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Showing posts from November, 2014

Creamy Potato and Corn Chowder

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This was really good. John’s mom has made it before, so I always know it will be good, but finally we pinned down the recipe. Anyway, it gets an 8. So, cook 2 big potatoes in a few cups of water, make sure they are diced. Save the water. In a pan, put 2 T. butter and 1/2 onion. Cook, then add 4 T. flour and make a roux, then add 4-5 cups of milk. Add a can of corn with the juices, and 2/3 cup of velveeta cheese. Then add diced ham, the potatoes with some of the water, and 1 cup of cream.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

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I made these last night and quite liked them. I gave them a 7. I got the recipe off of damndelicious.net.  INGREDIENTS 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon sugar-     I left this out 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese FOR THE TOPPING- I didn't add this 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper, if using. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Gently fold in cheese. Using a 1/4-cu

Turkey Meatloaf

I didn't take a picture of this because it didn't look very appetizing. Jared and I were not fans of this (I gave it a 6 and he gave it a 5), but it has potential. I got the recipe off of annies-eats.com.  Turkey  Meatloaf Ingredients: 1 cup chopped yellow onion 2 tsp. olive oil ½ tsp. kosher salt ¼ tsp. pepper ½ tsp. fresh thyme leaves I used dried thyme 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup chicken stock ½ tsp. tomato paste   26 oz. ground turkey breast ½ cups bread crumbs 1 egg, beaten ¼ cup ketchup Directions: Preheat oven to 325°.    Line the bottom of a loaf pan with two slices of bread to soak up the grease during cooking. I didn't do this and all the grease rose to the top, which was gross.  In a medium sauté pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme until translucent but not browned, approximately 15 minutes.    Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste.    Mix well.    Al

Southwestern Spaghetti Squash Bake

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I tried this recipe, which came from annies-eats.com, and I liked it. It isn’t “super awesome take to the neighbor for dinner” type of good, but if I had a spaghetti squash, I would totally make this again.The picture looks suspicious because the black beans weren’t cooked in time so we had to add them in afterwards instead of in the recipe itself, which caused it to look gross-ish. However,  I think it gets about a 7.8. I have indicated my changes below in bold. Southwestern Spaghetti Squash Bake Yield: about 4-6 servings Ingredients 2 poblano peppers 1 spaghetti squash, halved and seeded Olive oil, for drizzling Salt and pepper, to taste 2 tbsp. butter, softened I used about 1/2 of a Tbs. ½ tsp. cumin ¼ tsp. ground chipotle ¼ tsp. dried oregano 1 cup cooked black beans I used way more than this ½ cup greek yogurt I used sour cream instead 1-2 oz. shredded medium sharp cheddar cheese, divided I used less than this 1-2 oz. shredded monterey jack cheese, divided I used le

Rebecca's Lentil Soup of Awesome

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This soup was really good. John gives it a 9 and I give it an 8, so we compromised at 8.5. Rebecca says that Carraba’s has a soup that is similar to this, and this was very good, so it’s worth trying. Here is the initial recipe she sent me, and I put my changes in bold. Mine was super thick, and it had some kick, but if you like it super hot, use spicy Italian sausage. I will add a lot more liquid next time, because the leftovers were completely dry. The lentils suck up liquid—greedy lentils!   1 lb Italian sausage (You can also use Italian turkey sausage) I used less than this 1 large onion , chopped 1 stalk celery , chopped I used twice this 2 large carrots , chopped I used twice this 1 small zucchini , chopped I also added yellow squash 6 cups chicken broth   I added 8 cups 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes , undrained 2 -3 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups dry lentils 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 1 tsp. basil 1 tsp. oregano 1 tsp. parsley

Fried Rice

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I am cheating since I didn’t make this, but I tried it and got the recipe so I am blogging it. My ward had a recipe swap, and this was my favorite. It doesn’t taste as much like Chinese fried rice, but it had such an awesome flavor. The recipe came from Eleanor Brown, who says she ate for breakfast as a child and this is more a Filipino style. I am posting this with her permission, and it gets an 8.5. Fried Rice 5 cups white rice, medium grain (she used Calrose) 1  lb. bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips 10 eggs, scrambled 1 bunch green onions, plus stems soy sauce pepper garlic salt Cook rice in separate pot. Fry bacon until crisp and do not drain fat. Mix rice with bacon and all the bacon fat. Fry eggs in separate pan and break into clumps. Slice whole green onions, including stems and stir in the eggs and onions into the rice mixture. Add soy sauce until rice is covered and an even brown color. Season with garlic salt to taste. I would maybe add carrots and peas, because I am

