Recipes from the Archives on June 6, 2013

It’s hard to find original recipes.  Let’s face it… there’s only so many ingredients in the world and since I get 8 cooking magazines a month and about 30 cooking-related e-mails a day, I’ve seen a lot.  So when I see something different and interesting, I get a little excited.  Allrecipes had a Brandied Shrimp with Pasta.  White wine and brandy?  Hmmm… I’m curious.  Then there was Pillsbury’s Beer-Cheese Mac and Sausage that blends macaroni and cheese with cocktail sausages and popcorn.  Tell me that doesn’t sound delicious.

However, the recipe I kept going back to was from Kraft.  A basic Jalapeno Poppers recipe, but as I looked at the ingredients, it had bacon.  BACON!!!  Oh Kraft, you just get me.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Rachael’s Quick Spaghetti and Meatballs

Video!!!

Total Time: 35 min

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 20 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Spinach and Egg Sandwiches

Total Time: 30 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 20 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Recipes from the Archives on May 2, 2013

This day my InBox was crammed full of fish taco recipes.  If you've ever had a good one (and frankly I haven’t found any that rival those I ate in Southern California) you’ll want to read this post.

Another note: According to Land o’ Lakes, they donate money to Feeding America each time you pin or re-pin a recipe from their site.  A good cause, no?  And all you have to do is PIN… and you know you want to pin.  Come on, do it!

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Video!!!

Total Time: 47 min

Prep: 15 min

Inactive: 25 min

Cook: 7 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Bobby’s Grilled Fish Tacos

Video!!!

Total Time: 1 hr 45 min

Prep: 35 min

Inactive: 25 min

Cook: 45 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Intermediate

Mahi-Mahi Tacos

Video!!!

Total Time: 26 min

Prep: 5 min

Inactive: 15 min

Cook: 6 min

Yield: 6 servings

Alton’s Marinated Tilapia Tacos

Video!!!

Total Time: 38 min

Prep: 15 min

Inactive: 15 min

Cook: 8 min

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Level: Intermediate

Frozen Mango Margarita

Video!!!

Total Time: 10 min

Prep: 10 min

Yield: 4 servings, serving size 1 cup

Level: Easy

Ina’s Grilled Salmon

Video!!!

Total Time: 34 min

Prep: 5 min

Inactive: 20 min

Cook: 9 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Easy

Low-Cal Fettuccine Alfredo

Total Time: 25 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Recipes from the Archives on April 30, 2013

It’s finally warm in the Chicago area!  I think it’s time to bust out the grill and start some warm weather cooking… especially since last night I heated up the kitchen baking a casserole in my oven.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Chile-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

Total Time: 30 minutes

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Recipes from the Archives on March 5, 2013

I’ve got about 5000 recipes sitting in my InBox from as long ago as May of 2012.  As I clear out my e-mail, I’m posting the ones that I’m interested in trying! 

Some of these use the grill.  If you live in the Midwest, you may have to dig yours out from under, oh let’s say, 10-inches of snow.  Still, I know people who have grilled in snowstorms before, so I’ve decided to send these along anyway.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Total Time: 20 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 10 min

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Level: Easy

Catch-up Recipe Round-up for May 24-25, 2012

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Cherry Tomato Salad with Buttermilk-Basil Dressing

Total Time: 15 min

Prep: 15 min

Yield: 4 servings

Level: Easy

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Empanadas

If you want to see a commentary-free version of this recipe, go here!

On occasion I like to torture myself.  There are many things that I have tried to make and they never quite turn out right.  bite-size breakfasts, cut-out cookies, pasta with chickpeas and empanadas/calzones.

It is so frustrating because I love them.  The perfectly baked dough.  The delicious fillings perfectly heated.

Nope, never happens for me.

I’m not sure why I thought this would be any different, but when I saw this recipe for Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Empanadas from Pillsbury, I just HAD TO MAKE IT!  I know it is going to taste good, but I know it won’t be as pretty as the perfect little empanadas on Pillsbury’s website.

Or would they?

© You Want Me to Cook?
Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Empanadas

Bacon-Egg Breakfast Bites

Want to get a copy of the recipe that is commentary free?  Go here.

I confess.  I love bite-size breakfast.  The funny thing is that I never eat on the run.  I just like bite sized food.

I’m sure there is a therapist somewhere that read that and said, “She needs help.”

I do not deny that fact.

One difficult thing about bite size breakfast foods is that they can kind of be a pain to make.  Like a GIGANTIC PAIN.  I’ve done recipes like these Bacon-Egg Breakfast Bites from Pillsbury before and sworn that I would never make anything like that ever again.  Yet as I am flipping through April’s issue of Bake Off winners, I immediately gravitated to this recipe.

© Pillsbury

As I look at this picture, I remember why.  I get to eat bacon and tater tots… for breakfast.  Of course, there is no guarantee that my breakfast bites are going to turn out the same way.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Bacon-Egg Breakfast Bites

But they did!  Well at least they were very close.  Mine don’t seem to have the same lovely golden color of the ones Pillsbury produced.

They did make me reaffirm that I don’t want to make anything like this again, though.

What I'm Making/Made this Week - June 25 through July 1, 2012

I have been cooking.  It's just that I'm doing it a little at a time.  One thing for sure is that our mourning process for one of our pug clean-up crew requires a lot of comfort food and sweets.

Here's what I've made so far:

Monday is Vegan Day and I found another recipe out of Vegan Diner by Julie Hasson that I wanted to make.  Then I added it to one of my favorites from the book that I already made.  I present to you Home-Style Loaf with Garlic Mashers...

