Piri Piri Chicken / Carrot Tabbouleh

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/2013/08/2-golden-rules-for-substituting-meat-fish/#

I made both piri piri chicken and carrot tabbouleh and liked them both.  The chicken was great charred in the pan. I added the reserve sauce to the pan to cook it for a few seconds and it was great. Ila liked it too.

Chicken and Peanut Sauce Noodles with Broccoli

I bought some rice noodles from TJ's and wanted to make a peanut base for them. It is loosely based on this recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/thai-noodles-with-spicy-peanut-sauce-99918

12 oz fresh rice noodles (Trader Joes)
1 head broccoli, stem + florets, chopped
green onion, chopped
1/2 can or whole (small) can water chestnuts, sliced
1/2 lb raw chicken, chopped
sesame oil for sauteing

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 T rice vinegar
1 T honey
3 T water
3 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced

The noodles take only 2 minutes to cook so I did them last. The chicken and broccoli I started at the same time as the sauce, steaming until soft so that Ila can eat it easily. Without toddler, I would leave them a little bit crisp if possible.

Start water boiling for noodles in a pot. Put a little oil in a skillet and saute chicken. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a separate pot and heat up around medium. When broccoli is done, add to sauce. When the chicken has browned, add to sauce. Use chicken saute pan to saute the green onion after chicken has been added to sauce. Put noodles into boiling water when water is ready and other items are either done or nearly done. Cook for 2 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Then add noodles to sauce and toss.

Anyway, all three of us liked it a lot. There was a small serving left over.

Notes: David prefers this over pasta. I've made it over rice pasta and it was good.

Next time try over ramen noodles.

Primal Breakfast Casserole

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-breakfast-casserole/

I used 2 lbs of rutabagas in this recipe. I couldn't find turnips. I used hot pork sausage. It was overflowing in a 2 quart 8x8 dish, and turned out to be too wet for my liking. I would make this again if I spread it thin in a 9x13 dish instead. I added red bell pepper and a green hatch pepper too. Ila did not like this. I'm not sure if it was the spice or the rutabaga, but she wouldn't eat any of it. David liked this a lot more than I did.

Notes: David said not to use hot sausage next time though, since it was overpowering. Especially for the leftovers.

Blueberry Pancakes

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/todds-famous-blueberry-pancakes/

I double this recipe even for our tiny family (of me, dh, and a 1 year old) since it is so yummy and I want leftovers. I used fresh blueberries and it was so good. You don't need to wait an hour either, just cook as soon as it is mixed.

Rhubarb Crisp

I made rhubarb crisp tonight with some rhubarb I bought at the farmers market here. It was only a dollar for a bunch and was enough for this recipe. http://www.food.com/recipe/rhubarb-crisp-93946

I did put in only 1/2 cup white sugar, and increased the oats to 1 cup. David and I both really liked it. I would add in more rhubarb next time. I had a bit over 4 cups this time, but it could have done with 6 or 8 cups.

Update: It works best with something between 4-6 cups. Also the topping is great with just the 1/2 cup oats as called for in the recipe.  So in future, just have between 4-6 cups rhubarb and 1/2 c white sugar, with everything else as written.

---------
gf and sugar free variant:
filling:
1/2 cup honey
8 cups rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup oats
1/2 cup gf flour (bob's red mill)
1/2 cup butter

This was not very good. I used bob's red mill gf all purpose flour and it did not perform well with the wetness of the dish. It rose to the top to make a strange spongy texture on top. It has done this with a corn casserole too, which was a custard. So if I make this again I will use a different flour, maybe oat flour.
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gf variant #2

3/4 c sucanat
6-8 c rhubarb
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c oat flour (finely ground)

topping:
1/2 c sucanat
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup butter

This turned out great.

Rice Pudding

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/rice_pudding/

Great recipe. I've only used arborio rice with it so far, see adjustments at bottom of page. I love rice pudding and this is a great one.

Notes from first time making it:
Turned out great--much more creamy than baked rice pudding. I kept the heat below boiling like she said, and the egg did not curdle. I think I will try sweetening with honey next time (less than 1/4 cup).
SO good. Try with 1/4 cup arborio next time, it was VERY thick. I put raspberries in it and it was so divine.
(I should point out that I used arborio rice instead of the short grain white the recipe called for. Had I used short grain white, it would not have turned out so thick.)

Notes from second time making it:

Using arborio rice, the recipe needs an extra 1/4 cup milk (or a 1/2 cup) or it will be too thick. I used whole milk and it was great.

Quick Cole Slaw

http://www.grouprecipes.com/37428/old-fashioned-cole-slaw.html

I made this to go with some sloppy joe leftovers. This is good on the side or as a part of the sandwich. It adds a nice crunch which I like, so I think it is great with the sandwich. David gave it a 3.5 mainly because he doesn't care much about cole slaw. But I think it was pretty good! Ila didn't care for it much thought. She threw it on the floor:)

I call this "quick" in the title because it uses store bought cole slaw (shredded cabbage and carrot).

Note, 8/2020: David liked it this time. I used "21 seasoning solute" from Trader Joes in lieu of salt/pepper/celery seed, primarily because it had celery seed in it and I didn't have any.

