Scalloped Shrimp and Potatoes with Onion Crescent Rolls

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 11, 2011

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Scalloped Shrimp and Potatoes recipe originally published in Simple and Delicious, December/January 2011.

Onion Crescent Rolls recipe originally published in Taste of Home, Holiday Collection 2008.

When I saw the picture of the Scalloped Shrimp and Potatoes it was being served with sesame seed breadsticks.  I immediately began to scan my recipes for something similar – which I eventually found – but I could not stop my brain from wanting to make these Onion Crescent Rolls.  I looked at the shrimp recipe a little closer and realized that they would work well since there wouldn’t be much competing spice in the cheesy shrimp and potatoes.

© You Want Me to Cook?
Scalloped Shrimp and Potatoes with Onion Crescent Rolls

My only regret is that it doesn't have a lot of color to the dish.  The crescent roll kind of blends into the shrimp and potatoes.  Of course, that has nothing to do with taste or texture.  I just like my food to be pretty as well.

Butterscotch Coconut Bars

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 11, 2011

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Recipe originally published in Taste of Home, Holiday Collection 2008.

There are two things I’ve never enjoyed eating – pineapple and coconut.  This posed quite the issue when we moved to Hawaii, so I had to branch out a little.  I still can’t stand pineapple, but I grew to enjoy coconut a little.  One thing I DO like, is butterscotch, so when I stumbled upon this recipe, I figured it was worth a try.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook? Butterscotch Coconut Squares

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

Not bad, right?  My tasty little morsels stacked up quite nicely against those of Taste of Home.  I do have one complaint.  The recipe said that you are supposed to get 78 1-inch square pieces.  Now, I’ll do the math a little later, but I have to ask you – do those look like 1” squares to you?  I don’t think so.  In fact, MY squares are not 1” and they look much smaller than theirs.

Fried Mozzarella Steaks with Crispy Salami

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February, 6, 2011.

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Recipe originally published in Every Day with Rachael Ray, October 2008.

Every time I eat a mozzarella stick, I wonder how it was made.  Cheese melts in heat and super hot oil has a lot of heat.  So I was really interested in making this dish, if not for anything but the experience of making cheese sticks without melting them in the pan.  Aw, who am I kidding – I LOVE CHEESE STICKS!!!  What I wasn’t expecting, was loving the salad that came with the recipe more than the cheese steaks themselves.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook?

Picture published with recipe: © Every Day with Rachael Ray

Maybe I’m crazy (and definitely biased) but if I was offered these two plates and told to choose, I’d pick mine.  My cheese steaks look thicker and have a perfect golden crust.  Also, my salad doesn’t look like it’s been wilted.  I was super excited to get to try these, but I had to wait until I finished my Fontina, Caramelized-Onion and Pancetta Pizzas for our Super Bowl Fiesta.  I’m glad I made them save at least one steak and some salad for me.

Fontina, Caramelized-Onion and Pancetta Pizza

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 6, 2011.

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Recipe originally published by Cooking Light daily e-zine on Thursday, March 5, 2009.

I’ve always loved pizza.  My mother used to make her own pizza dough and pizza sauce from scratch.  She had special bricks and pans that she used to cook them.  In fact, we had this large antique oven in the basement just for cooking pizzas (it may still be there for all I know).  Sad to say, I was only ever in charge of stirring the sauce and chopping some of the toppings.  To this day, I still have no idea how she makes her pizza dough.

This recipe was one of those dishes that sounded absolutely delicious, but every time I read through the ingredient listing and directions, I would say, “yum, but not this week… too much going on.”  After having dinner with my uncle and aunt who made us the most delicious pizza with their own homemade pizza dough, I was inspired.  I pulled this out and decided this would be my pièce de résistance of our Super Bowl Sunday meal.  Besides, if I was going to put a lot of effort into a dish, why not do it for guests?  I did have the phone number of our favorite pizza joint out, just in case.

By the way, it is a three-smoke-alarm recipe.  Yeah, I needed to ventilate the kitchen when I was done.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook? Fontina, Caramelized-Onion and Pancetta Pizza

Picture published with recipe: © Cooking Light

My pizza didn’t seem to be as piled high with “stuff”.  My crust definitely looks crispier and more golden – a trait that is a requirement for my pizza.  Overall, I wouldn’t turn away either pizza, and I was eager to try it.

Creamy Avocado Ranch Dip

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 6, 2011

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Recipe originally published by Allrecipes daily e-zine on Friday, July 18, 2008.

I rarely can justify making dips.  All that is going to happen is that I’ll eat dip and chips for a meal one night; therefore, the small “intelligent part” of my brain says that this would be a bad idea.  However, this day was Super Bowl Sunday, and for the first time in a long time, we were having company.  I lined up a long list of things I had been waiting to try, hoping at least half would come out good enough to eat.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook?

Picture published with recipe: © Allrecipes

None of the reader-uploaded pictures were very good.  This one was the clearest I could find.  Obviously, I didn’t want to take a picture of just a big tub of dip, so I scooped out some to show the thickness of the dip.  For the most part, they look pretty similar although mine does look a little chunkier.

Egg Scramble with Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 6, 2011

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These recipes had been on my mind for awhile.  First, the egg scramble had sounded delicious, but I didn’t want to make a breakfast dish that served 10 people.  Problem solved when I read the recipe in more detail and saw that you have to make it half at a time.  Bravo!  Then there is the bacon.  As much as I’d like to eat an entire pound of bacon for breakfast, the intelligent part of my brain tells me that isn’t a good idea.  I like to listen to that part of the brain every now and again.  So one day, I decided to make these two together.  Now don’t think it went completely smooth.  Nope, I had issues, but nothing too horrible that I wouldn’t make both or either again.

Egg Scramble recipe only.

Egg Scramble recipe originally published in Taste of Home, November 2007.

My finished Egg Scramble: © You Want Me to Cook? Egg Scramble

Picture published with recipe: © Taste of Home

My eggs look slightly drier than theirs did, most likely because I had to wait for my bacon to be done to eat.  The look of the picture aside, I had light and creamy eggs and good vegetable distribution throughout the dish.  Will they pair well with the bacon?  Let’s see!

Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon recipe only.

Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon recipe originally published in Gourmet, December 2008.

My finished Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon: © You Want Me to Cook? Maple and Black-Pepper Bacon

Picture published with recipe: © Gourmet/Epicurious

Bacon makes everything better.  This recipe was challenging, but as you can see, I must have done something right.  It turned out crisp, sweet, salty and spicy… oh, and gorgeous.

Hot Chicken and Chips Retro

Recipe modified by You Want Me to Cook? on February 4, 2011

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Recipe originally published in Cooking Light’s weekly e-zine on Friday, January 30, 2009.

I am a sucker for all things retro, so the title caught my eye.  The premise of this recipe is a tart chicken casserole with a crunchy topping.  I was sold.  Cooking Light also took the time to “thin it out” a little, so I didn’t have to deal with all the pesky fat and calories that usually comes with a recipe like this.

My finished product: © You Want Me to Cook?Hot Chicken & Chips Retro

Picture published with recipe: © Cooking Light

Unfortunately, Cooking Light didn’t take a picture of their dish as a serving (although their picture does look awfully pretty).  However, comparing the two, my chips are golden and you can see the lovely green and red of the vegetables poking through.  So I passed the visual test, now I had to worry about taste.