Make Ahead Spicy Beef Taco Bake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Cool Time: 10 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Make Ahead Cook (book)

This was fine, and it was certainly easy. But I don't think I will make again, because making regular tacos is even easier and I think we like those better. I'm trying to be more selective in the recipes that I continue to make because I already have a lot of favorites.

Best Chicken Parmesan

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Salt Time: 20 min (can overlap with prep)
Breading/Cook Time: 20 min
Broil: 2-4 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source:
Cook's Illustrated (March 2013),
America's Test Kitchen TV (Season 14)

This tasted great, but was a little greasy and rich, so I probably won't make it a lot. I remember a lighter recipe from the Best Light Recipe (which I don't own anymore) but I think I probably prefer that recipe. It is not super quick, but they have streamlined the recipe some so it isn't too complicated.

Slow Cooker Chickpea and Garden Vegetable Pasta sauce

Prep Time: 23 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours + 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes
 
Recipe Source: Slow Cooker Revolution

(I found a copy of the recipe online here.)

I made this over the summer, and am finally posting about it. This was really good. The sauce was very tasty on pasta and would probably be good on its own as well. If you like chickpeas this is a good one to try.

It froze pretty well. The zucchini got a little soft, but was acceptable.

I used canned diced tomatoes which made it is a little easier to prepare.

Make Ahead Meat Lasagna

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cool Time: 30 minutes
Assemble: 15 min
Finish: 5
Cook Time: 45-80 min (fresh or frozen)

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Make Ahead Cook (book)

This was from the "Freezer" section of the book. I haven't really tried any America's Test Kitchen lasagna recipes (at least in a while) so I can't compare the recipe. I assume it is similar, but tweaked for putting in the freezer.

Instead of making 2 lasagnas in 8" square pans, I made 4 small lasagnas for 2 people in  4.5x8 pans. I used the foil pans and they were actually a little too small to fit the noodles in, so I softened 8 of them first in hot water so they would bend. The noodles fit in when I got higher up.

The lasagna was very good, although maybe could have used a little more salt. It was not as stable as I would like. That might be because of the pre-softened bottom noodles. Next time I will make sure to buy pans that are wide enough to handle the noodles. The pans I bought were weird loaf pans with scallops, so hopefully I can find something better that is a bit wider on the bottom.

But I probably won't make this again for a while since I have 3 frozen mini lasagnas in the freezer now. That is of course the best part of it all.

I haven't tried from frozen yet, but I have to assume it will be good. If not, I'll come back and update.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

Prep Time: 34 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes (microwave)
Slow Cooker: 5 hours on low

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Slow Cooker Revolution book

These were not my favorite meatballs, but they were good. They take about the same amount of work as any meatball, unless I pan fry them (which I rarely do). Pan frying them takes longer. The sauce was delicious, it was the meatballs that didn't wow me. The Meatballs for a Crowd are better.

But it is nice to cook them in the slow cooker. I actually made them in the afternoon and let them cook while I was gone teaching a class all evening. Then we had them the next day for dinner, reheated.

It was a nice way to get dinner done ahead of time.

There is another Slow Cooker Meatball recipe from Cook's country, that is similar but not exactly the same. The main difference is instead of using a panade of bread and milk, they use cream and mozzarella cheese. I'll probably try that one eventually just to compare.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Assemble Time: 5 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: 6 Ingredient Solution Cookbook

I already have a tomato soup recipe that I love. And when I saw this recipe in the book, I wasn't sure I wanted to try this one. It reminded me of CI's very original tomato soup recipe "Ultimate Cream Tomato Soup". I hadn't loved that one, because it used heavy cream, and was too heavy tasting instead of tomato-tasting to me. I really loved the cream-less version of the soup because it is a super quick recipe, healthy and good.

But I decided to try this, since it is simplified at least in terms of the ingredients. Many recipe in the 6 Ingredient Solution are quick, but this one still takes time. There isn't a huge amount of hands on time. Prep is done in less than 15 minutes and the only time you need to work while cooking is to keep an eye on the onions for about 10-15 minutes. Then you need to blend the soup at the end. It will take over an hour to make the soup, but only 20+ minutes of your time.

The secret ingredient in this recipe is the Boursin cheese, which is flavored with garlic and herbs. I tasted the soup before I added the cheese, and it was good. The tomatoes are roasted, and onions caramelized in butter (I used 1T instead of 2T.) But when I added the cheese (about 1/2 of a package, 2.5 servings) it tasted amazing. Truly delicious and maybe the best tasting tomato soup I've ever had.

I will probably continue to make both versions of the soup. I won't always have Boursin cheese on hand, but if I remember to get it, this version is really good.

Chicago Style Pizza

Dough Time: 10 minutes
Rise Time: 60 minutes
Sauce Prep: 20 minutes
Sauce Cook: 30 minutes
Laminate: 10 minutes
Rise Time: 40-50 minutes
Assemble: 10 minutes
Bake: 20-30 minutes
Rest: 10 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2010) 
I have always lived in Chicago-land area (and for a while in the city) so I do know Chicago pizza. I'm not partial to this style of pizza though, I like all kinds really. The one thing I would say about the style is that it has a buttery crust. Some of them seem like they have cornmeal in them, but I've heard that is not really true. I am not a purist though so I just wanted to try it and see if it was good.

