So, why don't we take a look at some recipes that for various reasons didn't make my ultimatecookbookofdeliciousnesseverytimetriedandtruerecipes, shall we?
1 box Jiffy Corn muffin mix
1 Can cream corn
1 Can whole kernel corn, drained
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 C sour Cream
Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
I have fond memories of eating corn casserole nearly every Sunday at my grandparent's house. I was hoping this recipe would be reminiscent of those by-gone days. Alas, dear readers, I was sorely disappointed. This corn casserole was thick and heavy, too buttery/oily, and not sweet enough. It went down like a lump. I guess Grandma Nell's secret for corn casserole died with her.
Bread
butter
sliced avocado
sliced tomato
cheese
Assemble like any regular grilled cheese and consume.
I was disappointed by the flavor - it was pretty bland, and the mozzarella was overpowering and gave me a headache. Some improvements I think would've helped:
1. Use a different cheese. 2. Add meat. 3. Use guacamole instead of just avocados.
olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
1 Onion, sliced
minced garlic
salt and pepper
3/4lb trimmed green beans
8 red potatoes, quartered
1 chicken, quartered
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. I made this in my dutch oven, but whatever dish you're using, cover the bottom with some oil and arrange the onion and lemon slices on the bottom.
2. In a bowl, mix the garlic, salt and pepper, and 5 TBLS olive oil. Toss the green beans in the mixture, then lay them over the onion and lemon slices. Toss the potatoes in the mixture and layer on top of the beans. Coat the chicken pieces in the mixture and lay them on top of the potatoes, skin side up.
3. Bake for 50minutes. Remove chicken, and return vegetables to cook for another 10min, or until potatoes are tender.
I had hopes for this recipe. It looked delicious (I also added in some carrots I had on hand), but it just didn't come out absobloomin'lutely delicious. I took the advice from the comments and cut back on the lemon, so it wasn't super overpowering, but it was very oily, the beans were limp, and the potatoes were bland.
1 pkg Devils Food Cake
1 pkg Instant Chocolate Pudding
1 C sour cream
1 C vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/2 C warm water
36 Tagalong Cookies (makes 22-24 Cupcakes, the rest are toppers)
Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting
3 Sticks butter, softened
1 C creamy peanut butter
2 TBLS Vanilla Extract
2lbs Powdered Sugar
4-7TBLS milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare muffin tin. In a large bowl, add the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla, and water. Mix until smooth.
2. Fill liners with 2TBLS mixture, add 1 cookie, then cover with 1TBLS mixture.
3. Bake 18-22 minutes. Once done, let cool in the tin 10minutes before removing to a rack to cool fully.
As the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting:
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and peanut butter until fluffy. Turn mixer to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until well blended.
2. Add vanilla and 4 TBLS milk. Blend on low until moist. Add additional TBLS of milk until desired consistency is reached - beat at high speed 'til frosting is smooth and fluffy. Frost and top with the extra cookies, cut in half.
Well, there was nothing wrong with this recipe per-se - in fact, these cupcakes were a massive hit with everyone on whom I foisted them. It's just a personal thing when it comes to this recipe. And it was most likely the peanut butter buttercream frosting that turned me off to the whole shebang. Making the frosting filled the entire apartment with the most nauseating smell of peanut butter for hours on end, giving me an acute headache, and I didn't even want to sample my cupcakes. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoy peanut butter, but this was just too much. I would've preferred to simply eat 36 Tagalongs instead of making them into cupcakes. But my rm and the people at the bar downstairs were gushing over them, saying they were better than bakery cupcakes, even. So, I guess it's not the recipe at fault (though the chocolate glaze that was supposed to go with them did NOT turn out well, whatsoever), but rather my own peculiarities. If I was ever so inclined to make them again, I'd definitely use a different frosting recipe.
4 thawed chicken breasts
1 box Stove Top stuffing
1/2 C sour cream
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 C water
Carrots:
Seasonings, olive oil, 3 TBLS honey, 1tsp Balsamic vinegar
Chicken: In a crock pot, put chicken on the bottom with stuffing on top. In a small bowl, mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, and water, then pour on top of stuffing. Cook on low 4hrs.
Carrots: Roast at 400 degrees for 20minutes with some seasoning and a little oil. Then drizzle with more oil, the honey, and the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 5min.
I was expecting a chicken thanksgiving to pop out of the crockpot, flavor-wise. That most definitely was not the case. I mean, it was ok, it was edible, but it wasn't stand out delicious, leaving the eater craving more. In a word, it was blaise. The carrots were a bit of a hassle for no significant flavor change. They tasted fine, but not better than if they had been steamed.
1 C dried orzo
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
3 TBLS olive oil
2 Medium zucchini, sliced
2 TBLS red wine vinegar
1 TBLS dill
lemon wedges
1. Prepare orzo according to packaging directions.
2. Sprinkle chicken with basil, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1 TBLS oil. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink - about 12min, turning once. Remove from skillet. Add zucchini to skillet and cook until tender - about 3min.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, remaining oil, and dill. Toss with the orzo. Season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with zucchini, orzo, and fresh lemon wedges.
I'm gunna go and blame the vinegar on this one. 2 TBLS of it was rather over powering, and everything had too much of an oily feel/taste, and the orzo was weirdly tangy, and not in a good way. The chicken and zucchini were ok, but nothing spectacular.
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled or diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 small onion, chopped
chicken breasts, chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped Spinach
1 tsp oregano
1 C orzo
salt and pepper
8 C chicken broth (or water w/ chicken bouillon)
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add the carrot, celery, and onion. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken, spinach, oregano, orzo, broth, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 30minutes or until the orzo is al dente.
2. Add lemon juice and zest, stir, and serve.
Now, I'm not sure what it was about this dish that didn't make it spectacular. Again, this recipe was OK, but not great - not something I'd go out of my way to make again. I like lemon, on a lot of things, and I generally like lemon-pepper chicken. But I think the lemon, and possibly the spinach, or what made this dish slightly off-putting. Again, however, my roommate absolutely loved it. Though she loves almost everything I make...I think I might need to widen my field of taste-testers...
Let's wrap it up with one last one, shall we?
1 box Linguine
1TBLS Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/2 C Sesame Oil
6TBLS Honey
6TBLS Soy Sauce
peanuts
1. Boil noodles, drain. Chop peanuts.
2. In a small saucepan, heat oils and crushed red pepper - add more or less, depending how how spicy you like your food.
3. Strain out peppers and reserve oil. Into oil, whisk the honey and soy sauce. Toss mixture with noodles and refrigerate overnight/until cold. Top with crushed peanuts and serve cold.
Maybe I'm just not a fan of my noodles being cold - but this seemed like a straightforward, potentially tasty recipe, so I tried it. Yep - not a fan of cold noodles. I don't often make food of the Asian persuasion (haha, say that out loud), and this attempt makes me less inclined to do so in the future. Womp womp.