Repeat Recipe - Pot Stickers (Erin) ****

So, I made my first repeat recipe. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the pot stickers the first time around!! Did I mention I loved the pot stickers?!? :)

I hate to admit I didn't like them as well this time, and it's Jason's fault. :) I LOVE when I can blame something on someone other than me. Okay, it's not actually his fault, but he bought some weird pot stickers when he went shopping. They looked weird on the box, and they were. They completely fell apart while cooking them. They didn't have the same kind of "wrapper" on the outside as the first ones I made.

They still had good flavor, and I LOVED the brown rice and snap peas. I will gladly take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. There is a lot because Madeline ate her leftover Jose Peppers burrito, and Riley ate some of her faves...not pot stickers, brown rice, and snap peas...imagine that! :)

I'm not going to tell you to start cooking tonight. Instead, I'm going to tell you to START COMMENTING!!! Is anyone reading this blog? :)

French Pot Roast with buttered noodles. *** (Teressa)

Here is the down low on the Pot Roast.

I must confess I have NO CLUE on how to "eyeball" a measurement. I cut the meat to 1 1/2 inch instead of 1 inch. So after Tracy came to my rescue. The meat got cut. Also how is this a healthy for you recipe when you brown the meat in baccon grease... YES thats right baccon grease! 2 strips of baccon browned then brown the meat. I decided not to use the wine in this... oh there was wineing just not any of the red wine was used in the sauce. I got the meat in the crockpot, with all the broth and tomato paste. No bay leaves. I forgot them at the store.

The pearl onions were a little hard to find. Walmart here didn't have them. But Dillons did. yeah Dillons.

The critics in my house didn't like this at all!

They ate the noodles and didn't like the meat, or the onions or the peas... So I don't think I will make this again. Sorry Cook this not that people. Not a family fav.

Pasta Bolognese ***** (Teressa)

What a great dinner this was. But really hard to say. Bologna? Bolognaeess.... Bologna ease? who knows? Not me. The one thing that I did different. The recipe (on page 216 of Cook this not that) calls for Ground Turkey, Ground Pork and Ground Sirloin. Well I couldn't find any thing other than pork sausage so we used more sirloin instead. And the onions made me cry a bunch! But it was very yummy..... I did get done eating and thought I couldn't taste the milk that is in it. Well then it dawned on me I forgot to add the milk. Woops.

There was also a big conversaion between Tray and I about weather or not Turkey should be ground or should be stuffed. After all that we finally ate.

Here is what my critics say....
Keneson- Can we have this every night!
Corrina its good
Amanda- these noodles are huge! Its okay
Emma- Its good can I have more bread
Tracy- It is really really good
ME- I liked it. I can't wait to try the left overs. YUM....

This is one to try for sure.

3-2-1-.... Lets Cook!!!!

Penne Genovese **** {RILEY LIKED IT!!!!} (Erin)

Can a recipe-reliant sister make a meal with only a brief mention and tiny picture from her favorite cookbook? YES, she can! Seriously, there are only 9 words about this recipe in Cook This, Not That! I still managed to make it (with adding a few twists of my own), AND it was tasty!

Since this recipe specifically written in the cookbook, I can tell you how I made it without angering the copyright gods. :) The cookbook mentions penne, grilled shrimp, cherry tomatoes, and basil pesto. I used whole wheat penne, sauted shrimp, roasted cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, and sauteed spinach.

I have never eaten whole wheat pasta. It didn't have a different flavor, but the texture was different...a bit more bite to it. Jase liked it, and the girls didn't seem to notice a difference. I couldn't decide. I didn't dislike it, and I will continue to use it since it is so much better for us.

I decided to roast the cherry tomatoes. I drizzled about 1 T. of olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper onto the tomatoes and stuck them in the oven at 425 degrees until the skin popped. I ended up peeling off the skin, which took little effort. I put another T. of olive oil in my skillet. There I sauteed some chopped garlic, shrimp, spinach leaves, and the peeled tomatoes. When the shrimp were cooked, I added the penne and basil pesto. Finally, I let Madeline grate some parmesan cheese over the top.

