My chicken soup... by Teressa ****

I did not set off any fire alarms like Erin did. (sorry I am posting at work so no photos of my yummy soup.) It was super duper easy!!!! I, like Erin, love thick soups. This one is a little to brothy for me. I think next time I will add some tomato soup to it. We didn't use the 1TBS of chipotle I used about 1/2TBS. Not because we don't like the flavor but because most of the people in my house don't like hot stuff.

To make my corn strips I cut a stack of them with the pizza cutter and then tossed them with some olive oil. (which is not called for on the recipe.) The recipe just says to cut them in to strips and toast in oven. I also didn't like the soggy-ness of the strips after they set in the soup. So next time I think I will put them on the side. ( I am a "on the side kind of girl anyway")

Also I added avocado to the top of mine. I love guacamole but not to wild about avocados. They got warm in the soup and made it really creamy... then the lime juice on top ..... WOW! Again the only one who used the avocados.

Here is what my critics said...
Tracy- WOW this is really good.....
Amanda- this is good.
Emma- this is good but do I have to eat this stuff? (everything but the chicken)
Keneson. Didn't like it at all. He decided to not eat
Corrina - its okay
ME- Wow you guys should really try it with the avocados... it makes it yummy and I want more of the strips..... it is really good....

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Erin) ***

Teressa and I are both making this soup today. My post will be first because we are home with a snow day (YAY!), so I made dinner while she was still at work. (sorry, T!) This soup wasn't difficult, but I did manage to set off the smoke alarm while making it. Oops!



This soup was tasty, and it filled me up. But, it didn't have much to it. I love soup, but I tend to like creamy, thick soups. This was thin and brothy. I like a good broth every now and again, though, so this wasn't terrible.



The soup has a little spice to it because there is 1 T of chipotle. It wasn't so spicy that Madeline wouldn't eat it, though. I liked the tortilla strips at first, but they got really soggy. They started out really, really crispy. (The second batch did...the first batch started out burnt...hence the smoke alarm) I'm not a huge fan of corn tortillas, so that might have been why they weren't my favorite. The recipe calls for the juice of 2 limes to be added at the end. I couldn't taste any lime, so I cut up another and added some to our bowls. I really liked the extra bit of lime...it added a yummy brightness to the broth.




Riley didn't have soup tonight, so she has nothing to add to the critique of the meal.
Madeline - "Five stars."
Jase - "I thought it was good. I wish there was something else in it."
Erin - It wasn't bad...not my favorite but tasty overall.

Chicken - $2.99
Tortillas - $1.14 (counting the ones I burned, I only used 5 from a package that seems like it has 100 in it)
Chipotle - $1.28 (again, used very little)
Tomatoes - $1.64 (used half the can)
Olive oil - on hand
Onion - $1.02
Garlic - on hand
Limes - $3.00 (only used 3 of a package of 7)
Chicken Stock - $4.00



I think you should try this. The recipe shows all kinds of fixin's for the top...avacados, radishes, onion, jalapenos, cilantro...so, you could add more to it.



Three, Two, One, "Start Cookin'!"

Herb Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables (Erin) ****

The whole family agreed on 4 starts out of 5 for tonight. This is a must-make, easy meal that will give you a lot of comfort!!

I have to admit that my roasted chicken doesn't look nearly as pretty as the one in the cookbook, but it sure was tasty!

This took me about 30 minutes to prepare (cutting up the veggies, mincing garlic and stuff to put on and inside the chicken, etc.). After I put it in the oven, all I had to do was wait. I added a bit more olive oil to the veggies...it called for half a tablespoon. I probably doubled that. I also made 2 potatoes instead of 1 and only used 1 onion instead of 2. Jason wanted me to make carrots than I did. I will next time. The meat came out super flavorful and moist. The combination of lemon zest, garlic, and rosemary was a yummy mix!!

Now for the nitty gritty:

Madeline - "I don't like the carrots, but the rest is really good."

Jason - "The chicken is the best part. This is good."

Riley - She ate a bit but not much.

Erin - Yum! I felt like a professional cook making a golden, roasted chicken.

Potatoes - $1.49

Onion - $.72

Garlic - had on hand

Carrots - $.78 (used have the bunch)

Rosemary - $2.50

Chicken - $4.19

Olive Oil - had on hand

Lemon - $.33

Only $2.50 a serving!!!

I almost forgot to tell you that this is on Page 248 of Cook This, Not That!

