January 2017 Hits & Misses (1,267 views)

Every month I say that I am going to keep a list of what I make, but alas....I never do so I don't remember many, but of those I do recall, here is what I have:

Very Good:
-Crunchy Cauliflower Farro Casserole-Smitten Kitchen. I made some small changes based on what I had available, the main one being using a thinned out mixture of Greek yogurt and goat cheese to replace the ricotta. I think that sub. worked well and I would do that again next time. This was more chewy than crispy or crunchy, but in a good healthy comfort food way.

-Spiced Tomato Meatball Butternut Squash Stew-C.L. I also made changes here. my family does not care for beef so I made the meatballs with ground turkey and used chicken broth instead of beef broth. I also had more squash than called for but just went ahead and used it all along with a carrot that I threw into the mix. Overall, I really liked this. It was sweet, savory, and very flavorful. I think I may have preferred it a touch "soupier" so next time I may not reduce the liquids as much or just add extra. I have been reheating the leftovers in a bowl with a touch more liquid. I think it could also use a touch more salt (the meatballs).
-Black Bean Salsa Chili-tried and true-C.L.
-Creamy Broccoli Sausage soup
-Italian Dumpling Soup
-Creamy Chicken tomato tortellini soup
-Brownie bites-C.L.- I am not a fan of hazelnuts or almond butter so I used almonds and natural creamy peanut butter for these. They are great straight from the freezer as my bed time snack!!
-Babka with homemade almond cream filling-decadent but the only problem is that the filling was the same color as the bread so you could not see the nice swirl effect from the folding/twisting of the bread but the flavor was there.
Peanut butter chocolate chip baked oatmeal-hungry girl. I don't think I have ever made any of her recipes because I don't like the fake ingredients she sometimes relies on. I did use real peanut butter and sugar instead of artificial stuff that she called for in this and baked them in a muffin tin (got 9) and this was quite delicious for breakfast, I do have to admit.
-Energy Bars-Ellie krieger-I have made these often and usually keep them in the freezer for snacks. When I make them I always throw in an over ripe banana. It adds moisture more than banana flavor. I sometimes add just a touch of maple extract to up the maple syrup flavor. I also change up the nuts and fruits depending what I have in the house. Apricots are always good. Finally, I throw in some chocolate chips because that makes every thing better!
Peanut butter energy bars with chocolate chips-me. This recipe is based on a formula I have that starts with a can of beans, a fruit, a binder, oats, add ins etc... Every time I make them, they are a different flavor but have always turned out nice. This batch was chickpeas, peanut butter, banana, dates, oats, vanilla, cinnamon, ww flour, chocolate chips, maple syrup (i think!?) etc... I have done pumpkin with white beans and chocolate with black beans before. Not overly sweet but moist and tasty.

I know there was a lot more but I can't remember much beyond the last week or two. I guess I was re-stocking the freezer with soups and snacks this past 2 weeks!!

Love this thread --- I always get great ideas from the posts so thanks all.

What did I eat last month? I didn't keep track at all so off the top of my head....

Good
Quick Chicken Rice and Lime Soup www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/quick-chicken-rice-and-lime-soup/ maybe missing something in flavor
Italian Orzo Spinach Soup (better the second day when I added some lemon juice and bit of parm)

Very good
Greek Farro Salad allrecipes.com/recipe/244326/greek-farro-salad/ I don't think I followed that closely.

Great!!
Garbanzo Tomato and Cilantro Salad with Lime and Chili Dressing www.kalynskitchen.com/2006/07/garbanzo-tomato-and-cilantro-salad.html

Made again
Chicken Fajitas/SallyT/iowagirleats -- iowagirleats.com/2016/01/15/the-best-chicken-fajitas/
Broccoli Melts/SK -- smittenkitchen.com/2016/02/broccoli-melts/
Roasted crisp-topped eggplant with chickpeas/sheet pan suppers

peachencream -- if you try it, hope you all like it! I really like the concept of marinating the chickpeas before adding.

erinelizabeth -- I'm glad you like the broccoli melts. What did you have with it, if anything?

Thanks erin! I did the same. I would have had a bit more broccoli on the melts if I didn't eat some of the mixture right from the bowl before it even hit the bread.

Lots of slow cooker recipes this month, and all of them out of ATK's Slow Cooker Revolution. Loving that cookbook!!

Notable:
Spicy Chicken and Chorizo Stew ATK Slow Cook
Curried Lentil Soup ATK Slow Cook vol2
Worlds Best Oatmeal Cake Pinch of Yum (made for a meeting and the guys really liked it)
Tequila and Lime Chili ATK Slow Cook (DH thought this was outstanding)
Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumpling Soup ATK Slow Cook
Moroccan Chili ATK Slow Cook

Good:
Pork Vindaloo ATK Slow Cook
Maple-Mustard Roasted Chicken with Squash (sheet pan) Ckng Lght JanFeb 2017
Black Bean Soup ATK Slow Cook

Okay:
Chipolte-Spiced Pumpkin Soup Ckng Lght, Oct 2016
Chicken and Butnut Gnocchi Ckng Lght JanFeb 2017
Cider Braised Squash Puree ATK Slow Cook
Spaghetti and Meatballs Lidia Bastianich's Mastering the Art of Italian Cooking
Chickpea Tagine ATK Slow Cook


Full reviews and recipes can be found here (advertisement free! ) Scifi with Paprika

applecrisp - there is a trend! I got a bunch of new cookbooks for Hanukkah/Xmas. I'm loving Small Victories.

For the hummus hack, I used nonfat greek. I love the combo - a little tang with the hummus.

I follow her on instagram, and offered to test recipes for her! I also did it for Once Upon a Chef (blog). It's REALLY fun.

Those vanilla cupcakes were AMAZING. My older daughter said that they were the best ones she's ever had, and I might agree. I have to figure out how to post a photo!

This is my second time, and they're not in print yet.

OF COURSE my 40+ year old stove/oven died on Friday night - I was supposed to test a baked alaska this weekend. OY. I bought a new stove (with two ovens!) but I have about another week until it's delivered and installed. It was NOT fun to have it die (it cranked up to 650 and wouldn't turn off) AND have 12 hours to make a decision.

EE - it's true, but only a few of those years were on our watch. We've replaced almost every appliance in the house since we moved in 4.5 years ago (and windows...). The last to be replaced is the fridge, which is duct-taped together. Sigh. I haven't wanted to replace it b/c I want an integrated fridge when we remodel the kitchen, about 2 years away...

This is what we got - I *REALLY* wanted dual ovens, and hope it works out!

www.yaleappliance.com/Ranges/KitchenAid/Gas-KFGD500ESS.aspx

Applecrisp - I've had a great experience with Yale. They'll price match anything. We bought our washer/dryer from them...