Chewy Chocolate Cookies

by Irene Lindvall

After our disastrous dinner out last night I was left feeling down and really wanted a restaurant to redeem themselves. We ended up going out for Cuban food at our favorite place (and maybe only in the area?) called Mojito. As the name suggests, they are known for their mojitos and one is definitely enough if you are driving. To make sure I got my recipe in, I decided to bake again before we left for dinner. While perusing my "500 Cookies" cookbook yesterday I had also came across this one and wanted to make it. I definitely was not impressed. I'm finding this to be a pattern with baked goods. I may have mentioned this before when I was on my previous baking kick, but I feel like most of the baked goods recipes I've tried do not measure up to baked goods I can buy at a good bakery. They're more on par with what you could get at a grocery store. I likened them to a brownie and Eric didn't think this was a bad thing, but I just want something to taste amazing.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I made everything correctly and it looked just like the picture but that doesn't mean something is going to taste great.

Would I make this recipe again?:

No

Not exactly the recipe I used, but this is similar to the one in my book: The recipe

White Chocolate & Orange Cookies

by Irene Lindvall

I had a disastrous meal out tonight at Uneeda Burger. My turkey burger was undercooked and I gave it back to them. The second one they brought out had some pink in it and I just couldn't eat it. So needless to say I wish I had planned to make dinner instead of baking. However, these tasty little cookies are a nice springy treat. The orange zest tastes great and I'm happy to have made these to be able to share them and add them to my growing list of baked goods.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I'm feel a lot better about baking and I think up next is perfecting the shape of my cookies.

I love my cookie spatula - a stocking stuffer from Eric several years ago.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

This recipe is similar to the one I used, but mine did not have brown sugar.

Stacked Nopales Quesadillas

by Irene Lindvall

It's day two of nopales! Day two brings a multi-level baked quesadilla and it's pretty epic if I do say so myself. Eric thought it was a little too hot - I added a lot of chilies in adobo sauce, but I thought heat wise it was just fine. Overall, this was WAY too much food for one person. Two people could easily share this dish. As far as taste, I thought the topping was phenomenal but two days in a row with the nopales mixture may have been a little much on my tastebuds. It tasted very similar to yesterday even with no eggs. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

I was going to make this recipe yesterday but I briefly read the instructions and thought it was a little too much for me at the time. I picked it up today and while it's still a lot of steps it's definitely manageable. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Probably

The recipe

Nopales Scramble

by Irene Lindvall

It's Saturday and that means it's time for brunch! This is another new Sunset recipe that I couldn't shy away from. I think the potato was my favorite part (it absorbed all the flavors), although I was fascinated by the sweet taste of the noaples. All of the flavors of the ingredients went very well together, but for some reason I was still left wanting a little more. Maybe I should've served it with toast or an english muffin of maybe even a warm tortilla. 

Things I learned from this recipe:

I learned what nopales is. It is also referred to as cactus at some grocery stores. I ended up going to a Mexican grocery store and bought it cleaned up (no spikes) already so I wouldn't have to worry about slicing a finger open.

Hot sauce is a must for this dish.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Maybe

The recipe

Grilled Yogurt Chicken with Cucumber Salad

by Irene Lindvall

There was some serious discussion as to whether or not I've already done this dish and I could not find any proof that I had. However, I have a very vague recollection of something going wrong with the grill and the chicken not turning out. Furthermore, I have a less vague recollection of making the cucumber salad portion of the dish. But that said, I'm pretty sure I could be absolutely wrong and I've now made so many dishes that contain a combination of chicken, cucumber and yogurt that I've gone a little crazy and can't remember what we ate last week. 

After eating the dish I can definitely say we haven't had it. Our favorite part of the dish was the chili flakes. Eric noted it was interesting that a Mediterranean style dish included chili flakes, but we both agreed it made the dish. Another very simple dish on our last night of grilling for a few days while the rain comes back.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Get a grill thermometer. It turns out our grill has been off around 200 degrees and this is why we've been having so many issues with cooking chicken properly.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Yes

The recipe