Update-ish

Honestly Y'all,

I don't even know where to start!

I cook faster than I can write...

I have begun to fill in at work all day...so there's a good few hours to write that are gone..

and I have a new hobby that I am just DYING to practice and play with whenever I free time! ....

Not to mention the MANY MANY DIY project's I will be taking upon myself in the coming weeks to "fix up" our house!!!

Yes, I have been scheming, planning, and working and honestly- its been wonderful!!!

My new hobby you ask? SEWING....yes, I am that 82 year old grandmother at heart....but regardless, I have ALWAYS wanted to learn to sew...I am in the process of buying a sewing machine and there is a class I will be starting to learn how to begin my sewing extravaganza....

Now dont get me wrong, I eventually want to learn to make clothes...at least for my future kiddos...but in the mean time, dont expect Project Runway over here. : )

I have recently taught myself to hand sew and have learned 7 different types of handstiches, some of which cannot be reproduce by sewing machines, mainly because my thought is that it is silly of me to have to totally rely on a machine to do all the sewing for me!

I mean, what did women do before the sewing machine was evented?! ...well they took forever to handsew their clothes, thats what they did!

Anyways- I'm rambling... be looking forward to more sewing posts as it is my new found passion.

Also, because this IS a culinary blog and I am WAAAY behind on recipe reviews I will just give y'all the recent highlights:

hello dollies (delish and SUPER EASY!), donut muffins, migas, Jumbalya (last night), and Pioneer Woman Biscuits (you wont beleive this review)!

But speaking of the Pioneer Woman....did anyone else see her debut cooking show on Saturday morning?! (Food network 11:30 Et, 8:30 Pt) I totally want to make her breakfast sandwiches!! they look so good!!! And maybe even her chicken fried steak...if I can talk my "health conscious" husband into it.....

But back to the Pioneer Woman, though she has steered me wrong on just two recipes out of the MANY MANY I have tried....she is still BY FAR my favorite "chef" because honestly- you cant get every.single.recipe. right....and there is the matter of different tastes.... i dont think she has ever had my mother-in-law's biscuits, OH MY GOODNESS.... but again, that is a different story...but o OH OOH will you hear that story! -just later...as in like my next post or the one after that..dont worry- its a-comin'.

Ok, I would say that is enough for now...

Ps. This blog will offically be a part of the "31 days of October" where I will blog each day of October on a topic.... and that topic will be posted SOON!

Keepin' it Classy,

-Kate

That's "Gourmet"? Really??

What is all the hype about “gourmet cooking”?

All gourmet cooking I’ve ever had was gross!

Liver, snails, sheep’s stomach—why would I EVER want to eat that?!

Why do expensive ingredients make it “gourmet”?

In fashion: just because its expensive, doesn't mean its cute!

The same applies with food!

Just because it costs more doesn't mean it tastes good!

If it costs a lot and the taste isn't worth the cost- then forget about it!

And why can’t yummy things be “gourmet”?

Give me a break people!

I suggest the “New Gourmet Cuisine”….

Definition: THINGS THAT TASTE GOOD AND WE WOULD ACTUALLY WANT TO EAT!!!!

For example: my mother’s fried chicken= Gourmet.

And on another note- why do “gourmet” dishes ALWAYS have such a small amount of food?!?!

I mean, America definitely has a problem with large food portions- but gourmet portions seem to only feed an arm and a leg…what about the OTHER arm and leg?! Or would I have to pay with one of those to get an extra portion on my plate?!

Gourmet= NOT WORTH IT!!!

I would rather make “gourmet” dishes that my family will eat and thinks is DELCIOUS in healthy portions.

And if my kids want to have their meal with a glass of grape juice instead of wine…well SO BE IT!

P.S.

Julia Child (aka. the one who brought "Gourmet" cooking to America)- you are an inspiration to us all

….but Fish and Ham Mousse is NOT FOR ME!

Stick with the beef bourguignon and chocolate cake!

Review Thursday

Recipes in Review:

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Crockpot Mac and Cheese, Southwest Breakfast Braid, and Glazed Donut Muffins!

1. Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

found at Jana Lauren Photography

Taste: 7.5- the taste was good! and the filling was great! The recipe the woman gives you- is NOT well thought out, nor very clear...beware of that.

