July, August and September recap - new recipes

I know. Three months of recap? Yikes. Even though I have kept up with the goal of trying three new recipes a month, I have been less than awesome in sharing it with you. So, starting with July...

July

-Chicken Gyro Salad from Smitten Kitchen
This was tasty and fresh!

-Creamy penne with asparagus and peas from The Make-Ahead Cook
I thought this was pretty tasty, and a nice change of pace (peas aren't something I use often)

-fresh pasta

So, after purchasing a pasta maker on sale (and helping my mom make a batch of pasta earlier this year), it was so fun to try it out for myself! It feels like cheating to call it a recipe when it only has two ingredients, but it counts! We are planning to make another batch very soon.

August
-ham and cheese pastry puffs from Back in the Day Bakery cookbook

This was the first recipe I tried from this gifted cookbook, and they were a tasty hit at my sister's baby shower. Oh, yeah, did I not mention my sister was pregnant? (Past tense because she had her little boy!)

-Black bean and rice bowl from SkinnyTaste

-Moroccan chicken with lemon and olives (Cook's Illustrated monolith)

-Lemongrass Basil Sherbet from Bon Appetit
DUDE. I can't even tell you how amazing this was. It was perfect, and I want it again right. now.

September
-Flat-roasted chicken with baby potatoes from Smitten Kitchen
This was tasty, but it made me realize that I needed a more shallow roasting dish. The potatoes didn't crisp up like they should have. I hope to try this one again with my new pan.

-Coconut beef curry from Bon Appetit
This was tasty, although I would precook the potatoes next time (the curry thickened a little too much because the potatoes needed more cooking time)

-Almost no-knead bread from Cook's Illustrated

oh yeah. Another big winner. I made the version with olives, parmesan and rosemary. I will say that if you don't like olives very much, you probably won't like it, as it is pretty olive-y. We ate almost nothing but bread until the loaf was gone. I'll make it again, definitely, and I want to make the cranberry orange one soon, too.

Okay, that's it! I hope you find something new to make, or at least some dinner inspiration!

May recap - new recipes

We managed to try seven new recipes last month!

Unrelated to food, but here are some bluebonnets!

-Peach pecan crisp
We got a box of peaches from my dad and step-mom and this was a tasty way to enjoy them!

-Pecan-crusted crappie from the Homesick Texan cookbook
We used grouper, and loved this. The sauce was especially great!

-Roasted tomatillo chickpea curry
Um, YES. We will make this again, and maybe with Naan next time.

- Ninfa's spicy pickled carrots
My sister has made this recipe several times, and I feel like this will be a new fridge staple for me. Good with everything!

-Chocolate PB banana yogurt popsicles
These were... okay. We got a new popsicle tray and this was our first attempt. I think the chocolate was too much on these (is that a thing?). We made a second batch using just vanilla yogurt and the fudge ripple leftovers (see below!), and they were delicious. Maybe this recipe just felt like too many flavors at once.

-Oregano-black olive vinaigrette, from Cook's Country magazine, April 2007
Yum. You infuse olive oil with oregano for this recipe, and it was very flavorful. Also, yay for using herbs from our patio!

-Fudge ripple, from The Perfect Scoop
I would say that 'ripple' is a little misleading, because this seemed like a delicious homemade chocolate syrup to me. Name aside, we used this with a homemade vanilla ice cream (from the same book, but not a new recipe for me!), and then, as mentioned, layered with vanilla (Noosa) yogurt to make popsicles.

I hope you find something new to try this week!

April recap - new recipes

Sadly, I only tried two new recipes in April. This is mostly because we went on vacation, so it's not too sad!

This was the lamb ragu with papardelle we devoured at il vecchio, in Pacific Grove, California.

The two recipes we tried were total winners (one of which we made like, four times already...)!

The two we tried last month were both from the Skinnytaste cookbook.

-Broccoli mac and cheese
We substituted 2% milk for the skim. I cannot bring myself to use skim milk. I also added some paprika, garlic powder and ground mustard, as well as roasting the broccoli (instead of boiling it) for a little more flavor.

-sesame roasted green beans
Um, YES. This is the recipe we keep making and devouring. The sesame oil with green bean combo is just the happiest. Why don't I use sesame oil more often??

Other good news: we have already tried three recipes this month, so I hope to have a nice long list of recommendations when the month is over!
This has been a great exercise, and so far this year, we have tried TWENTY new recipes, many of which are from cookbooks that have sat on my shelf for years.

Up next, some Yosemite photos!

