Broiled Maple-Soy Glazed Salmon Fillets with Toasted Sesame Seeds ~ page 240

This was outstanding! I would highly recommend making this! It was indeed done in under 30 minutes and was so moist on the inside while being caramelized and almost crisp on the outside. You broil it, so it goes fast. Loved it, and wouldn't change anything about it. I didn't have a broiler pan, so I just used a cookie cooking rack as you can see in the pic below. It worked great, I just had to scrub it several times to make sure my cookies wont taste like salmon next time I bake! --Carissa

30 Min Red Roasted Potatoes

I am used to making sure I start my roasted potatoes long before I start the rest of dinner- I had never even thought of nuking them in the microwave for a bit first :)  This worked really well and ALL of the roasted potatoes were eaten! 

I did toss mine with minced garlic after taking them out of the oven to cool.  Yummy! 

Almond- Crusted Chicken Breasts with Cranberry-Orange Relish

Another success!  I used pretty big chicken breasts, so I had to cook mine in the oven a bit longer than it says to just "warm" them.  I loved the crust, and we both enjoyed the cranberry relish.  Danny asked if I used a can of cranberry sauce- and when I told him I had used craisins and made the sauce from scratch, he was once again shocked we were eating so quickly and it was so yummy!  I REALLY am enjoying being able to come inside from playing outside at 5:30 pm and have dinner on the table by 6:00 ish!  Without much thought earlier in the day- except to get my meat out to thaw in the morning.

Make sure you use Panko bread crumbs- if you've never used them before, you will be hooked!  They stay crispy and crunchy.  Look for them in the chinese/asian section of the grocery store.

Quick Cheesy Ravioli Bake

"How'd you make that so fast?" 

That was the comment my husband had when I said dinner's ready!  I did a whole recipe of the sauce, but only one 9 oz container of Buitoni ravioli- so I froze half of the sauce for another meal.  This was very yummy!  I have a recipe for a similar version but it uses canned ravioli- this was MUCH better!  We ate all of the leftovers.  This is a great kids dish- Brayden loved it!

This took me 25 minutes from start to table.

Chicken Fricassee with Artichokes and Leeks

I made this for my hubby, son and brother in law last week and if my husband had kept his mouth shut about their being artichokes in it, they would have all devoured it!  Instead they picked through the sauce, but ate all of the chicken.   It was super yummy and easy to make.  We usually eat white chicken breasts, but the juciness and smoothness of the bone-in thigh chicken was a yummy treat!  It took right at 30 minutes from start to table.  A success in my eyes! 

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese Pg. 145

I didn’t time this one, but it was quick and easy. I used a mixture of Colby, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar because that’s what I had in my fridge. I thought it was very good. I cut this recipe in half because there are only two of us and I didn’t want to make too much then not eat it if we hated it. The recipe said to add water if you needed, but I wanted a richer flavor so I added a little extra evaporated milk. It was extremely cheesy to me, but J (the husband) said it didn’t have enough. To be honest I think he was hoping for a more Velveeta-style texture but he said it was good and he would like it again.


I also used salted butter because I didn't read it right. Ohh well!
I would definitely make this again, and maybe even try it with the broccoli and garlic suggestion. We served this with chicken strips and some veggies.
 
BTW- I used an 11" pan for the half recipe.  Just to give you an idea how much that made.

Chili Pg. 84

Last night I made the chili dish. With no prep work or pulling things from my pantry, It took me 40 minutes, I had set the timer out of curiosity. :)

I had never used chilies in adobo sauce, and don’t think I ever would again to me it was a strange sweet with an underlying smokey taste. I would use maybe habenero or something for some kick and flavor rather than the chili in adobo. I also thought the chili was too soupy so I had to add a little flour to thicken it up.

For us, the chili was a little too sweet and the adobo sauce was really all we could taste. We prefer a spicy chili.

With that being said, it wasn’t the worst dish I’ve ever had. In fact, paired with some corn chips, a little cheese and sour cream garnish my husband and I had two bowls. However in the end, my husband asked that I never make this dish again that he was much happier waiting several hours while it cooked in the Crockpot than this quick dish. I ended up throwing the rest of the pot out.