Food Review

It has been a while since I wrote a food review, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do it this week since I won't be doing a menu plan. Sorry, but my husband is off this week and we will be out & about, going to the cottage for a bit , etc...

Mediterranean chicken stew with couscous (from Today's Parent) - it was really easy to make but didn't wow me. Hard to say if I would make it again or not.

Lazy perogy casserole (from Today's parent) - again, this was very easy to make compared to making home made perogies. It did taste a lot like perogies, but I'd have to say that I prefer the real deal.

Japanese grilled chicken - definitely a winner. Easy to make - you marinate it in the morning and then just BBQ it at dinner time. I have made it for my family and for other people and everyone really seems to like it. I serve it with sticky rice and sesame asparagus.

Cheater souvalki - another winner for sure. Marinate it over night and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. SO easy. I have a recipe for "real" souvalki which is really good too, but this is something very simple to do if you don't feel like using your BBQ.

Jerk chicken (from Emeril) - this way tasty....I love Jamaican food. Too spicy for the kids though.

Chicken Parmesan (from Everyday Italian) - this was really good and I will make it again. You don't bread the chicken, so it is a lighter version of the classic recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce- sorry Martha, we weren't a big fan of this one.

Swedish Meatballs (from Emeril) - look out Ikea! These were really good although a little bit time consuming.

Chicken Spezzatino (everyday Italian) - this was a good and easy recipe. Unfortunately, I have some bad memories surrounding this dish - the kids and I has stomach flu right after I made this and seeing the partially digested version of this recipe has put me off.

Recipe Review - we had some yummy meals last week!

My menu plan last week was a really good one!! I have some great recipes to add to my repertoire.

The beef ragout with pasta was really yummy! The whole family enjoyed it and it was a bit different than just regular spaghetti sauce that you might make.

The chicken with apple gravy, cheesy rice pilaf and steamed green beans was a hit with the family too. And, it was really a well-balanced meal.

Spanish style beef with rice. I liked it and so did both of the kids. My hubby thought it could use a little more spice. The great thing about this recipe is that it makes double the amount you need for one meal so I used it for another recipe this week (stuffed peppers). My family really liked the peppers. You just add a few ingredients (spinach, cheese, tomato sauce) and stuff the peppers. Even the Love bug, who never eats spinach, really enjoyed them. I think I just might make the rice & beef in advance to use for stuffed peppers next time.

Chicken tetrazzini was really good and the kids enjoyed it for sure. It looks nice coming out of the oven with the Parmesan cheese nicely browned on top. And, it makes a double batch too...so we are having it later this week.

Lighter chicken pot pie - I really liked it and it was super easy to make. The hubby thought there were too many veggies in it, but I thought it was perfect (but I love my veggies). Next time I will put more chicken in it for him!

Recipe reviews for the last 2 weeks

I didn't have a chance to do this last week, so I am catching up today.

Singapore Noodles - from Canadian Living Cookbook
This was really good. It had rice noodles with pork and shrimps. The sauce had curry, ginger, garlic and rice wine vinegar to name a few ingredients. Tasted very similar to Pad Thai. We will be making this one again. Not so sure it is one for the kids though.

Homemade pizza - I made the pizza dough myself from Canadian Living (of course). It turned out great. We all had our own pizza that we put toppings on. I think the Love Bug really enjoyed it. Probably something we will do once a month.

Home made perogies - these were really yummy. Just traditional cheese and potato perogies. Even my hubby (who grew up with a polish grandmother making them) thought they were really good. They are a bit time consuming, so next time I think I will make them in advance and freeze them for future use.

Italian baked chicken and patina - from Everyday Italian. So easy to make with ingredients you probably have at home. I'll be making this again. A good one for kids.

Roasted chicken with balsamic vinaigrette - from Everyday Italian. SO yummy and impressive looking! A good recipe for when company is coming over.

Apple pork chops (Canadian Living) with Butternut Squash & vanilla risotto (Everyday Italian) - the pork chops were just so-so. I think I may try a similar recipe for chicken this week to see if it is any better. The risotto was really good. The Love Bug thought it tasted like marshmallows. The hubby liked it but would have preferred the squash in smaller pieces. I will definitely make this again. Making risotto from scratch is time-consuming, but we really like it.