Difficulty: 6- I had a problem rolling the filling into the meat...she doesn't explain exactly how to do it...so I just kind of guessed...also...she tells you to make more filling than you need--but doesn't really know what proportions you need if you want to make it smaller...it was a bit frustrating

Ingredient Amount: 5- she says goat cheese and I chose "Feta" for two reasons... I know it tastes good and its a reasonable price....no way was I going to find some fancy expensive smelly goat cheese that may not taste good-sorry but no thankyou! The "Feta" tasted GREAT in the filling...and I think really made the recipe!

Smelly House: 7- its smelled great while I was cooking it....but then I left and came home a little later and it smelled not so great...so of course I had to have my Scentsies goin!

Number of Meals Produced: we've had it twice for dinner now...and could have it again tonight...if I would let us! its makes a lot for a family of just two!

Kitchen mess: 5 you need a bowl and baking dish......and a skillet and a saucepan (depending on how you like to cook your spinach). Lots of dishes to wash....

Amount of Time: I would say about an hour and half....the meat takes longer to cook than the recipe says it should....and I used a smaller pork tenderloin than the recipe...30 minutes to make the filling and stuff the pork and then you need to bake it about an hour....begin checking it at 40 minutes

Overall score: 7.5 We might make this dish again...so I can try to perfect it and hopefully give y'all some better tips.

2. Crockpot Mac and Cheese

found at A Whisk and A Prayer

Taste: 7.5- I was loving the taste of this! ....Yet the consistency....well it had this kind of eggy consistency.....which would make sense because the recipe calls for 3 large eggs. But I have always known and loved Mac and Cheese to be creamy- so maybe its just a matter of tastes?

Difficulty: 3 this was super easy!!! you just throw it all into the crock pot

Ingredient Amount: 4 not bad- you need a lot of cheese though!!! Yum!

Smelly House: 3 it didnt smell up my house at all!

Number of Meals Produced: we've had it twice for dinner now...and we still have a storage container full of it left over!

Kitchen mess: 2- again, you just put it all in the pot!

Amount of Time: it takes about 2:30 hours to bake in the crockpot but its just so simple

Overall score: 8 - but honestly- I couldnt get over it not being creamy....so we prob wont make this again...but I suggest you try it because it tastes really good!

Note: put in more macaroni noodles than the recipe calls for! I had a 16 oz bad and did over half of the bag! (aka ab 10 ounces- rather than just half a pound which is 8 ounces)

3. Southwest Breakfast Braid

found at Bacon Time

Taste: 8.5 -its everything you love about breakfast: croissant rolls, scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese!! whats not to love?!

Difficulty: 5- It was pretty easy-MINUS ROLLING OUT THE CROISSANT DOUGH!!! This drove me CRAZY!!! I could not get it to unroll right for the life of me...!

Ingredient Amount: I rate it a 3 it was all standard ingredients!

Smelly House: 3 it didnt smell up my house!

Number of Meals Produced: they are not very big- One is enough for my husband and I, so I would suggest for a family of four that you make TWO of the breakfast braids....and even then...if you have teenage boys...maybe three. haha!

Kitchen mess: 5- you have to make the bacon, you have to make the scrambled eggs, I got some cheese on the floor....and you need the pizza pan to cook it on...you get my drift

Amount of Time: making the ingredients (aka bacon and eggs) takes maybe 10 minutes....and then assembly takes 10 and cooking takes 10....so 30 minutes!

Overall score: 9- I will definitely make this again!!! It is seriously delicious!!!

Note:

- You do NOT have to use parchment paper like the recipe calls for...I used foil and it worked just fine!

- Also keep the croissant dough in the fridge until you are ready to open the can and roll out the dough...its easier to roll it out when its cold

-Finally, the recipe says to lay the bacon out on the croissant dough....well my bacon got hard and crunchy so I just crumbled it up and put it between the cheese and egg layers and it tastes great!!!

4. Glazed Donut Muffins

found at Sweet Pea's Kitchen

Taste: 8 They taste like cinnamon donuts! Very good!-they’re quite thick and pretty heavy for a muffin so they make a delicious and filling breakfast!

Difficulty: 5 you’re making this from scratch so- no boxed cake mixers here! But the glaze is quite simple!

Ingredient Amount: 4- I had all of the ingredients at my house already! ...but I put it at a four because if you don't bake often you may not have all the ingredients

Smelly House: 2- they smelled great in the oven!

Number of Meals Produced: the recipe says it makes 12 muffins- but it made 16 medium to large muffins for us!