Madeline - Liked this a lot. She loves shrimp. She ate her whole serving and asked for seconds.

Riley - Actually ate this!!! I fixed her something different but still slipped her a few bites in between bites of her dinner. I think she liked this better than what I made her!

Jase - Liked this a lot. He isn't a big shrimp eater and did mention it would be better with chicken.

I liked this. Again, the pasta was strange, but the flavor of the meal was good.

Shrimp - had on hand

Penne - $1.29

Garlic - had on hand

Olive Oil - had on hand

Spinach - $1.49

Tomatoes - $3.49

Pesto - had on hand

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

Chicken Panini with Smashed Potatoes ***** (Erin)

YUM, YUM, YUM!!! Everyone loved this recipe...except Riley. :) I will forever make sandwiches differently thanks to this recipe.

If you don't have a George Foreman grill, go get one. They aren't terribly expensive, and they are SO SO versatile! I used mine as a panini press. I didn't use any non-stick spray, oil, or butter on my bread, and our sandwiches came out perfectly toasty on the outside and deliciously melty on the inside!

I had a hard time finding some of the ingredients for this recipe. I planned on making homemade pesto using the recipe on Page 303 of Cook This, Not That! However, Dillons only had one teeny, tiny package of basil. It was not going to be nearly enough. My second thought was to use store-bought pesto that I thought you could find in the deli area (near the specialty cheese). They had sun-dried tomato pesto (lots of calories in that) and artichoke pesto (Jase wouldn't touch that), but I couldn't find basil pesto there. I finally stumbled upon it with the spaghetti sauces of all places. I also struggled to find roasted red peppers. I thought surely they would be with the canned vegetables. I found all different typed of artichokes (sliced, whole, marinated), pimentos, sun-dried tomatoes, and hearts of palm...but NO roasted red peppers. Who organized this store? Where did I finally find the roasted red peppers you might be asking? Where else...near the salad dressing. Apparently the shelf designer didn't think they were vegetables. ;) Finally, I couldn't find baby Yukon gold potatoes. They only had the larger ones. I settled for baby white potatoes. They still worked for the smashed potato recipe, but I think the Yukons would have had a more buttery flavor. Try those instead if you can find them! I used whole grain honey wheat bread (just a plain 'ole loaf) and rotisserie chicken because I forgot to get chicken out of the freezer.

Overall this dish was delish. It will be one I duplicate again soon!!! YUM!

Madeline said with her mouth full: "I would give this recipe 5 stars!"

Jase didn't talk much...he was too busy eating. He loved this and wants me to make it again!

Riley ate a few bites of chicken and a bite or two of potato.

I LOVED it! It still doesn't beat the pot stickers as my favorite dish, but it comes close!

Rotisserie chicken - $4.99

Bread - $2.79

Roasted Red Peppers - $3.49 (have more than half the jar left)

Basil Pesto - $3.99 (only used 4-5 T.)

Fresh Mozzarella Cheese - $3.99 (still have half left)

Potatoes - $1.79

Garlic - had on hand

Olive Oil - had on hand

Rosemary - had on hand

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

Honey Mustard Salmon with Roasted Parmesan Asparagus **** (Erin)

Me Cooking Salmon - Round 2: So, I made ginger, butter salmon a few weeks ago. It was okay. I decided to make salmon again since it is so good for me. I made it while Riley was sleeping because I knew she wouldn't want any of it. I also have never made asparagus. I can easily count on one hand the number of times I've eaten it. This cookbook has definitely blown my cooking repertoire WIDE open!

So, this was good. I really liked this salmon recipe a lot better than the first I made. The sauce was yummy, and I am not usually a honey mustard eater. Also, the asparagus was good...really good! I didn't cook it quite long enough. I would have liked it a tad more tender. It was an easy recipe that took no time to prepare and cook. It only dirtied 2 pans...Jase liked that!

Madeline did not like the salmon...not sure if it was the sauce or the salmon. She somewhat liked the asparagus.

