Crash Hot Potatoes

From the Pioneer Woman's website.

Ingredients

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
 

This cut and paste does not do her write up justice - please go to the link above and read the play by play.  I laughed out loud when she encouraged the use of a pastry brush as beat up as hers.   Love the way she writes.  :)

These were good.  Despite her insistence to add a lot of salt, I guess I didn't listen enough because they needed salt.  :)   I think I was the biggest fan of these.  I like potatoes crisp like this.  Husband of Cheerios thought they were fine and would eat them again but aren't his favorite way of eating potatoes.  Mr Picky declared them to be "very yummy".  Miss Almost Vegetarian said that "while I was chewing the bite it was very yummy but then turned very yucky".  This isn't surprising.  She just doesn't like potatoes.  I don't think she is really my daughter.

We will make these again.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

From Skinny Taste blog:

Ingredients:

• 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.


I baked these at 450F because I had potatoes in the oven at the same time.  They turned out so crisp!!

 Husband of Cheerios and I LOVED these.  What a great way to have green beans.  I had never roasted them before.  Mr Picky ate his but neither raved nor grimaced.  Miss Almost Vegetarian was not a fan and did not ask for seconds as she usually does when we have green beans.

Ignoring them though - we will make these again.  They were too good not to.

Creamy Cauliflower

Seth at work told me to try this.  He said that kids could be fooled into thinking that these were potatoes.

From Kraft Kitchens - Creamy Cauliflower

what you need

1

head  cauliflower, cut into florets (about 6 cups)

3

Tbsp.  PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

1/2

tsp.  dill weed

3

Tbsp.  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

make it

COOK cauliflower in boiling water in saucepan 10 min. or until tender; drain. Place in food processor.

ADD reduced-fat cream cheese and dill; process until smooth.

SERVE topped with Parmesan.

I admit I had a lot of doubt as to how this would taste.  The allure of misleading the children was high though so I gave it a try.

The bigger pieces are cheese - not cauliflower.  :)   I told both Mr. Picky and Little Miss Almost Vegetarian that  these were potatoes.  Both of them refused to eat it at all.  I thought they tasted pretty good and despite Husband - of - Cheerios' reservations he too thought it was ok.  Once I told the kids that it wasn't a potato - they both agreed to taste it.  Miss Almost Vegetarian said that she liked it but wanted us to take off all the little green things (dill).  Umm...no.  Mr. Picky ate it but with that "something smells bad" look on his face the whole time.   With such a lukewarm reception - we are unlikely to make this again.

 

Butter Baked Potatoes

Another recipe from my old box - testing to see if the recipe is yummy enough to make it to the new box (cause red makes it more special):

This time it was Butter Baked Taters

These were good.  Nothing fancy but also kinda blah.  We also used old potatoes so that may have tainted the whole thing.  We all agreed that while these were good - they weren't great so this recipe will get recycled rather than make it into the new box.  :)

Sweet Marshallowy Potatoes

The weekend of American Thanksgiving my in-laws were helping us out with our reno and I was stumped as to what to make for dinner. So using the calendar as inspiration I decided on a Thanksgiving-ish meal. Turkey (I used this recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/318088/pan-seared-turkey-cutlets-with-wine-sauc originally published in Everyday Food January 2009), jazzed up Stove Top, broccoli and sweet potato fries with brown butter marshmallow dipping sauce. Yes you read that right, brown butter marshmallow dipping sauce, yum (Everyday Food issue #87 http://www.marthastewart.com/862295/matt-armendarizs-sweet-potato-fries-brown-butter-marshmallow-sauce).

SWEET POTATO FRIES WITH BROWN-BUTTER MARSHMALLOW SAUCE

RATINGS:

Heather - 8.5 - "I think my expectations were too high. It was good but I thought

it would be mind-blowing good"

Reno Crew - 9.5 - "The sweet potatoes were great"

NOTE:

The sweet potatoes themselves were great. I did peel them, as I don't like the skins personally.

