Absolutely Ultimate Potato Soup - Really delicious!! How could it not be will all that bacon in it? ;)
Asian Lettuce Wraps - Good, but I'm still looking for great lettuce wraps.
Asparagus and Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry over Cauliflower Rice, Baked Vegetable Egg Rolls - The asparagus dish was delicious! I used chicken thigh meat rather that breast. The mixture of the chicken with the cashews is a winner. The Cauliflower Rice is never as good as white rice, but decent enough to substitute some of the time. I get easily burnt out on cauliflower after eating it so much in the past. So I won't always use it, but it does reduce the carbs in the meal. The egg rolls were good, but I wasn't thrilled with the texture of the baked egg roll wrapper. It was kind of like an undercooked noodle to me. I'll try some other method of greasing the outsides rather than using the recommended cooking spray and see what happens. I'd make this meal again but with a few tweaks. Hubs was very happy with it.
Baked Buttermilk Chicken - MMMMMmmmmmm!!! Yummy and easy! My favorite type of recipe! The gravy is great on mashed potatoes!
Bistecca Sandwiches with Roasted Pepper Mayonnaise - Super yum-o! To. die. for. Thousand dollars good!
Breaded Parmesan Ranch Chicken -I did things a little differently with this recipe. Same ingredients, but more of everything because I cut the chicken breasts into "tenders". It meant more stuff needed to cover them, but the change worked out beautifully and was quite delicious! These taste yummy dipped in ranch dressing!
Breakfast Omelet Muffins -Really good! I recommend using paper liners, though, as the egg stuck a good bit in the muffin pan even though I sprayed it well.
Broccoli Cheese Rice - This was sooooo yummy! Amazingly like the packaged Rice-A-Roni Broccoli au Gratin, but without the long list of bad ingredients.
Cajun Chicken Pasta - Holy mackerel, this was good!! Like eating at Macaroni Grill. A keeper fer sher!
Carolina Hush Puppies - These were really good, but I thought they were especially good if piped. We had trouble piping the dough through a Ziploc bag, and at one point our squeezing resulted in holes popping out here and there with dough oozing out. But the dough was a good one.
Cedar Planked Grilled Portobellos Stuffed with Summer Veggies - These were soooo good! But can you even go wrong with grilled veggies? Plank them and they get even better. This is a labor-intensive meal. Lots of prep work on the front end and lots of grilling. We made 4 of them, 2 for Hubs and 2 for me (I ate 1&1/2 and gave the rest to him). We also had grilled fries. The kids had grilled hot dogs. This is a good dish to have with a cold beer. We rarely drink beer, but some occasions just call for one. A definite keeper! I want to do planking more often!
Chicken Cordon Bleu Tetrazzini - I used double the noodles in this and doubled everything I could except the alfredo sauce, of which I didn't have extra. It was delicious! And I enjoyed this for many lunches, afterwards. Definitely a do-again meal! Next time I'll double the alfredo sauce, too.
Chicken and Mango Guacamole Wraps - These were delicious and oh, so odd. Mixing mango and avocado is quite unusual. It, dare I say, almost resembles something unpleasant that proceeds out of the mouth when sick. But somehow its flavor works with the grilled chicken. And this is pretty simple to make, which is always nice.
Chiles Rellenos Casserole - I printed this out awhile back, and had shelved it in with my monstrous collection of printed-out recipes from the Internet. It looked good so I figured some day we'd try it. Then, one day Hubby mentioned wanting to make Chiles Rellenos and I remembered that casserole recipe. So I made it. And it was so delicious! We both agree that it's definitely a repeater in our rotation! But buy the canned whole chiles. Much easier to make with them. We did fresh, and it was a big hassle and messy!
Cilantro-Lime Rice - Easy dish that tastes really good. I might add a little turmeric next time just to give it color. Or not. Good flavor combo.
Citrus Shrimp Tacos with Southwest Cream Sauce and Grilled Corn Salsa - These were really yummy. A lot of work, also, but worth it. I think instead of shrimp I'd like these with either shredded beef (done in the citrus marinade) or even ground beef or turkey. Don't let the shrimp marinate longer than the recipe calls for. It'll make them tough.
