Recipe Reviews! Week 12

It has been a bit warm here, actually hot some days, with temperatures pushing 90 degrees. As such, it isn't always fun to cook, or bake, and make the house even hotter from the heat of the oven or stove. Since I haven't convinced Jason that fasting is not only better for the budget, but also for keeping the house cooler and saves time, I still have to make food. As a result, I have been trying to make foods that require less stove time because of that. So, this week's recipes included...

No Bake Energy Bites

I think this recipe comes from my sister, L., but it also possibly came from my friend, Tiffany. I can't remember which, but I know they both have
made something similar. I have had this recipe for at least 3 years and never made it before this week.

(I somehow never took a picture of the finished product! Sorry!)

The Honest Review: They were tasty!!! I did goof up and put in more honey than it called for, so they were a little too sweet, and a bit sticky. But, they still tasted delicious, had a nice crunch, and were slightly addicting. I used a measuring teaspoon to form the balls, which made them small and just the right bite-size. I may have eaten most of them myself, although Jason enjoyed them, too. He just never remembered that they were being stored in the fridge! This recipe is staying in our collection.

Alterations: Use the right amount, or less, honey!

Lettuce Salad

Just plain old Romaine lettuce, onions, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, hardboiled egg, cheddar cheese, with fresh ground pepper and salt on top. No dressing, or olive oil and vinegar. I try to make salad for one meal a day several days of the week, but don't always succeed. During the summer, I try harder as it doesn't require much cooking.

Spinach Salad

Pretty much the same thing as the lettuce salad, except I forgot the cheese this time. Jason does not do any kind of salad dressings, home-made or store-bought, nor any oil and vinegar stuff. So we just eat dry salads around here. It took me a bit to get used to it, but I now enjoy it. Sometimes I do like a little oil and balsamic vinegar, but it's pretty rare that I actually have the good vinegar on hand.

The Honest Review for Both Salads: Jason likes salads, and will happily eat them.....as long as he doesn't have to make them. He occasionally asks for bacon, or maybe some grilled chicken, with a salad but, as long as he is getting plenty of red meat otherwise and there is a hardboiled egg on the salad, he is satisfied with plain salad. I like salads, too, especially when it's hot. Little Pumpkin has not taken to eating lettuce yet, though she has tried.

Hamburger Pot Pie

I have two recipes that are almost identical. I made the recipe on the left, my Grandma's recipe, this past week. The recipe on the right just has additional spices in it as the only difference. This was a staple food growing up, and I had mixed memories of whether it was good, or not.

The Honest Review: I thought it was absolutely yummy! And, so did Pumpkin. Jason, well, he said that it was ok; it tasted good, but hamburger doesn't belong in pot pie. If it was up to him, he would not make this recipe again- he would rather have "real" pot pie. I thought my Grandma's recipe had a very nice flavor, it wasn't too soupy, and it just tasted like good, home-made comfort food to me. Even though Jason didn't care for it, this recipe is staying in our collection.

Alterations: Try adding the additional spices from the second recipe. If I still like it as well, I'll just combine the recipes and only keep Grandma's copy.

Beef Bar-B-Que

I have kind of been on a search for a home-made barbeque sauce that Jason will approve. So far, what I have made in the past has not been received as "that's a good sauce!" In case you didn't know, Jason doesn't like most of your standard condiments, and he is a barbeque snob. And, every time I try a new barbeque sauce recipe, he asks why I don't just use the store-bought stuff. Even though I have pointed out that the ingredients in the bottles are basically the same as what I make, he claims the home-made stuff is either "too tomato-ey, vinegar-y, sweet, sugar-y, zing-y," etc. I made the above recipe as yet another attempt to persuade him that we can make our own barbeque sauce.

(I served it over some little smokie hot-dog thingys that we had in the freezer.)

The Honest Review: This was the first home-made barbeque sauce that Jason went back for seconds. He didn't say that he loved it, but he did say that it was better than all the others I have made. It was an improvement, though there was still some element about the taste that he didn't particularly care for. And, again, he asked why we can't just buy barbeque sauce. Since this is the first time he has not said he disliked the barbeque sauce, this recipe is staying in our collection.

(Previously, in Week 6, I had tried a Barbequed Steak recipe that I was maybe going to keep just for the sauce recipe. That Barbequed Steak recipe is now tossed, replaced by this Beef Bar-B-Que recipe for now.)

Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

I have to say that I was leery of this recipe, and I have no idea where it came from. I really didn't want to try it but, in the spirit of trying all my recipes, I made it anyway.

(I once again forgot to take a photo of the finished meal!)

The Honest Review: Jason asked, "Who gave you a recipe that tastes just like soup from a can?" And, that's exactly what it tasted like. Honestly, if we had not just reviewed our budget, I would've tossed the pot of soup. I don't particularly care for soup from a can, and didn't think it was worth the calories. Thankfully, it didn't make very much so it was all eaten within 2 days. This recipe is tossed from our collection.

Onion Roasted Potatoes

This was another recipe that called for an "instant" type of ingredient, and I wasn't sure if I would like it. My sister, L., has turned out some great food with onion soup mix packets, but I have not made many things like that myself. I had a packet of the onion soup mix leftover from when I made my sister's Deer Roast recipe in Week 9. I made these potatoes to go along with Jason's last package of elk steaks that he seasoned and grilled.

The Honest Review: The potatoes were quite good! Jason liked them, and Pumpkin and I enjoyed them, also. They were a quick and easy recipe, which is nice to have around. This potato recipe would be a nice compliment to a roast, I think. This recipe is staying in our collection.

(The elk, by the way, was very nicely grilled, but the seasoning choices that Jason used were not our favorites. I don't remember what all he put on it, but it was a bit of a strange combination.)

Marinated Tomatoes

I can't ever remember having either of these recipes at home. The two recipes are almost identical with Kitty W.'s seeming to be a half-batch, except it didn't include thyme. I made Kitty W.'s recipe and just added in the thyme. I did blanch and peel the tomatoes as the recipe on the right said to do. I fully expected to eat this all by myself as Jason does not like anything with vinegar.

The Honest Review: It was superb! I loved it, Little Pumpkin loved it, and Jason even thought it was tasty! I was shocked!!! It was still a little bit too "zingy" for Jason, but he took more than one helping! This recipe is going to be a great side dish for summer meals. It is cool, full of flavor, and just delicious. The flavors did become more enhanced the longer it sat in the fridge, so I would recommend letting it sit for several hours before serving. Unless you are wanting milder flavors. I would highly recommend trying this recipe. This recipe is staying in our collection.

Alterations: Try using a little less red wine vinegar for Jason, and peeling the tomatoes is not necessary although it was nice.

Well, folks, that is all I have for recipes and food this week.

Along the lines of summer and salads, do you like green salads? And if so, what are your regular salad toppings for a lettuce or spinach salad?