This pasta dish from America's Test Kitchen was quick, easy, and tasted wonderful! You should definitely try it. It doesn't look like much in the picture, but it was fantastic. We followed the directions to get the nice creamy sauce that's intended, so make sure to get the right ingredients. Oh, we did use our regular H.T. Traders (Harris Teeter) brand whole wheat pasta since it is safe for egg allergies, and that didn't affect the recipe from what we could tell. Enjoy!
We had Vegetable Barley Soup this week. This looks like the type of recipe I'd love and others in my house would tolerate. For some reason it is nearly the opposite. This is my second time making it, and I get remarks that it's flavorful and done well, but when I sit down to eat it, I'm dreading it. I can't even say what I don't like other than that maybe it isn't exciting? I even tried using chicken broth this time instead of just water, but I'm still not interested in it. I do wish as I were putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker that it would have more colors. It's a lot of white and beige with the particular veggies that go into it. So sadly I can't say this is great but I also can't say why. It does have decent flavor and the veggies are tender yet with a little crunch. If you end up trying it, let me know what you think.
I'm surprised I've never posted this baked pasta recipe considering how many times we've made it. It's a great meal for when it's time to go shopping and you're just left with pantry items (we almost always use dried basil for this reason). Also, it's great for adding in extra leftover veggies (chopped mushrooms, shredded carrots, etc.). Finally, this meal can easily be frozen, which I do after assembling and before baking. Normally I'll double the recipe and freeze half for another night when we have less time.
Last night we had a recipe that's been in the family for years. We made a chili recipe that was originally found on the back of a Premium Saltine Crackers box. I made it in the morning and stuck it in the slow cooker on low all day, but that isn't necessary. I served the chili with an egg free and delicious cornbread (I used regular skim milk instead of soy milk). Thanks to a friend for finding the cornbread recipe, trying it out, and passing it along to me.
Another dinner from this week was Chicken Tortilla Soup. I used leftover rotisserie chicken this time though I have made it the way the directions say. Also, I used my frozen homemade chicken broth, frozen corn, and cooked fresh beans. At the end, we each added tortilla chips as we ate since we like them to be crunchy. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Last night's dinner was Cheesy Shells and Greens which was enjoyed by the whole family. It's a pretty quick meal other than taking stems off the spinach, but overall it's simple and well received. I've made it before but this time added in chopped leftover chicken since I had it. Also, I left out the mustard because of allergies. Enjoy!
I love this recipe for Sausage and Feta Hand Pies. We haven't made it in a awhile, and today's cooking extravaganza explained why. It took me a long time to do this by myself, and I mean a long time, really. Also, I made double (which meant double the chopping) and froze one set for when we don't have time to cook and want a good meal. As I kept on cooking, the little boy came to help, played with play dough, had lunch, played trains, read books, and then probably repeated each at least once. Here's what the bookshelf looked like when I finally finished.
My modifications on the recipe:
This isn't the healthiest recipe considering the quantity of butter in the pie crust and the Italian sausage, but the whole wheat and spinach additions at least try to get it a little bit back on track.
