Cooking

Remember how I said I was going to cook some new meals for a change? Ah, all the best intentions. See, in order to bother with cooking new and interesting meals, I require both adults to be present in the household. (I’m not putting the effort into something innovative for The Assistant, who’s just as delighted by pasta.) But then the business travel kicked in. Between the first week of the year and this week, The Husband and I were both home on the same weeknight… three times.

But now we’re back on track for a few days. Here are some recipes that I’ve tested out. Stick around for the last one for a fun story.

One pan sausage and veggie bake

Italian sausages and roasted veggies on a sheet pan. Easy. I love roasted veggies. Just chop up some of your favorites, slice the sausages and bake. Did I mention it was easy? It sounds like the veggies are highly seasoned in this recipe, but in actuality they could have used a bit more kick.

Ease: 5/5

Flavor: 4/5

Make it again? Yes

Crock pot white bean French onion soup.

I’m a sucker for anything French onion, so this bean and onion soup seemed like a great idea. The flavor was great, and it was pretty easy to make. I really like the idea of sweating the onions in the crock pot for hours before adding the rest of the ingredients. But I followed the instructions to the letter (plus adding a parmesan rind, because I do that for all soups) and it was thin. The photos look great and hearty! The reality was a very onion-y broth with very few beans to fill it out. I’d do it again, but with a lot less liquid or a lot more beans.

Ease: 4/5

Flavor: 5/5

Make it again? Yes

Chicken cordon bleu casserole

I made this chicken cordon bleu on Friday night, with a slight variation in the sauce (lowfat milk instead of whole, because that’s what I had, and heavy on the paprika because mmm, paprika).

It smelled amazing! It looked great! And then just as The Husband arrived home, I heard a “pop!” from the oven. My 20-year-old bridal shower Pyrex had shattered, leaving us with no dinner and a hell of a mess to clean up. The Husband wants to know if exploding Pyrex is the new gift for the 20th anniversary.

I’d love to try this again, but I need to buy a new baking dish first.

Ease: 3/5

Flavor: Unknown, but the smell was amazing

Make it again? Yes

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