Last week’s recipes proved to be pretty good. I tried a different method and chose some from websites and some from my cookbooks. I tried to remain relatively healthy too. I created a pin board on my pinterest that has most of my reviewed recipes on it. It’s called ‘Blog Recipes.’ So original, I know.
Day #1 was Fettuccine con Funghi and it came from the Cook Yourself Thinner Faster cookbook. This recipe was quick, easy. healthy and delicious. It also was nice because I already had most of the ingredients in my house! My husband even commented on how good this one was. I used cremini mushrooms and they really gave a meaty flavor to the dish. I really like that type of mushroom because they are great for vegetarians or just if you’re trying to eat healthy.
Day #2 was Beef Stew. This is one of my favorite crock-pot recipes. I found it on Allrecipes.com. It’s actually called, “Kyle’s Favorite Beef Stew” but I really revamp the recipe so I can’t claim that Kyle will like my version. But I think most people will. I only put one envelope of onion soup mix in it and I use beef broth instead of hot water. I also nix the part about cooking the meat. I just put it in the bottom of the crock-pot and it cooks fine! No extra work or browning necessary. Which goes without saying that I don’t coat the meat in flour since I don’t brown it. I’ve added all sorts of different veggies to it, like turnips, corn, green beans, pretty much anything I have on hand. I don’t really follow her amounts for the vegetables either, since I add way more vegetables altogether. That’s what’s so nice about this recipe, you can alter it to your tastes. We love this one.
Day #3 was Tuna Cakes. The recipe came from the Kraft Foods website. These were the poor man’s crab cake. I don’t know what I expecting but they turned out so delicious that we had none leftover! I couldn’t even tell the difference and they tasted like a crab cake to me! I would even add some Old Bay next time to really bring out that flavor. I was very impressed. It’s also a great way to get fish in for the week without spending a small fortune at the grocery store.
Day #4 was not so lucky. I made Crazy-Good Turkey Taco Meatloaf from the Hungry Girl cookbook. It hardly lived up to its name. It had the makings of a great dish since it included a lot of things we like. However, it was so watery that I literally had to drain it before I could serve it. You can imagine how appealing it looked after that. I even tweeted Hungry Girl to see what I could have done differently but I guess her busy schedule doesn’t allow time for fans because she never replied. I am not her biggest fan anyway since her recipes always call for only a tablespoon of something that you have to buy a huge box of and then never use again. She also uses a lot of processed foods and I try to stay away from that.
My vegetarian sister and her husband came to visit us that weekend so I opted to make Crock-Pot Mac and Cheese on Day #5. I found the recipe on the Whisk and A Prayer website but it actually comes from the “Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Recipes For Two” cookbook. I made a few minor adjustments to it, such as using whole wheat rotini, for starters. I also used an Italian cheese blend and added Gruyere cheese to that. My sister and I really like garlic powder so I put some of that in there too. We all loved this. There was only a tiny bit of it leftover and my husband ate that for breakfast the next day. I was searching for that small amount and much to my dismay, had to settle on cereal. The recipe makes a lot of mac and cheese for two people, since like I said, I made it for the four of us and just added a couple vegetables sides. I could make this every week!
This week I used all Pinterest recipes so you’ll see how that worked out. I pinned all of the recipes from this week and the weeks prior (the ones I could find, anyway) onto my Blog Recipes folder so have at it! Have a great week!
