Indian-Spiced Salmon with Basmati Rice

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – June 30, 2010

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Recipe originally published in Cooking Light, June 2010.

Salmon is a super food.  It’s got healthy fats in it (Omega-3 anyone?), a great source of protein, and a large supply of vitamins, including Vitamin D – of which I have a severe deficiency.  Because of this, I’m always looking for different ways to cook salmon.

There are several things that attracted me to this recipe.  Obviously, the salmon is one of them, but I was also excited to try the rice side dish.  I’ve never cooked basmati rice and this seemed like a very straightforward recipe to try.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t terribly impressed with the dish when it was done, but more on that later.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Cooking Light

The pictures reveal everything that I found wrong with the recipe.  First, the amount of spice rub you make for the salmon clearly wasn’t enough for the amount of salmon in the recipe.  Second, I think the cook times are a little off.  The fish was a little dry and didn’t get that pretty broiled look on top.  Finally, I think the rice could use a little more cashew in it.

Chicken Milanese with Spring Greens & Parmesan-Browned Butter Orzo

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – June 15, 2010

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Recipe for the menu originally published in Cooking Light, May 2010:

Chicken Milanese with Spring Greens

Parmesan-Browned Butter Orzo

This is a total meal.  Other than possibly needing some crusty bread, you’re set with the evening’s dinner.   Of course, as much as I love Cooking Light creating a complete meal, they also chose to not publish all of the recipes together… or put both recipes in the step-by-step formatting… or even LINK to the Orzo dish from the Chicken Milanese.  THAT, lovely readers, is very annoying.  I had to search high-and-low for both since I forgot to print them out after I made it.

As is usual for me, I began to panic over attempting another breaded chicken dish.  I struggle with breading and frying – ALWAYS cooking the breading unevenly and USUALLY burning at least one of the pieces of chicken.  This was also my first attempt at cooking orzo, but that shows you how easy this recipe was… no problems with perfectly cooked chicken, a great salad and delicious orzo.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Cooking Light

Pretty close!  Of course, I used a different salad blend (see below) and my orzo looks a little creamier than Cooking Light.  I even think, and of course I’m biased here, that my chicken looks more evenly browned than theirs.  Succeess!!!

Butterscotch Bars

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – June 22, 2010

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Recipe originally published in Cooking Light, April 2009.

One of the monthly features of the magazine, Cooking Light, is when they take a fat, calorie and generally unhealthy food favorite and make it a light meal/treat.  I’ve tried several of these recipes and have never been disappointed.  I was giddy with excitement when they decided to re-make butterscotch bars.  See, I love bar cookies.  I love butterscotch.  I love streusel.  This recipe has them all.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Cooking Light

Looking at the two pictures, here’s a couple things I would do different

• I’d run the dry ingredients of my streusel base & topping through a mini-chop or a food processor.
• I’d make sure my butterscotch layer was a little more melted so it would spread easier.
• I’d try to evenly distribute the topping over the top layer.

Now mine isn’t as pretty, but it tasted delicious and ultimately that is what matters most.

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – June 9, 2010

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Recipe originally published in Real Simple, May 2010.

I love Italian food.  The sauces, pasta, cheese – I could go on forever.  What attracted me to this recipe was the fact that it slimmed down (at least a little) my favorite spaghetti and meatball recipe.  Of course, I didn’t jump into this without some apprehension and the calorie and fat content aren’t all that impressive for this dish.  Ground beef doesn’t need much seasoning to make a flavorful meatball (thank you fat), but turkey isn’t that easy.  I was surprised to see minimal seasoning going into the meatballs and crossed my fingers as they were cooking.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Real Simple

I don’t know if I could get much closer than this.  On top of that, it was FANTASTIC!  Each meatball was like a little turkey parmesan ball.  Absolutely delicious!

Pappardelle with Beef & Mushroom Ragu

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – January 20, 2011

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Recipe originally published in Real Simple, January 2011.

This recipe brought me to my knees.  Not that it was overly difficult – a basic red sauce with vegetables and meat over pasta is not exactly rocket science.  No, between trying to find Pappardelle and burning the veggies, I had enough by the time I was through.  However, through the smoky haze of my kitchen choking on the stench of scorched carrots, I realized it tasted really good.  Thank goodness, because I was walking a very thin line between sanity and murderous rage at that point.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Real  Simple

First, let’s state the obvious… I didn’t use papparedelle.  That’s because I drove all over Northwest Indiana looking for it and couldn’t find it.  However one of the substitutes was fettuccine, which is what I used.  I think they probably used shiitake and/or Portobello mushrooms too because they seem to have a deeper color to them.  So, yes, it doesn’t look exactly the same, but I’m sure it tasted just as good.

Havarti Shrimp Quesadillas

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – July 30, 2010

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Recipe originally published in Taste of Home, June/July 2010.

These quesadillas can be cut up into smaller sections for an appetizer or eaten as an entrée in larger portions.  I had never bought/used Havarti and was a little nervous because of the cost.  I mean, who wants to pay $5 for a brick of cheese and screw it up!  Fortunately, it is meant to be sliced and served so I really only needed to worry about burning the tortillas.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

The end result was fairly similar, but at the time I didn’t have a grill pan so I didn’t get the pretty grill lines across it.  Interestingly enough, I found these to be a little bland.  Although they weren’t bad, I definitely had to eat them with a salad and had guacamole and salsa as a side.

Enchilada Lasagna

Recipe modified by Gretchen Wilson – November 2010

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Recipe originally published in Taste of Home, June/July 2010.

Here’s a small list of some of the things I love:

• Casseroles
• Mexican Food
• Lasagna

This dish is all three.  With the ease of a casserole (it definitely beats rolling enchiladas), it replaces the calorie and carb-busting pasta with flour tortillas, and has a great Mexican flavor.  The recipe gives you room to make it a little spicier if you need it and you can always serve it with your favorite Chipotle hot sauce.

My finished product:

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

I always get irritated when my dish doesn’t come close to matching the published one.  Now I give myself a little room here since cutting a perfect slice of casserole (with a base layer of sauce) is kind of a tricky business.  That aside, Taste of Home’s lasagna looks thicker and yummier.  Upon closer inspection, I did notice that some of the ingredients are different.  For example, those are clearly red onions, which were not in the ingredient listing.  Also, the directions finish off the top with the cheese, but there are chopped (not stewed tomatoes) on top of theirs.  This leads me to conclude that perhaps the recipe wasn't entirely accurate.

It doesn’t really matter because my enchilada lasagna was really tasty, but I don’t like the tricks of some of the magazines/websites out there.