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