cookbookdiet

[cookbookdiet]

The one flop we’ve had so far (at no fault to the recipe!) was Red Pepper Chicken.   When we got home from work our kitchen smelled like spoiled oil. It made my stomach churn. Because our crockpot runs hot and possibly the fact that we were using Aldi oil, we couldn’t bring ourselves to try this recipe. 1/5...wahwah! Next time! xo

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I’m a weirdo. I really like Saturday mornign breakfasts. I like getting up whenever I want and drinking a cup of coffee on my own schedule.  One of my new obsessions is breakfast casseroles. I really wanted to try this Cherry Pie Bubble Breakfast Bake. I have tried other bubble bakes for dinner and this cherry one looked quite yummy! The Hubs was not interested in this, so I ranked it msyelf as a 3/5. Unfortunately the biggest casserole I have is a 9x11 and the center came out still gooey. Overall the flavor was good but it was much too sweet. I expected a danish-like dessert...it was an it wasn’t .  This could be fun with some other flavors and could be fixed by using 2 tubes of Grands instead. Always learning! xo

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One of the last meals we tried is Peach Chicken. I really enjoyed this one and I’d make it again as long as I can figure out the crockpot issue! This was a promising 4/5. We served this with steamed brocolli and stove top stuffing. Yes, we are classy. It is an easy week night meal! Peachy xo

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As promised, we are working our way through these freezer meals. I’m a big fan of freezer meals because it’s an easy way to have food ready and avoid the drive thru lane. Dump crockpot meals are even better because there is no cooking required :) 

One of the first recipes we tried is Honey Seasame Chicken. This recipe was a 3/5. We ate it with brown rice and mixed steamed stir fry vegetables. We even took the leftovers to work the next day. The best part about this recipe is that we learned we like chicken thighs in the crockpot. Our crockpot is neat because it will switch over from cooking (high or low) to warm when the pre-set time is up. Unfortuantely I think our crockpot is too hot and tends to dry out meat unless it’s totally submerged in liquid. In this case, the thighs were a little burnt up but still remained juicy. I’ve been battling the dryness for a while so these freezer meals have given me the opportunity to play with the crockpot a little more and get it right. So far I have taken the cook time down by an hour, crumpled up aluminum foil and put it under the crockpot liner to have the food avoid touching the ceramic plate and loosely tying the liner to “lock in” the juices. One step at a time. If you have any advice with this issue, please share! Crockin’ xo

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I’m just getting on the sweet potato bandwagon. Apparently I am not a trendsetter when it comes to this. At first I was outraged, my potato products are not supposed to be sweet! Then as I tried them over and over (and in different forms, did someone say sweet potato fries?) I finally found a place in my heart for these orange veggies.  Lately we have been having them simple -- “baked” in the microwave and topped with (wait for it!) honey and a little cinnamon. I don’t always use butter but I still eat the skin like a normal baked potato. Apparently this is good and certainly fiberous! Look at all the health benefits.  Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet xo

[cookbookdiet]

Learning Lessons

One of the best places that you can learn life lessons is in the kitchen. In this instance, I learned I don’t always know how to do things better. Sometimes you learn better from others.  In this instance, I’m talking about ham. Yes, I’m deep I know :) Like I mentioned before, my work is so cute that they give a free ham to each employee for Easter. Wanting to re-gain the space in my freezer I decided to make a Sunday ham. I used a recipe similar to Crocking Girls which used pineapple juice and brown sugar in a crockpot. I was hoping for a juicy, hot ham but it came out semi-dry and flavorless. Womp. Thinking I didn’t like ham, I recently went on a camping trip with a friend who cut up their ham they got from work and said we could use it for sandwiches. I was hesitant to try but OMG it was the best ham sandwich I had ever had. Lesson learned: always ask when you don’t know or you feel like it could be better. The simpler the ideas, usually the better.  Next Easter I plan on making lots of ham sandwiches and fried ham and eggs.

One meal I know we will contiinue to make with leftover ham is a tried & true in our house: Chessy Potatoes with Ham by Freezer Meals for Us. This recipe is easy and makes for a great company breakfast or a lot of time we eat it for dinner and bring the leftovers to work throughout the week. So yummy! I’m a ham, what cann I say? xo

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Keeping on the comfort food train, we recently made PW’s Perfect Red Wine Pot Roast. The Hubs is weird, he likes to eat toast with Pot Roast, so add that to the plate too. I was a purest and (almost) ate the recipe as is. I really appreciated that this was a true “one pot” meal. You start out by browinging the meat, then browning your onion, celery and garlic. Then you add the best part (the wine) and put the meat back in along with carrots and one of my favorite veggies, parsnips. I know super random but I like that they have more than a “bite” of a carrot. Because the Dutch Oven I used to cook the pot roast was getting rather full and because I havea  love for mashed potatoes, I opted to make some skin-on red mashed potatoes instead of adding them to the pot. It was the right call. 