It was good. Very good actually. Maybe not a true replication of any specific restaurant around here but close enough. The crust seemed closest to Lou Malnati's I thought, because of the buttery flavor.

It is a bit more work than a regular pizza, but it made two pies. I wrapped one pan in foil and froze, then baked a few weeks later. That one was as good as the first.

I thought the sauce was a little too sweet so I would skip the sugar next time or use less. Otherwise it was a very good recipe.

Pepperoni Pasta Bake

Prep Time: 27 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes
  
Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2012)

I liked this recipe because I made it ahead and then was able to put in the oven later. Also, I happened to have some leftover pepperoni and ricotta that needed to be used up, so this was perfect.

It was relatively simple to make considering I thought filling the shells would be a pain. I could probably make this quicker if I started boiling water sooner.

I used only 15oz ricotta which was plenty to fill the shells. I also used frozen spinach instead of the zucchini. It all worked well. I didn't have fresh basil, which would have been nice.

It got a thumbs up from my picky eater. He didn't realize that there was spinach in the shell filling.

Summer Beef and Rice Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (September 2012) video at link
 
The prep time on this is based on having the sauce already made. It uses this Quick Meat Sauce which is nothing special, but fine for a "quick" sauce with meat. The nice thing about it is that it makes enough for two recipes, the original, and this one.

I had one small problem with this recipe and that was that the rice was a tiny bit crunchy still. Next time I will pour the rice in while I am heating up the sauce, so it gets a head start.

Other than that, it was delicious and very easy.  I will make again. I love meals that include the veggies in the main dish like this.

Braised Spanish Lentils and Sausage

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cover & Bake (There is no on-line version of the recipe) 

It has been a while since I've posted. Life has been busy, but also, all the new recipes I tried were not worth blogging about. There was also one disaster with a coffee cake recipe I tried from America's Test Kitchen TV show. It was totally my fault, so I want to try it again, to see if I can do better. 

I made this a long time ago (pre-blog) and really liked this. It didn't turn out quite as tasty this time, probably because of my substitutions with what I had on hand.) But it was still decent. This took me longer to make that it probably should have. I used regular lentils not the small green ones, so that made it longer. But it was fairly easy prep with some of the 25 minutes hands-off.

I also used Turkey smoked sausage instead of lentils, to make the dish a little lighter. I used regular paprika instead of smoked, but I bet smoked is better.

Overall, a decent simple recipe.

Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2011)

This recipe is featured on the Cook's Country website right now, so if you are interested, now is the time to print it out or save it.

I'm perfectly happy with the Cook's Illustrated Simple chili recipe but I guess I always am willing to try something new. The fact that the recipe was developed for a slow cooker appealed to me. 

This tasted great, but it was more work than the Simple Chili recipe. And it created another problem. It didn't fit in my slow cooker. I should have known. Most of their recipes are for the large crock-pot, and I have a smaller one. I should have cut the recipe in half.  (Although I'm happy to have lots of leftovers to freeze now.) 

I ended up just using the dutch oven I did all the prep cooking in, and cooked on low for 3 hours, although it would have been fine at 2 hours. 

I might make again, but most likely I'll stick with the Simple chili which takes just 20 minutes of prep and requires less cleanup. 

Simple Italian-Style Meat Sauce

 Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes

Grade:B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2008)
Recipe Source: Best of ATK 2009


This was a fairly simple recipe but it did involve getting out the food processor to chop some mushrooms, which are there to add meatiness. I don't like mushrooms, but can handle them when processed this way. I don't mind their flavor, just the texture. The sauce was fine, but just not incredible, so I probably won't make again. I think if I want meat with my sauce, I'd like some meatballs instead. I am coming to the conclusion that I just don't love pasta sauces with ground meat.


I will not make this again, but if you like ground meat sauces, you might still want to try this one. It is more a personal taste issue for me, not that the recipe is bad.

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

Total Time: < 30 minutes 

Grade: A+ 

Make Again: Yes 

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Sept 2008)
Recipe Source: Best of ATK 2010

I love this recipe. I made it when the recipe first came out and knew I would make it again. I waited to blog about it until the second time, which didn't happen until this week. It won't be 3 years before I make this again.

This recipe is quite simple and very healthy. It has the feeling of Campbell's tomato soup, but probably tastes different. (It has been so long since I had that.) Basically it is canned whole tomatoes, some bread (which provides the creaminess without the cream) and onions, garlic and oil, plus some chicken broth. Using a blender makes it smooth. That is the only somewhat complicated step - transferring the soup between blender and pan.

I made a half recipe which only gave 3 servings. I had the leftovers tonight. I wished I had made a bigger batch. I think this would freeze well without any dairy in the recipe.