Jase thought this was really good. It's so good for us, that we'll both eat it more often. He liked the texture of the salmon.

I liked it all...yummy!

Some of my receipts have disappeared. I know the salmon was $3.50 from Wal-Mart. I haven't seen it nearly that affordable anywhere else. I couldn't tell you how much everything else was. I basically only had to buy the salmon, honey, asparagus, and a lemon. I had everything else on hand.

This is on pages 232 and 301 of Cook This, Not That! Three, Two One, "Start Cookin'!"

Roast Pork Loin Prochetta-Style and Smahed Potatoes ***** (Teressa)

Where shall I begin? First for those of you that have the Cook this Not That these are on pages 264 and 294... for those of you who don't have this book... WHAT are you waiting for... go now and get it... I will wait..... ....... ....



Okay so lets get to the nitty gritty. Keneson and I made the "rub" for the meat. So it was super easy! Orange zest, Rosemary, and fennel seeds. It doesn't sound like much but what a PUNCH of flavor. This recipe called for the meat to be served over Great Northern beans. We did not eat it this way. After Keneson and I rubbed the meat down we let it sit for 4 hours before we cooked it. I think that made a huge difference. The picture in the book shows a brown sauce over the meat. I suggest that you use the juices from the pan





Now for the potatoes. It calls for Yukon gold potatoes. I am a russet potato eater most of the time. And our stores didn't carry the small ones like it called for either. So I used the gold ones and just cut them into quarters. After we boiled them and fried them like it said. We put cheese on it and stuck it in the oven while the meat rested. Mostly so it would melt the cheese....
The critic said this....
Tracy.- You seasoned this perfectly! It is so good that orange isn't over powerful at all.
Emma- I like the potatoes, but not the meat.
Corrina - Peeled the skin off the potatoes but wants to have this every night for the rest of her life. (a little dramatic I think)
Keneson- I did really good making this hun Tees?
Amanda- I really like the potatoes, and the meat was super juicy. It was good.
ME- I loved the flavor of the meat, wow it was really good. The potatoes I think I will put more cheese on them next time. It was SO good.... (I think I have said that about all of them so far.)
I will totally make this again.

Grilled Cheese with Apples and Bacon and Homemade Potato Chips (Erin) ****.5

****.5 = 4 1/2 stars...how do you do half an asterisk?

You won't go wrong with this recipe that may sound a little strange! The picture looks really crumby (meaning having lots of crumbs...not yucky) because I couldn't wait to take a bite. I hurried to take a bit and try out this strange sounding combo...then I remembered I needed to take a picture. Oops!

This picture does not do the sandwich justice. So, I guess I'm asking you to take a risk and try this even though it sounds weird and doesn't look as fabulous as it tastes. The apples added such a different taste to the sandwich...so yummy! The homemade potato chips came out a bit weird just because I didn't cut the potatoes as uniformly in width as I had hoped. Some came out crunchy and others just soft.

• Madeline liked the meal. I had to make her stop eating the chips. She is in bed, so you don't get a direct quote. I'm sure you're as disappointed as she will be when she realizes I didn't wait for her. :)
• Riley LOVED her dinner...of course it was nothing that we ate. :)
• Jason LOVED the chips. He said they were his favorite thing I've made from the cookbook so far. (SERIOUSLY?!? You ate the pot stickers, didn't you?!?)
• I liked it all...especially the sandwich! I will make the chips again (I don't think Jase will give me a choice), but I will add some of the offered flavor combinations in the future to spice them up a bit. I will definitely make the sandwich again too, but I will use sliced cheese instead of shredded cheese...I like how sliced cheese "glues" the sandwich together.

Butter - on hand

Bread - $3.45

Dijon Mustard - on hand

Cheese - $1.96

Apple - $.78

Bacon - $4.79

Potatoes - $1.49

Olive Oil - on hand

MAKE THESE RECIPES!! THEY ARE YUMMY!! (Pages 130 and 298 in Cook This, Not That!)

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

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'!!!!!