While surfing Pinterest for dinner ideas I must have come across cashew chicken as an option. I was either looking for slow cooker/crock pot ideas or just anything that would jump out. I asked the Hubby what he thought and it was a surprising yes! Originally I found a recipe somewhere else, but after endless scrolling and clicking just to find it again I found Cookie Rookie's version; 1. It was easy to follow, 2. It was similar to the one I found initially and 3. I couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere at that point.
Yay or Nay: Yay Yay Yay!
It's always good to find something unexpected that is easy, tasty AND is exactly what the recipe promises. Cookie Rookie says that it is SUPER EASY and it is exactly that! I would say it is not worth searing the chicken beforehand if you're short on time as you can leave it in a little longer in the crockpot to cook. Also, I had an excess of ginger so I put waaaaaay more than is in the recipe and I have to say it does add more of a spicy flavour. Apologies for the rushed and dodgy plate pictures! TRY THIS NOW!!
I remember seeing this recipe for Spinach and Feta Pie on TV and I never got the chance to cook it as my living situation at the time didn't allow me to have control of the kitchen! Anyway when I did get the chance I jumped on this recipe. Now, Jamie promised it would be a 30 minute meal which is a big ask! He made it look so easy, would it be like that for me??
Yay or Nay: Yay!
Admittedly it took me a few tries to get this down but the instructions aside from the filo pastry assembling is pretty straightforward. Definitely don't skip the baking sheet part as it makes for less cleaning which no one likes after a long day. I do like to part bake mine if I know it'll be for dinner the next night, then reheat and bake the rest of the way on the night you'll eat it.
Living in South Korea I and the hubby grew to love this fast and tasty Korean dish. We would frequent the local Kimbab shop which we nicknamed Uncle Grumpy's (the owner was particularly grumpy!). They had the best bimbimbap, kimbap and everything in between. You can't go wrong with a fried egg on top! However, once we came back to the US and UK, finding this dish is easy enough but not for the price Grumpy'swould charge. Plus a challenge to remake something we both love was enough for me to look far and wide (in the comfort of my sofa) for a decent and authentic recipe! Maangchi is Korean (tick) so I trust her more than other recipes for Kimchi Bokkeumbap.
Yay or Nay: Yay!
This is an easy to follow recipe and you get a similar taste to the real deal! This tip is more to do with me rather than the recipe itself but I never seem to have enough kimchi juice or kimchi so make sure you have plenty! Also, I forgot the dried seaweed and fried egg which you need to finish the dish but of course I forgot to take a pic of the final product.
This is the second part to my cauliflower burger review. The post urged me to make this Magic Green Sauce to go with the burger and it looked easy enough to cobble together. Anything called magic would not need much convincing to make me try it!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Like it says on the tin, pretty much throw everything in a blender and voila! Aside from trying to get the texture right it was easy enough and punch to boot! It got a much better review than the burgers and the hubby asked it to be made again minus the burgers...
Every now and then I'll go onto Pinch of Yum's site to see if there's any recipe I'd like to try. I've tried a couple and they've turned out pretty well. The photo's and styling are always beautiful and inspirational. These cauliflower burgers caught my eye as ticked the healthy box and who doesn't love a burger?! Now, this post is in two parts as she recommended the Magic Green Sauce on top so I had to make this one too!
Yay or Nay: Nay
With some adjustments this would have gotten a better review. I'm not going to lie, it is fairly labour intensive but once you have the routine down it will go faster I'm sure. The biggest issue was that it didn't quite bind and was generally sloppy. When you first get it in the pan to fry, it would fall apart and crumble but it would stay together when once you flipped it. I gave up making patties and put them in a muffin/cupcake pan and that worked much better. In terms of flavour; spicy, no but tasty, kind of in a cheesy bites kind of way.
I watched this recipe on Jamie's 30 Minute Meals years ago and somehow remembered it when I was craving something Italian and Ragu-ish. Jools' Pasta promised to be flavourful and quick which is a plus in anyone's book. Obviously I didn't make the accompanying parts of the menu, too much work! This post is missing a picture of the finished dish as a late night at work rendered my brain MIA.
Yay or Nay: Yay
This surpassed my expectations, I really do think you need all the ingredients for this as the spices make a difference. I had made it without the spices and it lacked that je nais se quois! Despite my own advice I didn't use a carrot as I didn't have one but substituted it with a pepper. It still tasted delicious, even better the day after as leftovers!
What a surprise to see a UK TV food personality in my local library! Naturally I quickly borrowed Home Cooking Made Easy to see what I could rustle up! The recipe of Thai Beef Salad caught my husband's eye as he put it, had fish sauce - hmmm haven't heard that one before. Usually fish sauce repulses people but I guess I'm pretty badass at making my mum's nuoc mam!
Yay or Nay: A resounding YAY!
It took a few tries to find the right cut of steak at the supermarket to suit our palates. I bought half sirloin (no idea what cut this is but if anyone can educate me on this!) as opposed to sirloin as it was cheaper! I used coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil and it definitely gives it a pleasant nutty taste that is super mild. Make extra of the dressing as you'll need it to dress everything properly!
We all know you can lose many hours scrolling through Pinterest and I was on the search for something to bring along to a work potluck breakfast. At first I thought this would be a nice healthy dish to bring but decided against it as I realised that the 'Surprise Entree' might have to be savoury rather than sweet. I made these Individual Baked Oatmeal muffins anyway as a tester for the actual day (even though I didn't use it in the end!)
Yay of Nay: Yay-ish but I'll reserve judgement until I try them again!
I did doctor the recipe as I thought 1/4 cup of honey was quite a lot, but it ended up being that they did need that extra sweetness and no amount of choc chips or berries would help that. I would also up the amount of berries in each portion to really get the flavour of it. Fresh raw cranberries so add a lovely tart dimension to it!
As much as I love Italian food I've never been a big fan of meatballs, I think it's the unknown quality of the meat hidden under a tomato sauce. My husband's mother makes great meatballs and it kind of made me want to try to make my own ones. I was struggling for ideas for healthy weeknight dinners and the Chicken Meatballs and Garlic Bread was in a Real Simple I was flicking through.
Yay or Nay: Yay
Like it says on the tin, real simple! Surprisingly tasty, filling and great for leftovers. I did substitute turkey for chicken mainly because I couldn't find any mince chicken! Any ideas as Wegmans and the local public market do not have any?? No I didn't make my own tomato sauce but the Rinaldi Marinara one was pretty good!
I know I should publish pictures of the finished product but it's hard when you're hungry after work!
A bit of a late post as the combo of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year swept me along. In preparation I took a bunch of pictures that I could use when things calmed down. I spotted the Chocolate Coconut Pecan Pie recipe in the November issue of the magazine and it looked like a good thing to bring to a family gathering. I love anything coconut tasting and I figured you can't go wrong with chocolate in a pie right?
Yay or Nay: Yay
Pretty easy like the recipe and it tasted gooooooood! I did make some minor adjustments to the recipe as it asked for 1 cup of corn syrup and I just couldn't make myself buy that much sugar so I just put a squeeze of some leftover pancake syrup in, however I did keep the brown sugar amount the same.
