This week I tried Instant Spaghetti and Meat Sauce from skinnytaste One and Done. I liked that I could pull meat from the freezer, chop an onion, grab some pantry ingredients and have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. 
This dish was fast and good, but not exactly memorable. I keep forgetting to eat the leftovers because I barely remember eating it the first time. I’ll probably make it again, and I expect I won’t remember that I’ve had it before.
I had a friend over for dinner last night and whipped up a Jalapeno Popper Frittata from skinnytaste One and Done. I love eggs. I love jalapeno poppers. This was the perfect marriage of their deliciousness. I skipped the bacon (I didn’t have any on hand) and doubled the cream cheese to make up the lost luxury of skipping bacon.
I’m glad I made this recipe. It was delicious last night, and the leftovers were good warmed up for lunch. This recipe has inspired all sorts of breakfast possibilities for me. I think I’m at the start of a frittata kick.
Do you have a frittata recipe you love? If you do, please send it my way.
This week I tried Cheesy Turkey Taco Chili Mac from skinnytaste. This came together fairly quickly in my Dutch oven. I liked how you use a cup of refried beans in the sauce – the texture and flavor were great. This dinner received high praise: Elliot actually ate it. John and I both like it enough to make again. The leftovers were great the next day, but went downhill quickly after that.
I was also feeling like soup this week, so I made some Chicken Tortilla Soup from the skinnytaste One And Done cookbook. This one was not as well received. The chicken was a little tough (my multicooker seems to cook hotter than an Instant Pot, so I am going to try adjusting cooking times). I am the only one who will eat this soup. Elliot made himself throw up to avoid taking a second bite. I would not recommend this soup.
I bought a multicooker after finding the Cooks Illustrated best buy on sale the day after Christmas. I’ve heard so many things about the Instant Pot I decided to give this multicooker thing a try. Four recipes in the only thing I think it is good for is making hard-boiled eggs that are easy to peel. If you have a multicooker/electronic pressure cooker recipe you love please send it my way. I have buyers remorse, and I would like that to change.
This week I tried two new to us skinnytaste recipes. Most weeks it will be hard to try one new recipe, but I have two new cookbooks and it’s the first week of the year, so I’m all sorts of motivated.
The first recipe we tried was Giant Turkey Meatball Parmesan. This recipe is available on her website or her skinnytaste One & Done cookbook. This was a huge hit in our house. Everyone ate it, even Elliot. He rarely tries new food and often goes to bed hungry because he refuses to eat what we are having (we used to make him try everything, but stopped when he started making himself throw up when he didn’t want to try it). We will be making this one again, probably regularly.
The second recipe I tried was Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken. I wanted this to be as good as jalapeno poppers. It was not. That could be because I skipped the bacon. I never have poppers with bacon in them, so I thought it wasn’t necessary. I think it needed the saltiness of the bacon to cut through the cream cheese. If I make them again I’ll add the bacon.
This week I’m going to try one of her Instant Pot recipes. I haven’t decided which one yet. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way.
Welcome to September. It doesn’t feel like fall yet, but after all of the running around we did this summer I’m ready to settle back into a routine. Being busy all summer and not wanting to cook in the heat has led to an unused kitchen and a vegetable deficient diet. I want to get back to cooking and eating healthy again. I’ve decided that September will be Souptember in our house. I’m committed to making soup at least once a week. I love soup. No one else in my family does. At the end of this month they will either be converted or I will have had soup for lunch every day. I’m OK with either outcome.
I made one of my favorite soups today: Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup. This spicy soup is filling and reheats well. It does not look pretty, but it tastes pretty great.
The recipe is from Rachel Ray’s Veggie Meals. It takes less than a half hour to put together, which means I can throw it together even when I’m in a time crunch.
Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
1 T vegetable oil
1 T butter
1 chopped onion
1 can vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 can black beans
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 c heavy cream (I use half and half)
1 1/2 t curry powder
2 t ground cumin
pinch of cayenne pepper
Melt butter into oil over medium heat. Sautee onion until soft. Add broth, black beans, tomatoes, and pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, add cream and spices. Simmer 5 minutes, or until you can convince your kids to come to the table.
I hope you had a Souper Sunday.
Last weekend, over bland oatmeal at the hotel breakfast, Kathleen and I were waxing poetic about instant oatmeal packets. Sure, they are gluey and loaded with sugar, but in my memory they are amazing.
I wanted to make something that recreated that flavor, but with less sugar and more real food. So this morning I made easy peaches and cream oatmeal.
1 c water
1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c frozen peach slices
1/4 t cinnamon
2 t brown sugar
1 T half and half or milk or milk substitute
Put water, oats, frozen peaches, and cinnamon in a pan and bring to a simmer. Once the peaches have softened a bit use kitchen shears to cut them into smaller pieces. I suppose you could take them out and do that with a knife, but I found it easier to cut them up in the pot as they simmered away. When the oatmeal is done (I think it is supposed to be 3 minutes, but I usually cook them until the eggs are done or the table is set and it turns out fine), stir in sugar and half and half. 
These are as good as the oatmeal that I remember, and they contain a full serving of fruit. The sugar can be adjusted based on your mood or the sweetness of the fruit you are using. I like that I always have these ingredients on hand, so I can whip it up whenever the mood strikes. I’ll be making it again soon, as Audrey is suddenly a big fan of oatmeal.
mildlygranola 