The turkey recipe is also great. I have made it many times. This time I made turkey sandwiches with it, leftover Stove Top and my home made cranberry sauce and those blew my mind they were so good.

Baked Root Vegetables

Knowing that I had a lot of root vegetables from my garden, my mom sent me an article from the Western Producer that featured parsnips. This recipe is part of that collection.

I really liked that the vegetables had to marinate. I could have them prepped in the morning so that as I walked in the door I could toss them in the oven and use the time they take to roast to get the rest of the meal ready.

BAKED ROOT VEGETABLES

1 lb new potatoes, cut into chunks

1/2 lg rutabaga, peeled & cubed (I skipped this, not a fan of rutabaga)

1 lg sweet potato, peeled & cubed

2 lg parsnips, peeled & cubed

2 lg carrots, peeled & cubed

1/2 lg onion, cut into 6 chunks

3 tbsp oil (I used EVOO)

3 tbsp sweet red chili sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp Montreal steak spice (I skipped and just put it on the steak we were having)

Prep vegetables and place in a large container. Mix oil, chili sauce, garlic and seasoning together. Add to vegetables and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Place vegetables on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Stir and roast for an additional 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

 

RATINGS:

Heather - 9 - "A bit too spicy for me"

Brad - 9 - "Taste is good"

Herb & Donna - 9 - "We will come back again"

NOTE:

I used purple carrots and they looked fantastic

Dinner 1-2-3

Tonight's meal is from the dinner 1-2-3 feature of Everyday Food issue #83. And it really was as easy as 1-2-3.

WARM BEAN SALAD

2 tsp olive oil

3/4 lb asparagus

2 small cloves garlic, thinly sliced

8 oz grape tomatoes

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Heat 2 tsp oil in large skillet. Add asparagus and cook 2 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook approximately 3 minutes. Add cannellini beans and vinegar and cook, stirring until beans are heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.

RATINGS:
Heather - 10 - "So delicious!!!!!!"
Brad - 10 - "This can be in the regular rotation"

Having my in-laws for diner . . .

Brad's parents now spend most of the winter RV'ing in the southwestern US so we don't see them for 4 1/2 months. I wanted to make something special for their first meal back at our place. (I took me awhile to post it.) This meal was part of the Easter menu in issue #81 of Everyday Food. The recipe as written serves 8, I made 1/2 of each.

SALMON WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MUSTARD GLAZE

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large shallot, minced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup whole grain mustard

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used regular)

course salt and ground pepper

1 side salmon (about 3 lbs, I buy at Costco)

Heat broiler with rack in top position.

In a small sauce pan heat oil over medium high. Add shallot and cook until softened. Add vinegar and cook until slightly evaporated, 1 minute. Add mustard and brown sugar; stir until warm and combined, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Place salmon on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Transfer 1/2 cup glaze to a small dish and brush on top of salmon. Broil salmon until glaze is bubbling and fish is opaque throughout, 5 - 10 minutes, depending on thickness; brush remaining glaze over salmon.

ASPARAGUS AND GREEN BEANS WITH CHILI-ORANGE OIL

3 Tbsp olive oil

3 wide strips orange zest

2 Tbsp orange juice

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

course salt and pepper

2 bunches asparagus, cut into 2" lengths

1 lb green beans, cut into 2" lengths

In a small sauce pan bring oil, orange zest and red pepper flakes to a simmer and cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Blanche asparagus and green beans in a large pot of boiling water.

In a large skillet heat 1 Tbsp chili-orange oil over high heat. Add 1/2 the vegetables, cook until warmed through. Transfer to platter. Repeat with remaining vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with remaining oil and orange juice.

RATINGS:

Heather - 10 - "My new favorite way to eat salmon"

Brad - 9 - "Makes salmon taste better"

In-laws - 10 "It was all great"

NOTE:

I have made this salmon twice since then and have gotten rave reviews each time.

