YUM!

After that horrible hot and sour soup experience last week, I am happy to report that I made two delicious meals over the weekend!

On Saturday, we made Dirty Risotto. It was SOOOO good! It was really some of the best risotto I have ever had. We couldn't get enough of it! I followed the recipe exactly, except I used center-cut bacon instead of pancetta. I also used turkey sausage. It's time consuming, but so worth it! I never made risotto before, so I was afraid it would be too difficult. It was easy, though - it just takes a long time. To make sure I was adding the broth at the right times, I used the timer and set it to 2 minutes every time I added the broth. I usually had to wait about 2 and a half minutes before adding more, but the timer helped me stay on track. We both thought it was soooo tasty!

Yesterday, we made Chicken Chili. That was also very good, although I did take my mom's recommendation and add one can of drained cannellini beans and two links of cooked & sliced italian sausage (we used turkey sausage). We also doubled the amount of chili powder and red pepper flakes. I think I actually dumped in a little more chili powder, too, after I tasted it. I also added some chicken broth, to thin it out a little. The recipe took me quite a while, partially because I used chicken breasts that were really big. They took forever to cook! But, aside from that, it was pretty easy and very tasty. It's super healthy, too! It was a nice way to have chili a different way. I'm sure we'll make it again.

The worst dinner ever!

It's hard to say if the meal I made last night was the absolute worst ever, but it's the only thing I've made in a long time that actually made me sick to look at it!

We had leftover pork tenderloin, which had been marinated in soy sauce, brown sugar, rice wine, red pepper flakes, and canola oil. We also recently bought some spices from Penzy's, and one of the things I bought was arrowroot starch. It's supposed to be good to use instead of cornstarch. In the Penzy's catalog, there was a recipe for Hot and Sour soup, which calls for arrowroot starch for thickening.

Since we had leftover pork, I thought this could be the perfect time to make the soup. I bought the can of straw mushrooms, bamboo, and bean threads or cellophane noodles the recipe called for. I couldn't find Chinese black vinegar (even at World Harvest!), so I looked online for a substitution. Apparently, apple cider vinegar is ok to use instead.

So, last night, I started the soup. Everything went ok until I added the arrowroot. When mixed in water, it looked like the consistency of milk (not thicker). I added some right to the soup, thinking that would help (it said you could just add it directly). A few minutes later, I found all these globs...they were from the arrowroot, but they wouldn't mix in. I strained them out and tried to stir them together with a whisk, but they were stubborn little things! After a while, I gave up and just put them back in.

This next step is where things went totally awry-

The recipe says to add the package of bean thread/cellophane noodles. So, that's what I did. I was a little concerned about it after adding the first group, because they weren't really separating and were sort of this strange blob. I thought about stopping there, but I decided to just follow the recipe and add the rest. BIG MISTAKE! All of a sudden, I had a pot of slime. The broth had almost dissapeared, and all the pork, bamboo, and mushrooms were trapped inside. It was like something from Alien.

I could barely even eat it. We agreed the flavor was good, but it just made my stomach turn! It looked more like something that would come out of your nose when you have a bad cold than something appetizing to have for dinner. A total dissapointment!

Cheese and artichoke issues

On Friday, I made Giada's Fusilli with Sausage, Artichokes, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. I've made it before, and it's really delicious! It's pretty easy, too. It tastes liike something you might get at an Italian restaurant!

This time, though, I had three problems.

First, I had to get regular sausage instead of turkey sausage. This actually made it tasty, but it also made it a lot more fattening.

Second, I couldn't find frozen artichokes! I swear I've bought them before at Wal-Mart (which is odd) or Schnuck's. This time, they weren't available anywhere!!! At schnucks, there was a space for them, but they weren't in stock. Could they have sold out???

Third, they were out of fresh mozarrella at Schnucks. This also seems odd, so it's possible I wasn't looking in the right place (it's not my usual store). They had fresh smoked mozarrella, so I got that instead.

I thought the smoked cheese would add an interesting flavor, but it was actually too much. The sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, sausage, and garlic already had a good flavor - and the smoked cheese was too intense. It wasn't bad at all, but it's better with the regualr fresh mozarrella.

We had lunch at Crane Alley on Saturday, and I had a super tasty Turkey Reuben. I think it's my new favorite thing there! On Sunday, we had a really delicious dinner at Radio Maria. Their full restaurant menu wasn't available, but I got the Torta Maria. So good!!!

We have a work dinner tonight and then I have a knitting class tomorrow, so we won't be making dinner again until Wednesday. We have a pasta with mushroom dish and the pierogies with bacon on the menu for Wednesday and Thursday! Yum!

YUM!!!

I made those sandwiches I was talking about - the Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese ones I saw on the Barefoot Contessa the other day. They were SO good! We loved them and will definitely make them again. Her recipes are always so perfect and delicious, even though they are a little on the fattening side for us. That's one of the reason these were so good, though - not bad for you at all! We had them with a baby green salad with oil, balsamic vinegar, and feta. It was a tasty meal! The sandwiches really taste like something you would get at a restaurant, but you really need to have good bread.

I'm also surprised that roasting peppers is so easy! I would never buy roasted red peppers again.

A General Update

I've been so busy lately and haven't had time to keep this up to date! So, here's a general overview:

I made Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms, which was a total disaster. I'm not sure if it was me, or what - but I would NOT make it again.

I made a turkey meatloaf, which turned out great! I used the Betty Crocker recipe and 99% fat free ground turkey. I decided the lowest fat one is the way to go. I also always use oats, instead of bread crumbs. There's a version with spinach and pine nuts that I want to try soon!

Let's see...I also made a few of the things I make all the time-

• Sausage and Peppers - and followed the recipe exactly, except for the addition of an extra onion and a little more tomato paste.
• Pasta e Fagioli - which is always good! We started using some whole-grain pasta in it, which seems to hold up better in the broth
• Vodka Cream Pasta - We love this Rachel Ray recipe. It's so easy, and it's delicious every time! We froze half the sauce this time so we can have it again soon

I can't think of anything else! I really want to make some soups before it gets too warm. I also saw these fantastic sandwiches on the Barefoot Contessa this weekend - Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches. Yum! They seem easy, too. I also saw an interesting soup/stew on Rachel Ray - Cocido. I thought I could just substitute the meatballs for turkey meatballs, so it would be lower fat. It also calls for chorizo, but I don't think it's all that bad for you, either. Maybe this weekend!