Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Rootbeer Carrots

Chicken Cordon Bleu w/Rootbeer Carrots

This was a good meal. The rootbeer carrots are something I tried for Thanksgiving this past year and they were a hit! This time, I cooked them on too high of heat and the sauce got really gooey and thick. On my way to sleep (yeah, I know, talk about obsessing :-) ) I thought about just taking the spices and rootbeer and boiling them in a large pot of water. That way, they get the flavor, but are not so sickening sweet and a little less overpowering. The chicken cordon bleu came from the "20 Minute Meal" cookbook. It was tasty, but I thought it needed some sort of sauce. Maybe a light swish cheese sauce. I haven't tried it yet, but I think these will go well on a sandwich too!

Double Apple Turnovers

Double Apple Turnovers

These were easy, the recipe coming from a “Cooking with Kids” cookbook. They used phyllo dough and mostly apple-butter for sweetener (hence the “double apple”). We thought these were tasty, but not our favorite and would like to try another apple dessert again soon. Maybe an apple crisp.

Thai Coconut Rice

Thai Coconut Rice

This was a recipe from Robin Miller (foodnetwork.com). We used Jasmine rice which smells heavenly. We toasted coconut and sprinkled it on top. You could also mix it in. Delish!

Thai Beef and Mango

Thai Style Beef and Mango

This was so delicious! Perhaps one of the tastiest dishes we've cooked lately (at least IMO). This was from the “20 Minute Meals” cookbook. We marinated a sirloin in a soy, garlic oil, salt and cracked pepper marinade. We broiled it to “medium-rare” and then sliced it thinly. Plated it with sliced mangos and a drizzle of the marinade (which we heated on the stove). We served this with Thai Coconut rice (following).

Potato Salads

All-American Potato Salad
Curry Sweet Potato Salad
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Red Potato Salad

The first 3 were good, the 2nd two were excellent. The last was bland and uninteresting. We loved the Curry Sweet Potato salad which was made with a curry yogurt sauce, toasted almonds and raisins. It was unique. The Loaded Baked Potato was enjoyable and a good “every-day" potato salad.

Wings

Dash of Beer Wings
Hot Wings
Bourbon Street Wings
Joe's Wings

The first 3 were good in different ways. We liked the Dash of Beer (sweet and a little spicy) and Hot Wings (mildly hot) best. Bourbon Street (very saucy and sweet) were more “novelty”. The “Joe's” sauce was from a jar and it was unimpressive.

Cuban Sandwich w/Fried Plantains

Cuban Sandwich w/Fried Plantains

Thank you Rachael Ray! These fried plantains were great. We found that if we use the mandolin to slice them, we don't need to smash them down before frying. Hot out of the fryer, just sprinkle with a little salt and they are perfect. Don't use green plantains (not ripe) or black plantains (too ripe). They are perfect when they are yellow with black spots, but use them right away because they ripen really fast after that. We used Rachael Ray's pork tenderloin recipe, but built the sandwich from previous “cuban sandwich” tasting experience.

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Spicy Peanut Noodles

This recipe was from a “20 Minute Meals” cookbook. We were afraid this cookbook may be a bust because these noodles were very bland. We have since found recipes that work well and are tasty from this cookbook, thankfully. We also though the noodles were too thin (used Chinese Egg noodles, as instructed). We have since tried another recipe (Chris found online and he and Angel altered it a bit) that was perfectly delicious. We took a Japanese turn with it and used Udon noodles, which are thicker and stand up to the sauce well. Was a little too spicy, so next time, we'll decrease the heat by about 30%.

Devil's Food Cake

Devil's Food Cake

This recipe came from foodnetwork.com (no specific chef). It was rich, delicious, and went especially well with strawberries. This cake is a little on the expensive side. It had an awesome dark chocolate icing, which, per slice, cost $1.00 to create. It may very well be worth it though. It was sooooo yummy! We'd like to try another cake in the near future, one with a molten fudge center. Mmmmmm!

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya

Chicken and Smoked Sausage Jambalaya

This slow-cooker jambalaya recipe came from

www.realcajunredipes.com. As a substitute for the green bell peppers, we used 4 different colors of bells. They all taste the same, but add some great color. It was the perfect jambalaya consistancy and got better every day we re-heated it for leftovers.

Cajun Corn Fritters

Cajun Corn Fritters

This recipe was from a website called www.realcajunrecipes.com. They are pretty good, although a little doughy - almost like beignets (deep fried French doughnuts). We used a sweet hot sauce for dipping and served them as a compliment to a jambalaya.

Spicy Orange Chicken Lo Mein w/Crab Rangoons

Spicy Orange Chicken Lo Mein w/Crab Rangoons

You would never guess that this lo mein recipe (Ellie Kreiger, foodnetwork.com) is good for you! It's low fat and low in cholesterol, not to mention that it's really tasty. The fried crab rangoons are *not* low fat, are very high in cholesterol and mega calories! Although we fried them in peanut oil, deep fried is deep fried. Honestly, though, they were yum-o!

Chicken Orzo Soup

Chicken Orzo Soup

Recipe we altered a bit, from Pampered Chef. Cooking orzo as ordered will be key for this recipe as the orzo got mushy from sitting in the soup too long. The feta cheese as a garnish was a really tasty addition.

Japanese Inspired Smoked Turkey Sandwich

Japanese Inspired Smoked Turkey Sandwich

This is a re-creation from the restaurant "Teaism" in Washington, DC. What makes this “Japanese inspired”? Wasabi mayo, thinly sliced cucumbers and nori (seaweed) instead of lettuce. It tasted like sushi on wheat bread and our version was pretty close to the original, with one exception. Our wasabi was old and had very little punch.

Porc Pulled Pork

Porc Pulled Pork

Variation on a country rib recipe by Sanda Lee (foodnetwork.com). We made this for the Porc Fest cook-off and tied for 3rd place! Using pork terderloin makes this recipe particularly tasty. The sauce is thin, rather than a traditional saucy pulled pork bbq. We have a recipe for that style of pulled pork, too. We'll plan to try it in the near future.