Kitchen mess: 7- you need a stand mixer, a bowl for the glaze, muffin pans, and a cooling rack...*Put paper towels under the cooling rack to catch the extra glaze that drips off the muffins.*

Amount of Time:it takes about 20 minutes to make the batter, 15 minutes to bake, then another 15-20 minutes to apply the glaze

Overall score: 8.5 we will for sure make these again! ...and I'd like to THINK they are healthier than real donuts...... ; )

Note: I made extra glaze and we dipped the muffins in a THIRD time- and it was SO GOOD!!! I suggest you dip them 3 times as well!

IF YOU HAVE ANY RECIPES YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE POSTED ON HERE EMAIL ME AT theculinarywife@gmail.com!

Keep Cooking!

-Kate

Review Thursday (even though its Friday)

Up for Review:

1) Pork Tenderloin

2) Cajun Pasta

3) Cashew Chicken

4) Blueberry Crumb Cake

Basically, every time I write a review you know what we've had for dinner this past week. Ha!

As always, I will rate the meal on Taste, Difficulty, Amount of ingredients (because the amount of ingredients involved correlates with the amount of money you will spend buying the ingredients), How much it smells up a house (which, I'm all about having a good smelling house), How many times we can eat on the meal, how messy your kitchen is afterwards AND just an overall score of would I make it again.

Each will be scored 1-10 , 10 is the best.

Also, I am adding another rating...HOW LONG IT TAKES TO COOK! All day, 1 hr., 30 min- you get the idea....

1.) Brown Sugar and Balsalmic Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Found at C+ C Marriage Factory

Taste: 8.5- OH Y'ALL this was YUM-MY!!!!! Wow we loved this!!!

Difficulty: 4- I had never rubbed spiced on meat before...but it was nothin...I had also never made a "glaze" but it was pretty easy too! I would of given this a 2 or 3 if it didn't have so many "firsts" for me!

Ingredient Amount: rated at a 2- I honestly had most of the ingredients necessary....just needed the pork tenderloin...which isn't exactly the cheapest meat out there....

Smelly House: 5- it was pretty pungent while it was cooking...but I thought it smelled pretty good- my friend Abby though, did not. Luckily though- the smell went away as I began to add the glaze!

Number of Meals Produced: produced not only two full meals for us, but my husband took it to work two times and we still had a little left over!

Kitchen mess: 2-you need a crock pot and a small sauce pan for the glaze- super easy clean up!

Amount of Time: all day (6-8 hours)... but it's in a crock pot. So you rub the spices on, and let it sit while you go to work or just go about your day! Its the perfect thing waiting for you when you get home at the end of the day! YUM!

Overall score: 9- we loved this dish! my mouth is watering...we will be making this again! SOON!

Note:

-When making the glaze....the recipe says to "heat until it thickens" well you need to bring it to a boil ( not much of one, but just a few bubbles) then reduce the heat and the glaze thickens like THAT! (*insert thumb snapping here*)

-Also, in the last hour of the cooking in the crock pot- you are supposed to coat the meat in the glaze two to three times and pour the rest of the glaze over it after its served on your plate!

2.) Cajun Pasta

Recipe found at Cook Like a Champion:

Taste: 9.5- Seriously you guys- all I did was win this week!!!! THIS IS PROBABLY MY NEW FAVORITE DISH I'VE MADE THUS FAR!!! (minus a few meals I've eaten all my life...)

Warning: Its a little spicy! The spicy-ness seems to build as you eat the meal- but its grreat!!!

This is like restaurant quality- NO KIDDING.

Difficulty: 4- its a standard pasta dish: boil the water, saute some stuff, make the sauce and add it together!

Ingredient Amount: rated at a 5.5- not bad!- I had most of the ingredients...but some of you may not have cajun seasoning...and you will have to look for the andouille sausage AND I DO RECOMMEND THE ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE!!! There is just nothing like that flavor! Look for it next to like Pepperage Farm pre-packed meats! I used Toni Chachere's Andouille sausage... Toni's is like salt and pepper in Louisiana... at their schools they have pepper and Toni's on their lunchroom tables!...no salt!

Smelly House: 3- it smelled GREAT to me but was then gone after I finished cooking it!

Number of Meals Produced: produced not only two full meals for us, but we even had about half of another meal left! And I craved it throughout the day!

Kitchen mess: 4- you need a BIG skillet and big pot for the pasta...other than that--- beware... the creamy cajun sauce as you stir it--it WILL slosh onto your stovetop while you are making it...it does finally thicken up some! ( you dont want it too thick!)