Clam Chowder (Vegan) - Mmmmmmmmmmmm, delicious!! The oyster mushrooms really mimicked the texture of clams, and like tofu, absorbed the flavors around them. The nori sheets added a nice seafood note to the dish. Really, an ingenious recipe!
This dish had a lot of prep work to do before it was ready to put together. But it was pretty easy to throw together once all the chopping and measuring had been done.
There are a number of odd ingredients you have to buy to make this, but the nice thing is that the extra can be used in other things vegan. So it's not a loss for us. For instance, the vegan bacon. We found Morningstar Farms Vegan Bacon in the frozen foods section. What you don't use can stay frozen. It adds a nice bacony/salty touch to the soup. It isn't cooked ahead of time in this recipe. You just chop it up and throw it in the soup. It looks like "bacon" dog treats! lol!
We needed 2 pkgs. of fresh oyster mushrooms to get 2 cups' worth, and they're a bit pricey (at Publix anyway - WalMart didn't have them). I might check at HMart and see if they carry them dried in bulk. I bet they do, and I bet they carry other dried mushrooms I'd want to use, too. Will have to plan a fun outing with Hubs to shop there. It's a great place to wander around in!
I didn't have vegan pork bouillon (is there such a thing? me no find), but I did have chicken and used it. I had nori (seaweed) sheets already, so I didn't have to buy those. Mine are half sheets, so I put 2 in. I keep nutritional yeast around for things like kale chips, so no need to buy it either. Really, for us, the only real expenses in this recipe were the bacon and the oyster mushrooms. The oyster mushrooms alone were over $3 per pkg.! Ouch!
Clean Eating Pineapple Pork Kabobs - A good kabob recipe. Not much else to say. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either.
Coconut Curry Shrimp - Oh. my. goodness. This is one awesome dish. Definitely a rotation dish! I added 2 tsp. salt rather than a tbls. Perfect.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup - This soup was quite good! A nice recipe for St. Patrick's Day!
Creamy Chicken Caesar Lasagna - Delicious! It will definitely be on the rotation list! We added 1/4 to 1/3 more sauce because of an oops, and we might continue doing it that way from now on. We also used full fat cream cheese because that's what we had. And we chopped the sun-dried tomatoes really small and added them to the sauce. Might cook the spinach into the sauce, too, next time, to see how it turns out.
"Creamy" Crockpot Chicken and Tomato Soup - Didn't do this in a crockpot and just cooked the soup for an hour or so. Also added lots more broth than it called for and used about 4 chicken breasts rather than 8. It was yummy!
Crispy Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine - Yum-O!! This dish is just sooo good and so easy to make! Will be rotating this one!
Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps - These were really yummy, but I made them a bit differently than the recipe called for. The original recipe had me mixing the cooked chicken with the seasoned rice, beans and veggies and then putting the mixture in the tortillas. I decided that the rice looked too unappetizing the way it was (I had used rice that was originally frozen and then thawed, although I had warmed it up a bit). After the chicken was sautéed I sautéed the veggies (except the cilantro, which I added dry later). Then I added the seasoned rice and the black beans and heated everything through. Then I sprinkled on lemon juice (didn't have lime) and a TBLS of dried cilantro. I spread sour cream over the inside of the tortilla and sprinkled a bit of Colby-Jack cheese on half. Then I put the chicken mixture down the middle. Everything else I did was according to recipe. These taste especially delicious if they are really crisped up and dipped in a mixture of sour cream and salsa. Yummm!
Crock Pot Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole - Really good, but the chicken seemed a bit dry. I might have added too much, though, so it might be my fault. Also, I over-salted the chicken. Don't make that mistake. Will definitely be making this again!
Delicious Black Bean Burritos - These were very yummy, but the cream cheese was a bit gummy. Next time I'll try it with sour cream.
Easy Spanish Yellow Rice - Delicious! The peas were really nice in this dish. I wasn't sure I'd like them, but I did.
