Chicken and Brown Rice

Prep Time: 28 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Grade: B-

Make Again: No


Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2005)

This was almost really good, but I really didn't like the roasted red peppers in this. They got quite soggy.  Maybe using regular diced peppers would have been better.

I think this recipe as potential as a one pot meal, but I probably won't tweak it anymore, since there are too many good recipes to try! 

Stovetop Chili Mac

Prep Time: 28 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe
Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011)

I liked this, but it wasn't anything special. Just a non-tomato meat sauce on top of pasta. It was simple enough, but not super simple so I probably wouldn't make it again.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes

Grade: A-
Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011)

I haven't done a stir fry in a while, and I miss them. This is a simple and light version of sweet and sour (no frying).

It differs from Cook's Illustrated stir-fries in that you dump the veggies and chicken into the pan at once. That makes it easier, but it also resulted in green beans that were a little overcooked. Not bad, but not as bright green and crisp as they could have been.

When I first tasted the chicken, I was unimpressed, and thought that it was more bland because there was no marinating of the chicken. But when I tasted the full dish with veggies and sauce, I liked it more, and overall I found the dish very satisfying.

I think CI/ATK stir-fry recipes are a bit better, but a little more work, so this one will do in a pinch when there is less time. I could have shortened the time more by overlapping the cooking with prep, by at least heating up my pan while still prepping. However, I have found cleaning the kitchen before I start cooking with stir fries is a very good idea, otherwise I end up with a disaster.

Chili and Cornbread

Emeril's Turkey Chili
Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: B
Make Again:No

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011) 



Cornbread
Prep Time: 6 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes

Grade: A
Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2011) 

The cornbread recipe is not on Martha's website yet, but I will check back later, but most of the recipes end up there.

The chili was fine, but nothing special. I think I will stick to the Cook's Illustrated version, which takes longer to cook, but isn't anymore effort.

The cornbread was very good. It should be with a stick of butter and 1/3 c. of sugar in it. As much as I love cornmeal, I don't always love the cornbread recipes I try, so I will probably make this one again.

Barley Risotto with Corn and Basil

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Grade: A-
 
Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food(October 2005)

Well, this wasn't exactly creamy like risotto, but it tasted very good, and was a nice side dish. I used a fraction of the called for basil, and don't think I would have liked the full 2 c. The barley and corn together was a very nice combination with a good texture. I don't always have barley on hand, but maybe I should use it more, because I like the taste.

I give it a "-" because I'm not convinced the effort (although small) of adding the broth in small batches was worth it, since it didn't have a risotto like consistency. 

Pan-Seared Chicken Breasts

Prep Time: 30 minutes (total including sauce)
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2010)
Recipe Source: The America's Test Kitchen TV Show

I could not have been more bored when I saw this recipe in the Best of 2011 ATK last Spring. It seems like something they have done a lot already. However, I tried it one night when I wanted to use some defrosted boneless chicken breasts.The recipe is a little strange, but fairly simple, and very good!

The chicken if first covered with salt and sort of steamed in a low temp oven covered with foil until chicken reaches 145-150. Then you put a coating on the chicken of butter, flour, and cornstarch and pan-search for a few minutes on each side to finish it off. This keeps the chicken moist but gives it a really delicious coating.

Half of the prep time comes from adding a pan sauce which is is also very tasty. Without that, the recipe would be even less work. I have made this recipe 3 times and each time I cook the sauce too long, and it gets too thick. I need to remember next time to cook it less.

I modify the recipe to use less fat. I use just one t. of oil for cooking the chicken and I replace 1T of the butter for the coating mixture with 1T of chicken broth. That works fine. Just don't make the mixture until you are ready to brush it on. I tried making it early last night, and it got too gloppy and didn't spread well.

I also use just a pat of butter in the final pan suace instead of a full T. and that is fine too. It is still rich.

My picture is not good. I had a nice one from the previous time I made it with some sauce, but lost it when I broke my laptop last month. The chicken isn't always as homely as I made it look last night.

