Recipe Results

Although I have an entire bookcase filled with a vast collection of cookbooks with thousands of recipes I have not yet tried, I continue to subscribe to recipe lists and copy recipes from magazines and the internet. As a result, I have loose pages of recipes on top of my cookbooks, nestled between the tops of the cookbooks and the shelf above. The piles are (in my mind) organized into three piles: main courses, desserts, and sides/beverages. Once I try a new recipe, I informally survey my family of critics, mark the recipe with a smiley, sad, or indifferent face (and possibly some editorial comments), and file it away in one of the many binders I've created to (in my mind) organize my loose recipes.

Here are our most recent food adventures:

Parmesan Rosemary Oven Fries (from some weekend newspaper magazine): quite a hit with everyone and quite simple to make! Just toss potato slices with oil, rosemary, salt & pepper flakes, and bake 15-20 minutes. I was also thrilled to use my crinkle cutter, which may be the first time that's ever happened.

Ginny's Chocolate Chip Cake with Classic Chocolate Buttercream (from Country Living magazine): mixed opinions on this. I thought it was good, but too much work. A simple box cake mix would make me happier. My future daughter-in-law, however, claimed it to be RIDICULOUSLY good.

Ginger "Beer Can" Chicken (Southern Living magazine): very good. I did alter the recipe to use boneless chicken breasts in the oven rather than a whole fryer on the grill.

No-Bake Chocolate-Pretzel-Peanut Butter Squares (Trisha Yearwood): I made this in a square 8x8 dish rather than a 9 x 13 dish because I thought the squares would be too thin in the larger pan. However, in the 8x8 pan the pieces were just too thick and too much. They would have been great in the 9x13 pan - if I had followed the instructions. Just goes to show I should follow my own recipe rule. The first time you make something, follow the recipe. Once you've tried it, the next time you can adjust to your own particular taste.

Smothered Pork Chops with Smashed Potatoes (Ree Drummond): very good! Simple, tender, easy. The Smashed Potatoes were more popular than the Pork Chops, though.

Caramel-Peanut-Popcorn Snack Mix (Southern Living): huge hit. This is a mix of homemade caramel popcorn, peanuts and Reese's Pieces. The recipe is easily adaptable to use M&Ms or similar type candy rather than Reese's Pieces. Or you could leave the candy out completely. The caramel popcorn was disappearing from the counter while it was cooling before I even added the candy. Barely lasted through the night. My girls said "That was so good you should make it all the time, but don't ever make it again."

Steak with Roasted Vegetables and Mustard Pan Sauce (Woman's Day): fabulous. This is probably my favorite recipe from the past few weeks. I threw in some yellow potatoes with the roasted vegetables because not everyone in my house likes sweet potatoes. The sirloin steak was tender and delicious and the mustard sauce added just the right tangy taste.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi (Ree Drummond): okay. I made this because my daughter is a vegetarian, and also because I prefer a white sauce to a red sauce on pasta. This is made with fontina, parmesan, romano and goat cheese. It was a little thick and bland, and the consensus was just okay.

Baked Quesadilla (Publix): big hit!  I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef for my son. Very quick and easy and it has a bit of a kick!

No-Melt Sundae Pie (Kraft): another quick and easy recipe that was very popular with the family! The biggest problem was trying to figure out what to do with the leftover Sweetened Condensed Milk.  Fortunately, I came across a fudge recipe on Facebook that will take care of that!

 

 

It seems like removing these recipes have barely made a dent in my paper piles, but slow and steady wins the race, right?