Cooking Up Delicious Recipes: My New Cookbook Adventure

[pamperedlinda]

I just got my SAT delivery and the first thing I looked through (after my appetizer dishes ) was the new cookbook....I LOVE this cookbook! I cannot wait to try the recipes. I was eating my lunch while browsing the pages and was rather dissappointed in my grilled cheese sandwich. These recipes look and sound delicious!

So, have you tried any of them yet? Which are your faves? Any that you tried and didn't turn out so well? They all sound so good, I don't know which to try first.

I think this will be an excellent seller this season.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

loved the artichoke chicken
fixing the hominy soup & flank steak with rice for dinner tonight

 

[BethCooks4U]

I made the Beef Enchilada Casserole last night. It was fabulous! Next time I will need to double it and make it in the family skillet!! YUM.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I made the Beef Enchilada Casserole last night. It was fabulous! Next time I will need to double it and make it in the family skillet!! YUM.

I think that would be a great one to promote.....that's one fast dinner!

 

[chefann]

I thought these looked really good - a nice mix of "typical"-ish PC recipes and fancier fare.

semi-hijack: one recipe calls for Garam Masala, which is an Indian spice blend. You can get it at Indian groceries, or if there isn't one near you, you can order it from Penzey's Spices. They also have some physical store locations, if you're lucky enough to live near one (like I am!).

 

[BethCooks4U]

I think that would be a great one to promote.....that's one fast dinner!

I know! DH came home and I hadn't even started it. He was irritated and then totally shocked when I called him to dinner 20 minutes later! (BTW: He is never ready to sit down to dinner until he's home at least 30 minutes - ever and he wasn't last night either.

Note: He usually doesn't get "irritated" but he got home quite late and was starving and had called me an hour before so he thought it should have been at least started. lol

AND he often does the cooking so don't start bombarding me with women's lib comments.

 

[pamperedbecky]

I got so excited looking through this cookbook. I love pretty much EVERY recipe!!! I kept reading the names off to my DH and getting really excited about them and he's like "Yeah, whatever, that sounds good." Well, he just doesn't get it. As long as I cook something, he's happy! I've already shopped for ingredients to make the skillet lasagna tonight and the Mexican corn/skillet thingy tomorrow night. I forget the exact name since my cookbook is still in my bag in the car. Yum!!!! I think these will be great show recipes too when we're looking to do more of a "meal" type recipe.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I got my package yesterday afternoon - and now, I can't decide what to make first!

Every section of the cookbook has recipes that look and sound mouthwatering!!!

I love that there are such delicious sounding fish and vegetarian recipes in there! We are not vegetarian, but we usually only eat meat a couple times a month, and chicken just a couple times a week. So I'm loving the quick and easy non-meat recipes!

 

[JaimeQ]

I can't wait to get that cookbook sounds like it is a good investment

 

[dianevill]

We just had the mediterranean quesadillas with anitpasto relish for supper. Very good and easy to make! I skipped the relish for the kids, but was still worried they wouldn't eat it because there's basil in the chicken mix. Didn't need to worry - they liked it!

 

[JaimeQ]

Sounds yummy can't wait to get my cookbook!! What other recipes does it have in it??

 

[raebates]

I'll be making the Skillet Lasagna and the Pecan-Crusted Chicken. Sounds yummy!

 

[chefann]

See this thread
http://www.chefsuccess.com/f7/ww-points-29-minute-cookbook-24155/

 

[ChefBeckyD]

So far, I have listed to try:

Artichoke Chicken
Paprika Chicken w/ noodles
Turkey Gyros
Skillet Lasagna
Pecan Crusted Chicken w/ Sweet Mustard Dressing
Turkey Saltimbocca
Crunchy Whole Grain Chicken Bites (I bet DS loves these!)
Glazed Chicken w/ Apple Salad
Almond Chicken Stir-fry
Mediterranean Quesadillas
Sesame Tilapia
Dijon Crusted Halibut
Crispy Parmesan Shrimp
Shrimp Orzo Skillet
Grilled Tilapia w/ Pineapple Salsa
Barbecue Salmon
BLT Mac & Cheese
Beef Enchilada Casserole
Pork Tacos
Brown Butter Tortellini w/ Spinach & Ham
Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Stew
Moroccan Pork Chops
Caprese Pizza
Hot & Sour Soup
Spicy Broccoli Fritatta
Poached Eggs Florentine
Lightning Fast Veggie Chili
Crunchy Breakfast Tacos
Harvest Brown Rice Salad
Grilled Portabello Bruschetta

Thats All!

Looks like alot of recipe trials coming to the Deemter Household!

 

[JaimeQ]

Yumm thanks for listing

 

[Cindycooks]

It all sounds like normal everyday family foods - I'm so glad they've gotten a little bit away from the really gourmet trend from last year. My hosts and guests just did not got for that!

