November 2016 Hits & Misses (1,288 views)

Yep, no more new cooking for me this month!

I don't normally keep track but with our Greek/Middle Eastern thanksgiving last week, I made a lot of new recipes this month so I will see what I can remember:

Excellent:
Spincach pie-Martha Rose Schulman
Apple Maple Baklava-http://www.baking-sense.com/2016/10/19/apple-maple-baklava/
Greek Meatballs in Lemony Mint Tomato sauce-Smitten Kitchen-used turkey, not lamb
Vegetarian Butternut squash Kibbeh stuffed with lentil mushroom filling-My Jewish Learning (subbed squash for the pumpkin)
Homemade pita bread (half whole wheat)-Martha R. Schulman
Chicken Mushroom Barley soup-EW
Noodleless Butternut squash Lasagna-Skinny taste-added swiss chard cause I had it!
Tuscan Bean Soup-http://thewanderlustkitchen.com/easy-tuscan-bean-soup/
Cauliflower crusted Chicken Pot pie-http://ahealthylifeforme.com/chicken-pie-with-cauliflower-crust/
Vegetarian lasagna stuffed spaghetti squash-me
Spinach Artichoke stuffed spaghetti squash with chicken-me
Autumn Lentil Vegetable soup-Joanne Chang (I did the her bean variation)
Winter Vegetable Dal-EW

Very Good:
Falafel salad-budget bytes and this board
Sweet potato pie-Cook's Ill.
Mujaddara-Cook's Ill.
Muhammara-combined a few recipes
Honey Nut Biscotti-EW
Green Chile Egg bake-here
Breakfast casserole with smoked turkey-Cookie Madness-would have been better if it sat overnight before baking
"Chickpea shwarma"-Naturally Ella. Used it as a stuffing for some roasted delicata squash. Would be great in pita with hummus. too.
Greek Braised Green Beans and tomatoes-M.R. Schulman
Green Chicken Chili-http://www.inthiskitchen.com/2016/03/19/white-bean-chicken-chili/-used 1 # ground chicken
Greek Lemony Potatoes-Cook's Ill.
Heart Smart Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies-CL

"Eh" edible but not that great or worth the effort
Vegetarian stuffed grape leaves-Martha R. Schulman

Tried and true:
Broccoli Chicken Noodle Soup-CL with my changes
Chicken Souvlaki-Cook's Ill.

I guess I remembered pretty many!
Karen

Here what I remember that I made in November. Recipes are just guidelines for me, I tried to include my tweaks.

Make Again:
Lemon Chicken Soup with Spinach and Dill (Fine Cooking) - I tripled this to make a big batch. I used roasted chicken thighs and frozen spinach. And skipped the rice, which I'm sure changed the texture of the soup, but I am totally happy with the results.

Deep South Slaw -- I used homemade mayo, and did not add the sugar.

Crockpot Chicken Carnitas -- We liked the citrus note in these.

Mongolian Beef -- Easy, fast, and tasty. Used steak tips and I didn't add the brown sugar.

Kimchi fried rice -- this was a mashup of a bunch of recipes.

Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce - easy, fast, and tasty. I doubled it. Skipped the sugar. (do you detect a trend yet?)

Slow Cooker Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef -- I made this twice in November, once for meals that I gave to my brother and his wife, and once for us. I made his in the slow cooker, and ours in the pressure cooker. For both, I roasted the potatoes and carrots separately. And also didn't add the sugar. Both times I cooked it the day before and let the juices chill so I could easily scrape off the fat before cooking them down for gravy. I cooked the pressure cooker version at high pressure for 45 minutes for a sliceable pot roast. If I wanted shredded I would have gone an hour.

Brussels Sprouts with Apple and Prosciutto -- Made these for Thanksgiving. I chopped rather than grated the prosciutto. They were a big hit.

Bacon-Jalepeno Deviled Eggs -- a mashup of recipes. I used pickled jalepenos, a bit of the juice from the jar, homemade mayo, bacon. My family devoured these.

French Onion Chicken -- Skipped the cheese and used boneless thighs. We loved this.

Roasted Shallots with Buttery-Sweet Tart Glaze -- Made these the night before Thanksgiving to take with me for Thanksgiving. They are fabulous!! The bad news is that I forgot about them during the pre-dinner chaos of heating things up and they spent dinner time in the fridge. The good news is that I took them home and we got to eat all of them. They are great hot or at room temp.


Needs tweaking:
Korean Pork Tenderloin - good, but needs more tweaking. I skipped the sugar and added some gochujang to the marinade. For us, it needs more zing. The marinade doesn't penetrate enough. If I try this again, I'll slice the pork before marinating and cook the slices on the grill.

Bahn Mi Rice Bowl -- We liked everything about this, but the pork needs more flavor. It needs more Vietnamese flavors like lemongrass, and fish sauce. I did add some fish sauce, but I didn't have any lemongrass on hand. Instead of the pickled carrots and radishes, I used some of the fermented Bahn Mi carrots and daikon radishes that I almost always have in the fridge (one of my fav ferments). I thinned some homemade mayo with the crockpot juices and fish sauce and drizzled it over the bowls.

Whole 30 Egg Bake -- I used spinach, onion, red pepper, and mushrooms for the veggies. The Aidelis Chicken Apple sausage is a little sweet for me. I will make this again, but with some Hot Italian chicken sausage I get from the farmers market.

Won't Repeat:
Orange Teriyaki Meatballs -- I skipped the honey, used ground turkey. These were fine, but not exciting.

cookieee , I tried googling with no luck to find a BA Chicken and Cranberry Sausage Patties. Would you post that recipe for me? Thanks.

peachesncream , Lemon poppy seed pasta salad! I just pinned that one. Thanks.

I liked the pasta salad a lot. The dressing is faintly sweet and milder than some. Also you can play around with the ingredients- add other veggies, etc.

The only thing I might do differently next time is to go lighter on the mustard in the dressing. I would start with 1 teaspoon and add more as desired. And I don't think it matters what type of mustard - Dijon would be fine. 

Thanks cookieee! I missed it on the other thread.