Amount of Time: about 30-40 min- not bad! At ALL!

Overall score: 9.5 (maybe even a 10)- WE LOOOVED THIS!!!!! ITs SOO GOOD!!! MAKE IT THIS WEEK!!! or better yet, MAKE IT TONIGHT!!!!

Note:

- Slice the andouille sausage like pepperoni sliced before adding them to the skillet

- Also, fry those babies like there's no tomorrow (we're talking about bacon crispy) AND DONT WORRY ABOUT THE STUFF THAT GETS STUCK IN THE BOTTOM OF THE SKILLET! I coated the bottom with black and brown grease.... when you pour in the white wine...scrape the bottom of the skillet and its amazing--ALL the stuck grease come RIGHT UP!!!!

P.S. I am beginning to think that I am part French/Cajun....even more so than my Louisiana husband! Or maybe its from reading Julia Childe's memoir "My Life in France"...not to mention that France is my favorite country....besides America. : )

3.) Cashew Chicken

this recipe was also found at Cook Like a Champion: (ps. I like this website alot!!)

Taste: 7.5-8, it was good! I liked it!! ...my husband...apparently doesnt like cashews...so if you dont- then you probably wont like this dish! But luckily- I LOVE them!

Difficulty: 4 not hard at all- but took me some time to figure out the sauce for it...more on that in the "NOTE" section

Ingredient Amount: I rate it at a 6-- you have to have roasted unsalted cashews, I dont know if you could find them at say, Walmart where they are prepackaged (my grocery store has a "nuts" section where you fill a bag with assorted different nuts from canisters) ALSO, you need to have an "Asian" section of your grocery store because you Hoison sauce, and you will need to find the cooking win and vinegar section because you will need white wine vinegar...(see NOTE section)

Smelly House: 3- the smell of the chicken and garlic cooking as wonderful!!! but the smell did linger some! (as with most Asian dishes I am noticing!)

Number of Meals Produced: ok- this only produced one meal for us both and then I ate it for lunch the next day- so bummer, I wish it made enough for 4 meals!

Kitchen mess: 5- you need to cook the rice ( i just did frozen rice to make it easier), a big skillet, and a bowl to mix the sauce...again the sauce WILL slush until its thickened ; )

Amount of Time: 30 minutes!!! this was a super fast meal to make!!!

Overall score: 8- you cant beat that cook time plus it tastes good!

Note:

- When making the sauce...I would recommend using a little less white wine vinegar than the recipe calls for... I had to cook the sauce until it was REALLY thick to get that nasty vinegar taste out! Yuck!!! But luckily- it did cook out!

4.) Blueberry Crumb Cake

This recipe is from my favorite girl- The Pioneer Woman:

Taste: OH Y'ALL THIS IS A 10 !!!!!!!! Reminds me of these muffins my mom used to make but Duncan Hinds stop selling them : ( BUT THEY'RE BACK with this recipe!!!!!!

Difficulty: 6- you're making it from scratch...if you haven't make a cake from scratch- make sure you have a good mixer!! - Like my handy Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer--it does all the work for you!!!

Ingredient Amount: I rate it a 3- you dont need anything out of the ordinary--except maybe fresh blue berries! : )

Smelly House: 1.5- basically no smell except when it is done in the oven...or if you're like me and will hold the oven open to smell it's deliciousness!! ; )

Number of Meals Produced: I made this for my husband to take to work....and I would say it serves 6-7 people comfortably --people will want big pieces of this Yummy-ness!!

Kitchen mess: 8- again, you are making this from scratch- your kitchen WILL be messy! BUT ITS WORTH IT!!!!

Amount of Time: about an thirty minutes to assemble and about 40 minutes to bake in the oven--- so it will take up some time in your afternoon or evening (dont wait until the morning to make this....unless you want to)

Overall score: 9- i will make this again and again-- even if it is messy!!!

Note:

- It may not take the full 40-45 minutes to bake- so begin checking it between 25-30 minutes!!!

I was 4 for 4 this week!!! Everything was delicious!!!

Enjoy your weekend and try some of these recipes!!! You'll thank me later!!!

-Kate

What I am loving....this week...

Whew! Y'all this week has been NUTS!!!! It's been filled with new life, death and big decisions! And I apologize for just now getting this post out to y'all!!! This week's "What I love Wednesday" is now posted... today...which is Thursday...better late than never- eh?

