Tomato & Basil Bruschetta

by Irene Lindvall

It's Seahawks Sunday and I thought this would be a fun dish while watching the game. Apparently I was too engrossed in the game to take a photo of it on the bread, but please trust me that it was delicious. I have to say this is one of the easiest recipes I've made and I look forward to making the rest of the bruschetta toppings the article had.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I've decided garlic is the key to delicious bruschetta. 

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe

Pomegranate Rice

by Irene Lindvall

We celebrated Christmas with my in-laws today and I had the perfect recipe saved for them. They all love all of the ingredients in this recipe so I knew it would go over well. I enjoyed the color of the dish although I didn't get any photos. I have a tough time remembering to take photos when others are around or when I'm cooking in someone else's kitchen.

I liked all of the individual ingredients in this dish, but I didn't care for the rice. When I ate them all together it didn't really seem like I was eating rice, which was probably better for me, but overall this would not be a favorite of mine. The rest of the family enjoyed it just as I hoped they would. 

Please click on the recipe link if you'd like to see a real photo of the dish (mine looked just like it).

Things I learned from this recipe:

I still don't like long grain rice, but the slight crunch of it was masked by the pistachios.

Would I make this recipe again?:

No

The recipe

Two Recipe Night

by Irene Lindvall

To make up for no recipes yesterday (the new refrigerator is gorgeous by the way!) I did two this evening. We had friends over for some holiday festivities this evening so I went with an old staple that I haven't made yet as well as a festive dessert.

Fiesta Chili Dip w/Ground Turkey & Corn

I got this recipe from The Seattle Times five years ago as an idea for a Super Bowl party. I made it that year and I have been making it ever since. It's great for large groups and it's really nice when the weather is cold. I liked it because it was made with ground turkey as well as vegetarian chili. This dish is really easy to change up as well. I like to add additional salsa afterwards and have tried it with guacamole, although I find that to be a little heavy. I generally serve it with tortilla chips as well as soft taco shells. It really could be eaten on it's own, but I like to make it a meal.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I forgot to add the corn to the frying pan prior to baking so I added it into the baking dish right before baking and mixed it in with the cheese. It turned out a little heavy on the color (photo 1) but it tasted just fine.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Yes

The recipe

 

Candy Cane Cake

I cannot tell a lie. I have been wanting to make this recipe all year. The appeal of the photo was unbelievable and I could not wait until candy canes were on sale this month. My original thought was to make it for Christmas dessert, but I have another great candy cane recipe saved for that night.

Back to this delicious cake. I saved time, as the recipe suggested, and bought a pre-made angel food cake round from the store. The recipe also has a recipe for homemade angel food cake which I will definitely be trying at some point. As for the whipped cream, I think there was a little too much, but we ended up filling the hole in the cake with the leftover so there was no waste! The best part about this recipe were the candy canes. Not only do you get to take some aggression out and crush them with a meat pounder, but you also get to throw them onto the cake. The last step says "Hold your hand about 1in. from the cake and gently toss crushed candy at the the sides." I thought this was so great that I enlisted the help of everyone to join in the throwing. The cake was a success and the taste was great. The crunch of the candy canes was very fun.

Things I learned from this recipe:

Baking is more fun with helpers!

Would I make this recipe again?:

Sure

The recipe

No recipe today!

by Irene Lindvall

We are waiting on the arrival of our new refrigerator today so there will be no recipe today. Our old one got picked up at 9am and the new one is arriving between 4pm and 6pm. In the meantime I hope the contents of our refrigerator make it in coolers...

Greek Chopped Salad

by Irene Lindvall

We have dinner plans this evening so I went for a filling salad for lunch. I've made another Greek salad this year, but I enjoyed the dressing on this one and I liked putting all of the ingredients over romaine lettuce. Eric didn't care for a lot of the ingredients (olives, chickpeas, feta) so I'm not sure how often I will make this, but perhaps it's a good one for me to take to bowling to eat for dinner on my own.

Things I learned from this recipe:

I forgot to serve this with pita bread which would've gone nicely.

Would I make this recipe again?:

Definitely

The recipe - Another great salad from my favorite magazine cookbook.