Apple Slump

From Everyday with Rachael Ray March 2008



Ingredients:
butter
apples
sugar
lemon juice
cinnamon
flour
baking powder
baking soda
salt
milk

Comments:
I didn't notice this recipe required quasi-pastry making until I'd already bought the apples so I made do even though I'm so not a pastry/cut in butter kind of person. This recipe is actually pretty easy and quick and I managed to not mess it up. I served it with some frozen custard I made earlier in the day. Delicious. And a dessert completely made from scratch. Baffling.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin

From Cooking Light March 2008



Ingredients:
salt
thyme
nutmeg
cinnamon
black pepper
allspice
pork
EVOO

Comments:
I used a pork roast instead of pork tenderloins and it still turned out fine. It took a bit longer in the oven, but turned out juicy and delicious. I also actually ended up letting it sit with the rub on it overnight since I had forgotten we had plans for dinner when I put it in the fridge. Oh well. Everything worked out. I didn't make the sauce for it though. It was great by itself.

Loaded Oatmeal Cookies

From Paula Deen via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
butter
shortening
brown sugar
eggs
buttermilk
flour
baking soda
salt
baking powder
ginger
nutmeg
cinnamon
cloves
allspice
quick-cooking oatmeal
raisins
walnuts
vanilla

Comments:
Adam emailed me this recipe at work on Friday morning saying, "These look good." I emailed him back saying, "In other words, you'd like me to make these this weekend." So I did. I even followed the recipe, excluding just the cloves since I didn't have any and we don't like them anyway. I even got the buttermilk and raisins. Impressive, if you ask me. Anyway, they're a pretty basic cookie recipe and although Adam pointed out the cookies in the picture had been much larger, they still turned out satisfactory.

Crab Cakes

From Cooking Light April 2008



Ingredients:
onion
parsley
mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Old Bay seasoning
Worcestershire sauce
egg whites
crabmeat
breadcrumbs
EVOO
cooking spray

Comments:
These were obviously made with Adam in mind. They are pretty easy, but I would really suggest you scrap the "spray with cooking spray" before putting the cakes into a pan with oil part. My first batch burned in about two minutes. Gah. Also, 7 minutes per side seems awfully long for something that's pretty much fully cooked already. The second batch went for about 6 minutes total, flipped every minute or so and they still turned out a lot browner than the magazine's picture. Apparently they still tasted just fine since they're all gone.

Barbecue-Flavored Onion Rings

From Cooking Light April 2008



Ingredients:
flour
sugar
chili powder
cumin
salt
paprika
allspice
eggs
onions
breadcrumbs

Comments:
These didn't turn out like I expected them to and I'm not sure if I liked this recipe or not. It's not hard to make, and baking rather than deep frying is definitely more healthy, but they just turned out weird, the outer breading was totally uneven and didn't stick. Maybe I flubbed something even though I followed the recipe. I don't know. They tasted fine but I don't know that I'd try this one again.

Pineapple Chicken Kabobs

From Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2008



Ingredients:
Canned pineapple
Worcestershire sauce
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
bacon
onion
green pepper
cherry tomatoes

Comments:
Did a little straying from this recipe (like omitted three ingredients and added one, nixed the marination and bacon-wrapping steps.) I kind of used it for inspiration and then altered it to be quicker and use ingredients we like. I prepped it, Adam cooked it, and we both enjoyed it. :)

Lemon Poppy Chicken with Mint and Green Pea Cousous

From Rachael Ray's cookbook Just in Time



Ingredients:
EVOO
chicken breasts
flour
salt & pepper
lemon zest (left out)
poppy seeds (left out)
chicken stock
lemon juice
butter
couscous
peas
basil (left out)
mint (left out)

Comments:
Ok, so I did some tampering with this one. I don't remember what it was, but I made someone with lemon once and it got the thumbs down from Adam so I left the majority of the lemon out of this one. See, I learn! Anyway, Generally simple meal - it's in the 15-Minute category. Not outstanding, but better than a sandwich or something...

Roasted-Potato Penne

From Everyday with Rachael Ray March 2008



Ingredients:
potatoes
EVOO
salt & Pepper
penne
parsley
butter

Comments:
It doesn't get much easier than this. Bake the potatoes, cook the pasta, throw them together with some butter. Yum. Total carb overload, of course, but so worth it! I would die without potatoes.

Shrimp Pot Stickers

From Cooking Light March 2008



Ingredients:
shredded cabbage
green onions
carrots
soy sauce
sesame oil
salt
shrimp
wonton wrappers
cornstarch
water
canola oil

Comments:
These are really called GINGER-Shrimp Pot Stickers but since Adam dislikes ginger I just left that out. I also nixed the dipping sauce. This is another very easy recipe since you dump the filling ingredients into the food processer and push a button. That's kind of hard to screw up. The first batch were, perhaps, a bit mushy because I didn't let the oil heat up long enough. Oh well. They still tasted good (or so Adam tells me because, hey, seafood, don't eat that.)