Anyway, The Hubs gave this recipe a 3/5 and I gave it a 4/5. Unfortunately the roast was a bit dry and I ended up cutting the roast and submerging it in the cooking liquid and dipping the meat in the liquid before eating. I think it was so worth it. I don’t think I would do anything different except maybe figure out a way to make it more fall-aparty (is that a word)? I am eager to try this again in the winter when I need a homemade dish to warm up my soul. Dreaming of fall xo 

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Summer is such a busy time! We have been running around and enjoying the hot weather. One warm Sunday night we wanted to slow down and celebrate. A good friend of mine made this recipe a while ago and gave me a bite to try. It was amazing. Then a week later, my BFF from home brought me a WHOLE BAG of rhubarb.  Side: I love rhubarb. The sweet, tart flavor is difference from any other fruit(?) out there. Plus the deep red color is just so pretty. Top any rhubarb dessert with ice cream and the world is totally balanced. The Hubs does not like rhubarb; I was reluctant that he would even try this. Back to the recipe: Rhubarb Dump Cake. Yes, I know it’s a horrible name, All you need to know is you literally “dump” everything in a pan and it comes out sweet, gooey and wonderful. This is a definite 5/5 recipe and is so much easier to make than a pie or other treat! Just like me....sweet &tart xo

[cookbookdiet]

I’m taking a bit of a hiatus from the cookbook. We get very busy during the month of July -- lots of trips, housework and fun things! In order to help myself stay on track, I’ve decided to try out these 9 freezer dump meals from Our Thrifty Ideas. I wanted something I could do easy in the morning and had variation. Plus this has a grocery list! ProTip 1: I ended up needing to buy 2 additional packages of chicken breast. I used 1 package (2 breastss each) of chicken per recipe. That way we had some leftovers for lunches. ProTip 2: Don’t forget your soy sauce. Like I did. I know you won’t, but now you won’t have to remember it at 6AM before your coffee. Updates to come!

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This isn’t a PW recipe, but this picture makes me drool. During the summer, we are all about the grill. One of the Hubs favorite toys is his grill because it’s half propane and half charcoal. It’s amazing. Propane when it’s a weeknight and we need to eat NOW and charcoal when we are in the mood for some slow cooked, sweet bbq.  Our typiical summertime weeknight spread looks like this: BBQ chicken and homegrown grilled zuchinni! ProTip: Buy the thinly sliced chicken breasts at the store. They cook more quickly and evenly and always stay juicy. Plus it’s always enough meat.  We be grillin’ xo

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Roasted Veggies

Are always the answer. When you aren’t in the mood for veggies, or the Hubs refuses to eat his greens, the answer is to roast it. Two recipes in PW’s book that we make a lot are: Roasted Asparagus and Roasted Grape Tomatoes.  Roasted vegetables take on a nutty flavor and don’t seem as healthy.  Try them, instant 5/5! xo

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I am Trader Joe’s obsessed. I used to live less than 2 blocks away from one in Chicago and I was always excited to leave with fresh produce, yummy snacks...and jars of cookie butter. Stop judging me, it’s amazing.  On our way home from our anniversary trip to St. Louis, we decided to stop at TJ’s to pack our pantry. While we got 5 jars of cookie butter, lots of chocolate things, some yummy fruit...we also picked up all of the ingredients to make 7 Can Soup by PW.  Even though this isn’t in the cookbook, I figured it was worth a shot since we’ve liked her other things. Plus after a long drive, this was way easy! Open some cans, dump in a pot and heat. DONE! This is a 4/5. I thinK I would add a few more spices or get a different chili.  After this I realized two things: 1) I need more canned food recipes in my life.  2) I NEED A TRADER JOES CLOSER Dreaming of TJ’s...sigh! xo

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I work with a wonderful baker. She always brings in treats for the office to try. When this beautiful cupcake turned up on my desk one day, I had to take a picture before diving in. The best part about this cupcake was not the deliciousness, the beautifulness, or even the chocolate. It was ...made from zuchinni! So it’s healthy right? I need to find this recipe! xo

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My husband likes soccer. I’m not a fan. But I do know that when sports are on TV, I know snacks should be involved. Two of my fan-favorites include: 1) Buffalo Chicken Dip by That’s What Che Said  Spicy, melty, cheesy, gooey. It’s a perfect snack and packed full of protein! As you can see, we eat ours with tortilla chips but it’s also fab with celery.  And a new favorite

2) Ranch Dressing Cheese Log by Trisha Yearwood Where I work, we often host “Food Days” for colleagues celebrating birthdays, babies, big events, etc. One of my good friends was celebrating her baby shower and she is obsessed with Ranch, so I knew I needed to try this. Becausse I was too lazy to make a log (don’t judge, I go to bed at 930PM and it was 925PM the night before), I just mixed it all up together. This dip is awesome! The pecans somehow taste like bacon and it’s a perfect spread for a cracker. I’ve made this a few times since the Food Day. 

Go Team, Win the Sports, Score the Ponts! xo

[cookbookdiet]

Do the Mashed Potato

I don’t even think I know what that dance looks like. Does anyone? Anyway, I forgot to mention that when we made Salisbury Steak we also made PW’s Mashed Potatoes and Lemony Green Beans.  The mashed potataoes were a 3.5/5. I have to admit in this case, mine are better. #humblebrag #gloatboat  My mashed potatoes are easy. Boil some potatoes, add in some butter, salt and a little sour cream. I could eat a whole pot.  The lemony green beans were a 3/5. They tasted overly-lemony and I prefer just butter. What can I say, I’m from the midwest Side by side xo

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Meal prep Sunday’s. I’m giving it a shot! As you know I’m all about the make-ahead meals. It’s a good way to guide myself to better choices.  Here is what I’ve made for lunch this week. This article is great because it gives step-by-step instructions and even tells you how to pack it.  So far I haven’t tried any of the recipes, but they all sound pretty good. Here’s to a healthy week! xo

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This is what the inside of my brain looks like...4 burners on and the oven cooking away!

It’s a scary place! xo