Three, Two, One, Start Cookin'!!

Saturday Cheesteak Sandwich and Homemade Chips (Teressa)****

Let me start by telling all of our followers and those who might want to comment. The settings have been changed so you don't have to have a sign on to comment. We would LOVE to hear from you.

So last night I made our version of the same thing Erin made Thursday. Ours had Red and Green peppers with the onions. I like Erin don't like blue cheese... YUCK! so we left that part out too. We used provolone cheese instead. It was very easy to make and quite pretty to look at when it was done. (and very tasty!)

Here is what the critics had to say

Tracy- really liked it,

Emma- said it was kinda good,

Amanda- made Spaghetti-Os and tried it, she liked it a lot and wanted the sandwich instead,

Me- really liked it also. All the different flavors mixed together was like heaven in a bun!

The chips we made were good also. Some of the chips were extra crispy the book gives you several options for toppings i just used a season salt it must have been really good because Emma and Amanda kept eating them. Everyone liked them, Emma said we should have them again.

It was a really good dinner. It is perfect if you want something that is easy to make, something that looks good, and something that takes about 30 minutes this is just the thing for you and your family! Since starting this I've lost 5lbs and I've changed nothing else.

Huddle up 3 2 1 Start cooking!

3 Recipes, 2 Hours (at least it FELT that long), 1 Meal *** (Erin)

Tonight was a marathon night of 3 recipes for 1 Meal. What in the world was I thinking? To add to the craziness, Jase had conferences so I was wrangling the girls too. What a night!


I made Cheesesteak Sandwiches (Page 156) with Caramelized Onions (Page 305) and Sweet Potato Fries (Page 299). All 3 recipes came from Cook This, Not That! Overall I would give the meal 3 stars.



First, the sandwich:


The skirt steak was very tasty, and it was easy (and quick!) to make using my George Foreman Grill (LOVE that thing!). It wasn't tough, but it was kind of hard to bite. So, when I bit into my sandwich, a whole piece of meat came out. For that reason, I would probably chop the meat after it rests. The sandwich was kind of dry. It wouldn't be if you followed the recipe more closely, but I don't do yogurt, I don't do blue cheese, and I DON'T do mayo. Those three ingredients make up the spread that goes on the recipe sandwich. I added BBQ sauce to Jason's (he benefited from eating later than us), and I would guess that helped a bit. I couldn't find arugula at the store, so I used bagged Spring Mix which had arugula in it. Since I didn't put blue cheese on it, I melted provolone on ours under the broiler. If I was just rating the sandwich, I might have given more stars. The caramelized onions on the sandwich were quite tasty! They took some time to make, but they were worth it...very easy and very flavorful.




Next for the Sweet Potato Fries:


What in the world went wrong? I followed the recipe...as closely as I could since it didn't tell me how long to cook the fries. I have never made sweet potato before. I'm not a big fan, although I do like The Anchor's version...YUM! The outside of the potatoes were sticky...really sticky. Is that normal? The inside was like a rock...SO hard to cut! The fries were in the oven forever...40 minutes, maybe? The ends were starting to burn, the rest was mushy, and it never got crispy. Not even close. They were also SOOO sweet...in a bad way. They weren't good at all! The dogs liked them, but Madeline and I did not!



Here's the dirt:


Madeline - "This is good (after taking a bite of her sandwich). Do I have to eat these fries (after her first bite)."

Riley - Okay, this is weird. She loved the caramelized onions. She wouldn't even touch her mandarin oranges (her favorite food) until the caramelized onions on her plate were gone. She ate a few pieces of meat, but I didn't even bother with the fries.

Erin - You've already read what I thought.

Jason - "This is good. I'd love for you to make this again."



Skirt Steak - $6.43 (I cooked the whole thing, and after 3 sandwiches -- Jase's had LOTS of meat on it -- there's still some tucked away in the fridge.)

Provolone - had on hand

Balsamic Vinegar - $7.69 (I wanted good balsamic...lots and lots left!)

Wheat Rolls - $1.50

Tomato - $.79

Mixed Lettuce - $2.99 (lots left)

Onions - $1.79

Sweet Potatoes - $1.81 (what a waste!)
Olive Oil and Butter - had on hand


So, after a crazy night, my belly is full, and I tried some different things. I would say that's successful. Off to watch Grey's Anatomy. (McSteamy here I come...)


Three, Two, One, "Start Cookin'!"