Glazed Radishes

Radishes are very low on my favorite foods list. In fact they would be in the bottom 5. They are just a bit too spicy for me. However, Brad likes them so I planted some in the garden. A bit of a mistake. They are all ready at the same time. What to do? Search the internet! I ended up finding this recipe on the Martha Stewart website.

GLAZED RADISHES

45 red radishes

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp fresh ground salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 1/2 cups water

Cut large radishes in half. In a 12" skillet combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced and radishes are tender and glazed, 10 to 15 minutes.

RATINGS:

Brad - 10 - "Yum"

Heather - 10 - "I can't believe they are actually good"

Guests - 10 "Can we have the recipe?"

I will definitely make these again.

Simple Chicken Quinoa Supper

From Kraft Kitchen's here http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/simple-chicken-quinoa-supper-124092.aspx

or from the summer 2011 issue of What's Cooking

What You Need

1/2 cup Kraft Signature Mango Chipotle Dressing, divided

4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb./450 g)

1-1/2 cups 25%-less-sodium chicken broth

1 cup quinoa, uncooked, rinsed

1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 orange pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Make It

POUR 1/4 cup dressing over chicken in shallow dish; turn to coat both sides of each breast. Refrigerate until ready to use. Bring broth to boil in medium saucepan on medium-high heat. Stir in quinoa. Return to boil; cover. Simmer on medium-low heat 10 to 15 min. or until quinoa is tender and liquid is absorbed. Cool.
MEANWHILE, heat barbecue to medium heat. Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Grill chicken 12 to 15 min. or until done (170ºF), turning after 7 min.
MIX remaining dressing and lime juice in large bowl. Add quinoa, peppers, onions and cilantro; mix lightly. Serve with chicken.

 This was really good.  I think next time I would marinate the chicken longer because not much of the flavor was left behind. The pepper/lime/onion/cilantro mix was a HUGE hit with Mr Cheerios and I.  This would be fine on it's own as a side salad or top of the chicken too.  Although Mr Picky and Miss Almost-Vegetarian would not touch the pepper medley - we WILL make this again.  Yummy!

Chicken Pasta Primavera

From the Kraft Kitchens website:
http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/chicken-pasta-primavera-86379.aspx

What You Need

3 cups whole wheat penne pasta, uncooked

2 Tbsp. oil

1 lb. (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can (19 oz/540 mL) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

1-1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 red pepper, cut into thin strips

1 each carrot and celery stalk, sliced

1 tsp. dried basil leaves, crushed

1/4 tsp. each crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt

1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Light Grated Cheese

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Make It

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt.
MEANWHILE, heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken, onions and garlic; cook 4 to 5 min. or until chicken is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, vegetables and seasonings. Bring to boil; simmer on medium-low heat 10 min. or until vegetables are tender.
DRAIN pasta; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture and cheese; toss to coat. Sprinkle with parsley.

Mr Picky was so not impressed by this.  Miss Almost Vegetarian thought it was delicious except for the carrots.  Both DH and I thought this one was pretty good and had a great flavor.  This recipe was picked at random using their cool "what ingredients do you have" feature.  I entered broccoli, chicken and cheese.  The website returned this recipe!  I would eat this again.

serving size = 2-1/2 cups (625 mL)

per serving

Calories

 510

Total fat

 11 g

Saturated fat

 2 g

Cholesterol

 70 mg

Sodium

 380 mg

Carbohydrate

 60 g

Dietary fibre

 9 g

Sugars

 10 g

Protein

 40 g

Vitamin A

 60 %DV

Vitamin C

 130 %DV

Calcium

 20 %DV

Iron

 45 %DV

Diabetes Food Choices

3 Carbohydrates + 3-1/2 Meat & Alternatives

Nutrition Bonus

This colourful dish provides an excellent source of both vitamins A and C. The broccoli provides vitamin A, while the red pepper provides vitamin C.

Pears & Chicken...

Since Heather gave us a bunch of zucchini - I had to find a recipe to use some of it up.

