Still alive and Cooking

Just wanted to let you know that we are still alive and cooking in North Carolina. We have really liked almost everything that we have made so far, but have had little time to post about it. Some of our favorite meals have been the stuffed mushrooms and stuffed shells. As far as deserts go, we really enjoyed the mini cheesecakes and have made them more than once and the choclate toffee crunch cake. Martin really enjoyed this one, but we will probably not make it again for a long time because it was so heavy. Hopefully we'll keep better posts from the meals that we make this year.

Mushroom Galore

My family was overwhelmed by the number of mushrooms on their plate Sunday night. Being the mushroom lover I am, I was ecstatic.

Chicken Artichoke Casserole- This was pretty easy to make. I was excited to try it since I love chicken, artichokes, and mushrooms. I have to admit that it disappointed me though. I'm not sure why, but it was not my favorite. Since it had so much cream in it, I had a hard time eating it for left-overs. I'm trying to lose weight so I try not to eat rich foods, especially when they don't taste great to me.

Marinated Mushrooms- Holy Cow, this made A LOT of mushrooms BUT they were delicious!!!!!! I really enjoyed this recipe. Simple and easy but great tasting. This would be a great appetizer to take to a party, potluck, etc. Since no one else like them, I shared with some friends. My friend Liz could not give enough compliments about them. Definitely going to remember this in the future!

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake- What can I say? Cheesecake, yum! I liked the crust on this cheesecake. The graham cracker/pecan mixture tasted great and was pretty easy to make. I made some cheesecakes over the Holidays and the crusts were harder and messier to make and didn't taste as good. The filling was pretty simple too, especially compared to marble cheesecakes. This was a big hit with my family and tasted even better the next day.

Sorry, no pictures. I'm anxious to hear what others thought. Post away!! (Tonya and Melissa we need to add you so you can post)

In the Kitchen Again!!

Sorry for the 2 month hiatus!! I finally have posted a new schedule. I finished with a few recipes from the fall/winter collections and then started in on the Spring recipes. Due to the fact that there is an abundance of dessert recipes, I've tripled up most of the weeks. I know that may seem overwhelming, especially depending on the week. Feel free to improvise as needed. Maybe you'll decide to make one recipe each over three different days, or if you see a recipe you know your family will hate- just cut it out. I haven't finished with the spring schedule, but I wanted to get us started again. If you see some recipes you're especially looking forward to, leave a comment so I can be sure to include them. I used recipes out of the brunch section for conference/Easter week-end. I'm planning on making the recipes on Saturday to free up Easter for typical Easter foods. I also used some of the Fiesta recipes for the Sunday before Cinco de Mayo.

One more item for discussion and feedback: There is a section in the Spring collection called "Sunday Dinner". There are recipes for two "complete dinners" that are on average about 5 separate recipes. The intro at the beginning of this section claims the recipes are pre-prep and make ahead dishes to simplify your Sabbath. My question is do we want to attempt to make these dinners as suggested, or do we want to separate the recipes over several weeks? Take a look at them at let me know what you think (it starts on pg 27)

Grab your aprons and let's start cooking!!!!!

Catch-Up

Its been awhile since anyone has posted due to the Holidays but as things start to settle back down we should be able to get caught-up again. Natalie and I are working on putting together a new schedule using more of the winter recipes and starting into spring recipes. If anyone has any special requests leave a comment or email me.

Stuffed Shells- This was a definate WINNER! The entire family loved these. The bonus was that they weren't difficult to make, just a little time consuming. I was a little intimidated by them at first, but it wasn't bad. Jacob especially, could not seem to get enough of these. My kids are pretty good spinach eaters over all, but I love how this recipe "sneaks" more into our diet. The recipe serves way more than the 4 it claims to. I doubled the recipe since there are 6 of us and leftovers are always good for Jared's lunch. It ended up making 2- 9x13 inch pans with noodles left-over. I guess that good part was that it fed us twice that week. We will definately have these over and over again.

Relief Society Ham roll-ups- I was a little skeptical of this recipe when I saw it called for curry. We have a chicken curry recipe we make on occasion but I couldn't reconcile the thought of using curry with ham. It was a pleasant suprise. I enjoyed the taste of the sauce over the ham. It was almost a little too rich in larger portions, but was excellent in small portions. It was a good way to use our left-over Christmas ham that we froze before heading to Ohio.

Mini-cheesecakes- My husband is the world's biggest cheesecake fan, so he was excited when he saw the day's menu. When people have brought these to parties and potlucks in the past, I always assumed they took a lot of time. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity. My biggest problem was realizing that I didn't have any paper muffin liners. I did however, have some silicon liners and used those instead. They worked just as well. Its not Cheesecake factory caliber cheesecake, but for the most part everyone liked them.

Halibut Supreme- My kids are unfortunately NOT fish lovers. The nights I do serve fish are filled with complaints and grumbles. When asked what we were having for dinner the night I made this, I slyly replied "Halibut". The kids were curious as to what halibut was, so Jared told them he'd show them a picture before bed. Jacob and Bella ate the meal without any complaints and without identifying that halibut was indeed fish. Xandy and Katy were a little smarter. I believe Katy's exact words after dinner were "I'm not stupid mom, I know that was fish. But I ate it and it wasn't so bad" Xandy too agreed that it wasn't bad for fish. Although I prefer to eat my fish grilled with a spice rub, I guess this is a good compromise. I got to eat fish, and they didn't complain.

Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cake- This recipe should come with a disclaimer that it may case a heart attack. I don't EVER want to know how many calories were in that delicious dessert. It will be saved for only special occasions and served to lots of guests to ensure I can only eat one small piece. My self-control is only so strong! But it was very good!! I had a little trouble getting the frosting to stay on the cake but overall I think it turned out okay. I only put half of the frosting on and we put spoonfuls of the remainder topping over our slices. I was glad there are 6 of us this time cause we each a piece for two night and then it was gone.

I didn't make the Vegetable Pasta Medley yet, but thats what this Sunday's make-up day is. Happy Cooking everyone!

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.