Maple Glazed Beef Briskett

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon  cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 - 2 lbs beef brisket, scored on both sides

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

juice of 1 orange

2 cloves garlic, smashed

4 slices ginger (1/16 inch thick)

4 slices orange peel

Directions:

Combine cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.

Rub all over brisket and place in a ziplock bag.

Combine remaining ingredients and blend to mix.

Pour over brisket.

Marinade for 2 hours or overnight.

Transfer to crockpot and cook on high for 3 1/2 - 4 hour or low for 7-9 hours

Turn once or twice while cooking.

Serve with liquid served over the briskett.

Verdict:

You've got to love crockpot meals. Although they sometimes take some earlier preperation, like doing it all the night before, it's worth it because of how easy it is the next day. Basically effortless! Our briskett was a little on the fatty side.. so maybe we'll try for a better piece of meat next time.

Rating:

Ashley: belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Five Cheese Ziti

Ingredients:

1 lb penne pasta

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Sauce: 4 cups tomato sauce

2 cups alfredo sauce

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons fontinella cheese

1 teaspoon garlic pepper seasoning

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Topping: 3 cups mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup italian breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons romano cheese (grated)

3 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated)

1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons parsley (chop)

Directions:

Combine sauce ingredients and cover and refridgerate til ready to use.

Topping: whisk mozzarella, breadcrumbs, romano cheese, and parmesan cheese

Add garlic, oil, and parsley and mix til blended.

Cover and refridgerate til ready to use.

Whole dish: Cook the pasta as directed on package and drain.

Pour 1/2 of sauce mixture into the pan and spread evenly

Add pasta to remaining sauce and pour into the pan.

Spread 1 cup mozzarella cheese over pasta and then add the topping.

Cook for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees (til the topping is brown and the cheese is bubbling)

Verdict:

I didn't use any parsley

Rating:

Ashley: belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

2 cups mushrooms

Chicken breasts

2 tablespoons oil

Salt and pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

Zest of one orange

1/2 red bell pepper, diced small

8 ounces water chestnuts (drained and chopped)

3 scallions, chopped

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1/2 large head iceberg lettuce, core removed, head quartered

Directions:

Cut chicken into small bite size pieces.

Add oil to skillet and heat up.

Cook the chicken in the oil.

Add mushrooms, salt, and pepper and cook for a minute or two.

Finely chop the garlic and ginger and add to skillet.

Zest the orange into the pan.

Dice the bell pepper into small bits and add to skillet.

Drain and chop water chestnuts and scallions and add to skillet.

Add hoisin sauce and toss to evenly coat the mixture.

Spoon mixture onto lettuce leaves and wrap up and enjoy

Verdict:

Another pretty time consuming meal. I researched how to zest, thought I could pull it off, but I think I need a little more practice with it.. it all seemed to stick to the grater. I also couldn't find scallions anywhere, so I just didn't use any of those. Hoisin sauce is asian bbq sauce and is found on the asian food aisle of the grocery store. Scott enjoyed this one more than I did. I wasn't very impressed with the meal though and probably wouldn't make it again, but Scott really enjoyed it, more than the pf chang's version he said, and he's going to ask for it to be made again. For some reason I think whenever I cook with ginger I don't end up enjoying the meal. Not that I don't like the ginger in it, but the smell when you are cutting it isn't my favorite.. This is a fun meal to kind of change up your every day dinners though to something a little different and out of the usual.  

Rating:

Ashley: 6 belches       Scott: 9 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

Stuffing: 1/2 cup smoked provolone cheese

8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup  grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

Chicken: chicken breasts

4 ounces cooking oil

2 cups flour

salt and pepper to taste

Sauce: 1 small onion, chopped

6 cups sliced mushrooms

24 ounces beef broth (or marsala wine)

8 ounces heavy cream

Directions:

Combine all the stuffing ingredients in a bowl.

Butterfly cut the thickest section of the chicken.

Spoon desired amount of stuffing on one half of the butterflied chicken.

Gently press the stuffing down and fold over the other half of the chicken.

Add oil to a skillet and heat up.

Put flour in a pan and salt and pepper to taste.

Dip chicken in flour mix and then into the skillet. 

Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Once they are browned, move chicken into a baking pan.

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Add onions and mushrooms to the skillet.

Saute until onions are translucent then add the broth.

Bring to a simmer and add heavy cream.

Simmer on low until the sauce is reduced by half. 

Pour sauce over chicken and serve. 