Food review : from week of Jan.21st

Last week I tried a couple of new recipes. The first one was the bolognese sauce from my Everyday Italian cookbook. It was really simple, but quite good. Both the hubby and Love Bug ate it, which is saying something because even the hubby and I have very different tastes when it comes to spaghetti sauce!

I also tried the meatball soup from Deceptively Delicious. Not a winner! It sounded really good, and I think if I made some modifications it might work. For one, the meatballs were the weirdest texture...very puffy and mushy. They actually doubled in size once I dropped them into the soup. Also, it is the kind of soup that is best to eat the day you make it. I put leftovers into the fridge and the pasta soaked up all of the tomato broth.

I was going to make a Beef and Barley soup from my Canadian Living Cookbook but didn't get a chance. I am going to make that sometime over the next couple of days.

Food review from week of Jan.14th

Food Review from last week. I tried out a few new recipes for dinner and one new appetizer recipe. I am posting the recipes if I could find them online.

Mushroom pork medallions - from the Canadian Living Make It Tonight Cookbook - these were Really good! I will definitely make them again. The recipe only makes enough for 2-3 people, but it would be nice to serve to company if you doubled the recipe amount.

Warm Potato salad - from the same cookbook above. I made them together and my hubby didn't think that the flavours complimented the pork dish. The warm potato salad had a vinegar-y taste that would probably work better with a more bland meat dish like a BBQ steak. I would make this recipe again though and probably just serve a plainer rice dish with the pork.


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Ginger apricot chicken -from the Complete Canadian Living Cookbook - my FIL stayed for dinner the night I made this and it seems like it was a hit with everyone. It was extremely easy to make and had a nice flavour on the outside. Another keeper!

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I decided to try another recipe from Deceptively Delicious - the macaroni and cheese. When I made it last week I used cauliflower puree in it. Both my hubby and I thought you could taste the veggie, but we liked it. The Love Bug wouldn't touch it and said "mommy, what's that smell?" I even had him "help" me make it to try and encourage him to eat it. When it was done he looked at it and said "Mommy, I don't like soup." I agree with him, it was way too saucy!

I made it again yesterday and this time I used squash puree and I added an extra 1/2 cup of pasta. It turned out really well and the Love Bug ate it for lunch and asked for it again at dinner!

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Hot Asiago Artichoke Dip - from Canadian Living
I made this for the first time on the weekend for our little dinner party. People loved it! It was so easy to make too. I think this is a great appetizer because you can make it in advance and then just heat it up for 20 minutes when your guests arrive. I will be making this again for sure!

Food Review from week of Jan.7th

Last week I tried a few new recipes and thought I would share the outcome.

Hits

The Chicken and Black Bean Burritos are definitely a hit and we'll be making them again soon. They were easy to make, taste great and you can freeze the batch or individually for later.

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/chicken_and_black_bean_burritos.php

Not-so-popular

The fish and chips were just ok. My hubby and I liked the potato wedges, but I have better recipes for tilapia that I will stick to instead.

The Jerk pork chops were ok but not as spicy as I would like them. I didn't care for the rice at all. It has cinnamon in it (which I would normally like) but it didn't work in this recipe. I think if you omitted the cinnamon the rice would be quite nice.

Review: Yummy Meatloaf!

Last week I tried a recipe for Meatloaf and it was so yummy! It called for ground turkey but I substituted ground chicken. It was so easy to make. And, the red pepper sauce was a really nice alternative to the usual tomato or ketchup that a lot of meatloaves call for. I will definitely make this one again.

On the other hand, the buttermilk mashed potatoes were nothing special.

Food review

I thought I should probably follow up with a review of new recipes that I have tried. Last week I tried two new recipes:

Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs (November issue of Canadian Living)
- really liked this recipe. It was a bit time-consuming so it might be a good idea to do the "make-ahead" parts the day before (when the kids are in bed) and then just heat it up before dinner time. My hubby liked it but thought I should put in a lot less carrot next time.

Baked 10 Grain cereal (November issue of Canadian Living)
-I really like this recipe too. It came out of the oven looking nice. All of the apple bits were browned on top. I took a picture and will upload once I have access to my computer again. The rest of the family liked it too, except for my hubby. He thought it was like eating horse-feed due to all of the grains.