 

[dannyzmom]

I thought these looked really good - a nice mix of "typical"-ish PC recipes and fancier fare.

semi-hijack: one recipe calls for Garam Masala, which is an Indian spice blend. You can get it at Indian groceries, or if there isn't one near you, you can order it from Penzey's Spices. They also have some physical store locations, if you're lucky enough to live near one (like I am!).

Ooooh - my DH would be soooooooooooo jealous. He LOVES Penzey's - we get their catalog and he gets excited every time it arrives. If he can earn his way back into my good graces by Christmas, I may have you pick up a few things for him & mail them out to me!

 

[chefann]

Ooooh - my DH would be soooooooooooo jealous. He LOVES Penzey's - we get their catalog and he gets excited every time it arrives. If he can earn his way back into my good graces by Christmas, I may have you pick up a few things for him & mail them out to me!

I go there and hyperventilate from smelling the sample jars.

That's where I got the magic ingredient for my Polock Burgers.
Mix 1 lb ground beef with some chopped onion and 2 TB. Penzey's Polish Sausage Seasoning. Form into hamburgers and pan fry or grill. Serve on toasted onion rolls with sauteed onions and horseradish. For "Polish Fries", pan-fry potato pierogi and serve on the side.

 

[JAE]

Where is that store, Ann? I have a friend coming to visit and she lives north east of you (northeast of Troy, too.)

 

[chefann]

The one in the Detroit area is in Beverly Hills, at 13 Mile and Southfield Road. I think there's one on the west side of the state, but I don't remember if it's in GR or Traverse City.

 

[chefann]

It's in Grand Rapids! 2901 28th St. SE.

 

[JAE]

I may have my friend stop there and Trader Joe's for me if she can. She can't wait to take a break from her kids and come here. I hope she can stop at those stores for me.

 

[baychef]

Have tried the BLT Mac & Cheese. One of my team members made it for our meeting and it was delicious. When I made it...it was so so...could it be the old adage of "if someone else makes it, it takes better"??

Make the Caprese Pizzas and used our Pizza/Roll Mix. Very good! I like a thick crust so our mix was excellent for this.

On the hunt for more!!

 

[chefann]

Make the Caprese Pizzas and used our Pizza/Roll Mix. Very good! I like a thick crust so our mix was excellent for this.

On the hunt for more!!

Oohh... good cross-sell!

 

[pamperedbecky]

I got so excited looking through this cookbook. I love pretty much EVERY recipe!!! I kept reading the names off to my DH and getting really excited about them and he's like "Yeah, whatever, that sounds good." Well, he just doesn't get it. As long as I cook something, he's happy! I've already shopped for ingredients to make the skillet lasagna tonight and the Mexican corn/skillet thingy tomorrow night. I forget the exact name since my cookbook is still in my bag in the car. Yum!!!! I think these will be great show recipes too when we're looking to do more of a "meal" type recipe.

Huge thumbs up for the Skillet LAsagna. I made it tonight and it was delicious!! My kids even ate it!! I highly recommend it, but it definitely was longer than 29 minutes. I think I'm just slow!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Huge thumbs up for the Skillet LAsagna. I made it tonight and it was delicious!! My kids even ate it!! I highly recommend it, but it definitely was longer than 29 minutes. I think I'm just slow!

I'm pretty good at judging actual cooking times when I read them - and Skillet Lasagna and a few others just seemed to me that they would take longer than 29 minutes.......but some of it is cooking time - not actual time you have to be doing something....so maybe they are only counting the "Busy time"?

 

[pamperedbecky]

There is a nice section in the front of the cookbook that has all kinds of tips. One is to have all ingredients out, prepped and ready to go. To me, this is part of making the meal. But I suppose that's how they can get a 29 minute time frame.

 

[Chef Kearns]

There is a nice section in the front of the cookbook that has all kinds of tips. One is to have all ingredients out, prepped and ready to go. To me, this is part of making the meal. But I suppose that's how they can get a 29 minute time frame.

I agree with you that prepping the ingredients is part of the cooking process. Getting all of the stuff together and ready to go takes up quite a bit of time in itself.

 

[raebates]

For all the hoosiers out there, Penzey's has a store in Indianapolis. It's at 4026 E 82nd Street. It's a wonderful place to pick up those out-of-the-ordinary seasonings.

 

[mpkegley]

Okay, you guys have me wanting to go ahead and place my sample order. This cookbook sounds terrific!

 

[chefann]

Mary, you won't regret it. I think this will be my top selling cookbook in September, when they're on sale.

