Easy Cheese Lasagna p. 179

I was very intrigued by this recipe because we make lasagna pretty often.  I didn't read all the way through that it should really be called Microwave Lasagna :)  Oh well!

I didn't have no bake noodles, and usually don't use them in my recipe, so I tried them out- don't do it!  It took about 40 minutes of microwaving time to cook it enough and it soaked up every last bit of liquid from the sauce.  Use the no bake noodles and it should be fine!

It had great flavor and I'll try it again the correct way- a great alternative to the usual one.

I did have a concern that I haven't asked about though...anyone else a bit concerned about all of this microwave cooking with plastic wrap on top?  I thought I'd heard that that wasn't the best for us- or is it just stryrofoam in the microwave?  Just a thought that bounced in my head....

Quick cheesy breadsticks p. 166

These were super easy and very yummy!  I've made something similar before- I would have eaten them with some warm marinara sauce if I'd had some :)  The pepper on them was a nice touch!

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese p. 145

Well... this one didn't go as well for me as it did some of you!  I tried to do half a recipe and used Thomas the Train Rice Pasta noodles (I had them and Brayden was asking for them)- It absorbed all the liquid very quickly, I added some more, but in the end the noodles still didn't cook as much as I'd have liked them to and we didn't have enough cheese sauce.  We'll try this one again the right way!

Skillet Shepherd's Pie p. 118

Shepherd's Pie is one of my favorite dishes.  I used ground lamb meat (look for it near the hamburger meat and they usually have a section of ground lamb, veal, chicken, etc.)  I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies (what I had in the freezer). 

We all really enjoyed the flavors of this dish.  It was VERY flavorful and I think using the lamb and fresh thyme had a lot to do with it.  I usually use hamburger meat and it's pretty bland. 

I didn't have time to brown the potatoes but we all enjoyed it!

Basic Vinaigrette p. 21

We really enjoyed this dressing.  We eat salad with dinner probably 5 times a week and usually use store bought lite dressings- I was excited to give these a try and see how easy they really are.  I started the ingredients in my mini food processor and that didn't do the trick!  You really should use a blender. 

This was easy to make- I used red wine vinegar and slowly added the EVOO (after Darby's comment about it being too strong)- I probbly only added a 1/2 cup of EVOO. 

Very Yummy!

Curry in a Hurry ~ page 257

I made this with my leftovers from the pork tenderloin a few days before. I know the picture doesn't make it look that great...it looked better in real life. It was good, I don't know if I'd say it was super great. It just isn't very saucy..I like my curry dishes to have alot of sauce for the rice to absorb. The flavor was good, and it certainly was done in 30 minutes. Everyone at the table cleaned their bowls except for the 3 year old...but she doesn't count since she is a picky eater! If I made it again, I would add some coconut milk to it to make it creamy and saucy. Overall though, it was a nice mild dish that was tasty. --Carissa

Penne with Chicken, Artichokes, Red Peppeer, & Goat Cheese (page 169-170)

This tasted like something you would order at a fancy Italian restaurant, & coming from someone who does not even like artichokes I think this says A LOT! Now you may be asking yourself, “Darby, why on earth would you select a recipe with artichokes in the title if you don’t even like them?” Easy answer: goat cheese! Yes, it was solely the goat cheese that captured my interest. Yum-o! I will admit though, since I don’t like artichokes I have never bought them; in fact, I have never even seen them in the frozen food section, but keep looking they are there. There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe but it’s totally worth it. Some things I think you could cut back on: garlic (the recipe calls for 8 cloves, only do that if you want to have stinky breath for the rest of the year) & goat cheese (as you can see from my picture, it’s pretty creamy; I would cut back to about 4oz.). I used whole wheat penne pasta & will again next time I make this as well. I think I might add some spinach too. You gotta add this one to your list of to-dos; it’s delicious!