This is a great recipe. The recipe is available on the TV website right now, so make sure you print it out because it will eventually be behind the pay wall. The video is there too, and should be available through the end of 2011, I think.

Candy-corn sugar cookies

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2004)

These are cute little cookies that are simple to make, and very good. There are very, very sweet though, so good for a tiny dessert, but not satisfying any hunger.

The recipe says to use a teaspoon for each cookie and you should get 36 cookies. I tried, but the dough was a bit dry, and hard to get out of the teaspoon, so I used my cookie scoop instead, making sure it was level. I think that is 2t or a little more instead. So, I got 16 cookies out of the recipe. They were still small and cute, just not as tiny.

There is a chocolate version of the recipe also where you switch out 1/4 c. or flour with cocoa. I will probably try that also, since I have the candy corns now, and didn't use very many for these cookies.

Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Bake Time: 50 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes


Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2006)

This quick bread recipe is of course easy. But it is also very yummy. I made a half recipe since I only have 1 8x4 pan. The only thing that didn't halve properly was the eggs, and I just used one. It leaves some pumpkin for another recipe to try and review in the future.

It has been a few years since I made pumpkin bread, so I can't necessarily compare this recipe. I really liked that it cooked all the way through and wasn't too moist in the middle, which is problem I have sometimes with my quick breads. I think the smaller pan size helped with this.

I loved the crust. It was a little bit crunchy and sweet. I almost wish I hadn't halved the recipe, but hopefully I'll find another good use for the rest of my pumpkin puree. It also has a nice ginger flavor.

Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes
Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2005)

Of course, Sloppy Joes is a simple recipe, and fairly predictable. I made the "kids" version because of my picky eater, but I'm sure the adult version is even better, if you like a little spice. My picky eater BF ate seconds of this, so I will be making again. I used 96% lean beef and it was very good. I think that has about the same fat as 93% lean turkey and tastes better for this meal. 

Tamale Pie

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: C
Make Again: No  

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2004)

This was kind of a disaster. I don't know if I can blame the recipe, or if it was just me. The recipe had good reviews on Martha's site, and it was something I have wanted to try since I saw the recipe in the magazine in 2004.

I have made tamale pies before, but in the past, I put the cornmeal crust on the top, instead  of on the bottom of the dish, as this recipe calls for. I guess I didn't cook the cornmeal enough and let it get thick enough. It was entirely runny in the finished dish. There was nothing crust like about it, and it was somewhat unappetizing looking look a cornmeal mush, which mixed in with everything else.

The topping of the dish was good and tasted fine, if not exciting. I made another mistake by not using tomato sauce, instead of crushed tomatoes, because that is what I had in my pantry.  So the top was a little more runny also.

The problems with this recipe were probably from me, both bad substitutions and execution, but I think I will just go back to my old way of making Tamale pie. I don't know if I can find that recipe, but I can probably improvise.

Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe
  
Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011)

This was just a simple recipe to use up leftovers. The original recipe uses mushrooms and black beans, but I don't like mushrooms, so used some chopped up leftover chicken breast. I also used a trick learned from Cook's Illustrated, to spray the corn tortillas with olive oil spray and then back for a few minutes at 300. This makes them more pliable (and tasty!) 

This tasted quite good, but was not too attractive. I won't go out of my way to make this again, but would certainly do it if I have these ingredients on hand and wanted something quick to make for dinner.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Prep Time: 20 minutes?
Cook Time: 1.5 hours 

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (January 2011)

This is not quite as flavorful as Cook's Illustrated Black Bean Soup, because it doesn't have the ham. But it was still quite good and easy. I ended up making double the beans, and they were good on their own also.

The recipe says to save 1.5 c of black beans for another recipe, which I did do, and will review in my next post. That is one reason I like cooking from Everyday Foods, because it helps remind me of ways to make cooking easier and to reuse things.