The last 2 weeks of food

Marinated Italian salad- this was okay, but definately not on the favorites list. It was fine the first time we ate it, but we quickly tired of it and I through the rest away last night. I doubt I'll ever make it again

Chicken Alfredo- I could feel my arteries clogging as I made this dish. The recipe claimed to make for 2, so I tripled it. we did NOT need to triple it. A little bit went a long way. I think it fed us all 2 or 3 times. It turned out a little more liquidy than we expected (is that even a word?). I'm not sure if I did something wrong, but we had expected it to be thicker. Jared thought it was good overall, so I may have to make it again even though I swore I wouldn't while I was adding all those fattening ingredients. The older girls seemed to enjoy it also.

Red Pepper Soup- Jared said this was "interesting" and a little too thick (did I do something wrong again?) This did not make the family favorite list. While lecturing Bella about keeping her comments to herself (disgusting was repeated more than once), I told the other girls that applied to them also. Xandy said "I am keeping my comments to myself". Jared asked if that meant she had comments. She replied "Yeah, but I can't tell them to you or I'll get in trouble!" I couldn't help but chuckle. Once again, I didn't think it was that bad. I seem to have opposite tastes than my family. I could do without all the cream though. The person who put together this cookbook really likes cream and sugar. Not very ideal for someone struggling to lose weight. Interestingly, this recipe was found in the Valentine: Dinner for two section. Jared said it should be called the "remain chaste valentines meal". After eating that soup with all the garlic and onion, he doesn't think there will be too much snuggling and kissing!

Stuffed Mushrooms- I LOVE stuffed mushrooms. That being said, this recipe was not one of my favorites. It was good, its hard to go wrong with me and mushrooms, but I've had some I like a lot better. I would make this and serve it to others, if I didn't have other ingredients on hand, but I would prefer some of the other kinds I've had.

Apple Torte and Harvest Hamburger Soup

I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the Harvest Hamburger Soup. After adding all the ingredients to my pot, I was unsure whether I'd like it or not. There seemed to be a pretty high ratio of potatoes in it. I don't like alot of potato chunks in my soup. It was pretty good though. The girls, Jared, and Jared's Mom all really liked it too. Jacob didn't eat much, but then again he never really eats anything.

The Bavarian Apple Torte was excellent. We thought the taste of the filling complimented the apples wonderfully. Our apples were juicy and tender. (Jenni- I wonder if the difference comes from using different types of apples. I used Fuji apples. I know some varieties don't bake as well as others) We also loved the way the almonds toasted on the top. Jared wasn't sure if he would like it or not, but it was a winner. This recipe will definately be made again. Both of the recipes have inspired Jared's mom to get the cookbook. She really enjoyed both dishes.

Lots of food. Little time to blog.

So...its been a while. The month of November flew by! We have made all of the dishes, even one several times, but have not been together with camera, computer, and blog technician. So where to start...

Pork and Baked Apples:

We loved the pork. It was so easy, and using the yogurt was a fantastic way to cut calories. In fact Martin used yogurt and crackers to bread his Parmesan Chicken. It turned out great as well. The Apples, we have made several times. I think we are coming to realize that with this cookbook, we just cut down on the sugar on pretty much every recipe. We cut back on the apples which made them just right. We really enjoyed this meal.

Squash Casserole and Applesauce Muffins

This has been one of our favorite recipes so far! We have made the squash casserole 4 times. It was even given a coveted spot on the Thanksgiving spread. Like all the other recipes, each time we made it, we cut back on the brown sugar. We actually really like it without any brown sugar at all. The first time we made this meal, it was our treat to host Terry and Joan and they loved our meal too! We had a great time. The applesauce muffins were excellent, and a great way to use our whole wheat flour (we have not ventured into making bread yet). Overall a great meal!

Hearty 6-hour stew and Pumpkin Bread

We should do more crockpot compatible recipes! We enjoyed being able to put this one in before church and coming home to a complete meal. We thought that it would be better with real onions instead of onion soup, but we still liked it. Martin made the pumpkin bread. He added way too many chocolate chips which in the end made it delightful! Any extra chocolate is fine with me. We really liked this meal.

Harvest Hamburger Soup and Bavarian Apple Torte

The soup was good. A great way to get in lots of veggies. I had never used consume before. What is it really? I'm afraid it made the soup a little greasy, but we enjoyed this warm entree. But it was super easy to just cut up all the veggies, open cans, and cook. The Apple torte was interesting--as Martin said. I have never had apple torte like this, so I'm not sure if it turned out as it was supposed to. The crust and fillings were of course very sugar heavy. I didn't leave out any ingredients though, cause, as I said, I had never had this before. Are the apples supposed to be a little dry? We both thought it would be better if they were more juicy. Maybe I baked it wrong or something. But, with that being said, sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and fruit, still make a tasty combination.