Food Trials {Vol. 1}

Jill has inspired me.

I am a compulsive recipe clipper. I love to tear out recipes from magazines, print them out from blogs, and most recently, pin them on Pinterest. Recently, the piles and files started getting to me, and I decided to not only get organized, but follow Jill's example and actually start cooking my way through them to figure out which to keep and which to trash.

I had a binder that I had started years ago for filing, but I finally got serious and started getting really organized. Right now, I have 3 binders - one for recipes we've tried and made, and two for recipes in limbo (to try).

I'm going to start blogging about my "Food Trials" and include not only new recipes and foods I made that we liked, but also the ones we didn't. I seem to have a short memory and will occasionally stumble upon a recipe I made before and forgot we didn't like it. Robert always remembers. :) Hopefully this record will help me remember the bad, too.

And so begins the first edition...

Recipe: Apple Plum Bars

Source: All Things G&D (Blog)

Tweeks: Recipe called for 3 lbs of apples, but I used 3 cups. In the post she mentioned that one time she tried to chop the apples in her food processor, but it turned into more of puree. However, this gave them more of an "apple-y flavor". So, I added a small container of applesauce.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: Leave out the applesauce. It made them a little too moist - still flavorful, but made it hard for Will to pick up pieces (and hard to eat without a fork).

Verdict: KEEPER

Recipe: Faux Banana Ice Cream (Two sliced frozen bananas pulverized in the food processor with a scoop of PB and a little cocoa)

Source: I used this one, but there are lots of versions floating around the internet.

Tweeks: None.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: Leave out the cocoa - didn't need it. I think I'd try it with just the bananas or bananas and peanut butter.

Verdict: Keeper - great for when you want something sweet but don't want to really indulge.

Recipe: Quinoa Burger

Source: Eating Well...Living Thin via Pinterest

Tweeks: None.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: Try to get the quinoa a little drier - my burgers were a little moist and not as pretty as the picture, but they still tasted great.

Verdict: Definite keeper - healthy, tasty, and we all enjoyed them. We've been eating more meatless dishes, and the quinoa adds a lot of protein (and is yummy!). I need to make these again soon.

Recipe: Southwest Stuffed Peppers

Source: Kalyn's Kitchen via Pinterest

Tweeks: I didn't have ancho chili powder, so I substituted chipotle chili powder. It was almost too spicy (which is a rare thing for me to say).

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: If I made it again, I would reduce the amount of chili powder.

Verdict: Trash - It was okay, but I knew I could find something we liked better.

Recipe: Taco Stuffed Peppers (Part of my ongoing search for the perfect stuffed pepper recipe!)

Source: Lauren's Kitchen via Pinterest

Tweeks: I didn't boil the peppers before stuffing and baking them. I like the peppers to still have a little crunch. Also, I only made four peppers since I knew we wouldn't eat six, and Robert ate the leftover stuffing the next day with chips.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: Nothing

Verdict: Keeper - Easy, healthy, inexpensive meal

Recipe: Korean Beef Rice Bowl

Source: Steamy Kitchen via a message board I frequent

Tweeks: Per suggestion of people who had made it previously, I tripled the marinade. I also added baby corn and mushrooms since I had them on hand.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time: Instead of tripling the marinade, I'll probably double it. I think I'll also add a little cornstarch to the sauce to make it thicker. Also, I bought a package of meat from HEB that was already cut for stir fry, and I think I'll use sirloin or flank steak next time and cut it myself.

Verdict: Keeper. Robert isn't a huge fan of Asian food, but he thought it was okay. I really liked it, so I'll probably make it again - maybe when he's traveling for work. :)

Recipe: Baked Chicken Risotto (see below)

Source: Adapted from Southern Living's Oven Chicken Risotto and Baked Chicken Risotto recipes

Tweeks: Awhile back I'd saved the Oven Chicken Risotto, then Jill wrote on her blog that she made it and liked it, so I had it on my meal plan for this week. But, this month's issue of SL had a slightly different version, so I sort of combined the two and came up with my own:

Ingredients:

2 T. butter

1 small onion, diced

2-3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 c. Arborio rice (short-grain)

1/4 c. dry white wine

4 c. organic chicken broth

2 c. chopped cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)

2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

8 oz. package of fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes

Grape tomatoes, quartered

Shredded fresh basil

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and garlic and saute 5 minutes. Add rice, and cook 2 minutes or until golden. Add wine, and cook 2 minutes or until wine is absorbed. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven. Bake 20 minutes.

2. Remove rice from oven, and stir in chicken, zucchini, and pepper. Cover and bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven, stir in cheese. Serve immediately, topped with tomatoes and fresh basil.

What I'd Do Differently: It was great as is, but would also be a good base for some other additions or substitutions. I might substitute Parmesan for mozzarella sometime, and maybe add some mushrooms. Also, I might try leaving out the wine. It's such a small amount that I'm sure the alcohol cooks out, but I don't know that it's needed, so I'd probably feel better about giving it to the kids without. One of the original recipes calls for artichoke hearts, and while I love them, R isn't a big fan, so I left them out. You can also stir in the tomatoes rather than adding them on top, but I knew Robert would prefer without, and I think it's better for leftovers when you can just add fresh tomatoes again.

Verdict: Definite keeper - easy, tasty, and kid-friendly.

Stay tuned for future editions of my Food Trials!