Will try to do better next week!-Promise!

What I'm loving Wednesdays:

1) Home-made applesauce
I saw a "how to" on the Pioneer Woman's website and it's SO simple, I thought I had to give it a whirl! The "How to" is found HERE.
I am a lover of applesauce...but I am NOT a lover of the random bits and pieces you tend to find in the applesauce- yuck! So when I saw this I couldn't wait to try it because I would be able to control EXACTLY what went into the 'sauce'

...Also, this is more of a "how to" because unlike a recipe, there are no exacts.

Personally, I just tried it out with two apples first.

1) I peeled the skin and cut the apples into fingertip size pieces.

2) Then I threw them in the crock pot- [and went to get the cinnamon and as I was opening the jar...my hand slipped and A BUNCH fell in the pot( ab a tablespoon).....oops!...So I thought....oh well- we'll try it! ha! ]

(FYI I would recommend about half a tablespoon per-two apples)

3) Next I poured in enough water to reach about half way up a cut piece of apple...i would recommend erring on the side of a little less water next time though...because you can always add more....

4) Then I set the crock pot on low for 4.5 hours....

5) and when i came back I mashed everything up with my handy-dandy Chopstir! (its also a favorite this week!) and VOILA! APPLESAUCE!!!

So mine was a little TOO sweet...considering the cinnamon...and NO I did NOT add any sugar...the cinnamon heightens the sugar flavor of the apples on your taste-buds! but needless to say...it was DE-LISH and we WILL be making this dish again!!!!

Ps. the Chopstir is G-R-E-A-T for browning ground beef and apparently for making applesauce!!!! :)

2) Hello Dolly Bars

I have actually never made nor tasted a "Hello Dolly" before until today. Mark it down in your calendars ladies! These babies are pure bliss!!! I was in a local bakery today and saw them in the window and just HAD to try one! .....It was so good I took half of it home to try to sniff out the ingredients! HA! Its got lots of semi-sweet chocolate, walnuts, coconut and butter scotch. I LOOVE blondies and these for some reason seem very similar to the recipe I make for blondies...So now I'm determined to make these...they are a Classic Southern Dessert and this Classic Southern Girl needs to learn how to make them! Pronto!

This picture CLOSELY resembles the Hello Dolly I'm actually holding in my hand right now....YUM!!!

3). Babies

One of my best friends just had her first baby on Monday!!! HE.IS.SO.CUTE and SOOO I now have to post some pictures of adorable babies...but to keep your motherly instincts in check...I'll only post three...

Y'all seriously look at those chubby cheeks- PRECIOUS!

HAHA HELLO YOU LITTLE CUTIES!!

These two are precious- but lands....I am trusting that God never gives you more than you can handle!

And OK, OKAY! I just couldn't help myself! Here is one more picture!.....

I dont care who you are- this picture is CUU-TE/HILARIOUS!!!!!

4.) Scentsy:

I just got in some new Scentsy smells! If you didnt know already- I LOOVE SCENTSY!!! And if you don't know what Scentsy is go HERE. It's pretty much amazing!

FYI- I just got some GREAT smells in: Skinny Dippin, Camu-Camu, and BlueBerry Cheesecake, YUM-O!!!! And they are doing a pretty good deal where you get to pick three scents for less than the cost of three individual ones....or maybe I just bought into it... ;)

5) Stumble upon

So apparently I am late on the "Stumble Upon" trend.....I found out about it while waiting at the hospital for my friend's baby to arrive! Anyways...I was one of the last one's to know about Pinterest too....and now I'm obsessed with that as well... but Stumble Upon is a site where you enter in all your interest and it finds all these things from the web that match your interests! Its really fun and you can get sucked into looking at it for HOURS!!!

Well thats all for now! Maybe my "Recipe Review Thursdays" will be posted on Friday..... Bummer- but thats life, I guess!

You never know what each day holds!

Keep on Cooking!

-Kate

Inspiration

Cooking inspiration, in chronological order:

Southern Living Magazine!

The sad but true story...while many girls were reading style magazines in Jr. High and High School...I was reading Southern Living ......and by the time I was 15...it had become my favorite magazine! HA! It has truly been an inspiration for all things homey and Good Southern Cookin'!!!

My mother's food....