French Bread Pizza

From Everyday with Rachael Ray May 2008



Ingredients:
butter
flour
milk
salt & pepper
honey mustard
baguette
sliced ham
gruyere cheese (I used mozzarella)

Comments:
Adam likes the Hawaiian pizza and this was pizza with ham on it so that's almost the same thing. Totally easy to make, very yummy. I even managed to avoid burning the bottom of the bread. I'm bad about that...

Labels

I've started adding labels to my posts, identifying key ingredients and sources. Hopefully this will make it easier to find recipes you or I are looking for. I haven't gotten all the archives done yet. I plan to get through them all though.

Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna

From 2008 Taste Of Home Annual Recipes (recipe isn't on the site so I can't link)



Ingredients:
tortillas
chicken breast
kidney beans
salsa
sour cream
green peppers (left out)
olives (left out)
Jack cheese
cheddar cheese

Comments:
Adam doesn't like green peppers or black olives which is why I omitted them. This left the "lasagna" probably more gooey and runny than if the cheese had two more groups of things to grab onto. Regardless, it's tasty and an interesting concept.

Bacon and Cabbage Home Fries

From Everyday with Rachael Ray April 2008



Ingredients:
potatoes
bacon
onion
cabbage
EVOO
salt & pepper

Comments:
I'm not usually a fan of cabbage but this recipe disguises it with bacon. Yum. Anyway, simple to make (did you see the short ingredient list?) and pretty tasty. Adam suggested that next time maybe swapping the potatoes out for some gnocchi might be interesting. I agree so that's probably what I'll do.

Farfalle with Turkey, Leeks, and Broccoli

From Cooking Light March 2008



Ingredients:
broccoli rabe (I used regular broccoli)
farfalle
olive oil
leek
red pepper
garlic
turkey sausage (I used ground turkey)
lemon rind (I used juice)
ricotta cheese (the stuff I had was bad so I left this out and used more parm)
parmesan cheese
salt

Comments:
Leeks are wonderful. I just love them. This dish is a fabulous mixture of flavor, texture, color. It's simple to make and even with my swaps and substitutions it turned out fine. I might go easier on the red pepper next time though as my lips tingled after eating it.

Cheesy Corn Bites

From Everyday with Rachael Ray March 2008



Ingredients:
cream cheese
pepper jack cheese
egg
corn
tortilla chips (scoop shaped)

Comments:
The second of the two corn-based appetizers, this one definitely took first place. They reminded us of the cream cheese wontons that Asian Sensations makes. These are super quick, super easy, and super yummy. They also made the list for appetizers at our next party, hands down.

Cheesy Potato Corncakes

From Everyday with Rachael Ray April 2008



Ingredients:
potatoes
salt
egg
chives
cornmeal
corn
pepper jack cheese
pepper
vegetable oil

Comments:
I made a meal out of two "corny" appetizers (see next entry for the other.) This one was the second favorite of the two. :) It's pretty easy, kind of quick, and tastes ok. I cut the recipe in half and I think perhaps I messed up the proportions. It definitely could have used more cheese. I also scrapped the cornmeal coating since it was messy and prevented the cakes from browning on the griddle.

Vegetable Chili

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
onions
green pepper
garlic
water
vegetable oil
carrots
potatoes
chicken broth
chili powder
sugar
cumin
oregano
zucchini
squash
crushed tomatoes
ketchup
kidney beans
garbanzo beans
black beans
black-eyed peas

Comments:
Despite the lengthy list of ingredients, this chili is actually pretty easy to make once you get all the veggies chopped and cans opened. It's relatively quick and tastes great. I'm thinking next time I make this I might try and convert it to a crockpot recipe. We'll see how that goes.

Good Eats Meatloaf

From Alton Brown via Foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:
croutons (I used breadcrumbs)
black pepper
cayenne pepper
chili powder
thyme
onion
carrot
garlic
red bell pepper (left out)
ground chuck/ground sirloin
kosher salt
egg
ketchup
cumin
Worcestershire sauce
hot pepper sauce (left out)
honey

Comments:
This meatloaf definitely has some kick! I was originally going to make Rachael Ray's Cheeseburger Meatloaf (can you tell me that doesn't look yummy?) but when Adam got wind of the pickles baked in it and he got ooked out and said, "Can't you just make normal meatloaf?" So normal meatloaf it was. He was suspicious of the ketchup glaze on the top (and here I thought all meatloaf had this?) but still agreed it was pretty tasty. My one complaint might be that when you reheat it it gets very greasy. But that might be because I used a loaf pan rather than cooking it in a loaf shape on a baking pan. I don't know...

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

From the back of the Mauna Loa macadamia nut package



Ingredients:
butter
sugar
brown sugar
egg
vanilla
flour
baking soda
salt
white chocolate chips
macadamia nuts

Comments:
I was originally going to adapt my dependable chocolate chip cookie recipe for white chocolate chips but when Adam saw me buy said white chocolate chips he suddenly had a desire for macadamia nut cookies. So I went and got some macadamia nuts later in the day when I was out shopping and just used the recipe on the back of the bag. Now, the cookie dough managed to break both of my small cookie scoops, but Adam says the ratio of cookie to nuts and chocolate is great so I guess these cookies are meant to be scooped by spoon, not scoop. Meh.