Review of Meatloaf

The meatloaf was delicious! We've all been sick and Jeff is still too sick to eat it (poor him.) But the kids and I tried the one piece that was left (not a tiny piece-- each piece was 1/4 lb. of meat plus additional ingredients.) We all liked it. It was tender and the flavor was very good.

And apparently it was a hit with the guys at work, too. (I assumed meatloaf would be. ;) ) One guy thought it was part of the "best of" week I'm planning for the next two weeks!

I'd definitely make this again-- but I'd maybe replace half the breadcrumbs with oatmeal, my binder of choice for meatloaf.

Review of Chicken, Black Bean, and Salsa Soup

The soup was a big hit. I hear it's one guy's "new favorite" and that it was just as well-liked as the chicken tortilla soup.

There was not much left, testament to how well-liked it was. I think no one would mind having that again, and some time I might make it for our family at home. :) I'd cut up some avocado, though, I think it would be nicer with avocado.

Review of Ravioli Casserole

They liked this one pretty well too, it seems; I didn't get to taste any because none came back...

Jeff said his only complaint was that it barely fed the 10 of them, he doesn't know how much people took but take that into consideration if you make it. Oh, and he forgot to put out the garlic bread at the beginning. ;) No one complained about the sauce.

So I could make it again, but only for a smaller group!

Review of Spaghetti

Well, the spaghetti went over well!

So well, in fact, that I did not get to taste much! Only about 1 bite came back, and only because I scraped it down from the sides with much effort! LOL!

The taste was great. Any blandness complained about by reviewers was taken care of by the sausage-- and browning them together, those boys didn't even suspect there was turkey in there! LOL! I think the V8 may also have contributed to the niceness of the sauce.

The texture was actually perfect. I think if it had not been whole wheat it would have been a little too gummy and overcooked but with whole wheat pasta it came out perfect.

I wonder if you could do this with penne as well...

Review of black beans and rice

Black Beans and Rice with Cumin

Well, my husband liked them. His co-workers ate some of it. I needn't have doubled, waaay too much came back. And I didn't even like it. :( I'm not sure why. I think it was the texture of the rice that got me. I'm not a big fan of brown rice in general and instant seems to be worse. My husband, like I said, liked it, saved leftovers and everything, but I just am not into them. I won't repeat it unless he specifically asks for it.

Review of Chicken, Chickpea, and Apricot Tagine

This one was a good one.

I really would probably not change a thing next time, except remembering the tomato paste. The flavor was excellent, though. I loved it. Well, I might cut back the ginger a bit, because it kind of overwhelmed some of the other spices, but not by too much. It was "warmer" than I anticipated, but most of the "heat" was ginger heat-- not hard on your tummy, ginger heat. It reminded me more of a curry than I expected.

It was very good and probably will get made again. :)

The guys all liked it too. The mortgage guy says, "This one has the mortgage department's seal of approval!" LOL!

Review of BBQ Pork Sandwiches

I never thought I'd like a pulled pork sandwich. But I DID!

There was enough left over for them to be Sunday dinner. With some fresh coleslaw and a bit of the extra sauce added back in before re-heating the leftover pork, it was really, really good!

I think when pork roast goes on sale I might even make this again. Or try it with brisket or another beef roast! I never thought I'd say that...

My husband, who grew up in Texas and has been deprived of barbeque since marrying me since I despise anything smoked, loved it. The kids liked it okay. They mostly ate it with forks, it was too messy for them. That's fine. Anyway, the lack of smoke flavor means that this is a barbeque sandwich I can get behind! I really liked the sandwich with coleslaw ON the sandwich as well as on the side. My husband, being from TX, prefers just the meat on the sandwich, with coleslaw on the plate.

Review of Coq Au Vin

The (almost) Coq au Vin went over pretty well. The onions were not as big of a hit as the rest of the dish but it was all very good. There was a lot of sauce left over; I could probably have not doubled the sauce, just added more chicken, and been fine. The sauce was wonderful though, thick and smooth and rich. I've really never seen one like it come out of the crockpot!

I would definitely make this again; it would be a beautiful dish to serve company and they probably would not even know you made it in the crockpot!

Review of Lentil-Veggie Soup

It was good, but needed salt for sure. Very filling, only half got eaten. The bread was not great but decent, not as good as it smelled! In the future the only change I'd make is a different kind of bread with it, and some salt at the end!

Review of Aloo Rajma

Oh, my, the Aloo Rajma was everything I expected. Apparently the guys thought it was good too. No complaints, even in jest, this time about it being vegetarian. ;)

I really can't think of anything I'd do differently on this one, other than if I was making it for just us maybe making jasmine rice or even a pilaf and some naan to go with it. The flavors were just right and tasted every bit as good as a curry from my favorite Indian restaurant.

Review of Pasta E Fagioli

The Pasta E Fagioli was very, very good. Probably would have been even better had I remembered to get real beef stock. ;)

Really, I can't think of much I would do differently except that I was right it could have done with half the beef. And maybe more pasta. I think if I made it again I'd use half as much beef and twice as much pasta, for my personal preference. (And real beef stock or broth. ;) )

But this one is a keeper for sure! Really good, hearty soup, a big pot full that everyone enjoyed.

Review of Spanish Chicken

Review of Spanish Chicken With Olives

This would have been great-- except it was undercooked.

The flavor was good and the guys didn't complain, but the rice was gritty.

