Recipes of the week:

We had the Smokin' Chicken Burgers last week. I didn't mind them, though Monkey and T were not impressed. So I tossed the recipe.

I never got around to the Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pecans because we ended up going to dinner with T's parents Saturday night. I'll make it this week instead - and hopefully the recipe will be up on Every Day with Rachael Ray by the time I share a review.

I also tried Sausage, Potato and Cheese Waffles from the current Every Day with Rachael Ray issue (page 25 if you're looking for it - it's not up on the website yet either). Monkey wasn't crazy about it and T didn't like it at all. Again, I didn't mind it. But I won't be making a big batch of waffles from scratch for myself, so I'm not saving this one either.

First up this week are BBQ Barley-Chicken Burgers from Fresh Magazine. Why not try a different chicken burger since last week was such a bust, right?

We'll also be trying another Every Day with Rachael Ray sampling - Chicken Pot Pizza. T pulled this out quite some time ago and I figured it was time to finally try it. Personally, I'm not a fan of pot pie, but I try to keep an open mind. How else would we find new and exciting meals?

That's all for this week.

Enjoy your kitchens!

First image from Fresh Magazine.

Second image from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

New recipes for the week

First, a review: We had Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter on Friday night. It was ridiculously simple to make and was pretty tasty.

This week, I have two, courtesy of Every Day with Rachael Ray once again.

First up is Smokin' Chicken Burgers. I like to have variations to a plain old burger every now and again. I haven't decided if I'll be using chicken, turkey or beef yet. I need to pick up the meat today, so I'll be deciding based on costs once at the store.

We'll also be trying Wild Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms and Pecans from the most recent issue. It isn't online yet, but you can find it in the $10 or Less meals section.

Enjoy your kitchens!

Sweet Treat... Friday?

I was trying to post sweet treats on Saturdays, but let's face it... I post when I have time right now.

I found this recipe for Blueberry Banana Muffins in Ladies' Home Journal this week. It's one of the many advertisements, which I usually ignore, but being overcome with blueberries at the moment, it caught my eye.

I made them with Monkey this morning. I got 24 instead of the 18 the recipe says - and they aren't teeny tiny, so I'm not sure how big their 18 were but they must have been pretty big for a 12 muffin tin. Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but we enjoyed them very much.

Also, it was the first time I got to use the extra muffin tin I picked up on my junking trip with my Mom back in May. There were 2 tins for 25 cents. How could I leave them when the 1 tin I already owned was never enough?

Enjoy!

Recipes of the week:

Whew! I think I've managed to catch up! Well, with sharing recipes, anyways. I'll get back into the swing of things sooner or later.

For starters, I have a sweet treat to share. Blueberry Upside-Down Cake is another recipe I found in Fresh Magazine. We have a ton of berries right now, so I gave it a shot. I didn't have the Inspirations Wild Maine Blueberry Fruit Syrup the recipe calls for, so I improvised and used jam I had JUST made (as in, it still hadn't set up even). I also didn't have a lemon on hand, though I do keep a jug of lemon juice in the fridge. So in place of the lemon zest, I used orange peel (the dried stuff you buy in a jar - not from an old orange I had lying around!). It is OH so good.

For dinner on Monday, I made Chicken and Zucchini Kabobs, also from Fresh Magazine. I had some summer squash on hand, so I used some of those as well as zucchini. This is also another keeper, though I'll be tweaking it. Next time, I won't be cutting the chicken up. Kabobs are a big job when I know it would be much easier leaving the meat whole. I'll marinate the veggies the same as the recipe calls but add lemon juice and grill them in bigger pieces as well.

Tomorrow night, I'm planning on trying Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter. I've been watching a lot of Food Network lately (I don't have any books to read so I watch TV while I breastfeed Little Man) and saw Giada De Laurentiis making this last week. I immediately began to drool. It looks extremely easy. And, because I'm trying to keep things simple with meals for now, I'm giving it a whirl.

I also have another Sweet Treat we'll be trying out either later today or tomorrow (as soon as the cake is gone). Check back later for details.

Enjoy your kitchens!

First 2 images are from Fresh Magazine.

Third image is from Foodnetwork.

New recipes from last week:

Last week, I tried out two new recipes. I have a lot to try still, so I don't want to just try one, but I don't want to go nuts and try out something new every day, either. I do need to make some tried and true recipes to keep things simple for myself sometimes.


Rachael Ray's Grilled Philly Cheesesteak Tacos were ridiculously easy to make. It got rave reviews in our house, too. This is definitely a keeper.



We also tried Summer Rolls with Nuoc Cham, courtesy of Fresh Magazine. Monkey didn't like it at all. There were too many green leafy things for her. We didn't mind it, but I don't foresee making it again.


Enjoy!

First image is from Every Day with Rachael Ray.
Second image is from Fresh Magazine.

A review of my latest new recipes

Wow. It's been quite a while since I've had a chance to update. T went back to work yesterday, but for his last 2 weeks at home, we spent our time on the road. We spent a day in Bar Harbor, a day at Peaks-Kenney State Part (great lake there), a day at Fort Knox State Park (and went up the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory), a day at the fair, random trips into town for running errands and days hanging out at home in the sprinkler. I'm working on getting into a new routine with the kids now that we're on our own. So far, so good.

SO - the last recipes I posted about were from 2 weeks ago.

A review:
Mexican Chicken Lasagna was good. Monkey wasn't crazy about it (which surprised me), but T loved it. I liked it, but need to tweak it. The onions were a little crunchy and I do NOT like crunchy onions (I can be picky sometimes!). So I'll just saute them up a little to soften them up beforehand next time and I'll love it as much as T did.

Pork Chops Marsala was so very good. We all loved it and it is very much a keeper.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese a la Alton Brown was ok. T enjoyed it, as did Monkey. Myself? I'm very "MEH" with homemade mac and cheese. I'm keeping the recipe, but I will continue to search for a homemade mac and cheese recipe that I enjoy as much as everyone else.

That's it for these. Now I'm off to find the recipes we tried last week so I can share those. My memory fails me, unfortunately. We'll just have to call it Mommy Brain.