Week 8: Pepper Steak Soup

Having some left over roastbeef, I thought this was a good recipe to try out.

The Recipe
Thinly slice pre-cooked beef into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle with pepper and set aside. In a saucepan combine beef broth, wine, tomato sauce and thyme. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. In another skillet heat oil and cook onion, bell peppers and garlic for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes. Add onion/bell peppers mixture to the broth mixture. Warm beef briefly on the hot skillet and add that and any juices to the broth as well. Warm through.

The Verdict
Boring. This was basically just glorified broth. Not that it tasted bad, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I don't mind thin soups, but I do mind soups where the different ingredients haven't been given the time to mix properly. I can definitely think of better way to use left-over roastbeef.

Week 7: Mediterranean Chicken

The Recipe
Cook chicken breast halves. Remove from heat and keep warm. Combine garlic, chicken broth, extra water and brown rice and cook until the rice is almost done. Add tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add chicken and heat through. Serve with feta cheese and olives.

The Verdict
Very similar to just about every other stir-fry dish I've ever tried, so not something I need a recipe to make. I loved the idea of cooking rice in broth though - hadn't thought about doing that before, and it tasted delicious! That part of the recipe I'll definitely use again.

Week 6: Puff Pastry Roll

The Recipe
1 package puff pastry
1/2 package (~100gr) cream cheese of your choice (I used one with different herbs)
Toppings of your choice (sliced ham, bell pepper, fresh basil, salami, tomatoes, herbs and spices...)

Roll out the puff pastry to a long rectangle, cover with cream cheese and add toppings. Fold up the rectangle so the two long sides meet in the middle. Close it as much as possible. Fold in the ends to close those off as well.

Bake at 200*C for about 45 minutes.

The Verdict
One of the easiest and most delicious recipes I've tried in a long time. Took no time at all to make, was sooooo yummy, and looks fancy enough to serve for guests. Definitely a keeper!

Week 5: Curried Veggies and Rice

The Recipe:
Heat oil in a skillet, add chicken and/or pork in bite sized pieces. Cook while stirring until done. Add bell pepper and stir in a couple of spoonfulls of chicken broth, some curry powder and salt. Add frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables are tender crisp. Stir in raisins and chutney. Serve over rice and sprinkle with peanuts.

The Verdict
I didn't care much for the frozen cauliflower, but other than that it's a decent recipe that could easily be adapted to my tastes. I love anything rice-taffel'ish :) It's not spectacular, but could become a nice comfort dish.

Week 4: Fiesta Avocado Soup

The Recipe
The recipe for this couldn't be easier. Mash up an avocado. Chop up a red chili and mix it into the avocado. Heat up a cup and a half of chicken broth and pour over the mix. Voila.

The Verdict
Not bad, but nothing special either. The tastes didn't mesh well, so basically it tasted no different from how the three ingredients had tasted separately. Forutnately I like all three ingredients, so I enjoyed it, but I prefer when a recipe is greater than the sum of its parts, rather than equal to it.

Week 3: Mexican Chicken Casserole

I'd received this recipe from a friend after asking for suggestions for a potluck. It sounded interesting, so I thought I'd try it out.

The Recipe
Bake 2 chicken breasts until they're done. Cut it into chunks. Crumble nachos chips into a baking dish. Cover with the chicken. Mix together chicken broth, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, green chilies and sour cream and pour on top. Top with more nachos chips and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes until heated through.

The Verdict
Unfortunately much too rich for my tastes. I wasn't too fond of the soggy chips at the bottom, and really missed some more greenery. I think if I were to make it again, I'd only have chips on top, and add heaps of bell pepper to the broth/soup/chili/sour cream mix.

Week 2: Pork Marinara

Yet another recipe from my ever-growing stack of printouts.

The Recipe
Brown diced pork tenderloin in oil and curry. Add red wine vinegar, lemon juice and 2 cans of tomatoes with chilli and herbs. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add chopped onion, garlic and bell pepper and let it simmer for a bit longer. Serve with spaghetti and shredded cheese.

The Verdict
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this recipe. When reading it, it didn't sound all that different from spaghetti bolognese, so I almost gave up on trying it. I'm glad I did though, because while it is very similar, it's a refreshing variation to a well-known recipe and one that I think I might actually prefer. Especially since it uses half as much meat and twice as much tomato sauce... I think there may be a closet vegetarian hiding inside me somewhere.

Another recipe that'll go into my permanent collection.