It tasted like, well, Spanish rice with chicken, pretty much. Very nice, but if I make it again I'll either shell out for the converted rice or cook it longer. Jeff didn't think to CHECK before serving it so... The guys didn't complain though. And the chicken was cooked through, at least.

I would like to make this for company some time, I'm sure they'd be impressed, but like I said, I'd make sure it was cooked through!

Review of Meatball Subs

As expected, the Meatball Subs were a big hit.

In fact, not one whole meatball came back. A few little pieces and some sauce did, and the one I tasted was good. It was a weeee bit mushy. Probably because I didn't bother to brown it. No one complained and I didn't really mind. However next time I might put a bit more breadcrumbs, make it stiffer so it wouldn't be quite as mushy. But they cooked through quite well.

I think I would like meatballs cooked like this, and the sauce, over spaghetti (like I said I'm not a meatball sub person.) The guys want this one again!

Review of Spinach Stuffed Shells

The stuffed shells are excellent.

I didn't even miss ricotta (usually I would LOATHE using non-fat cottage cheese instead of real whole-milk ricotta-- oh, did I mention it was non-fat? It was) and eggs, which are two things that usually go in my shells. The slow-cooking fixed any potential textural problems. The flavor was awesome despite the cheap sauce. This one's a keeper, folks.

Comments included:

"Very filling"

"Delicious"

"I don't know what's in this but it tastes great!"

And from my husband, "They always say it's good, they've come to expect great food from you at this point." (Hmmm, maybe I should throw some stinkers in there so they stop taking me for granted. Just kidding! :p )

Review of Pea Soup

I'm eating a bowl of Split Pea Soup right now.

It's awesome. It's thick and creamy and everything, really, that a pea soup should be. I might tweak the flavor a weeee bit next time-- maybe a dash of caraway, a bit more celery, and a finer dice on the ham, or even a bit of bacon. But it was excellent as is. Especially with sourdough, sourdough and pea soup are just made for each other! I was glad I did not bother do mince the carrots, they fell apart as it was. They were fine sliced.

It got eaten. One person even said he wouldn't mind a repeat, but overall not RAVE reviews but well-liked. I mean, it's pea soup. It's not flashy but it's comforting and comfortable and filling and yummy. :)

I would definitely use the recipe again, and recommend it. Good pea soup. Excellent pea soup.

Now I'm going back to my bowl of pea soup. ;)

P.S.-- the Black-eyed Peas were also good. No extra water needed today, it was just the right amount. And the kids even ate them. It was nice to come home to after a doctor's appointment. We had it with fruit, actually, because after making banana pudding for dessert the kids were fussy so I opted to get them down for a nap rather than make cornbread. But it had meat so I figure we're good on protein. ;)

Review of Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

This one went over well! Surprisingly so!

I thought, based on reviews, that without cooking the bacon it might not cook right, etc. Apparently the flavor went nicely through the dish and no one minded the texture. (Then again, they're guys in their 20s-- mostly-- and not picky.)

Several people said this is among the favorite recipes so far, actually. One guy said he's not a fan of water chestnuts (well then TELL ME these things when I ask for allergies or dislikes!) but he liked the chicken itself. My husband said the chicken was tender, falling apart after so long on high, and the sauce was delicious over the rice.

I'm thinking we need a survey to see what they want me to repeat. This one was fairly simple, if they want it again I think that can be arranged.

Review of Sloppy Joes

The Sloppy Joes were a huge success.

There was even a little left over for us to eat. I LOVED it. So did Bridget. (Emma did not try it. She is still not eating well.) The flavor was SO much better than canned stuff. I will be doing this again, possibly for a party or something some day, possibly just for us! And I think the guys would not mind if I made this again, not one bit. Thumbs up all around on this one.

Review of L'hamraak Garagh

Review of Moroccan Pumpkin Soup

It was okay. Pretty good. I might make it for the family some time, maybe on the stove, but it wasn't really a crowd-pleaser. I'd say out of 10 stars it rated 6 or 7. Good, but not great. Nothing to write home about. I've had other vegetarian soups, even with similar ideas, that I liked much better. Eh. I wouldn't really change anything-- although it might be better with chicken rather than veggie stock-- but it just was a great idea that in real life I don't think turned out as well as it could have.

Review of Moussaka

Review of Moussaka

Mmmm, it's really good. There are a few things I'd do differently next time:

-More garlic. Everything can use more garlic, IMO...

-It turned out a bit soupy. I might coat the eggplant in seasoned flour next time.

-I was glad I hadn't gone to the trouble of a bechamel but it could have used more creaminess. I think next time I make it I might add some mozzarella on top of the feta for a really creamy cheesy topping.

The flavor is excellent though and even the non-eggplant-eater said the eggplant wasn't bad at all. ;)

Skipped a day, here's why...

Emma (our four year old) had a febrile seizure (apparently she had a UTI and her fever spiked suddenly from 99 to 104-ish) and we spent the night dealing with that, her in the ER and then the PICU.

So no meatball sandwiches. Sorry guys. We'll do it soon.

The Company Chicken Casserole was apparently well-liked by my husband. He didn't have time to get reactions before he was running out the door because I called saying Emma had a seizure. For what it's worth. ;) I am hopeful the others liked it as well. It certainly made me drool while I was making it. Jeff said the predominant flavor was "chicken." Which is good, I suppose, in a chicken casserole.