You see, my mother is a complex woman. While she was known throughout my life as one of the mom's with the best food (hints why people would find themselves on our doorstep at dinner time) she would often not let me try my own hand at cooking for fear of destroying her kitchen......so I set the microwave on fire ONE TIME when I was 11 ..... everyone has to start somewhere!! It wasnt until late high school and college that she allowed me to use her kitchen! I hope my food is half as delicious as hers! She comes from not only the South but a small town in the country....so you KNOW her food is good!!! Ps. isnt she the cutest?!

Julie and Juila...the Movie

I still remember when I saw that movie- it looked DELICIOUS! And it definitely inspired me to at least want to TRY to cook NEW things...instead of just always cooking what my mother was cooking.

The Pioneer Woman...

When I got this cookbook...and then found the her website...and began to read her blog--EVERY.DAY. It was like a whole new world was opened up to me! Not only did she show you step-by-step how to cook her "FROM SCRATCH" recipes but she was just incredibly HILARIOUS!!! She was instantaneously my inspiration and my new BFF all at once!

(ps. she is working on her next cookbook and I.AM.SO.EXCITED!!!!!)

This week's inspiration:

Project Runway!

Well I guess I was really inspired last week when it began- but Nevertheless, I am still inspired THIS WEEK! To make something out of nothing and to make it-relatively wearable- in less than 24 hours-is insane. Not to mention. I have a confession. Sadly, I cannot sew :((( It's a terrible burden that I carry and for the life of me, I have wanted to learn to sew for YEARS AND YEARS!!!! Maybe one day I will.....I just need to find the time....and a teacher... and a sewing machine....lands they are expensive!

Julie and Julia...the BOOK.

If you haven't read the "About Me" section, I love Love LOVE to read books...All day, everyday. I will choose to read over watching a movie-which I think is a big deal because I heart movies!!! Anyways, the movie was so inspiring that I now am needing to read the book. Because, as all book lovers know, the movie always leaves out so many important parts of the book! Plus I would love to know how she did it...step by step :) Maybe I should also read a book about Julia Childs.......hmm well see.

Soul Surfer...the movie

GO SEE IT!!!!!!! It was just fantastic and I cried multiple times throughout it!!!!! The acting is great!!! (minus, of course, Carrie Underwood's- yikes!) but oh the story is just heart-wrenching and she is just determined and strong and OO I just loved it!!! You will feel inspired and empowered to live your dreams after you watch it- I promise!!! Plus, lets not forget the One that kept her going and gave her strength to perservere: Jesus!!! Love it- Love it!!!!

That is all I have for you today...and I've already got TWO new recipes to share with y'all....as soon as I feel inspired to type them up.....so by the time I get to it...there may be THREE new recipes....we'll see.

I hope some of you have been inspired today!

-Kate

Recipe Review Round 2

Welcome to my new blog: "The Culinary Wife"! I'm so glad you stopped by! :)

Today's Recipe Review: "Ham and Cheese Sliders" and "Creamy Chicken Taquitoes" by Christy from her blog "The Girl Who Ate Everything"
Her site is found here.
(You may have seen both of these recipes recently on Pinterest)

As always, I will rate the meal on Taste, Difficulty, Amount of ingredients (because the amount of ingredients involved correlates with the amount of money you will spend buying the ingredients), How much it smells up a house (which, I'm all about having a good smelling house), How many times we can eat on the meal, how messy your kitchen is afterwards AND just an overall score of would I make it again.
Each will be scored 1-10 , 10 is the best.


Ham and Cheese Sliders
found here: Ham and Cheese Sliders



Taste: 4- the picture looks so good...but it tastes like a soggy ham sandwich with mustard- SICK! You couldnt even taste the sauce, i was quite disappointed

Difficulty: 3- i have to give it props, it was super easy

Ingredient Amount: I rate it a 4 not too many ingredients...the sauce had the most

Smelly House: 5-the smell of ham lingered for the day but was gone the next

Number of Meals Produced: it could of produced two meals....but we just didnt want to eat that again!

Kitchen mess: 4- again, not bad.

Overall score: 4 we wont be making this dish again.

Note: Honestly, the taste was so bad, I had to re-do it and see if I was the culprit. I actually found a similar recipe in "Taste of Home" magazine. It had you add onion and chive cream cheese INSTEAD OF MUSTARD and the sauce was essentially the same. Also, I fried the ham first before making the sandwiches (who doesn't love fried ham in the South?!).....it smelled GREAT when it was baking in the oven....but again, it just wasnt that good. I wasnt impressed. Maybe I'm just not a ham and cheese kind of girl?!