I'll post my simplified version here (full recipe amounts) because the recipe is so simple.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil 
• 1medium onion , chopped medium
• 3 medium garlic cloves , minced
• pinch hot red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 2cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and ground black pepper

(They add brandy as a suggested optional ingredient. And chopped chives. I have not tried either.) 

1. Saute onion, garlic and pepper in 1 T of oil (they suggest 2T)  till softened.
2. Add tomatoes and crush with potato masher. Add brown sugar and bay leaf and bread. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until bread breaks down. 
3. Remove bay leaf and transfer half of soup to a blender. They suggest adding more oil now but I didn't and I don't think it needs it. Blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. 
4. Pour into bowl. Repeat with second batch. 
5. Rinse pot and return soup to reheat and add chicken broth. Season to taste. Add optional brandy and chives.

The original recipe can be found at the link if you subscribe. My version uses less oil and none of the extras. I still loved it, but you might prefer it their way.

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.

Mexican Rice

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes


Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (September 2004)

This is a yummy simple recipe.  It calls for 2 fresh tomatoes, but I make this sometimes with canned tomatoes, which works fine.

The easy part of the recipe is that you put the tomatoes and onion into the food processor to puree instead of needing to dice.  I actually add the jalapeno in there too, and it works fine.  (I leave some out for adding in later as the recipe instructs.)

The only time consuming part is "frying" the dried rice for 6-8 minutes before adding any liquids.  The recipe calls for 1/3 c. of oil.  I used 1.5 T. instead, and that was just fine.

This is definitely a good recipe to use when making any Mexican food.

Baked Ziti

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Cool Time: 20 minutes

Grade:B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (March 2009)
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show (Season 10)

This was  nothing special in my opinion.  I do have to admit, however, that I used an inferior cheese which definitely affected the taste.  I chose the store brand (Safeway) cheese because it was cheaper, and then, even worse, accidentally purchased the low-fat version.  It was too salty and not creamy at all.  Now I have 8 oz left of this crappy cheese, which I won't use, just to save $1.  Oh well.

However, even without that issue, I still don't think this recipe would have been all that better than the very simple baked pasta dishes I've used before.  It uses cottage cheese, which I like, but I usually don't include ricotta in my baked ziti anyways, so it didn't solve any problems for me.  It just seems like more effort than I want for a simple pasta dish, so I probably won't make again.

Southwestern Skillet Pie

Prep Time: 15 - 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20-30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (November 2004)

I love this easy recipe. It is very flexible, fast, and usually can be made with ingredients you likely have on hand.

It came from Everyday Food, but I have changed it a little. Really, this is so flexible, you can substitute in a lot of ways.

The original recipe called for a red pepper chopped up. Although I love red peppers, I never felt like it added much with all the salsa, so I skip. It also called for mixing 1/2 c of the cheese in the biscuits. I feel the cheese doesn't add to the biscuits, so I skip that too. It doesn't even really need any cheese at all, but I use if I have some on hand.

Southwestern Skillet Pie

1 lb ground meat (preferably a lean beef or turkey)
4 cloves garlic minced
16 oz (2 cups) your favorite Salsa
1 15oz can beans (black, pinto, kidney), drained and rinsed
1/2 - 1 t. salt (to taste)
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 c. water
1 c. (or less) shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

Biscuit:
1 c. unbleached flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t. salt
3 T. butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 c. milk or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425.

NOTE: Use a pan that can be put in a hot oven while the biscuits cook.

1) Brown meat over medium heat in ovenproof skillet. Drain if too much fat.
2) Add garlic, salt and pepper and saute for 30 sec
3) Add salsa, beans and water, stir and heat to a simmer
4) In a medium bowl, mix the dry biscuit ingredients. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or knives until butter is mixed in fairly well (but not completely)
5) Stir in milk with a fork.
6) Sprinkle cheese over meat and bean mixture
7) Drop 8 evenly sized (as well as you can!) spoonfuls of the biscuit dough on top. The dough will spread so leave some space.
8) Bake 20-25 minutes until the biscuits are cooked and starting to brown.
9) Remove from oven and serve.

Empanadas

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Rest Time: 20 minutes
Assemble Time:15 minutes
Bake Time: 30-45 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (April 2004)

I often make these with ground turkey so I add some more spice to it - usually some cumin. These are very good. A little time consuming to make, but since you can freeze them for later, it is worth it.

I usually make the dough a little thinner, so I can get more out of the recipe. This requires more care when you are forming them so the dough doesn't stretch, but it usually works ok. I want a slightly higher meat to dough ratio, so this works for me.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (Month 2004)

At first bite, the carrots in these distract just a little. It wasn't the sloppy joe texture I was expecting. But really, once you get past that, they taste very good. And it is nice to get your veggies in with a sandwich, because the recipe calls for 4 shredded carrots and a large can on crushed tomatoes.

Oven-Roasted Canned Tomatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2+ hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The Italian Country Table

This is another great simple recipe from The Italian Country Table. It makes a delicious spread or something nice to put on pasta. It takes a long time to cook, but there is very little hands on time here.