Enchilada Rice - This recipe made a LOT of food! It was really yummy and filling. Hubs loved it! So did I. A definite addition to the rotation list!
General Tso's Meatballs - This was delicious! Tasted almost just like Mongolian Beef, strangely enough. The meatball flavor was good, but I didn't like the texture of the almond flour in it. Too grainy. I'd leave it out next time. Yes, there definitely is going to be a next time! Yum!
Grilled Flank Steak Soft Tacos with Avocado-Lime Salsa - This dish had a really great combination of flavors. It kind of reminded me of the Bistecca sandwiches we've made and love. Not the same flavors, but just that amazing balance of flavors somehow magically achieved by a conglomeration of unusual ingredients. I accidentally added double the chipotle chili powder to the rub, so the meat was a bit spicier than it was supposed to be, but I think it was just right when mixed with everything else. So I might just do it that way from now on. I put a thin layer of sour cream on my tortillas (I used flour rather than corn) before loading them up. The sour cream cools the heat a bit, so not adding sour cream might make the difference in the level of spiciness. Hubs and I both agreed that this would be better in a wrap using burrito-size tortillas. A bigger flour tortilla folded like a wrap would hold all the messy ingredients in better.
Grilled Salmon Sushi Rice Bowl - This one also has been an old favorite that we've not had in a long while. This will make you go mmmmmmmmmm after every bite.
Healthy Sesame Chicken - The flavor of this was very good. I think the addition of either 1/2 cup of water chestnuts or peanuts would make it even better. One thing I didn't like about the recipe, though, was the way the egg white behaved while cooking the cornstarch/egg white-coated chicken. Since this is a "healthy" recipe, there wasn't any deep frying of the chicken like there normally would be in a regular sesame chicken recipe. But pan-frying it only made a big mess, and the egg whites cooked and slid off the chicken. And the cornstarch didn't thicken the sauce once the sauce was combined with the chicken. Had I only put cornstarch on the chicken, it would've thickened the sauce. If I make this again (and I might), I'll only coat the chicken with cornstarch. And I might marinate the chicken in some tamari and rice vinegar to infuse more flavor into the meat.
Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles - Very good! But you must rinse the noodles after cooking them to keep the firmer texture. Mine was mushy the day of, but firmed up after spending the night in the fridge.
Instant Pot Chicken & Vegetable Soup - This soup had a LOT of celery in it. a LOT! 6 stalks of it. So the celery played a big part in the taste and smell. If you love celery a LOT, make this soup. Otherwise, pass...or use less and add other veggies. I think rice would go well in this, or maybe potatoes. It also has a lot of turmeric in it. That also may have made the flavor a bit intense. The smell of the celery and the yellow of the turmeric will stay in your Instant Pot gasket for a little while. Just an FYI.
Irish White Bean and Cabbage Stew (Vegan) - Oh, yummy yummy yum yum! This is a wonderful soup. And it goes perfectly with Rosemary Bread. A keeper! I added 1&1/2 tsp. of salt as it said to salt to taste. Perfect.
Italian White Bean, Kale and Potato Stew (Vegan) - Very good, and will add to our rotation, but will cut up the kale and potatoes much smaller next time...or will sub spinach for the kale. The kale had a spongy texture which isn't very appetizing in big bites. :-P
Jolean's Cheese, Potato and Smoked Sausage Casserole -Yumm! Very rich (because of the Velveeta) and full of flavor. A real husband pleaser!
Kale & Chickpea Stew (Vegan) - This was really good and will be added to our rotation list. I think we added 1/2 tsp. of salt as recommended, but it could probably stand a bit more salting. Maybe a half tsp. more for our tastes.
Kale & Chickpea Stew (Vegan) - This was really good and will be added to our rotation list. I think we added 1/2 tsp. of salt as recommended, but it could probably stand a bit more salting. Maybe a half tsp. more for our tastes.