Chicken Vegetable Marinara - from Krafts Kitchen

2 slices bacon - chopped
450g/1lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 T italian seasoning
3 large carrots - diagonally sliced
1 onion - chopped
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups  waters
1 1/2 cups pasta sauce
3 cups whole wheat rotini pasta uncooked
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2" thick slices/chunks
1/2 cup Kraft 4 Cheese Italiano light shredded cheese

Cook and stir bacon in large saucepan on medium heat 4 min or until crisp. Use slotted spoon to transfer bacon to medium bowl, reserving drippings in pan.  Add chicken and seasoning to drippings; cook and stir 4 min or until chicken is no longer pink.  Add to bacon, set aside.

Add carrots and onions to saucepan; cook and stir 2 min.  Add broth, water, pasta sauce and pasta; stir. Bring to boil on high heat; simmer on medium low heat 12 min. Stir in zucchini and chicken mixture; simmer 8-10 min or until pasta and vegetables are tender and chicken is done.

Creamy Balsamic Pear Salad - Krafts Kitchens

6 cups torn mixed salad greens
2 red pears - thinly sliced
1/2 cup Kraft 4 cheese italiano shredded cheese
1/3 cup slivered red onions
4 slices low - sodium bacon, cooked, crumbled
1/3 cup pure Kraft Refrigerated Creamy Balsamic Dressing

I made the chicken/pasta exactly the way the recipe states but we made a few modifications to the salad recipe.  I used "real" bacon bits instead of making bacon, I couldn't find red pears at Save-On so I used green, Save-On also didn't have the salad dressing so my husband improvised by combining a raspberry vinaigrette and some creamy cucumber.  Weird but strangely good. 

Overall - the salad was good.  We would make it again.  Both Mr Picky and Miss Almost Vegetarian picked away at it and weren't overall fans.  Both my husband and I liked it.  It would be fun to try again with their recommended dressing and I don't know - I wanted some raisins put in.  :)   I don't know if red pears taste any different than green pears but that might change things up too.

The pasta...was a HUGE hit!!  Everyone loved it.  Even Mr.Picky scarfed his down in record time and Miss Almost Vegetarian wanted another helping.  The next day I brought some to work and a friend of mine - let's call her Mrs Flowers - tried some and thought it was great too!  This recipe will be becoming a regular entry into our meal plans. 

Deluxe Breakfast - Potato Cakes, Bacon and Eggs

I love a good breakfast. For some reason it just seems better than a good lunch, maybe it's because it doesn't happen that often.

This morning for breakfast I made Goat Cheese Potato Cakes, Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole and bacon.

Bacon

I used to hate making bacon for breakfast. That was until I started making it on my Pampered Chef Stoneware Bar Pan. This makes the best bacon you will ever eat, perfectly flat and crispy, and it is so easy. Place bacon on pan, put in oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes. You don't even need to turn it, just watch for your level of crispy perfection.

Goat Cheese Potato Cakes

I cheated a bit on these. The recipe makes 8 so when I made them for supper on Friday night I saved 1/2 and used the rest this morning. The recipe is from an episode of The Main on Food Network. These are a bit of work but definitely worth it. Brad is already looking forward to having these again.

Here is a link:

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/Main/Beef/recipe.html?dishID=8506

Bell Pepper Egg in a Hole

I have actually made these a couple of times this summer but haven't had a chance to blog it.

When I asked Brad how he wanted his eggs this morning he said "we have peppers in the fridge." The recipe is from the June 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

Here is a link:

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/bell-pepper-egg-in-a-hole

These are SUPER EASY to make and a great way to add a veggie to breakfast.

Slice bell pepper into 1/2" thick rings.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a nonstick skillet on med-high.

Put pepper rings in pan.

Crack eggs into rings. (I crack the eggs into little bowls first and then pour into rings. I find it easier.)

Season with salt and pepper.

Cook 2-3 minutes.

Carefully flip and cook 1 minute more.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (optional)

Rating:

Brad - 10 - "I love this meal!"