Verdict:

Do not be deceived.. If this recipe looks at all simple to you.. it's not!! It took me forever to make. Lets see, where to begin. It was really good, just a lot of work! It needs some definite tweaking. The sauce was too thin, and I used chicken that was too thin. Basically this meal should have been more thick all around. I also need to improve my butterfly cutting skills, but having thicker chicken might help that problem as well. Oh and I didnt use sun-dried tomatoes, just some cherry ones cut in half and thrown on the skillet for a bit. Don't use 2 cups of flour, you don't need it all and you end up wasting tons!!

I had to knead the stuffing mixture with my hands to get it to all mix together and I accidentally left out the tomatoes and had to shove them in my chickens later. This dinner is super tastey though!! Very fattening and time consuming but really really good!! Just gotta thicken that sauce and it'll be perfect!

Rating:

Ashley: 9 belches       Scott: 9 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Ranch Cheddar Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Hidden Valley Ranch

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Chicken breasts

Directions:

 Add ranch and flour together and stir well.

In a seperate bowl add the cheddar and parmesan.

Coat the chicken breasts first in the ranch mixture and then in the cheese.

Place on a glass cooking pan.

Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees or until chicken is cooked through

Verdict:

I got this recipe from the back label on the ranch. I saw it on the back when I first bought the ranch and have been wanting to try it since! I'm glad I tried it because it was delicious! Funny that it sat in our fridge for a while and the day I decide to cook the meal Scott had just opened a new bottle of ranch and thrown out the old one.. (new bottle had a different recipe...for tuna... barf!) But I was determined to make the chicken so I hunted down the recipe. It is soo good!! Nice and cheesey, so of course I loved it!! And it really was pretty simple to throw together too. All the ingredients are pretty basic so it's one you could cook often if you dont want to run to the grocery store.

Rating:

Ashley: 8.8 belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients:

1 package of fajita steak

Peppers

Beans

Onion

Flour tortillas

Cheese

Directions:

Pour steak package into large skillet and cook the meat.

Cut up peppers and onion and add to the skillet.

Spoon onto tortilla.

Add cheese, beans, and salsa as you desire.

Roll up and enjoy.

Verdict:

Once again pretty quick and simple. You could go more all out and buy just regular steak and add spices and seasonings to it, but it's a lot easier to buy the bag with sliced meat, already flavored, throw it on the skillet and call it good. This is another one of those that you can add in whatever you think would be good. Scott was pumped for this one, mainly because of the steak.. but overall it really was a good meal.

Rating:

Ashley: 8.6 belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Pepperoni Pasta

Ingredients:

Bow tie pasta

Ragu

Peperoni's

Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook noodles according to package instructions.

Drain noodles and pour into a glass cooking pan.

Stir in ragu, cheese, and peperoni's.

Verdict:

This is a very simple meal. Quick, easy, filling. Just what I like. You can also heat everything up in the microwave if you don't want to use the oven. All you are doing is warming everything up so just be sure your cheese melts and you'll be good to go.

Rating:

Ashley: 8 belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Top with a layer of cheese and place back in oven for a few minutes to melt cheese.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts

Celery

Grapes

Mayo

Lemon juice

Crescents

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook chicken breasts (I used the george forman) until cooked through.

Cut into bite size pieces.

Slice grapes in halves and chop celery into small pieces.

Add celery, grapes, chicken, and mayo together in a bowl.

Pour a small amount of lemon juice in (like a cap full.. not much at all)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cut crescents in half and spoon chicken salad into it. 

Verdict:

The ingredients and directions on this one are all very vague. What my mom told me when I called home from college to make this recipe on my own for the first time was "Just make it look like it's the right consistency". So the amount of grapes, celery, mayo, it's all really up to you. Just for some information I used 3 celery sticks.. and as many grapes as needed to get that "right consistency" :) love you mom! We enjoy this meal a lot! It's very easy and you can add as much variation as you want. Some people do apples or almonds.. spice it up a little I guess?

Rating:

Ashley: belches       Scott: grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Swiss Chicken

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts

4 slices swiss cheese

Box of stuffing mix

1/4 cube butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup

Water

Directions:

Place chicken breasts in a pyrex pan.

Cover each piece of chicken with a slice of swiss cheese

Pour cream of chicken cans into a seperate bowl.

Dilute with water until its a gravy consistency.

Pour soup mixture over the top of chicken.

Cook in the oven for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Mix stuffing with 1/4 cube melted butter.

Pour stuffing over the top of each chicken the last 15 mintues of cooking.

Verdict:

My chicken breasts were frozen when I started so the cooking time could change if you are starting with thawed meat. We really enjoy this meal, however, everytime I cook it I get super sick feeling! I don't know what it is but by the time it's cooking in the oven I'm ready to throw up. The dinner always turns out really good! It's a good amount of cheesey which I always love!!

