Notes about Recipes in this book

• Simple skillet cornbread

  • mharriman on March 24, 2020

    Really easy, and a lighter version of other cornbread recipes I’ve made. This one doesn’t include flour or sugar, but does include melted butter, so even though lighter, it isn’t dry. It was fun to make it in a cast iron skillet instead of a pan. I used my Le Creuset cast iron skillet, and it worked well. Served with black bean soup from the same cookbook.

• Moroccan meatballs

  • mharriman on December 17, 2017

    Loved this recipe that will now be in our rotation. I used 1.06 pounds of (85 percent) hamburger, and rolled 15 balls- made three and a half servings. The tzasiki in the same book is a fantastic accompaniment. Served couscous and a salad with it, along with Rioja wine. Dates for dessert. Everything made for a wonderful ethnic meal. This is a great make ahead company meal.

• Quick cauliflower soup

  • mharriman on December 17, 2017

    This is indeed quick to make, but it’s bland. It needs something like an ounce or two of blue cheese or pesto swirled on top to jazz it up. The toasted walnuts didn’t do it.

• White chicken chili

  • mharriman on March 18, 2018

    Delicious! My husband and I liked this a lot. Easy to put together and nice comfort food on a cold late in the season evening. Kind of reminiscent of bean with bacon soup (without the bacon!)

• Slow cooker black bean soup

  • mharriman on December 15, 2017

    Wonderful! This is the first dried black bean soup recipe I’ve tried that cooked the beans without having to first soak, and also the first dried bean recipe that required so little effort that it will probably be the only one I use from now on. Placed all ingredients in slow cooker as directed, turned to high at 8 PM, and it was finished at 7 AM. Puréed half, combined with other half, put in fridge, reheated in stove pot at dinner time, topped with sour cream, cilantro, and Monterrey jack cheese, and voila- a lovely soup that was practically effortless. Tasted even better second night. Made four adult size entree servings.

• Easy slow cooker steak chili

  • mharriman on January 21, 2018

    Good but not great. This recipe has very few ingredients (easy to prep) and is very meaty, so lots of protein. I prefer a chili with more kidney beans, so I’d add a second can of those next time. The flavors were nice, not too overpowering. Was fully cooked at 5 1/2 hours on high.

• Gazpacho with avocado and crab

  • mharriman on September 01, 2018

    Tasty! I skipped the avocado and crab because this was a side dish that accompanied a zucchini and spinach pie. As promised, very easy and fast. I didn’t have a jalapeño pepper, so I shook a few drops of tobasco sauce in the mix, and it provided just the right amount of kick.

• Caprese pasta salad

  • mharriman on August 01, 2021

    Delicious. I think you could get away with using bottled pesto in the winter but the author’s intention to use only fresh basil was spot on. The chopped basil as well as fresh basil pesto put some high notes into the pasta’s flavor. Combined with the Caprese Ingredients, the outcome was a perfect summer side dish. Everyone liked it including my young granddaughter. This would also make a good lunch meal by itself (as categorized in cookbook by author). We preferred this pesto version of caprese pasta salad over the olive oil dressed one we tried earlier (reviewed earlier this summer).

• Crab-stuffed avocados

  • mharriman on April 15, 2020

    Surprisingly tasty and filling. I made this for myself and loosely measured everything to 1/4 of what was called for. I didn’t have cilantro, which was a fairly big part of the crab mix so I upped the fresh minced ginger and bell pepper which was satisfying. The bell pepper provides a pleasant crunch. Not sure the sesame seeds add that much to this dish. This would make a festive dinner salad or appetizer. A winner.

• Easy fish tacos with pico de gallo

  • mharriman on January 06, 2018

    Good. I used cod which I thawed from frozen state. The coating of flour and spices on fish chunks enhanced the fish and created a crisp exterior. We liked the chili and cumin seasoning. The pico de Gallo was pretty ho hum. I added sour cream, Monterey jack cheese, and avocado slices for toppings. Served with refried beans.

