April 2017 Hits & Misses (945 views)

erin -- Thx for starting. I'm with catbatty, great list!

Off the top of my head, here's a few. I'll leave out the overcooked chicken, the pasta with jarred sauce ....


Good
Chickpea Vegetable Bowl with Peanut Dressing/food52/Leanne Brown -- a different flavor combo for me (chickpeas/PB,lime, sriracha..)

Simple Mushroom Broccoli Stir Fry Noodles/budgetbytes -- a bit dry perhaps from the sub of red pepper instead of mushrooms, the brown rice noodles I used stuck/got bit gloppy, but a good recipe to use up those frozen broccoli florets before it turns to a brick.

Blender Banana Bread (mindovermunch YT) -- I think I baked a bit too long, uses just baking soda, cinnamon, eggs, maple syrup, oats.

Excellent
Tex Mex Chicken with Chiles and Cheese (thanks to sallyt/FineCooking), upped chili powder from sallyt's suggestions. Really good!

T&T
Mediterranean Farro Salad with Spiced Chickpeas (budgetbytes.com) -- LOVE this! Great to add chicken in too.

Cabbage ans Corn Slaw with CIlantro and Orange Dressing (BonAppetit)

Fried Rice with leftover slaw

Summer Tomato Pasta (elisabeth13/CLBB)

I have not been keeping track of recipes again, but do recall a few from this past month:



Lentil Meatballs-Naturally Ella. Had these tonight and they were good but need some tweaking IMHO. They baked up beautifully but do not warm in the sauce. Some fell apart in the sauce so I took them out of the sauce and just served them on top of pasta and sauce. I think they needed a bit more S & P, herbs, and maybe a bit of Parm. or Pecorino into the lentil mixture would push these over the top for me.I will try again. I am on a quest to find a good vegetarian meatball. ANYONE??

Hominy, Black Bean, and Tomatillo Stew- older Cooking Light recipe and a surprise hit. Far more than I expected. My only change was to simmer the stew with a half of a chicken breast and a leg quarter that I had defrosted, then shred the meat back into the stew. This would be excellent with or without the chicken.

Bean and Bacon Soup-Skinnytaste-excellent but as usual I made some modifications. I made it in my instant pot and I love how creamy the beans become in it. 

Red Beans and Rice-Rancho Gordo website-also made these in my instant pot and decided to make it more of a soup than a bean dish over rice since I love soups so much. Made a few changes based on my personal tastes but good base.

Lemony Chicken Soup with Quinoa-Cooking Light. Turned out excellent but I amped up the lemon a bit. Added some juice along with the zest. Instead of sugar snap peas, I used frozen peas and fresh spinach. Also added carrots.

Tomato Vegetable Casserole-Giada DeLaurentiis-this one is a tried and true for me. Unfortunately, I bought a true sweet potato instead of a yam this time and I prefer the latter but it was still good.

Chicken Enchiladas Verde-Cook's Illustrated-good solid chicken enchilada recipe.

Ugly but Good Cookies-internet somewhere but can't find now. A nut filled meringue like Italian cookie made for Passover. Good but I overbaked by a few minutes. Used hazelnuts, almonds, and chopped chocolate.

Cinnamon Crumb Coffeecake-fabulous but again lost the source (internet blog). Sorry!!

Passover recipe reviews:
Chicken stuffed with leeks and mushrooms in pan sauce-Cook's I.-solid dish
Cauliflower Kugel-good but may search for better next year
Spinach Matzo pie aka matzo spanokapita-tried and true
Matzo Lasagna-excellent. used zucchini and red bell peppers
Chewy chocolate meringues-excellent
Mock chopped liver-tried and true. My aunt's recipe with a lentil base
2 different kinds of haroseth-traditional and Persian with dates and banana-both very good

Well for not keeping track, I remembered quite a few. Now I just have to go back and find the sources.

Karen

Karen, this lentil meatball recipe from the NYT caught my eye. They served drizzled with a pesto (something different from regular--arugula? spinach?). It is a tentative lunch for this month. If I make them I will report back.

Veggie Balls (NYT The Meatball Shop) 2doz 1.5 in
2 cups lentils
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons tomato paste
8 ounces button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
3 large eggs
½ cup grated rennet-free Parmesan cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
Combine the lentils and 2 quarts water in a medium stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the lentils are soft but not falling apart, about 25 minutes. Drain the lentils and allow to cool. Add 1/4 cup of the olive oil to a large frying pan and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and salt over medium- high heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and just beginning to brown. Add the tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 15 more minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. When cool, add the lentils to the vegetable mixture. Add the eggs, Parmesan, bread crumbs, parsley and walnuts to the cooled vegetables and mix by hand until thoroughly incorporated. Place in the refrigerator for 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil into a 9- x 13-inch baking dish and use your hand to evenly coat the entire surface. Set aside. Roll the mixture into round, golf ball–size meatballs (about 1 1/2 inches), making sure to pack the vegetable mixture firmly. Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, allowing 1/4-inch of space between the balls and in even rows vertically and horizontally to form a grid. Roast for 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through. Allow the meatballs to cool for 5 minutes in the baking dish before serving.

I've made the zucchini ones from Skinnytaste; is is a good basic meatball and I usually have everything I need to make them in the house ( except for the zuchini!). They also hold together pretty well and I've frozen them to use later.