February and March recap - new recipes

As part of our challenge to try three new recipes a month, I'm here today to share the choices we made for February and March. February played out just like January, where we tried six new recipes. March has more family birthdays so we just barely managed three.

February

-Legacy Lone Star Chili (this was from a local grocery store ad, and was different from my usual chili recipe)

-quinoa stuffed peppers from Skinnytaste cookbook
These were very filling, tasty and healthy. We will make them again.

-Italian pasta bake (this was a new experiment with some leftovers, and I wish I had written it down because it was tasty)

-banana pudding from Homesick Texan Family Table
All I can say is YUM. Homemade pudding is similar to making ice cream custard, so it was easier than anticipated.

-Argentinian flatbread with black bean spread and roasted red peppers
This was amazing! I loved the combination of flavors, and we ate it as a main dish. The dough was similar to my standard pizza dough recipe.

-Chicken Fajitas from Homesick Texan Family Table
A different marinade than we usually use, and it will show up again on our table.

March

-Pot roast in foil from The Make Ahead Cookbook
This was a different method than I usually use for pot roast, and it was pretty tasty. We really wanted to try it so we had leftover pot roast to use in the next recipe.

-Rigatoni with beef ragu from The make Ahead Cookbook ,br>This was a great use of the leftover pot roast. It's a pretty rich ragu, and very filling.

-Quinoa Tabbouleh from Skinnytaste

I'm excited that so far this year, we've tried fifteen new recipes, many of which are from cookbooks I've had for years. It's been a fun exercise!

January recap - new recipes

Olias, because I dislike pictureless posts.

I had grand plans to share this earlier, but I set a challenge to try three new recipes each month this year (in hopes of working my way through some saved pages/pins and a modest cookbook stash). In January, we managed to try six new dishes! I thought I'd make a monthly entry here to keep track of the ones we tried, and maybe you'll find some dinner inspiration.

-Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup from Skinnytaste
This was tasty, but I think I would add more vegetables next time.

-Lemon chicken pita burgers
We loved these, but I'll add more seasoning next time. We also used a whole egg instead of egg whites.

-Tangy Carrot Salad (again, from Skinnytaste)
This was a favorite. I devoured it. I love lemon.

-One pan roasted chicken and vegetables from The Make Ahead Cookbook
Loved this, and will make again. The dark meat could have been removed a few minutes early, but everything had great flavor.

-Apple Walnut Salad from Homesick Texan Family Table
We made a few mods to this, like pecans instead of walnuts. Super tasty.

-Molasses bacon sausage (again, Homesick Texan)
Um, yeah. This was amazing, and we actually have some in our freezer right now. And I want to eat it all.

Another Tiny Food Party success!

Remember this book? I shared a post about it late last year. Since then, I have tried two other recipes. One never got blogged (because the dish was inhaled before I could photograph), and here is the other:

These are white chocolate cheesecakes! I used less white chocolate than was called for, and I really loved the results. They are not overly sweet, and so super cute. I used my regular muffin pan, with a yield of eleven cakes. The blueberry compote (also included in the book) was also delicious. I expect I'll enjoy some on my yogurt this week!

In another food news, I really love this x-stitch pattern.

Linking up today with Tuesday at the Table!

Although I haven't blogged about every recipe, I managed to try three new ones last month. These cheesecakes are the first for February!

Tiny Food Party!!

I was really excited when a favorite food blog, Spoon Fork Bacon, announced they wrote a book! It's called Tiny Food Party, (authors are Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park) and when the posted a request for reviewers, I jumped at the chance.

I love to cook. And eat.

And who doesn't love tiny food?

The photography in this book is gorgeous, and most of the recipes are very approachable. I'm already thinking of using some of these for my sister's wedding shower next year (oh, did I mention my sweet sister is getting hitched? Yes, she is.)

I decided to make the pint-sized buttermilk biscuits this weekend. I've never made biscuits, for some weird reason. These were simple to make, and delicious. This recipe makes 8, which was perfect for a lazy Sunday. Most recipes in the book make a larger batch, perfect for small gatherings/parties.

I really want to make these:

Candied Bacon Churros

Anything with the word bacon in the title does it for me.

These corn dogs also look so fun!

There's an entire dessert section, as well as a breakfast section with things like mini chicken and waffles, and stuffed french toast!

Plus, there are a few mini cocktails as well!

It's seriously such a cute book. I do want to say that I received a copy of the book for free, but all the opinions I share here are honest ones. This is definitely a cookbook I would purchase for myself or a gift. The book comes out October 9th (next week), in case you're interested!

I plant to try other recipes soon, and I'll share them when I do!

I'm linking up with Debbie's Tuesday at the Table (even though it's not Tuesday).