Recipes

-This is where I will share links to things I've tried & loved, liked, or hated. Check below the recipe for my 1to10 rating-

Coming Next: Tomato Basil Soup


7.29.12
Creamy Grilled Chicken Piccata
We prepared this dinner as the final 'hoorah!' to Hubby's birthday weekend! And it lived up to its very high standards I had for it!

I mixed the marinade together Saturday afternoon, and let the chicken sit in it until Sunday evening. The chicken turned out really yummy, so tender & tasty.

I had a little trouble getting the pasta sauce together. I burned it the first time around. The recipe says
to melt butter over medium heat, but that scorched mine, so the second time around I went on Low-Med and it turned out just fine. Next time I don't think I'll use all 6T. of lemon juice, maybe 4 or 5. The 6 was just a little too tangy for our tastebuds. But we really liked it, and will definately be making it again!

Note: Be sure to set aside the 1/2C. of pasta water like the recipe says. The sauce was really thick until watered down a bit.

The final product minus the veggies! Yumm (can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch)!!

*Rating: 9

7.27.12
Best Ever Pulled Pork Sandwiches
We are huge fans of pulled pork - in any form! I was pretty scared to try it until a couple months ago, and now I just want to try every recipe to find my favorite. I grew up on this, and my mom can make a mean pulled pork sandwich. But she doesn't really have a recipe...so I'm trying to come up with something on my own.

I followed the recipe as close as I could with what I had in my cupboards. And I even spent the extra time to trim the fat off my giant mass of butt (no really, that's what it's called).

I forgot to take a picture of the end product, but it looked legit. Also, it was SO tender, which I loved. I wasn't even able to pull it all out of the crockpot as a whole because it was just falling apart. And thennnnn, I tasted it. I was beyond disappointed. Definately does not live up to it's name. It was good. But it was far from the best. I'm all about the tangy, juicy, sweet, spicy... and this was just so bland! If you like the 'quieter' type of pork, you like this. Otherwise, go to town with the chile powder & brown sugar!

*Rating: 4

7.26.12
Lemon Tea Bread
So Easy. So Yummy!
I've been wanting to make a fruit-type bread for a while now, and I finally made this to go with our dinner tonight! It was super simple to make, and tastes amazing (I'm a huge lemon fan). It's also nice & light, nothing too much.

Tweaks? Basically the only thing I would warn against is that what the recipe calls for to make the drizzle-topping makes a lot. I didn't even use all of it, and by the time it had dripped off the edges, there was a big mess of it on either side of the bread (see photo). Next time I will probably cut it in half. You really don't even need to use it - the bread itself is super tasty!
*Rating: 10

7.24.12
Easy Garlic Chicken
To be 100% honest, I wasn't too thrilled to try this recipe. The brown sugar/garlic mix didn't sound enticing to me - but I was wrong! I served it with some egg noodles & veggies & it was pretty tasty! Quick & easy too. I also used the recommendation of another reviewer from the recipe site, and lined my pan with foil - Must Do! Seemed like it would have been a slight pain to clean had I not used the foil, so, really happy I went with that decision.

Tweaks? I added onions to my garlic, a lot more than called for. & only enough olive oil to get the job done. Also, I only used 3T of brown sugar - it cooks down to a really nice sauce and was the perfect amount for 4 breasts.
*Rating: 7


7.23.12
Pineapple Ginger Smoothie
I'm not normally a huge smoothie fan, not because I don't like them, but because I think the blender is the most awful thing to have to wash! But I just couldn't pass up this recipe, since I loved everything in it.

Tweaks? I didn't have any crushed pineapple, so I did another half a banana. I used plain greek yogurt, although I can imagine it'd be delicious with pineapple, banana or vanilla flavored. I used cinammon instead of ginger, and added a bit more ice.

Warning! It makes A LOT. It filled up my entire 16oz. glass and still had some leftover. I'm not a huge 'drink-a-lot-all-at-once fan' so it was way too much for me (& I've learned that banana type smoothies don't keep too well), but I did enjoy what I drank and can't wait to make it again!
*Rating: 8

7.22.12
Savory Crescent Chicken Squares
Holy Canolli! Well.. I guess I should say Holy Chicken! We didn't want to have a big dinner, but I wanted to make something - so I found this recipe, tweaked it, and It. Was. Awesome. Hubby was a huge fan, and it makes 8, so leftovers for tomorrow (always a win for me!).
Anyways, super easy & delicious! In an attempt to cut out some fat, I only used about 2oz. of Cream Cheese, and made up for it with skim milk. I also did 1/2T of butter instead, and then loaded it with spices. AND I used the Garlic Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (bought by accident) so that added another little flavor punch that went perfectly with the chicken.

Before you bake you're supposed to brush with butter and sprinkle with crushed croutons. Well, croutons weren't ready available, so I did as my mom does when she makes her Garlic Biscuits: melted down 1T of butter, added some Italian Seasoning and brushed them all. Bake at 350* for 25ish minutes & done!
*Rating: 10