December 2016 HITS & MISSES !! (2,437 views)

I'm still cooking! I'll post 1/1

Decembers recipes:

Repeat worthy:
Classic Cranberry Sauce (Ckng Lght, Nov 2008)
Thai Coconut Squash Soup (Ckng Lght, Oct 2016)
Slow Cooker Sausage Cassoulet (Ckng Lght, Nov 2016)
Garlic Honey Mustard slow cooked Ham (Blissfully Domestic blog)
One Pan Chicken Parmesan (The Cookie Rookie blog)
Slow cooker Pork and Sweet Potato Chili (Ckng Lght, Nov 2016)
Lasagna (America's Test Kitchen Compilation)
Squash and Apple Soup (Ckng Lght, Oct 2016)
Hot wings (America's Test Kitchen Slow Cook revolution)
Marinated warmed artichoke hearts with olives and feta (America's Test Kitchen Slow Cook revolution)

Okay, but probably won't make again:
White Milk Bread (100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood)
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew (Ckng Lght, Nov 2016)
Country Potatoes au Gratin (Ckng Lght, May 2006)
Quick Chicken Tikki Masala (Cooking Classy blog) Though I will note *I* screwed this one up by using smoked paprika instead of regular. So I might make this again...?
Cuban-style slow cooked pork (America's Test Kitchen Slow Cook revolution)

Full reviews, comments, suggestions, modifications (because I can't follow a recipe completely) can be found on my blog: Scifi with a Dash of Paprika

Happy New Year Everyone!


And that's a wrap for 2016!!

You guys are the BEST PEOPLE ON THE PLANET!!!!!! I love that you do this for us. Makes me want to COOOOOOOK!!!!

Love reading this thread! Thx all for posting, and happy new year!

I didn't really track/make notes so.....

Good
Roasted Butternut Squash with Spicy Onions/BA – changed up, cut back on spice since total wimp

Roasted Pears with Brie and Pistachios Eating Well, different type of recipe for me, never made roasted pears (have roasted but that was tossed in a soup), subbed walnuts since no fan of pistachios! I had it as a side, www.eatingwell.com/recipe/250382/roasted-pears-with-brie-pistachios/ Good to make something different, but not sure if I would make again.

Very good
Broccoli Melts SK Bread, cheese, broccoli that is sautéed with lots of garlic and pepper flakes, and tossed with lemon zest, juice and pecorino cheese, and then all broiled up until the cheese gets all melted. Nuff said. I used parm,
smittenkitchen.com/2016/02/broccoli-melts/

Joy the Bakers Olive Oil Braised Chickpeas Food52 – For me, chickpeas, feta, some warm bread, don't need to say more. Very easy. I didn’t follow that closely, cut back on oil, left out olives since so not a fan, and few other changes. I wonder what other seasoning would be good didn't use the suggested fresh thyme/rosemary. . Uses mainly pantry ingredients so good when running low on groceries but have canned beans, some feta, a 1/2 lemon that is about to dry up. food52.com/recipes/64161-joy-the-baker-s-olive-oil-braised-chickpeas-more-or-less#comments

Baked Chicken with Artichokes and Tomatoes, budgetbytes, really good, easy to put together, always looking for a one-dish meals. www.budgetbytes.com/2016/12/baked-chicken-artichokes-tomatoes/

Chicken Parm Meatballs Dinneralovestory.com www.dinneralovestory.com/chicken-parm-meatballs/ Easy to make and bonus points they are baked in the oven. I basically followed the recipe.

Brown Sugar Cookies/Cooks Illustrated, really good! More work than my usual baking (I'm super basic, and you know how detailed those CI folks are). Thankfully I shared since I could have eaten the whole batch myself. And thanks to the boards for helping me find the recipe.


t&t
Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas/budgetbytes


(and Sallyt, if you see this, thanks so much for the restaurant recco mentioned in another thread, I've never been to Little Big Diner)

Here's my tally - I can't believe how much I cooked/baked!