© You Want Me to Cook?
Home-Style Loaf with Garlic Mashers

What I Made: June 16 & 17, 2012

Ah, the weekend.  I often try to take it a little easy on the weekends since I cook a lot during the week.  For some reason this weekend, I was incredibly motivated to cook and bake.

Okay, well I wasn't motivated ALL weekend.  Saturday morning was spent running errands and I wasn't in the mood to make lunch, so we picked something up.  I kicked it into high gear for dinner.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Portobello Mushroom Burgers

I got the recipe for Portobello Mushroom Burgers from All You.  Initially, I was looking for a Mushroom-Quinoa Burger I found in January's issue, but for some reason it was nowhere to be found on their website.  Since I recycle my magazines as soon as I've read them, the recipe has been lost (to me at least) forever.

What I Made: June 15, 2012

Friday was one of those days that as I was running errands, I wanted to stop at every fast food place I could find.  I'm trying to recollect every place I squealed at when I passed, but here's a tentative list:

• Columbia Gyros
• Potbelly's
• Starbucks (which I did stop at and get a iced latte)
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Culvers
• Five Guys
• La Caretta (Mexican deliciousness)
• Subway
• Potbelly's
• Arby's
• The Bread Basket (some of the best homemade bread in the area)

Somehow, I managed to get home without over-indulging in anything other than a soy latte (with whip), but then my lunch seemed lacking.  I had planned a salad from the April 2012 issue of Food Network.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Warm Butter Lettuce Salad with Hazelnuts

What I Made: June 8, 2012

I was a cooking fool on Friday.  

I'd like to stress the "fool" part.

I slightly overdid it and then was out of commission for the weekend.  The good news is that I was back to cooking on Monday and I have a lot of delicious pictures for your consideration.

For breakfast, I went with Pistachio-Chai Muffins from Cooking Light.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Pistachio-Chai Muffins

I have to admit, I'm more of a sweet breakfast muffin kind of gal, but my opinion isn't the only one that counts.  My husband took well over half a batch to work.  He returned with empty containers and said they got a big thumbs up.

What I'm making this week: June 11 through June 17

Well I did "okay" keeping up with posting my meals as I was making them.  I didn't do so great in making everything I said I would, but I've got an excuse... I'm lazy.

Not the excuse you were expecting?  Just keeping it real.

I've got the pictures from Friday that will be going up soon, but I wanted to share what I'll be making this week.

• Monday - all recipes from Vegan Diner
• Barbecued Ribz with Rough Rider Barbecue Sauce and salad with a baked potato
• Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding
• And I'm finally going to get around to decorating my cupcakes
• Tuesday
• Breakfast: Chai Banana Bread (Cooking Light)
• Dinner: Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa (Cooking Light) and Spiced Peas with Cilantro and Lime (Real Simple)
• After-Dinner Drink: Watermelon Killer Chiller (Every Day with Rachael Ray)
• Dessert: Banana Cream Pie-in-a-Bowl (Betty Crocker)
• Wednesday
• Dinner: Pasta with Kale and Walnut Pesto (Real Simple) with Spring Lettuces and Avocado Dressing with Pistachios (Real Simple)
• Drink: Homemade Ginger Ale (All You)
• Thursday
• Breakfast: Strawberry Banana Smoothies (Food Network)
• Lunch: Garlic Ham and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches (Food Network)
• Dinner: Mustard Turkey Cutlets and Orzo with Peppers and Spinach (Simple and Delicious)
• Dessert: Gerbera Daisy Cupcakes (Wilton Design)
• Friday
• Lunch: Warm Butter Lettuce Salad with Hazelnuts (Food Network)
• Appetizer: Marmalade-Glazed Asian Meatball Cups (Pillsbury)
• Dinner: Soy Shrimp with Rice Noodles (Healthy Cooking)
• Dessert: Browned Butter Bananas with Toasted Pecans (myRecipes)
• Saturday
• Breakfast: Panko-Topped Curried Eggs Breakfast Pizza (Pillsbury)
• Appetizer: Quick Pizza Rolls (Simple and Delicious)
• Dinner: Portobello Mushroom Burgers (All You) with Scalloped Potatoes with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers (Food Network)
• Dessert: Chocolate-Hazelnut-Coconut Bars (Pillsbury)
• Sunday
• Breakfast: Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes (Every Day with Rachael Ray)
• Dinner: Creamy Tomato-Stuffed Chicken  
• Dessert: Lemon Cheesecake Bars (myRecipes)

Wish me luck and I'll be checking in with you later to give you my progress.  Until then... happy cooking!

Daily Recipe Round-up for May 18, 2012

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Bacon Ravioli

Total Time: 2 hr 10 min

Prep: 1 hr 40 min

Cook: 30 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Intermediate

Daily Recipe Round-up for May 15, 2012

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Food Network

Alton’s All American Beef Taco

Video!!!

Total Time: 1 hr 15 min

Prep: 45 min

Cook: 30 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Intermediate

Five Layer Taco Dip

Total Time: 30 min

Prep: 15 min

Cook: 15 min

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Level: Easy

Chicken Taco Salad

Total Time: 40 min

Prep: 20 min

Cook: 20 min

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Level: Easy

Daily Recipe Round-up for May 11, 2012

If anyone makes one of these recipes, I’d love for you to let me know, give me your thoughts and even take a picture or two.  I’d LOVE to start posting updates from other cooks, such as myself.  Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect.  That’s the point of this blog.

All pictures came from the website specified.  You can click on the picture or recipe name to follow the link to their website.

Land o’ Lakes

Mediterranean Pasta

prep time: 15 min

total time: 35 min

4 servings