Dijon Fish Cakes

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/dijon-fish-cakes-00000000057186/

I did not have dijon mustard so used spicy brown. This was a great way to use up tilapia. David liked it quite a bit, which is saying a lot. I would definitely make it again. Two cakes per person is about right when there is a side dish. The cakes are filling.

Almond Cake with Apricot

Based on http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Almond-Cake-366229
Made this recipe with this frosting: http://lrhrecipes.blogspot.com/2013/07/whipped-cream-frosting.html

I doubled the recipe and baked in 9 inch cake pans. I put parchment paper on the bottom of each pan (in addition to the greasing and flour dusting) and that was essential. I changed the recipe to 1 cup regular granulated sugar per recipe. 4 drops of almond extract is less than 1/16 of a teaspoon, so I just put in a tiny bit. Also I used Honeyville Almond flour. I used Bonne Maman apricot preserves and spread a thick layer in between the cakes, and a thinner layer on top. There was still some left in the jar but not a lot.

This was a big hit. Very tasty cake. I will make it again but with Trader Joes almond meal next time as it is cheaper.

Whipped Cream Frosting

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/cranberry-vanilla-cake-whipped-cream-frosting-recipe-ghk1212

2 cup(s) heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup(s) crème fraîche or sour cream
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Prepare Frosting: With mixer on medium speed, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Reduce speed to low; add confectioners' sugar, crème fraîche, and vanilla. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Spread frosting all over cake. Garnish with sugared berries. Cake can be covered and refrigerated up to 1 day. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.

Notes:
This held up well for several hours unrefrigerated, being driven in a warm car for an hour and then being reapplied after sliding off a slipper jam cake top. I even used regular whipping cream and it held up extremely well. This is enough to frost a 3 layer cake I think. I reduced the recipe because I had ~1.25 cups cream and it frosted a 2 layer cake just fine.

Tilapia Po' Boys

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tilapia-po-boys-00000000057184/index.html

I have a whole package of frozen tilapia fillets that I need to use up soon, and this is one of the recipes I've found to use it up. David isn't the biggest fish fan either, but this recipe fries up fish and then you eat it in a baguette. Which he did like.

It could be that the baguette was too small (10.5 oz is what the store had), but there was more fish called for in this recipe than would fit on 4 sandwiches. If the baguette is small, 10 or 12 oz of tilapia is plenty for 4 sandwiches, or two hungry people. I used some generic fish seasoning I had in a packet in the cupboard (a salt free one). He had a hard time deciding between 3.5 and 4 on this one. This could benefit from some tangy sauce, like a horseradish sauce or something. But we didn't have any. I served this with pickles, lettuce, and mayo. I liked it too, but it was somewhat bland.

Pie Crust

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pie-crust-recipe/index.html

This recipe turned out really well. I used lard and butter as called for, but used a pastry cutter since I seem to be the last pie maker who does not have a food processor. I put the dry crumbs in to a bag and then added water to the bag and mixed it with my hands that way. Even though it wasn't "frozen" fat and I touched it a lot, it was still flaky and good, and reheated the next day was still flaky. I refrigerated it and then rolled it out on my silpat with a rolling pin. It worked very well, didn't even try to crack.

Blackberry Sorbet

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Blackberry-Sorbet-108070

I had two 12 oz bags of frozen blackberries I wanted to use and this recipe looked perfect. It worked well, but turned out to be too sweet. I would use only 1 cup or even 3/4 cup sugar next time so it is more tart. I did put through a wire mesh to get rid of the seeds and I'm glad I took the trouble. The finished product did take many hours to freeze up, and it is not near as smooth as store bought sorbet so the seeds would have made it  very gritty. (I even blended it in a blendtec before putting in the ice cream maker, so I think the level of smoothness is just how homemade sorbet is. I've never done it before)

The blackberry flavor has an over-ripe taste to it. I'll bet this would taste better with fresh blackberries or another kind of berry. But these blackberries were weird in this form.

Spinach and Bacon Quiche

https://web.archive.org/web/20190408035624/https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe-2131172

This recipe is very tasty. The filling volume requires a deep dish 9 inch pan. It also required 1 hour and 10 minutes to bake. I used frozen spinach since the fresh I'd bought was bad. I just put on a bit, not even a cup of wilted. It turned out to be plenty. I also used precooked bacon I had on the fridge. I cut up 12 slices. I didn't use the full 1.5 cups of cheese either.

The cream wasn't overwhelming, but I'm sure it would taste well with half-n-half or some combination with cream and milk. I used heavy cream and it was rich but I had no trouble eating 2 pieces.

Notes 6/14/14
I made this again exactly as written in the recipe. It was great! It cooked in 45 minutes.

Greek Orzo Pasta Salad

http://thealisonshow.com/2012/05/perfect-orzo-pasta-recipe.html

I really liked this salad. All the little extras makes it very fun. I used toasted pine nuts and not sunflower seeds, and regular raisins instead of golden. I also added ~1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes. My family liked it a lot too. I didn't have quite enough orzo so I subbed elbow macaroni. Both pastas were whole wheat too and it was a great flavor.