Pear, Gorgonzola, and Pecan Salad

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This is not the official name of this salad, mind you, but it can be anything I want since my friend Rebecca did not give me the official name. So, here is what is in this fantastic salad, which I give an 8 to by the way. Romaine lettuce Avocado D’anjou pears, cubed Candied pecans Crumbled cheese—blue cheese, gorgonzola, or feta   Dressing: 3 T, olive oil 3 T. red wine vinegar 2 tsp. sugar 1/4 tsp. dijon mustard (or 1 tsp. dry mustard) 1/4 tsp. salt dash pepper 1/2 clove garlic   Here is how you candy pecans. Put about 2-3 T. of white sugar in a saute pan and heat it over medium until it melts and turns amber colored. Then you put pecans in and stir until they are coated and then let them cool and chop them up.

Spicy Rice Noodle Stir-Fry

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This was so awesome. I give it an 8.7. It was good, and tasted fresh, and John helped me with the wok so maybe that’s why it worked out so well. Either way, this is a keeper for us. The original recipe came from Fine Cooking, and then John adjusted it. The heat was perfect. I would not at all put more than 1 tsp. of Sriracha in unless you like your mouth to feel like it’s burning. In addition to the changes below, I also added zucchini and yellow squash for more vegetables. Spicy Rice Noodle Stir-Fry by Robin Asbell from Fine Cooking Issue 132 8 oz. rice noodles (preferably flat) 3 Tbs. canola oil we used olive oil 4 large eggs, lightly beaten 3 Tbs. light brown sugar we decreased this to 1 tbs. Kosher salt we left this out 1/4 cup soy sauce we used this plus an additional 3 Tbs. 3 Tbs. unseasoned rice vinegar 2 Tbs. peanut butter, preferably chunky 1 Tbs. Sriracha; more to taste we cut this down to 1 tsp. 7 oz. shredded cabbage slaw mix (3 cups) we used a whole hea

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

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My cousin Haynes made this and it was a very comforting soup. I give it a 7.5 My problem is that I need lots of vegetables, so if I were to make it, I would add peas, carrots and celery. But, this was yummy and a good idea for a new recipe that I will revise and adjust in the future. Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Put 5-6 chicken breasts in a pan and cover with water. Add 2 T. chicken bouillon and 1 slice onions. Boil and cook, then remove and cut into bite sized pieces. Combine 1 can cream of chicken soup, 8 oz. sour cream, and 3 Tbs. flour. Cook 10 oz. noodles, drain. Add all ingredients together with salt and pepper.

Teriyaki chicken with vegetables

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We had this tonight and I really liked it. Jared and I both gave it a 7.5. It had good flavor and was pretty easy. I will cut down the sugar a bit next time, but it was otherwise great. Also, I doubled the sauce recipe, but only put in 1/3 Cup +1 TBS. of sugar. Next time I'll probably put in only 1/4 C. (with the sauce doubled).  Also, I steamed the broccoli on the stove instead of microwaving it. INGREDIENTS: 2-3 lbs organic chicken breast, chopped 12-16 oz organic fresh broccoli 2 garlic cloves, you can also use ginger 4-5 large organic carrots, sliced Pepper flakes, optional 2 Tbsp olive oil Teriyaki sauce  Adapted from Savory Sweet Life 2 Tbsp ginger, chopped 1/3 cup  reduced sodium soy sauce, gluten free 1/3 cup cold water 2 teaspoons  arrowroot powder,  or cornstarch 1/3 cup honey,  or unrefined sugar Download a FoodSaver Coupon   DIRECTIONS: In a  small bowl mix  the Teriyaki sauce ingredients. If you are just making the sauce for future con

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

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This was meh. I got it off gimmesomeoven.com and found it to be rather bland. I gave it a 6 and Jared gave it a 6.4. This dos have potential, but I'm not even sure what I would need to add to make it better. If you do decide to make this, it needs more liquid than 6 cups. The orzo soaked it all up, so it ended up being more of a pasta dish. 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small white onion, peeled and diced 1 cup diced carrots 1 cup diced celery 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces)  DeLallo whole wheat orzo pasta , or other  whole wheat pasta 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary 4 cups loosely-packed spinach salt and black pepper DIRECTIONS: Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add chic