And this is why you save money when you eat in

Tonight I made Warm Pasta Salad with Shrimp, which is estimated to cost $2.07/serving!!  I actually believe this estimate, because I used frozen shrimp and I got a box of pasta for free with 2 coupons that I had. I love a bargain 🙂

Pasta salad is one of my favorite dishes, so I was excited to make this dish. It turned out great and it was easy to make. My husband didn’t think the dressing had enough flavor, but I really liked it. We gave it 3.5 stars. Hopefully, the leftovers will taste even better tomorrow once they sit overnight in the dressing. Since we saved money eating in this week, we’ll be going out for dinner this weekend!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011051

A Noodle Substitute

Tonight I made “Quick Chicken and Dumpling Soup”. The dumplings are just plain tortillas, but we really liked the way they tasted in the soup. The texture did resemble a dumpling. The soup itself was only ok. I am partial to my mom’s homemade chicken soup, so this soup didn’t stand a chance. It was a quick meal to make. I used fresh vegetables, which took longer to cook, but I roasted my chicken yesterday. We gave the soup 3 stars.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002010995

“Lambed Out”

Tonight I went to the meat counter at Wegmans for the first time. I needed to buy lamb chops, but when I got up to the counter I noticed there were different kinds of “chops,” so I second guessed what I needed. I asked the woman what the difference was, and she explained the “meat counter” to me. I ended up buying 2 lamb chops, which was exactly what I needed for this recipe. I also made a piece of chicken for myself, because I didn’t think I’d be able to eat more than a couple bites of the chop. I prepared everything for the meal, but then I “lambed out” and waited for my husband to come home to cook the lamb. The dinner turned out great. We gave it 3.5 stars. I only ate two bites of the lamb, but the chicken tasted great with the sauce. My husband enjoyed both of the chops!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002010992

Fried Ravioli in a Cooking Light Magazine??

I am sure you had the same thoughts as I did when you read the title of the post. Ravioli isn’t something I’d call “light” and frying it on top of that makes it a meal that doesn’t even belong in a Cooking Light Magazine. However, it was in the magazine, so I had to make it. When you look at the recipe, you can see that it is a “lighter” version of fried ravioli, but it isn’t necessarily a low-fat meal and the portion size is small. I personally don’t like fried foods, so this meal didn’t interest me, but I was glad I made it for 3 reasons. 1) I loved the sauce. 2) It was fun to try something new. 3) The presentation was beautiful.

Since I was skeptical about the idea of frying the ravioli, I also made some plain ravioli so we could have more ravioli for fewer calories. I ended up liking the fried ravioli and loving the sauce. The sauce was easy to make. Sautee some grape tomatoes in a little olive oil and add some chopped garlic, salt, pepper and a little fresh basil. I will definitely make this sauce again. We gave the ravioli 3 stars and the sauce 4 stars.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011033

Lemon Caper Love

Tonight I made another special dinner for Valentine’s Day. I followed the recipe for Sautéed Striped Bass with Lemon-Caper Sauce, but I used flounder instead of striped bass (much more affordable). The dish was easy to make and tasted great. I served it with green beans, roasted potatoes, and another beet salad. We loved the meal and gave the fish 5 stars. I would definitely make this again.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011022

The Ultimate Challenge

Tonight I made a special Valentine’s Day Dinner for my Valentine and my parents. Cooking for my parents is alway nerve-wracking, because my mom is an amazing cook and my dad is used to my mom’s amazing cooking. I hope that one day I can cook as well as my mom. The good thing about having company for dinner is that I could check off several items from my challenge to-do list. The dinner party was a success. We are still talking about the cake and the potatoes. Here is the rating run-down.

Beets: 5 stars. As you can see from the picture, I modified this recipe a bit. I put the beets on top of arugula and added goat cheese. We loved the salad. I would definitely make it again.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011029

Chicken: 4 stars I was so proud of myself for making a whole chicken. We bought a free-range chicken at Whole Foods and it turned out beautiful. The lemon-garlic taste was great. I did add a little butter to the top of the chicken and under the skin.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011055

Potatoes: 5 stars. I modified the potato recipe. I added carrots and used olive oil instead of butter. I also used whole garlic instead of mincing it and put the mixture into the bottom of my chicken pan for the last 40 minutes that the chicken cooked. They were AMAZING!!!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011055

Whole Foods Cranberry Nut Bread: 5 stars. We love this bread from Whole Foods. It was a nice accompaniment for this special occasion dinner.