• Simple salmon with Pinot noir

  • mharriman on December 17, 2017

    We eat wild Alaskan salmon once a week and like to try new salmon recipes, so the one salmon recipe in this cookbook was intriguing. Unfortunately, the whole wheat flour coating that seared and blackened the fish, as well as the Pinot Noir “sauce” didn’t enhance the salmon flavor; it pretty much disguised it. The author says even those who don’t like salmon will like this. My take away is the recipe seems to be for folks who want the benefits of the salmon nutrients without the salmon taste. We love the taste of salmon and like ingredients that bring out the salmon flavor. This recipe is a non-repeater for us.

• Simple roasted pork tenderloin

  • mharriman on December 15, 2017

    This wasn’t the most flavorful pork tenderloin recipe I’ve ever made, but it was definitely the easiest to put together and cook. The method produced a very juicy, nice tenderloin and went nicely with acorn squash. Cooked at 375 for 40 minutes instead of 425 ( 25-30 minutes) so I could bake squash at same time. Worked well and will repeat when I want an easy and satisfying dinner.

• Slow cooker shredded pork and bean tacos

  • mharriman on July 05, 2018

    Easy, easy preparation and nice result! I used a 3.2 pound boneless pork roast and paired it with a Cooking Light coleslaw recipe. The pulled pork could be just as easily be used for burger style sandwiches instead of the tortilla shell taco. The meat mixture was cooked and ready to shred at the 8 hour mark. A nice way to have a satisfying meal at dinner time without heating up the kitchen on a hot day.

• Lemon and apple coleslaw (without mayo)

  • mharriman on January 29, 2019

    This is a refreshing twist on standard cole slaw. The fresh lemon juice, apple slices, and yogurt give the cabbage a light citrus flavor. Served with crab cakes and roasted red potatoes.

• Lime and cilantro coleslaw

  • mharriman on June 30, 2019

    Refreshing taste twist on coleslaw. We liked the cilantro and lime flavors added into the cabbage as well as the sour cream instead of mayo. Served the slaw with pulled pork tacos in the same cookbook.

• Mint chocolate truffles

  • mharriman on January 24, 2019

    Hmmm. The chosen title for these is interesting because peppermint extract and cocoa powder are the smallest parts of the ingredients. The truffles do have a nice, mild peppermint flavor but the main ingredients are dates and almonds, so the chocolate takes a secondary role. I did use Hershey’s chocolate cocoa powder, not the dark cocoa powder recommended. But I’m not sure dark chocolate cocoa would have improved these. I also thought the truffles were really big and halved them. Finally, they are sticky. I washed my hands after eating one. My personal verdict: These are okay but not sure I’d repeat, even though they are a pretty healthy treat and were easy and fast to put together.

• Tzatziki sauce

  • mharriman on March 01, 2022

    My go-to homemade tzatziki sauce. I like that it has very few add-ins so the flavor of the yogurt, dill, and cucumbers shine through.

• Cinnamon-glazed bananas

  • Agaillard on April 21, 2019

    Simple, but effective and delicious! I didn't have maple syrup so did it with honey, and for the rest followed the recipe exactly. It was gorgeous :)

• Creamy mac and peas

  • lizbot2000 on July 06, 2018

    This isn't particularly healthier, per se, than box mac and cheese. However, I really like that you can control what goes in it and that my daughter can help me cook it and see how to make the food she likes so much. I can throw in a bunch of peas and mix up the cheeses to expose her to tastes that are just new enough but overall still kid-ish enough for her to eat. (She is queen of the beige carbohydrates right now) Even if it's about the same amount of calories as fast food or whatever, this is setting her up for a better pattern of eating for the rest of her life. Which I guess is the entire purpose of this book, so the authors really accomplished their goal. It's not realistic for me to try to get her to eat salads etc, but hopefully I'm ever so slowly inching her over towards healthier choices. She liked the peas! And she enjoyed helping (we got her a chef hat to wear, which was a hit as well). I'm definitely not complaining. We'll probably make this pretty often.

• Simple green beans with almonds

  • babsiscookingnow on May 02, 2018

    Simple & delicious! Loved the almonds!

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