Kale Lasagna - Made this more in the order I usually make lasagna where I mix the cottage cheese/ricotta with the sauce. In this recipe the cheeses (except the mozz) are supposed to be layered separately from the kale/spinach sauce mixture. I combined the cheeses (except the mozz) with the kale/spinach sauce and ladled it on as a layer. I did sauce, noodles, mozz, sauce, noodles, mozz, ending with mozz. Easier and less time-consuming. Tasted delicious, although I'm not real keen on the spongy texture of the kale in this or any other dish it's been in where it stayed moist. I'd likely either chop the kale extremely small (mince) or only use the spinach next time.
Kung Pao Chicken - Yummers!! Even though I had to substitute a few things this turned out soooo delicious! I didn't have light and dark soy sauce. I just had regular soy sauce (which one does it represent, I wonder?) and used for all soy sauce. I didn't have Shaoxing (rice wine), but I had dry sherry. I didn't have Chinese black vinegar, but had balsamic. I didn't have Sichuan peppercorns, but used a tsp. of Szechuan seasoning blend just because (no relation). Still, it turned out amazingly good. Much more homely-looking than the picture. I don't care! It was just too good!
Macaroni Grill Chicken Scaloppine - Oh. My. Goodness. This was thousand-dollars good! Does anything Macaroni Grill make taste bad? I think not! But this is a very heavy recipe due to the great amount of butter and oil and cream. But...YUM!!!!
Mexican Bean Soup with Chipotle Avocado Cream (Vegan) - This has a long list of ingredients for what is actually a simple soup to make. Great Mexican flavor (very tomato-y). The chipotle avocado cream sauce was yummy and would make a great dip. We used sour cream in place of the cashews as I was out of them.
Parsley-Crusted Cod - Good, but not thousand-dollars good. I think it would be better using tilapia.
Peanut Panang Beef Curry - Hubs called this "Pa-ding Pa-ding". ;) Good, but not a thousand dollars good. The meat was blah and the sauce was super spicy (we doubled the recipe). If we make this again I would marinate the meat first, use half the curry paste and more fish sauce, and add less water.
Pinto Bean and Rice Soup (Vegan) - Our version wasn't totally vegan. I used beef stock instead of vegetable stock because I have a ton of it and need to use it up. I added one more can of beans, another cup of cooked rice, and some canned mushrooms, also. It needs something. I found that adding some sour cream to my bowl made a nice tangy note and added that "something" I was looking for. Hubs loved it and was going on about getting to have it for his lunches.
Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits - These were delicious, but a bit too salty. I think it's because the Homemade Bisquick Mix I used had too much salt in it. I'd probably back it off a tsp. and only add 2 tsp. to the mix next time. Littlest said these were BETTER than Red Lobster's! I agree!
Reuben Soup - Really good, but would've been better had I not dumped a bunch of Swiss cheese in rather than melt it on the pumpernickel bread like the recipe said. Too stringy and messy! The flavor was delicious using the diced ham. I think real corned beef would be even better. Next time!
Sauteed Broccoli w/Garlic, Pine Nuts and Parmesan - Really yummy. Next time we will add the Parm. cheese after taking it off the heat. Otherwise, it just makes a stuck-on mess in the pan. Times went faster than the recipe called for, so keep an eye on the food while it's cooking so it won't overcook or burn.
Sesame Chicken over Rice - Yummers a-plenty! The only thing wrong with this recipe is that I didn't double it! It is fried, though, but much less trouble to make.
Shrimp Scampi Pizza - Excellent recipe! We put ours together a little differently - since we use preheated pizza stones, we assembled it like all our other pizzas, complete on a peel, then slid onto the stone at once and baked for 10 minutes (the recipe calls for building the crust, sauce and cheese on a cold baking sheet, cooking that for a bit, then adding the shrimp topping and baking some more). The "sauce" was thick and chunky, but tasted excellent. It was not so much "spread" onto the crust as dabbed on. We even left out the salt entirely (by accident), and it was still great. (Those not accustomed to low-salt foods will probably not want to skip the salt, though). The recipe is great cooked as-is, but you could probably introduce a lot of variations, like different items in the sauce, adding some Parmesan cheese, etc. Actually, we did make one significant change - we used half the shrimp, and chopped them into smaller pieces. 1 lb. of shrimp would, we thought, be just too much - a half pound was just right. We'll certainly be making this one again. -- review by the "hubster"
Simply Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas - These were soooo good!