Brussels Sprouts: 3.5 stars. These were surprisingly good, but nothing amazing. A nice healthy side dish. My dad even ate them and he doesn’t eat many green vegetables.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011023

Black Forrest Cherry Cake: 5 stars. I am not a cake person, but this cake was phenomenal. It was so moist and the presentation was beautiful. I was actually nervous about the tart cherries, so I made half of the cake with cherries and the other half with fresh strawberries. Well I should have trusted the recipe. The combination of the cake, cherries, and cool whip was delicious. I highly recommend this recipe and I will be making it next time I need to bring a dessert somewhere. The cake was so moist and light.

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011005

All and all this dinner was a HUGE success! I am so proud of myself for cooking a great meal for my parents. We cannot wait to dig into the rest of that cake tomorrow! Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!

A New Trick Up My Sleeve: Vegetarians and Vegans Read with Caution

I know I’ve seen my mom pound chicken with a hammer, but I never thought to ask why she did it. Tonight’s dinner was the second recipe from the magazine that instructed me to pound the chicken with a hammer. For you vegetarians and vegans out there I know this sounds horrible, but I now realize the benefits of doing this. It cooks faster and more evenly. I still managed to burn some of the panko on the bottom of the chicken, but I’m learning. Tonight’s dinner was: Quick Pan-Fried Chicken Breasts. We were not that thrilled with how this chicken tasted. After watching a commercial for KFC fried chicken, I realized this chicken doesn’t even belong in the same category as “fried chicken,” but it looked good. We only gave it 2.5 stars, but our meal was saved by the delicious Herbed Potatoes that accompanied it. They were amazing. 4.5 stars!! I also made another tomato-mozzarella salad. I was impressed with my well-balanced meal. We even had dark chocolate for dessert! I am also happy to report that I am feeling more confident and efficient in the kitchen. When I came home from work I prepped my dinner like Rachel Ray, so when my husband came home everything was on the stove and plated in 15 minutes. This challenge is working!!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011024

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011035

Pricey Yet Delicious: Scallops

Scallops are one of my favorite types of seafood, but I only buy them for special occasions or out at a restaurant. Since I have to complete the challenge, I bought them for tonight’s recipe: Seared Scallops with Farmers’ Market Salad. Obviously, I couldn’t use fresh corn this time of year, but the meal turned out good. The scallops were delicious and the corn-tomato-basil salad was right up our alley. I did add a little extra olive oil to the salad and I served it over jasmine rice and with a tomato mozzarella salad. The dinner was great! We gave it 4 stars! My husband gave it 5 stars, but I like my scallops a little crispy. Does anyone know how to sear a scallop so it is a little crispy on the outside?

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011050

Creamy Risotto

We absolutely loved this risotto and gave the dish 4 stars. This was my first time making risotto and it turned out well. I don’t own a pressure cooker, but it didn’t take that long to make. Even though the recipe didn’t call for that much cheese we were amazed at how creamy and cheesy the risotto tasted. We couldn’t believe it was “light.” That’s when I checked the recipe and realized the recipe was for 6 servings. Ooops! I quickly took some off my plate. I served the risotto with a strawberry spinach salad so it turned out we didn’t need to eat all of the risotto, but we would have if I hadn’t looked at the recipe. If I ever made it again I would serve it as a side dish. We enjoyed the extra Prosecco with our dinner. It made us think of our vacation in Venice 🙂

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011028

An Oxymoron

Tonight’s dinner was “Spicy Beef and Tofu Salad.” I know the point of the salad was to reduce the fat and calorie content, but it felt a little strange cooking beef and tofu together in one pan. Now, most people would like the steak, but we actually liked the tofu better. My husband and I usually don’t eat red meat, but I figured since there was only a small amount of red meat in this recipe we would try it. I don’t think we’ll be eating it again. Don’t be deterred by the word “spicy” in the title. The dish was not very spicy. The dressing tasted good when tossed in the salad, but I wouldn’t rave about it. The dressing from the Thai Beef Salad was much better ( http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011002). Overall, this was a quick meal to make and I’m happy that we gave red meat a try. We gave it 3 stars. I’m starting to think we might jump on Oprah’s bandwagon and become veganish!

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000002011020