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing - Erin ****

Let me start by explaining that we are going to try something our mom suggested. She thought we should put a star rating in our titles. I couldn't figure out how to do actual stars, so asterisks will have to do. Look at the title, and you can see I gave this 4 stars. :)

I'm not going to begin this post by talking about my recipe. Because I just noticed something that I feel the need to share. I opened my cookbook to give you all the info for this recipe, and the page is a mess! There was a piece of spinach crushed into the picture side, and there are spots of something...oil? bacon grease? all over the recipe side. I flipped through to my past recipes, and they are a mess too. How do I not notice this mess while I'm cooking? I guess now you get a little insight into me as a cook. I'm SO focused I can't stop to get the spinach leaf off the book before I close it. :)

Okay, so back to the spinach salad. :) Jason, Madeline, my mom, and I sat down last weekend to choose recipes for this week. My mom and Madeline both put this spinach salad at the top of their choices. I don't think it was even a blip on Jase's radar, but he said he would try it. I was feeling nice, though, and I made it tonight while he was at conferences so he wouldn't HAVE to eat it. :)

This was VERY easy to make. It took virtually no time, and I was able to cook while dealing with a 17 month old pulling on my pants leg shouting "Mama" over and over again. :) I'd say that's a family-friendly recipe. While I was cooking, Madeline declared that she didn't like spinach...even though she insisted this be one of the recipes I choose. Once I convinced Madeline that spinach was just like lettuce, only healthier, she was fine. She's a salad eater, so I knew that would convince her. She got really excited when I was cooking bacon and boiling eggs.

After cooking and eating this, I'm not sure how it's as healthy as the cookbook says it is. I didn't make the mushrooms to go with it, so I know I took away some nutrition there. But, the onions (I used shallots instead) and shrimp are cooked in the bacon grease. Really? I know that makes it taste good, but it still manages to be low cal on top of that? I did eat probably 2 servings. I made the recipe as written (4 servings), and just Madeline and I were eating it. (I knew it would be a waste of time to try to make Riley eat any of it.) I had probably 2 servings of shrimp. There was some left over, but not very much. Still, though, with 2 servings, it was only 440 calories!

So, here are the nitty gritty details...

Madeline - "I'm going to tell your blog readers that this is awesome! Is there enough for me to

have seconds?"

Erin - "Yum! I can't believe this is healthy for us!"

Riley - Yeah right...spinach, shallots, shrimp for a toddler? Not my toddler who doesn't even like mashed potatoes! :)

Spinach - $2.99 (I used about half the bag.)

Pine Nuts - I already had them, and I only used 2 T this time.

Shrimp - $8.99 (I used half the bag.)

Shallot - $.11 (I used this instead of a red onion.)

Bacon (6 strips) - I made some bacon for breakfast this weekend,

and I just reserved the 6 pieces for this recipe.

Dijon Mustard - already had

Red Wine Vinegar - already had

Eggs - already had

The shrimp was more expensive that I thought it would be, but only using half the bag wasn't bad.

I hope you try this recipe. It is yummy. OH, and it's on page 106 of Cook This, Not That!

Come close, followers. Let's all put our hands together in the middle, and on the count of three let's say "Start Cookin'!" Three, Two, One, "Start Cookin'!"

Tonight is Chicken Parmesan- Teressa

Where to start? Chicken Parmesan page 276. This was the first meal I have fixed that was eaten in complete silence. There was NOT one "I am NOT eating this!" or "What smells?" NOT ONE!!!! I was half way through my meal when Tracy said... "Man its quiet!"

Before I get to my critics voices, here are somethings I would do different. I would use a different skillet with a little more oil. The breading got a little burned. I used my huge cast iron. The pan didn't heat very even, which is why the breading burned. Having said that I then used it to put the chunky tomatoes and tomato sauce in and stuck the whole thing under the broiler. Which worked out GREAT! And the recipe suggests garlic sauteed spinach instead of spaghetti. I made whole wheat spaghetti (shhh don't tell the kids. they loved it, and never said a word about it.) I would also use seasoned tomatoes, the recipie doesn't call for it but I would use some with basil and garlic next time.

So the critis had this to say...

Tracy- I love it!

Amanda- IT is the best... this is why it is my fav meal!

Corrina - Its good

Emma- I like it alot.

Keneson- I don't like the chicken it has to much stuff on it.

Me- I am totally making this again. It was super good and very filling.

Huddle up..... STTAAARRRT COOKIN'!!!!!