Heather - 10 - " I love this meal too!"

PS - I love a glass of Mott's Garden Cocktail with eggs for breakfast

A few of the recipes I have tried with the endless supply of zucchini from my garden

So, as it turns out 4 green zucchini and 2 yellow zucchini plants produce more zucchinis than one could ever need. I have been able to give some away but we have been eating zucchini once a day and canning some to try and use it all up.

To help me out my sister forwarded me an email from Martha Stewart that contained 58 zucchini recipes. All of the recipes in this post are from that email.

Here is a link, in case anyone else has too many zucchinis (or has had some given to them from someone who has too many.)

http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/zucchini

This first recipe is for Judy's Zucchini Pickles.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/judys-zucchini-pickles

This is a super easy recipe to make.

Rating:
Note: This is a temporary rating as the pickles are not yet totally "pickled"
Heather and Brad - 8 - "The flavor is good but they are very vinegar-y." I will try again with some modifications.


Even on the weekends we can't escape eating zucchini. On Sunday morning I tried out the Zucchini-Tomato Frittata. This was a great dish. It was originally in the May 2004 issue of Everyday Food as part of a Mother's Day Brunch Menu and after trying it I would definately try the whole menu for a big group.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/zucchini-tomato-frittata









Rating:
Brad - 9 - "Why haven't we had frittata before?"

Heather - 9 - "Yummy"

I don't think that one can go wrong making anything "gratin" and zucchini is no exception. Last night for supper we tried Zucchini and Yellow Squash Gratin along with grilled chicken, fresh peas and potatoes.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/zucchini-and-yellow-squash-gratin


The recipe is a little confusing. It calls for 1/2 cup parmesan in the ingredient list and then says to add a cup of parmesan and sprinkle the rest on top. So I used 1 cup total. 1/2 in the gratin and 1/2 on top. Aside from that it was really easy to make.

Rating:

Heather, Brad, Kandice, Stuart and Warren - 10 - "Best way to eat zucchini!"

Roasted New Potatoes

Melanie again....

This recipe was adapted from the Reader's Digest website.

1.5 pounds small new potatoes
3 cloves garlic
2T olive or canola oil
1/2 tsp crumbed rosemary

Preheat oven to 400F.  In a large bowl, combine the potatoes with the garlic, oil and rosemary. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast ~45 min until golden and cooked through.

Whenever I see a recipe that looks good, I print it off and put it in a binder.  I've started  going through this binder and found that some of theses recipes - still untried - have been in this binder a LONG time. This particular recipe was printed in 1999!!

My husband and I both thought these were really good.  Miss Almost-Vegetarian who just turned 2 had no interest at all even with bribery.  Mr.Picky did not want to try them but after he finally did taste them decided they were pretty good.

We would make these again.

Comfort Food

I am having a lot of fun with this blog and Brad is definitely enjoying the end result of my experiments, although he is not liking the amount of dishes I have been creating (we don't have a dishwasher).

My newest recipe comes from Anthony Sedlak's show on Food Network, The Main. While watching this episode I learned something new. What most of us think of when we think of Shepard's Pie is in fact Cottage Pie! A traditional Shepard's Pie is made with ground lamb (makes sense when I think about what a shepard does) and a Cottage Pie is made with ground beef. I made the whole meal as he did on the show, Cottage Pie with Irish Peas and Cabbage.

It is a long recipe so I have included a link to it for you.

http://www.foodnetwork.ca/ontv/shows/The-Main/recipe.html?dishID=8510&titleid=108594

Ratings:
Brad - 10 - "Every bite is a happy place"
Heather - 10 - "Worth all of the effort and then some"

There are much easier recipes to be found for this type of meal but I have never tasted one as good. The mashed potatoes for the topping are absolutely delicious and would be great on their own as would the Irish Peas and Cabbage.

Steak with Root Vegetables

Last night we (as in mostly my husband) made a new recipe from the Real Simple cookbook - Meals made Easy.