Smoked Paprika Red Potato and Egg Bake - Hubs loved this. I was iffy. The heavy paprika flavor didn't suit me, but it was right up his alley. I can see this being a very versatile dish that can have interchanging ingredients.
Southwest Stir-Fry - Really delicious, especially the next day when all the flavors have melded together!
Southwestern Turkey Soup - Very delicious! Doesn't make a lot, so I will probably double it next time for more leftovers. The recipe calls for 1/4 tsp. of cayenne. Whew! That's a lot of cayenne for the amount of soup this recipe makes! I think 1/8 tsp. would be better unless you like to feel the heat in a big way. IMO, the heat should enhance the other flavors, not overtake them.
Spicy Romano Chicken with Artichoke Hearts and Sundried Tomato - YUMM-O!! Very much like the Pasta Milano we love, but different enough to keep it on the meal rotation. DE-LISH!
Spinach & Bean Burrito Wraps - I did this completely different from this recipe. Rather than keep the rice separate from the spinach/beans, I dumped them in together along with most of the ingredients from this Mexican Rice recipe. I used some brown rice I had left over and included some chili powder, turmeric, and chipotle powder. Hubs loved it and went on and on. So anytime I throw the typical Mexican ingredients together it should be a success. ;) Btw, I made these gluten-free flour tortillas and they were really yummy with this dish! Hubs even liked them!
Spring Vegetable Frittata with Brie - Sooooo yummy. It will definitely be on our rotation. In fact, I was thinking that we could do other frittatas as well, like ham, mushroom and asparagus, or pizza frittata, or a Mexican one. The ideas are endless! Hubs loved this one and enjoyed helping me make it. I added a tsp. of salt, thinking there was no salt in it otherwise, but forgot all about the cheeses. So I think 3/4 tsp. or maybe even 1/2 tsp. would be better. I also added a couple of dashes of cayenne. But next time I'll add 1/2 tsp.. The dashes weren't enough to even taste it. The brie really adds a lot. Yummy!
Steak and Eggs Benedict with Asparagus in Bearnaise Sauce - This was fairly labor-intensive, but very delicious! The bearnaise sauce was worth the trouble. It added a nice flavor to the whole dish. I put a good bit on, too! How can you go wrong with shallots, tarragon, white wine and butter?
Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken - This was super easy to make and was a big hit. Can't beat that combo! I doubled the marinade. A definite keeper! It was everything you'd hope it would be.
Stuffed Cabbage with Basil White Wine Cream Sauce - Let me start off by saying that this dish is a LOT of work, but well worth it. I had to cook up a batch of brown rice ahead of time as I didn't have any in the freezer. And I had to thaw out some chicken broth and ground turkey. I had some fresh parsley and basil. There was lots of chopping required and according to the recipe you need to make the sauce before baking since you put a little in the bottom of the pan along with some chicken broth before putting the cabbage rolls in (although, I imagine the sauce could be left out to speed up getting it into the oven - then make the sauce while it's baking for spooning on afterward).
I would recommend some things if you choose to try this (and for my future reference): Don't put much chicken broth in the bottom of the dish (btw, I used a 13x9" pan which was just right). Just enough to wet the bottom of the pan. The other ingredients release moisture, so it's only needed at the beginning to keep the rolls from sticking initially. Marie's instructions about the meat say she cooks hers a little. I might try going raw the next time since I think things will bind together better inside the cabbage leaves. Mine kind of fell apart. I think I cooked the meat too much. Still, it was delicious! And make sure that all parts of each cabbage leaf are wilted or you'll have some tough parts to chew.
