Chicken and Slicks

Total Time: 80 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2011)
Recipe Source: Cook's Country TV (Season 5)

I made this a while ago, and didn't keep good notes on the details of how much time this took. I just wrote down 80 minutes. I think that was total time, and was not work time. This is not an overly complicated recipe, actually. The time comes from cooking the chicken, freezing the noodles then cooking them. 

I did the recipe in two steps, made the chicken and noodle dough the night before, then shredded the chicken and cut and cooked noodle the 2nd night. It worked out well. 

The broth and chicken on this was super flavorful and delicious. The noodles were decent as well but a bit too thick for me. The only reason I wouldn't make this again is because if I am making a recipe like this I would probably go for Chicken and Dumplings instead which I like a little more. This is certainly good, but I missed the vegetables, and the noodles were more work than dumplings. 

Weeknight Beef Chili (Slow Cooker)

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 3-5 hours on high 6-8 on low 

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Slow Cooker Revolution

I got a new Crock Pot for Christmas. The one ATK recommends, so I can finally make more of the recipes from this book. The new one is larger, and making the older recipes always involved cutting recipes in half.

This chili is good, but for a Weeknight recipe it took more prep than I wanted. Of course, the prep isn't done at night anyway. For me, cooking all the beef took some time, more than they suggested it should. You also have to saute the onions and spices and make a panade with bread and milk to keep the beef tender with the long cook times.

The nice thing about the recipe is that it makes lots and chili freezes quite well.

Roasted Pepper Soup

Total Time: 50 minutes

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: 6 Ingredient Solution

I thought this tasted very nice, but my picky eater didn't care for it. (At least he tried it, which was a shock.)

Although only 6 ingredients you do have to roast the peppers. That part was okay for me. The part where I got in trouble was dealing with the blender. I ended spilling soup everywhere and then I decided to strain it because I wasn't sure I got all the pieces processed enough. That made the soup just too thin for me.

This recipe used these Cheese Stick crackers (only 2), and suggested using the crackers as condiments also, which was good. It also called for a basil whipped cream which I liked. But you were supposed to make that in the blender, and that didn't work well for me. I ended up pulling out my mixer to make it. That part was delicious. You dollop a little on top of the soup.

Although I liked this, since I was the only one and it was a bit of work, and I made a mess of my kitchen, I probably won't make this again. It might be nice for a dinner party though if you have friends who are not such picky eaters and nice like flavors.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Prep Time: 35-40 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes
 
Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2004)

I made this years ago and liked it, but never added it here. The first time I made it I used a half recipe in my small bundt pan. This time I went for the full recipe since it was for our family Christmas Eve dinner. My Kitchen Aid mixer ended up being almost filled to the brim by the time I was done.

While I was baking, I checked at 45 minutes and it seemed underdone, but I didn't try a skewer. The bottom just looked moist. So I did another 5 minutes. The bottom still looked too moist, but I did try a skewer and had not crumbs (I was supposed to a have a few.) So it was just slightly overcooked.

It was still good and the family seemed to enjoy it, however, I think it would have been better had been better about it checking it more carefully.

What saved it from seeming too dry was the tangy whipped cream topping which includes a little sour cream and brown sugar. That made the cake I think. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it cut with the cream, which looked nice. This is a good recipe, I just need to remember to check with a skewer sooner.

Sauteed Chicken Cutlets With Vermouth, Leek, And Tarragon Pan Sauce

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (September 2007)

This was a nice simple recipe. I may have finally learned the lesson of the importance of prepping ingredients before I start cooking. I have a bad habit of assuming I can prep ingredients while initial parts of recipe are cooking. It rarely turns out well for me. I end up rushed, mess things up and usually make a disaster of my kitchen. It may take me longer as well.

I looked at recipe and realized the chicken breasts cook in just minutes, since they are cutlets. So I did the "mise en place" today and cooking was a breeze.

The sauce in this is fairly light, just 1T of butter, and 2 t. of oil in terms of fat, which is pretty good for Cook's Illustrated. So for once, I didn't cut the fat. :-)

I like the sauce a lot and it was nice serving this chicken with rice. My picky eater liked this, even though I couldn't give him any of the leeks. It wasn't hard to serve him some sauce and avoid the leeks.

Baked Quinoa with Roasted Kale and Chickpeas

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: 6 Ingredient Solution

This is another great recipe from one of ATK's recent cookbooks. I'm definitely buying this book. (I've had it from the library so far.) It comes from the Vegetarian chapter, which has 9 recipes. (There are more vegetarian recipes in other chapters though.)

There is not much work to do with this: prepping the kale, cutting the tomatoes, rinsing the quinoa and beans, and zesting a lemon. The recipe does call for marinated feta cheese, which I did not have. So I used a tiny bit of olive oil and a little oregano in this as well. You do have to roast the kale for about 6-8 minutes, but that is done while you are prepping other ingredients. It all comes together very quickly (because there are so few ingredients.)

I really liked the leftovers cold. Eating it warm was good too. I will definitely make this again because it is filled with good things, tastes good and is easy.

Easy Egg Casserole with Boursin and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: 6 Ingredient Solution

This was the simplest thing I've made so far from the book. It relies on three ingredients that are not always pantry staples and one is processed, so some may not like this one. But I had the Ritz crackers, Boursin cheese and sun-dried tomatoes so making this recipe was quite easy. I didn't have fresh basil so used a little rosemary.

This is a pretty rich recipe, so I only used half the cheese called for. The Boursin cheese packs a lot of flavor and I knew it would be fine. Plus it is a slightly expensive ingredient, so that is another reason to use a bit less.

This was very good, but I felt it needed a little salt. The recipe called for none (salt, pepper and water don't "count" towards the 6 ingredients) and I assumed that was because of the crackers. But it needed maybe 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon I think.

The only problem I had was that 15 minutes wasn't enough time. My middle was a little runny. I made it in individual gratins, so I thought it would cook a little faster.

I would make this again for a brunch or if I had the ingredients on hand. It might be a nice thing to make for Christmas morning.

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.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Prep Time: 15 minutes + 22 minutes
Cook Time: 18-22 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again:No

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2010)

These really do taste good, but I prefer the Everyday Food recipe. These are pretty sweet and were not flaky. They felt more like cakes to me. Tasty cakes, for sure, but not what I want in a biscuit.

One interesting thing about the recipe is that there is no milk. It is all sweet potato that give the moisture. (And a tiny bit of vinegar.) So you really do get a good sweet potato flavor from these biscuits.


 

Two Quick Pork Tenderloin Dinners

Recipe 1: Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Fall Vegetables

Prep Time: 15 minutes each
Cook Time: 30+ minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (November2011)

You start with this recipe and you save 1/2 of one of the pork tenderloins. Actually, since I cut recipe in half, I only used one tenderloin.

This was my first time trying parsnips (as far as I know) and brussels sprouts since I was kid. I loved the parsnips, but was neutral on the brussels sprouts. I should probably try a recipe with bacon and then I'd probably like them more. :-)

It made two meals for me and had lots of vegetables which was nice. There was very little effort to the meal, and I liked knowing I had a head start on a 2nd meal later that week. 

Recipe 2: Lo Mein with Pork

Total Time: 15 - 20 minutes 

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (November2011)

 

I subbed a bit in this recipe using vegetables I liked. It isn't the most amazing stir-fry in the world, but for a real quick dinner it was great. I will definitely use this technique again - roasting some protein and saving it for a later stir-fry.