Ratings:

Ashley: 8.5 belches       Scott: 9 belches       Payton: 10 wags

Calzones

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Toppings for pizza

Mozzarella cheese

Marinara sauce

Directions:

Combine water, yeast, salt and sugar.

Stir to dissolve and set aside for 15 minutes

Add flour and mix til smooth

Put on a flour surface and knead for 10 minutes

(It should feel smooth and elasticy)

Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in it.

Let it rise in a warm place til it doubles in size (1 hour)

Cut into fourths and roll into a ball.
Cover and rise for 15 minutes.

Roll flat and place toppings, cheese, and sauce inside

Fold over and pinch shut. Cut an incision on top.

Brush with an eggwash (1 beaten egg and 2 teaspoons water)

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or til golden brown.

Verdict:

This dough took forever to make!!! It was good, but I don't know if it's worth the effort to make the dough. Kneading for 10 minutes gets tiring quick!! The eggwash helps to make the top of the calzone crusty and brown up a little more. Ours didnt get super golden brown, but they were still good. We also decided to only make 2 and used one fourth for the bottom and the other fourth for the top.. this made the calzones HUGE!! Next time we'll make them just individual ones with only one of  the fourth of doughs. Overall a fun meal because you can put your own goodness inside of them. Sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives.. you name it!

Ratings:

Ashley: 7.8 belches       Scott: 7.9 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad

No Picture.. Sorry :(

Ingredients:

Dressing: 3 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup mayo
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Salad: 1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn flakes crumbs
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 chicken breasts
2 cups vegetable oil (to fry)
3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup napa cabbage
1/2 carrots (shredded)
1 green onion (chopped)
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
1/3 cup chow mein noodles

Directions:

Salad: Preheat a deep pan to medium heat with oil in it
Beat egg and add milk to it
In a seperate bowl combine flour, corn flakes, salt, and pepper
Cut chicken into thin strips and dip into egg mix and than flour mix
Put into the pan and fry for 5 minutes or until brown and cooked through
Wash and cut romaine lettuce, red cabbage, and napa cabbage
Toss salads with carrots
Sprinkle onion, almonds, and chow mein noodles on top

 

Dressing: Mix all ingredients listed for dressing.

Refridgerate until ready to use on salad.

Verdict:

This recipe was pretty good! It definitely needs a little tweaking the next time around though. The dressing tastes exactly like the applebees dressing but it's a little too thin, so I've got to come up with a way to thicken it next time. Also the crunchy chow mein noodles we used had too much of a different taste and were too thick compared to the ones they use. Other than that this recipe is really good! I didnt have time to bread the chicken so I just grilled it in the george forman. It still tasted just fine. I also owe a big thanks to my mom for this dinner!! She helped me whip it together so fast!! Couldn't have done it without you mom, love you!

Ratings:

Ashley: 7 belches       Scott: 8.6 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
Spaghetti noodles
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green onion
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sundried tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 groung black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cupe grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Coat chicken with cajun seasoning
Saute chicken in butter in a large skillet
Thinly chop the green onion, cut tomatoes in halves
Add onion, tomatoes, basil, salt, garlic, pepper, and cream
Heat through.
Pour over cooked spaghetti and top with parmesan cheese.

Verdict:

I really enjoyed this dinner! Maybe part of it was because I didn't cook it, and I think everything tastes better when you didn't have to do all the work right? Thanks to my wonderful husband for cooking this one! We added a lot more cheese than what the recipe called for and it made it delicious!!! I'm a cheese-a-holic though so of course the more cheese the better for me. The sauce was nice and creamy and the tomatoes were perfect!! Scott sugggested next time to add the cajun seasoning to the sauce rather than coat the chicken with it.. I thought it tasted just fine the way it was but we'll try it different next time. Either way we'll be trying this recipe again once this challege is over. I also didn't care too much for the specifics. I used cherry tomatoes instead of "sun dried" and just regular pepper. You can also use whatever noodles you want. I used spaghetti because I already had it at home.

Ratings:

Ashley: 8.7 belches       Scott: 8 grunts       Payton: 10 wags

Hot Dogs

Ingredients:

Hot dogs (Scott wanted some sausage ones)

Buns

Any condiments you want

Directions:

Warm up hot dog

Place on bun

Add desired condiments

Enjoy!

Verdict:

It's another classic meal that is super easy. We enjoyed a night out by having a picnic at the park with this meal. Scott hates hot dogs boiled in water so cooking them over a grill is a much better option for him. For a side dish we had some suddenly salad, it's quick and easy to make!

Ratings:

Ashley: 7.7 grunts       Scott:       Payton: 10 wags