Steak with Root Vegetables as adapted from Real Simple  - Meals made Easy

3 - 6oz New York Strip Steaks - about an inch thick
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 T olive oil
4 carrots (with stems removed) cut lengthwise into thin strips
2 parsnips, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1 tsp dried rosemary
Montreal Steak Seasoning

Season the steaks with salt/pepper/steak seasoning.  Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add steak, cook under desired doneness, about 4 min per side for medium rare.  Keep warm on plate covered with tin foil.  Wipe out skillet with paper towels.  Heat the remaining oil over medium-low heat.  Add veggies and cook under tender 5-7 min.  Season with salt, pepper and rosemary.

The steak was done just right and the flavor was really good.  The veggies were very yummy even though we didn't use the spice suggested in the book (tarragon).  Mr. Picky ate very well - declaring "white carrots" to be an ok vegetable.  Miss Almost-Vegetarian ate the side dish of roasted potatoes and the veggies but only had one bite of steak (which she chewed for about 10 minutes!).  We would all eat this dish again!

A Salad and some Veggies

On Wednesday I tried 2 new recipes.

The first is from the Barefoot Contessa's "Back to Basics" cookbook.  It's called roasted parsnips and carrots.  It was a super easy recipe to follow and was quite basic - just some veggies, some spices and some olive oil.  My husband loved them, Mr. Picky even ate them and Miss Almost-Vegetarian loved them too. That means a winner in our minds!!

The second recipe was "Asian Spinach Salad" from  the "Carlson Family Cookbook - Volume 2".  Since I have the author's permission, I will post the recipe here:

8 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1 red pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup thin matchlike carrot sticks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/2 cup chow mein noodles
1/3 cup Kraft Asian Sesame dressing.

Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl.  Add noodles and dressing just before serving; toss to coat.

I used chives instead of green onions and I didn't have peanuts on hand so I used almonds.  Mr.Picky didn't like the salad and Miss Almost-Vegetarian wasn't a fan either.  I *REALLY* liked it but my husband just thought it was so-so (he liked the salad ingredients but didn't really like the dressing).

We had the salad and roasted veggies with M&M Meatshops Chicken Pasta Primavera.  All in all, a very tasty mid-week supper and far better than Kraft Dinner.  :)

Fish and Broccoli

For supper tonight we tried 2 new recipes both from the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics.  The first was Easy Sole Meuniere.  We didn't actually have sole but we had some haddock (or was it halibut?) fillets from M&M meatshops.  This was a very fast and easy dish to make.  It was pretty tasty although my almost 2 year old wouldn't touch it.  My 5 year old said it would be good if it wasn't so sour.  I agree.  :)   I would cut back on the lemon but I've never been a fan of lemon on my fish.  I think my Dad would really like this recipe. 

With that we had Parmesan Roasted broccoli.  This was a another quick and easy dish to make.  I didn't have pine nuts to put with it but I used almonds instead.  This side dish was ok but I like my broccoli best just plain.  My husband seemed to be a fan.  I don't think I'd make it again though.

Herb Marinated Loin of Pork

From the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics cookbook again, I tried the recipe Herb Marinated Loin of Pork.  It marinates overnight in a lemon herb marinade and then sits on the BBQ for about 20 minutes.  I altered the recipe slightly using bottle lemon juice rather than freshly squeezed.  I did use fresh rosemary but used dried thyme.

This was very simple and very, very good.  My husband said that this is his favorite recipe that I have tried so far.

I served it with "Pan Roasted Root Vegetables" from the same cookbook.  I did my grocery shopping this week at Walmart so couldn't get all the vegetables (celery root).  Aww, let's face it - I don't like brussel sprouts so I avoid those on purpose.  As for turnip - those only taste good raw.  Why cook them and mess with that?   I used as directed: carrots, parsnips, celery and added my own combo of green pepper and zucchini.   These turned out really really tasty and I will make them again but I think I could easily cut  back on both the butter and the salt in the recipe.