Recipes of the week

I have quite a few new ones to share this week. It almost seems like I cook a lot, doesn't it?

Double Mushroom and Marsala Cream Fettuccine is one I wanted to share last week. It has finally made an appearance online at Everyday. It was a very easy meal to make and I had everything on hand already, so it gets bonus points even. I didn't use the dried mushrooms (I'm sure some of you may remember the $6 mushroom fiasco last spring with T? Yeah - I decided to not go there again.). I substituted with white mushrooms (along with the cremini it calls for). I also used penne pasta because I was out of fettuccine. It got very good reviews. I believe this will be a go to meal for when we're just getting home from a weekend out of town because it consists 100% of items I have on hand all the time!

This week we tried Jasmine Rice-Stuffed Pork Chops, also from Everyday. T and I liked it but Monkey wasn't a fan. It may be because she hasn't been loving pork chops lately, though. I know sometimes you hear "stuffed" and think "I'm not trying to make it. Stuffing is too much work." Don't let it even cross your mind here. They were really easy because you aren't making a pocket in the meat but actually cutting it open like a book.

We also tried Apple-Cider Glazed Baby Back Ribs, once again from Everyday. I used country style ribs because it's what I had in the freezer. It has potential, but it didn't floor me - which very well could have been because of the meat I used. I am going to try this again. Next time, I think I'll mix it all into the slower cooker instead so it can really get into the meat (I have a lot of country style ribs now that our pork has arrived!).

I paired the ribs with Barley-and-Kielbasa Pilaf (Everyday). It was very easy to make and it wasn't too bad in the taste department, but I won't be making it again. It gave T heartburn and he requested to not see it again. Since it didn't blow me away, I'm fine with making it disappear.

I made baked beans for the first time ever. I used Alton Brown's recipe for The Once and Future Beans (I have no clue what the name is all about). I have always been intimidated by beans. I've now found I've been intimidated for absolutely no reason. While beans are time consuming, they are not labor intensive. We enjoyed them and I can see myself making them again.

Last but not least is a Chicken Wild Rice Chowder. Unfortunately, I don't know where I got this recipe but it is so good, I'm sharing it here.

You'll need:

• 2 cups sliced fresh carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 tbs butter
• 3 tbs AP flour
• 2 cans chicken broth
• 2 2/3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1 8.8 oz package ready-to-serve long grain & wild rice
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1/8 tsp pepper

Saute carrots, onion and celery in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes, until thickened. Stir in chicken, rice, cream and pepper and heat through.

I used 2 4.5 oz packages of Carolina Long Grain & Wild Rice mix. This takes 25 minutes to cook, so I added it after the broth was boiling and let it do it's thing. I also ended up adding 4 cups of water (the rice needed the liquid to cook and there would have been no broth left). I added the chicken, cream and pepper with 5 minutes left to go on the rice. It got rave reviews.

That's it for this week.

Enjoy your kitchens!