Notes about Recipes in this book

• Veggie skillet

  • averythingcooks on August 08, 2022

    This is basically a vegetable rich & really tasty frittata. I scaled it back to 4 eggs (from 6) and this time replaced the potatoes with broccoli as I was planning potatoes as a side already. I cooked as directed but then finished it under the broiler to better melt the cheese. With broccoli, zucchini, colourful peppers, red onions & a final wilting in of baby spinach, this was a great "eggs for dinner option".

• Pure broccoli soup

  • averythingcooks on August 21, 2022

    So I came here with garden broccoli & onions and then garlic and water, trusting in the idea of "pure broccoli flavour"....and yes - that's what we got. EXCEPT that both of us agreed that we would reach for this soup IF it had more....something. And I remembered a lemon & parmesan version somewhere. It was in FOOD 52's "A New Way to Dinner" and yes...once I amped this up, we both agreed.....way better.

• Baby spinach salad with mango, cashews and lime ginger dressing

  • PriyaPath on April 04, 2026

    Very tasty, love the spinach and mango combination. A great way to get some spinach into kids.

• Warm farro and roasted vegetables with roasted garlic lemon dressing

  • averythingcooks on May 23, 2023

    This was a lovely side dish for last night's grilled chicken thighs. The roasted garlic dressing is full of flavour and it is easy to play around with the veg, using what you have (ie this time I used some butternut squash in place of the fennel). I also added feta with the basil & green onion at the end. I can't wait to try this in August using my own garden fresh vegetables!

• Real chicken fingers with chipotle BBQ sauce

  • averythingcooks on June 10, 2023

    I've made these chicken fingers 2'ce...once as written with panko & the 2nd time using crushed crackers (a mix of mostly Ritz + some guests). They come out of the oven crispy & still moist and both versions were good but we did prefer the crackers (and I am happy to have used up a pantry jar of the last of the crackers from various boxes :) I made a different sauce last night but this one is still on the "to try" list.

• Sri Lankan chili chicken

  • averythingcooks on April 24, 2023

    I scaled this to 1/2 using 6 boneless, skinless thighs that I cut into 1/3d's and quickly browned before proceeding. He does say to expect a lot of sauce but to fill it out, I added chickpeas & chopped spinach to the simmer...cauliflower would also be a good addition. Ours was plenty hot (I have lots of choices for both curry & chili powders) and so we enjoyed our bowls with big dollops of yogurt. For us, Thai basil is a perfect stand in for cilantro and I can see making this again.

• Chicken stew mashed potato casserole

  • averythingcooks on June 19, 2023

    This is pretty much what the title says (creamy chicken vegetable stew covered in aged cheddar & scallion mashed potatoes and then baked) and it is really good (ie one eater described it as "total comfort food"). For the stew, I used lots of fresh thyme in place of the dried & added chopped roasted red peppers at the end; for the mash, I cut back a bit on the cheese...using around 3/4's of what is called for. I might also cut back a bit on the broth next time but this was VERY popular with the people we shared it with.

• Slow cooker pulled pork with overnight slaw

  • averythingcooks on August 24, 2022

    I made only the pork this time and the meat itself was fine at the end of the cook but we were not fans of the resulting sauce. After I removed the meat ( to pull etc) I ran the immersion blender through the sauce and ultimately we decided that it was very flat tasting...after a quick attempt to fix with salt & acid etc I bailed and simply made a BBQ sauce to toss with the meat....a vast improvement. We enjoyed the meat on open faced sandwiches with melty provolone beside a different slaw but I certainly have made better all around pulled pork recipes.

• Cheddar bacon polenta with lemony arugula

  • averythingcooks on May 14, 2025

    This rich polenta with onions, garlic, cheddar, bacon & home made stock was a delicious base for our dinner bowls. I skipped the lemony arugula, instead making pan of chopped andouille sausage, fresh corn kernels, olive oil roasted tomatoes & fresh basil. I stuck with my preferred 4:1 ratio (he calls for 5:1) for the polenta and this was a bowl of pure comfort :)

• Spicy basil peperonata

  • averythingcooks on October 03, 2025

    Because I scaled this back for 2 servings, I certainly did not need the full 90 minutes (!) he calls for. I also added some 1/2'd sun gold tomatoes to pan and we ate this with slices of grilled sausage spooned over top. Very nice indeed.

• Garlic mashed potatoes

  • averythingcooks on August 08, 2022

    Made with skin-on red potatoes and a mix of browned butter & warm milk infused with LOTS of garlic, these deliver on his promise of "real garlicky flavour" in a garlic mash. This time, it was the base for a bowl of pork & vegetable stew and I can think of lots of other reasons to make these delicious potatoes again.

  • PriyaPath on March 28, 2026

    Very good mash potatoes. Lots of flavour.

• Tex-Mex refried beans with bacon

  • averythingcooks on July 12, 2022

    I made a 1/2 recipe which was more than enough for the 2 of us. I used pinto beans and my homemade cayenne sauce. I transferred it from the frying pan it to a small cast iron baker, added cheese to the top and ran it under the broiler. We ate this with tortilla chips as a part of our "snacks for dinner" meal last night and I can see making this again for sure.

• Whole wheat honey cookies

  • hbakke on August 15, 2022

    Hmm, a bit too "healthy" tasting for my sweet tooth. They are more of a cakey cookie without any chew (which would have been my preference). I'm sure they appeal to certain people, but they are not a repeat for me.

• Apple muffins

  • averythingcooks on June 08, 2023

    I cut this in 1/2 for 7 muffins and they are a perfect example of how simple ingredients come together to make something nice. The full recipe calls for 2-3 apples…so for 1/2, I used 1 good sized gala and I can see using 3 for a full recipe. I used melted butter, needed fewer walnuts than called for to sprinkle on the tops and as I said…these are moist, very tasty, not too sweet and a definite repeat.