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Monday, July 18, 2011

Recipe Review: Winners and Losers for last week!

I'm on a cooking binge this last week and it looks like it's going to continue this week also.  I love cooking from scratch and I love trying new things and I found a few winners this week!

Winners
Annie's Eats Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes (slightly adapted from Martha Stewart)-
OMG, YUMMM!!!!  My dad's birthday is this week and I decided I wanted to make something small for dessert instead of a big dessert (like cake and ice cream, pie and ice cream, brownies and ice cream....did I tell you I'm addicted to ice cream??!!).  This recipe made 32 cheesecakes.  The graham cracker crust was so buttery and delicious, the cheesecake is baked but it's not as hard and firm as typical baked cheesecakes, the fresh raspberry puree swirl added just enough tartness to the whole mix and you just peeled off the cupcake wrapper and ate it, no forks or plates needed!  I'm taking a plateful to our new next door neighbors.  Definite winner!

Best Summer Salad Ever
Have you ever tried Orzo?  I like it, it's like big rice shaped pasta.  Now, my mom doesn't like anything spicy, sweet, or weird.  My husband is sort of the same way.  My dad will eat anything.  My kids are super picky right now.  And well me, I'll eat just about anything (except sushi, liver, etc.).  This salad was not super quick to put together because there's a lot of chopping, straining, mixing, etc but it makes a huge bowl so if it's good,  you'll have left overs for a few days so the extra time it takes to make it is worth it.  When I read the recipe and it said to take a handful of mint and a handful of basil, I hesitated to make it.  Mint in my pasta salad?  Well it was divine!  My dad loved it, Chad ate it but didn't love it, my mom took one small bite and was done, my kids threw it all over the floor, and I ate a big serving of it and can't wait to have it for lunch.  Give it a try, it's good, unless you are a plain kind of person then don't even attempt it!

Annie's Eats Grilled Chicken Fajitas
THE BEST FAJITAS I'VE EVER HAD!! EVER!!  So delicious I can't even tell you.  We always have made fajitas with the packet of seasoning you get at the grocery store and cook it on the stove top with green bell peppers and white onions.  And after eating it that way for 25 years, I was pretty sick of it.  The marinade sauce always ran all over the plate and the chicken texture was always a bit icky to me.  Also, we bought chicken breast tenders instead of filleting a whole breast and it worked out really well.  I was hesitant to add the entire minced jalapeno pepper but they were not hot spicy so make sure you add it!  They had the perfect grilled taste and the chicken was so juicy!  I ate mine on a Latortilla whole wheat olive oil tortilla while the rest of the family had regular white tortillas.  Definitely a new favorite in our house. 

Losers, BOOOO!
Biggest Loser Family Cookbook Broccoli Cheese Frittata
Well, what can I say, when I saw all you do is add steamed broccoli, then 1/4 cup egg beaters and top with shredded low fat cheese in a muffin tin, I kind of thought where did all the ingredients that give it flavor go?  And I was right.  Even after adding some fresh cracked black pepper, they still were pretty bland.  The idea is a good one as far as making 8 individual frittatas to eat throughout the week but I'd add diced ham, broccoli, a little onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper and and maybe mushrooms and top with sharp cheddar to give them more taste.  I ate 2 regular eggs, scrambled, with 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese on top all last week and still lost weight.  I actually don't even like the taste of egg beaters any more and they never scramble right for me.  I won't be making this again as written but I might experiment with my own version.

I've got a lot of new recipes coming up this week that I'll post reviews on next Monday!

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