Hits & Misses July 2019 (1,020 views)

I'll see what I can conjure up from memory. Was  out of town for a bit this month and was a very hot month for cooking but managed to have some standouts'

EXCELLENT:
-Cilantro Lime Marinated Grilled Chicken Breast Salad with Creamy Baja Catalina Dressing-Carlsbad Cravings Blog. Took some flavorless chicken breasts and made them quite tasty and great for a hot summer meal. Loved it!

-Grill Roasted Chicken Sausages and Peppers in Tomato Sauce-Made this up myself to try out some cooked chicken sausages I bought at Costco(Amylu Caramelized Onion and Asiago Chicken Sausages) and roasted in a disposable tin on grill. Excellent result....now I will have to remember what I did for next time! Loved the sausages too but I am not sure I could distinguish their specific flavor. Still tasty though. I had mine on a baked potato as I was craving one, but this would be great on pasta, polenta, a sandwich etc...

-Creamy Chicken Cacciatore Soup-Made my own version based on Pioneer Woman recipe and a Spicy Perspective blog recipe. One of my twists was to add some porcini mushroom powder which added a ton of flavor. This one I did write down, too!!
 
-Lebanese Eggplant Maghmour (Stew) with Chickpeas-Really rich and flavorful. Again made my own variation based on several recipes found on line and made up my own Baharat seasoning as I did not want the cardamom to overpower things. not my most favorite spice but was a nice subtle touch in the stew. I also added a bit of whole wheat Israeli couscous to the stew to bulk it up. 

-Marinara and Chicken Sausage stuffed Zucchini-Skinnytaste. Nice and light. May add a bit of breadcrumbs next time.

Black Bean Soup-yep....same story here, too....made my own variation based on a few recipes researched on line. Made it vegetarian with red bell pepper and a bit of tomato. 
 
Also made a bunch of dips/tapenades to use up stuff in pantry and freezer with excellent results(some got frozen after making/tasting to have later):
-Smoky Red Lentil hummus-C.L
-Edamame Hummus-really liked this one with touch the lemon zest
-Roasted garlic herbed white bean dip
-Everything Hummus-this was a tried and true
-Eggplant dip with creamy caramelized onions
-Artichoke Basil Tapenade
-Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade
-Artichoke Caponata-also a tried and true


VERY GOOD:


-Cauliflower Tots-Fine Cooking Magazine. Easy to make but a bit time consuming for a side so not sure I would make again or at least not often but I did like them.

More TRIED AND TRUES:

-Vegetable Parmesan-Giada. This one I don't have to share with DH since he hates fennel...so ALL MINE!
-Cassoulet Soup-Enlightened Soup Cookbook with a few of my own tweaks
-Eggplant Parmesan Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
-Green Chicken Posole

I think that's about it!
Karen

For the ice cream: It was a whole new ballgame when I let it soften a bit before scooping. Fresh-churned it is very soft and silky--texture more like soft serve. But frozen and then softened, it has that ice cream texture and still so silky. Really, if anyone ever wants to make strawberry ice cream, this is the one I would suggest!

Karen, the Cilantro Lime Marinated Grilled Chicken Breast Salad with Creamy Baja Catalina Dressing looks so good!