 

[Teresa Lynn]

ok, I lied didn't cook dinenr last night DH called me in the middle of the day and said go buy a new dress we're going to 4 Winds!! (My 2nd favorite restaraunt)
so, I bought a very "sexy" halter dress for me at my daughters urging and went and had filet mignon.
Todya I'm off to a flea market maybe tomorrow I'll cook
Dallas has a great Penzeys too.

 

[PCJenni]

Glad to see that PC is going back to basics with this cookbook and the SB this time. I had several PC junky customers who told me they were disappointed by the spring SB. I hated it and so did most of my cluster.

 

[PamperChefCarol]

I'm pretty good at judging actual cooking times when I read them - and Skillet Lasagna and a few others just seemed to me that they would take longer than 29 minutes.......but some of it is cooking time - not actual time you have to be doing something....so maybe they are only counting the "Busy time"?

I made a big batch of marinara sauce yesterday just to be able to try a few of these recipes. I know, don't shoot me, but I can't do jarred sauce. Plus the marinara recipe only takes about an hour. Anyway...just in case you want it...

Marinara Sauce

This recipe makes enough to sauce more than a pound of pasta; leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen. Because canned tomatoes vary in acidity and saltiness, it's best to add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste just before serving. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, give it just three or four pulses in the food processor in step 4.

Makes 4 cups
2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes , packed in juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup dry red wine , such as Chianti or Merlot
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 - 2 teaspoons sugar , as needed (see note above)


1. Pour tomatoes and juice into strainer set over large bowl. Open tomatoes with hands and remove and discard fibrous cores; let tomatoes drain excess liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove 3/4 cup tomatoes from strainer and set aside. Reserve 2 1/2 cups tomato juice and discard remainder.

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add tomatoes from strainer and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring every minute, until liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to stick to bottom of pan and brown fond forms around pan edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Add wine and cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add reserved tomato juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and loosening browned bits, until sauce is thick, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Transfer sauce to food processor (or transfer to saucepan and insert immersion blender; and add reserved tomatoes; process until slightly chunky, about eight 2-second pulses. Return sauce to skillet and add basil and extra-virgin olive oil and salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.


I now realize that I left out the basil and sugar. Oh well, it still tasted good. I doubled the recipe so I could freeze some, eat some last night and have enough to play around with.

Back to my original thought, I want to try the skillet lasagna and the recipe with the shrimp and the cheese that you have to "fry" before using it.

I am getting hungry.... maybe time for some leftover pasta.

And a thought about the skillet lasagna... I am going to time this when I do it, and see if I can bring it to the table in less than 29 min. I am using no cook wheat lasagna noodles. I will report my results.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I made the Spicy Broccoli Frittata for Lunch today - last night I was flipping through the cookbook and DH was looking over my shoulder, and said "Ohh that looks good". I had everything in the house to make it, so gave it a shot.

The only thing I changed was to use half cheddar & half mozzarella, and I used milk instead of water in the eggs - oh and I used honey dijon. I went outside and picked the Romas that I used in the recipe - so they were perfect!

The results - I couldn't taste it much (This darn cold!) but DH LOVED it! He gave it his highest compliment by saying "I'll take the rest of it in my lunch tomorrow"! (he's not big on leftovers for lunch - so when he wants them - I know it's good!)

 

[chefann]

I didn't want to start a whole new thread, but my copy of the 29 minute cookbook has a typo in the Enchilada Casserole recipe. It says 3/4 cup of water, but based on the metric measure for that ingredient (and the fact that the sauce was REALLY runny), it should be 3/8 cup. I let it simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken. But that is a typo.I'll be sending a note to the Test Kitchen to let them know.

 

[pamperedlinda]

I didn't want to start a whole new thread, but my copy of the 29 minute cookbook has a typo in the Enchilada Casserole recipe. It says 3/4 cup of water, but based on the metric measure for that ingredient (and the fact that the sauce was REALLY runny), it should be 3/8 cup. I let it simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken. But that is a typo.

I'll be sending a note to the Test Kitchen to let them know.

You are such the nerd! Only YOU would be able to calculate that one!

 

[pamperedlinda]

You are such the nerd! Only YOU would be able to calculate that one!

And I mean this with lots of love!

 

[chefann]

I didn't actually calculate it. One of the 1/4 measures in the same recipe says 50ml, and the water is 75ml.

 

[pamperedlinda]

smartie pants!

 

[chefann]

It's really yummy. Could benefit from the addition of a few sliced black olives on the top. But generally, really good.

 

[chefann]

I didn't want to start a whole new thread, but my copy of the 29 minute cookbook has a typo in the Enchilada Casserole recipe. It says 3/4 cup of water, but based on the metric measure for that ingredient (and the fact that the sauce was REALLY runny), it should be 3/8 cup. I let it simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken. But that is a typo.

