummy with a nice kick from the garlic. I have so much of it leftover that now I have to figure out what to use it for because it's too good to let go to waste!

Stay tuned tomorrow night for Gravy-Smothered Cajun-Style Meatloaf Patties! I'm really attempting to get back into the groove of cooking - it's hard to get back on the wagon after the holidays though!

<><
Mandy

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