December 2016 meals

Excellent
• Challah – SK blog – wet and hard to braid but delicious smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/best-challah-egg-bread/
• Thai basil chicken – Skinnytaste – I added some sliced peppers and mushrooms. Would use 4 cups of basil next time www.skinnytaste.com/thai-basil-chicken/
• Seafood Stew – cooking for Jeffrey – sooo good. I rounded down the seafood portions and it was plenty. Took slightly longer to cook.
• Roasted broccolini – cooking for Jeffrey – excellent! Total repeater
• Apple pie bars - cooking for Jeffrey – joythebaker.com/2016/11/ina-gartens-apple-pie-bars/ (I still prefer SK’s apple pie cookies)
• Sicilian rice ball casserole – Skinnytaste – made a TON - www.skinnytaste.com/sicilian-rice-ball-casserole/
• Broccoli melts – SK blog – loved these! smittenkitchen.com/2016/02/broccoli-melts/
• Mushroom marsala bake – SK blog – added fresh thyme and used 1 lb of mushrooms smittenkitchen.com/2015/01/mushroom-marsala-pasta-bake/
• Brown butter cinnamon rolls – Gimme Some oven blog – kind of pain but amazing. Best day of www.gimmesomeoven.com/brown-butter-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/print/
• White and milk chocolate mousse cake - Everyday Baker – time-consuming but not hard
• Iced oatmeal cookies – Saving dessert blog – preferred the 2 T saize - www.savingdessert.com/old-fashioned-iced-oatmeal-cookies/
• White chocolate gingerbread blondies. My hit of the month! Made in 9x13 pan, 2 t of kosher salt, 2 sticks of butter, baked for 27 minutes. www.marthastewart.com/319254/white-chocolate-gingerbread-blondies
• Vanilla bean caramels – Mel’s kitchen café – tasty but not that much depth www.melskitchencafe.com/perfect-and-easy-vanilla-bean-caramels-step-by-step/
• Gingerbread Cookies – OUAC blog – better when a little chicker www.onceuponachef.com/2016/12/gingerbread-cookies.html#tabrecipe
• Crispy topped brown sugar bars – Dorie - www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/crispy-topped-brown-sugar-bars-bakingwithdorie/

Very good
• Mushroom and farro soup – SK blog - smittenkitchen.com/2011/01/mushroom-and-farro-soup/
• Sheet pan teriyaki salmon and vegetables – Skinnytaste - www.skinnytaste.com/sheet-pan-teriyaki-salmon-and-vegetables/
• Coconut and white chocolate brownies – KA - www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/coconut-and-white-chocolate-brownies-recipe
• Baked chicken with artichokes and tomatoes – Budget Bytes via applecrisp - www.budgetbytes.com/2016/12/baked-chicken-artichokes-tomatoes/
• Caramel-sugar pufflets – Dorie’s cookies – didn’t work but still good
• Triscuity-bites (Dorie’s cookies)
• Lemon chicken – BC cooking for Jeffrey – I’ve had better
• Latkes – BC cooking for Jeffrey – a pain to make mashed and grated potatoes
• Salted-chocolate Caramel bars – Dorie’s Cookies - chill after spreading caramel layer


Good
• Mashed potatoes – CI best recipes – I’ve had better ones
• Maple oats – Dunk and Crumble blog – didn’t cook well dunkandcrumble.com/creamy-maple-steel-cut-oats/
• Miso black sesame caramel corn – SK blog – sort of strange flavor
• Sugar cookies – SBA – didn’t like the almond sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/12/01/holiday-cut-out-sugar-cookies-with-easy-icing/

Tried and true
• Iowa girl eats – easy chicken and rice soup – DON’T use more than 1 cup of rice!
• Walnut chicken
• Beef tenderloin
• Kale salad with apples (SK)
• Popovers (BC)
• Caramel corn (Once upon a chef) www.onceuponachef.com/2015/10/homemade-caramel-corn.html
• White and milk chocolate mousse cake (Everyday Baker)
• Fleur de sel caramels – BC – I cook until 245. SO good www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/fleur-de-sel-caramels-recipe2.html

sallyt -- so glad you tried the SK broccoli melt recipe and that they were a hit!

That is some December list! Such great sounding recipes, but wow, that's lots of cooking. I am trying to use up some odds and ends, so I think I'm going to make that easy chicken soup (and since it is a T&T of yours, I bet a great way to finish off my white rice and the chicken in the freezer).


peachesncream -- I made that budgetbytes recipe again this week, in fact, I had leftovers tonight. This time I threw in more spinach, just basically tossed the spinach in the pot.

And yes, I had to copy that fried apple recipes. Yum.


This thread is always a great source of recipes, I certainly will be reading thru it again and adding more recipes to my to-try list. Thx.