Menu 10/30 -11/2

Menu for this week - all repeats.

• Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
• Baked Stuffed Shells
• Roast Chicken (always a good standby)
• Turkey Feta Burgers

Chicken Cashew Chili

Source
Epicurious

My Review
This is a dish I've made many times before. Along with the Japanese Beef Stew, I made it for the Comfort Food themed holiday party D and I hosted last year. It's not the easiest thing to make, but not that hard, either. Doesn't look that appetizing when finished, but tastes delicious. If you are planning to freeze it or save it for a period of time in the refrigerator, I would recommend not putting the cashews that you add at the end until it's time to eat. They get soggy. Note: still put the cashews in the chili sauce at the beginning of the recipe.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Medium
Ingredients: Many
Time: 60+ minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Cilantro

Southwestern Couscous Salad

Source
Cooking Light - October 2006

My Review
Both D and I very much enjoyed this recipe, which is saying quite a bit because normally D dislikes couscous. I made it with chicken instead of turkey. I also used a sun-dried tomato & spinach couscous rather than just plain couscous (the store was out of plain) - not sure how that impacted flavor, but it was very pretty looking. The frozen corn I used was petite white corn, which is typically sweeter than regular corn. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. I highly recommend this as a quick, easy, fairly healthy dinner that reheats well.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Medium
Time: 15 minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Cilantro

Ratatouille Bread Pudding

Source
Cooking Light - October 2006

My Review
I was pleasantly surprised by this. I took a chance on this one since I haven't liked eggplant when I've tried it in the past. However, that was a good 5 years ago, so I decided to try it again. It was actually quite good. Plus, it's vegetarian (not vegan), which is always good for the environment. I think I prefer it to the Beef Ratatouille Pie. It's a large recipe, so would be good for leftovers.

Taste: Very good
Ease: Medium
Ingredients: Many
Time: 60+ minutes
Fresh herbs needed: Basil

Chicken Breast Pierre

Source
Allrecipes.com

My Review
This is the meal that I made when Vic & Mike came over for dinner a few years ago and I drank a bottle of wine myself and then proceeded to spend the rest of the night throwing up. It took a few years for me to be able to eat this recipe again because I associated the taste with that night. Anyway, it was unusually good last night. I didn't measure anything out, so I think I put in a bit more Tabasco than was called for. Whatever I did, it tasted much better than I remember it. Oh, I also used Italian style stewed tomatoes, rather than just plain stewed tomatoes. Maybe that made a difference. This is a great recipe for weekends because the only fresh ingredient needed is chicken and those could be thawed from frozen if necessary. Anyway, a great and easy recipe. I would recommend serving with plain rice or some other carb that allows the excess sauce to be soaked up and eaten.

Taste: Very Good
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Minimal
Time: 40 minutes (mostly cook time)
Fresh herbs needed: None

Banana Bread

Source
My mom

My Review
Best when made with very ripe bananas.

Japanese Beef Stew

Source
Epicurious

My Review
This is always a tasty meal. It was one of the dishes I made for the 25+ person dinner party we had last December. It's also fairly cheap since 1.5 lb of beef chuck costs about $6 at Whole Foods (i.e. it would be much cheaper at a more conventional grocery store). It's also quite easy to make, though you need to get it started about 1.5 hours before it is to be served... most of that is cook time.

Taste: Excellent
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Minimal
Time: 60 minutes (mostly cook time)
Fresh herbs needed: None

Menu 10/3 - 10/5

Again, another week of non-new stuff, but since it's new to the blog...

• Japanese Beef Stew (repeat)
  
• Skillet Lasagna (repeat - see this post for review)
• Chicken Breast Pierre (repeat)
  

Roast Chicken

Source
Epicurious (Thomas Keller recipe)

My Review
Have made this one many times now. It's so amazingly easy and delicious. I always feel so fancy when I make it, but it's so freakin' simple! Love it.

Taste: Excellent
Ease: Easy
Ingredients: Minimal
Time: 60 minutes (almost all cook time ... about 5 minutes of prep total)
Fresh herbs needed: None