I'll be sending a note to the Test Kitchen to let them know.

This is the response I got from the test kitchen this morning.

Dear Ann,
Thank you for contacting The Pampered Chef! I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. The metric measurement that is indicated in the recipe is 75ml which even still is incorrect and should be 175ml. 50 ml is only about 3 tablespoons however. The sauce is supposed to be relatively moist. We developed the recipe this way in order to have enough moisture to soak into the tortillas so that when the casserole is cooked in the microwave, it is still very moist when you eat it and not dry from the tortillas. Feel free of course to cut down the amount of water if you prefer. Maybe try 1/2 or 1/4 of a cup. I apologize for the confusion. Please feel free to contact us should you have any more questions.

Warm Regards

Damien Eftekhar
Senior Recipe Applications Specialist
The Pampered Chef​

 

[chefann]

I just had to post this story. I sent DH a list of groceries to get for dinner. I'm stuck here at work a little late because I was running late this morning. I knew he wouldn't want to wait for me to stop for foodstuffs on the way home, and decided he can be an adult and pick up a couple of things. I organized the list by recipe and told him to pick one.

He picked the BLT Mac & Cheese. OK. He just called me from the Meijer parking lot, that the thing in the produce department that was under the sign that said "leeks" rang up as a kohlrabi. Even though I indicated on the list that a leek looks like a giant green onion.

So now I have a kohlrabi at home to deal with.

(DH did go back into the store and found an actual leek - under the sign for celery root.)

 

[KellyTheChef]

I just had to post this story. I sent DH a list of groceries to get for dinner. I'm stuck here at work a little late because I was running late this morning. I knew he wouldn't want to wait for me to stop for foodstuffs on the way home, and decided he can be an adult and pick up a couple of things. I organized the list by recipe and told him to pick one.

He picked the BLT Mac & Cheese. OK. He just called me from the Meijer parking lot, that the thing in the produce department that was under the sign that said "leeks" rang up as a kohlrabi. Even though I indicated on the list that a leek looks like a giant green onion.

So now I have a kohlrabi at home to deal with.

(DH did go back into the store and found an actual leek - under the sign for celery root.)

LOL Men are soooooooooo funny!

 

[chefann]

I'm just happy he went back in the store to get a leek. I'll beat KG to the joke:
How do you make leek soup?
First, you take a leek...

 

[pamperedlinda]

I made the Shrimp Orzo Skillet (pg 61) for dinner tonight. It was very good. I used basil instead of mint though. I'd say that the timelime was pretty much right too (I did have the shrimp peeled ahead of time). I also used a pound of shrimp instead of half pound (I think my shrimp were also larger than the recipe called for). All in all I'd say it was pretty good. I think the next time I will add more garlic and, adding a little parmesan would make it even better.

 

[KellyTheChef]

I made the Shrimp Orzo Skillet (pg 61) for dinner tonight. It was very good. I used basil instead of mint though. I'd say that the timelime was pretty much right too (I did have the shrimp peeled ahead of time). I also used a pound of shrimp instead of half pound (I think my shrimp were also larger than the recipe called for). All in all I'd say it was pretty good. I think the next time I will add more garlic and, adding a little parmesan would make it even better.

Extra shrimp and cheese is ALWAYS better!!

 

[dwyerkim]

I made the vegetarian chili tonight and it was very good... and even my kids (3 and 5) ate it which surprised me! I couldn't find a poblano chili so I used a pasillo, and I used the chili beans in hot sauce (they were out of mild). Still, I didn't think it was too spicy but for people who like things mild you could adjust it. And best part, this recipe took me definitely less than 29 minutes... at the last point I checked my count up timer was at 22 minutes and I was basically done at that point. I did lay out the ingredients first and started timing after everything was assembled.

 

[pamperedgirl3]

I made the Provencal Chicken with Brown Rice for dinner tonight. I thought it was pretty good! It's the first recipe from the book I've tried so far--we've been trying the Season's Best recipes too. Sunday I plan on trying the Skillet Lasagna. There are SO many recipes I can't wait to try in here!

 

[dwyerkim]

Ok, tonight we did the toasted angel hair with sausage and red peppers... YUM! It was really good, like something you would order in a fancier Italian restaurant. I made it in my 12" SS skillet--you have to toast the angel hair in the skillet so you really need a 12". Mine is not PC, it is about a dozen years old and I haven't used it since I got my exec. set. But... I don't have the exec 12". I will say that all the fond added to the flavor of the sauce, and it all came up when I added the liquid so clean up was a breeze (esp. since dh did the dishes). So, as an aside to the ongoing stainless steel debate, if you are making a sauce you probably won't have a difficult clean up. But if you're scrambling eggs, unless you are going to make a pan sauce :yuck: you might reconsider.