For the stuffing, Marie doesn't say how much parsley or basil to use, so I put on my imaginary chef's hat, eyeballed it, and threw in a big handful of each. I chiffonaded the basil (rolled a bunch together and sliced it into strips) and chopped the parsley. As far as the lemon zest, all I had on hand were cut up pieces of lemon (we use it in our water), so I had to carefully zest a few pieces. I would've added more had I a whole lemon to work with.
For the sauce, I had to improvise a good bit. I used evaporated milk and half and half because I didn't have cream, and I had to use some Riesling because *someone* drank up the chardonnay we had around here not too long ago. Ahem. Not my favorite choice as it's a bit sweet, but it worked fine. And I had to use a mixture of red onion and garlic to mimic the shallots I had run out of a couple of days ago making this dish. Next time I will use the recommended ingredients (except for the butter in the sauce - I used Smart Balance). I also added a couple dashes of cayenne pepper which jazzed it up real nice. Btw, this is great as leftovers. I had some for breakfast this morning and plan to have some for lunch in a few.
Sweet Thai Chili Chicken - Holy smokes, this dish is good! Thousand dollars good! Tempura-fried chicken in a delicious bottled sauce with cucumber, toasted chow mein noodles and green onions over rice? Yes, please!
Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Copycat - This was even better than the restaurant version (which we tried so we could see what we were aiming for). It's easy to make, but the biggest burrito tortillas my WalMart had were not quite big enough to cover completely when they were folded up. So I did what I do when my wrapping paper doesn't fit - I cut an extra piece to cover the gap! About 1/4 of a burrito tortilla covers perfectly. A definite keeper!
Taco Pasta Casserole - Another winner! Hubs loved it and it will need to be doubled next time. Not enough for much in the way of lunch leftovers.
Thai Pineapple Fried Rice - This was very pretty and pretty tasty. It called for 3 TBLS of fish sauce and this was my first experience putting fish sauce in anything. Wow, is that stuff salty! A TBLS of fish sauce has over 1000 mgs. of sodium. This recipe called for 3! It was definitely over-salty. I would likely put only 1 in next time. Also, I thought 1 TBLS of curry powder was too much. I might add some turmeric (for color) in place of 2 TBLS of it and only add 1 TBLS of curry powder. I didn't add the currants as I thought the sweetness of the pineapple was enough. And I put a whole pound of shrimp in because it was a main dish and I was feeding hungry men (and I love shrimp). A promising recipe, if tweaked.
Thai Red Curry Chicken - This was yummy and SPICY. It takes you to the edge of intense and then stops there. Being that it's Thai, I assume that's expected. I'm very new to Thai cooking. It calls for 2 TBLS. of red curry paste. I will probably drop that to 1&1/2 TBLS. next time. I'm not a fan of zucchini in certain forms, and thought this might be one of them, but it blended right in with the rest of the ingredients and wasn't watery or noticeably mushy. A definite keeper! Enthusiastic family response!
I used English muffins as the base and formed the patties to fit them. There wasn't any shrinkage after cooking them. The tofu patties came together easily and fried up nicely, holding together well once they were cooked. The only thing I'd do differently is cook the tomato slices in less oil...MUCH less oil, because of the splattering even though I towel-dried them well. You can only get so much moisture out of even a plum tomato before it is no more. Plus, I'd double the tomatoes, per Hubs's request. So overall this recipe is a big, fat 10 out of 10. A definite keeper! Can't wait for lunch tomorrow so I can have it as leftovers!
Zuppa Toscana Soup - This was good, but I used Italian bratwurst, skins removed, and the gristleyness of the meat really detracted from the enjoyment of the soup. So I might use some Jimmy Dean Italian sausage next time (it was my first choice, but the store I was shopping in didn't have any). Also, the skins on the potatoes peel off and look like noodles in the soup. Gross! So I would peel the potatoes next time. Another issue if you have leftovers is that the potatoes discolor overnight and turn the soup an unappetizing gray, so I might try adding an acid like apple cider vinegar to protect the soup's color, if I make this again, which I'm not sure of at this point. I might give it one more chance with the changes. Also, I used spinach rather than kale. I'm not a fan of kale in dishes, but I love kale chips!
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