VS.

Christy's
Creamy Chicken Taquitos
recipe found here.



Taste: 8.5 It was actually much better than i expected it to taste! I was thinking...cream cheese with mexican could be a weird combo-- but with all the mexican spices, it was delicious!

Difficulty: 3- this was super easy! great for all novice cooks....disclaimer though- you need a real grill, george foreman grill or you need to know how to brown chicken in a pan.

Ingredient Amount: 6- you needed alot of spices. I had many of them but I still had to buy 2 or 3 for this meal.

Smelly House: 2- my house actually smelled pretty good with these babies cookin' in the oven!- and the smell went away that night!

Number of Meals Produced: twice for dinner, then my husband took one for lunch as well!

Kitchen mess: 3- you just need a pan to bake and a bowl to stir- pretty easy clean up for sure!

Overall Score: 8.5 We WILL be having this dish again!!!!

Note: make sure you dont put too much or too little into each tortilla AND make sure you have more cooked chicken than the recipe calls for...... I added almost double the amount of chicken (because my man loves meat) and it was delicious! I think it would of been TOO creamy if I hadn't of added that extra chicken!

Also, I would like to make a disclaimer: each review is entirely the opinion of myself from my own experiences with the recipes and my own level of cooking. Each person may reflect on the post as they wish. Each chef featured on this blog has great skill and many delicious recipes.

And on that note! You should go check out Christy's blog! She has LOTS great looking food recipes on there!!

Keep on Cooking!
-Kate

The Beginning

This blog is the child of some inspiration I had during a post on my last blog. I absolutely love to cook. I cook for my husband every night, as some of you might find find shocking while others also cook for their families or just themselves every evening. Regardless, there are many chefs these days that produce the most delicious looking food and their "easy" and "simple" recipes are usually quite the challenge.

Therefore, I for this first post, I will conduct a review of two of the Pioneer woman's recipes. I am actually a BIG fan of hers, and her recipes never lack.......work, but in her case the food is usually WELL WORTH any effort it took to make the meal!

As a part of my "review" I will rate the meal on Taste, Difficulty, Amount of ingredients (because the amount of ingredients involved correlates with the amount of money you will spend buying the ingredients), How much it smells up a house (which, I'm all about having a good smelling house), How many times we can eat on the meal, how messy your kitchen is afterwards AND just an overall score of would I make it again.
Yes it alot of scoring but it will go quickly. Each will be scored 1-10 , 10 is the best.

"Beef with Pepper"
I first cooked her Beef Stir-Fry (with rice noodles, not rice)
found here:



Taste: 6 for me 7 for my husband. I'm a bit picky about Chinese style food and this was just a one note taste and that was just "OK" to me.

Difficulty: 81/2 The words "honey will you...." came out of my mouth possibly 10 times while making this...which an average meal usually has me asking my husband for his help just once (usually to drain pasta and etc. ITS JUST SO HEAVY!)

Ingredient Amount: I rate it a 9- it had me chasing around the grocery store looking for "chile paste" --what in the world is chile paste?! I finally found it....

Smelly House: 10 no 11.5 ---it was bad yall, i mean real bad. My house smelled for DAYS- PLURAL!!!

Number of Meals Produced: twice.....the day of and the next day...I was just DONE after that.

Kitchen mess: 10 - all i can say is YIKES.

Overall score: 4 we wont be making this dish again. Between the ok taste and the smelly house...I just refuse to do it again.

But dont get me wrong- I LOOOVE the Pioneer Woman!


VS.


Penne a la Betsy
found here:




Taste: 9 I was thinking about eating it all day the next day as well!

Difficulty: 6.5 I Pioneer woman is never an "easy" cook- but usually is well worth the effort!

Ingredient Amount: I rate it a 6, not bad

Smelly House: 6- nothing my Scentsy's couldnt handle! Plus this gave off a delicious smell!

Number of Meals Produced: twice for dinner, then my husband has taken it to for lunch once- he likes it enough to eat it 3 times!

Kitchen mess: 6 i gave it a 6 only because when you make the sauce, watch out because it will slosh everywhere if you stir it too fast...other wise- it wasnt bad!

Overall Score: 8.5 We WILL be having this dish again!!!!

Like the old TV show suggests: "You take the good and then you take the bad, you take them both and then you have "The Facts of Life." ;)
~Kate