Tasty Kitchen Review : Mushroom and Blueberry Balsamic Pot Roast

A couple of weeks ago, while I was writing up a menu for the following 2 weeks, I wanted to try out some different pot roasts.  So I headed over to PW's Tasty Kitchen and typed in "Pot Roast".  This particular recipe stuck out at me.  Blueberries.  Beef.  An interesting combination.

Mushroom and Blueberry Balsamic Pot Roast 

This was a very delicious piece of meat.  Although I didn't get it fork-tender, it was still moist.  The addition of the Balsamic Vinegar & Blueberries was very good.  I didn't even give a mushrooms a chance.  I don't like them.  So I let my husband steal them off my plate.

It's nice to change up traditional recipes.

Give this a try.  Enjoy!

Tasty Kitchen Review : Salt & Vinegar Crusted Chicken

As I was browsing through recipes, this stood out......I mean, stood out.  Covering chicken {well cod in the recipe's case} with Salt & Vinegar chips....come on.

This was a very simple recipe to put together.  Mayo, some S&P, and the crushed chips...how simple is that?  And this baked up in no time flat. Especially since I used thinly sliced chicken tenders.

This was a very delicious & moist chicken.  Madi gobbled up the chicken {she's been playing vegetarian lately}.  Jaxson gobbled up the chicken......took forever to eat his green beans, but he sure ate that chicken quickly.  I had no leftovers, so that made my Fridge & I very happy.

So if you would like the recipe, click on over to here & try it out!

Enjoy!

 

Tasty Kitchen Review : Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Today's recipe immediately stood out to me mainly because of the couscous.  My kids love....LOVE couscous, and it's such a easy food that can be made.  I liked the idea of stuffing the peppers with the stuff.

The recipe sounded delicious and all, but.....honestly, I didn't feel like spending money on some of the more pricier ingredients {ie. ground lamb}.  But I still liked the idea of the couscous-stuffed pepper, so I ran with the idea

So, here's what I did:

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Find at least 3 good Peppers.  It can be all Green {like I did, because they're cheaper}, and you can mix it up with some different colors.  I say at least 3, but I had leftover filling that could probably fill another 3 peppers {although my extra filling was eaten by my kids, because they didn't want the peppers}.

Slice the peppers in half, and scoop out the seeds & ribs.  Place them cut side down in a pan, and drizzle some EVOO over the top.

Let them roast in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, chopped half a onion & mince 2 garlic cloves.

In a pan, cook up a pound of hamburger {or turkey burger-that's what I used} with the onion & garlic.

Add some salt & pepper, and because I was using turkey burger, I decided to add a couple sprinkles of poultry seasoning.

When the meat is browned and the onions have softned, add a can of chicken broth.  Bring to boil, and add a box of couscous.  Turn off the heat, take the pan off the burner, and cover & let sit for 5 minutes.

During this time, my peppers were done roasting, so I took them out and let them sit on the counter.  See the blistering starting to happen???  Perfect.

After the 5 minutes, mix up the entire meat/couscous mixture.  Scoop & fill each of the pepper shells.  Now you could stop right here, but I decided to give it a little something extra.  I sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top, followed by a sprinkling of parsley.  Stick the pan back into the oven and let it bake for another 15 minutes {this is too make sure the peppers really cook-I like my peppers nice and soft}.

And that's that.  A delicious dinner worthy of the exclamation "Yummo!".

 My kids completely devoured this.  My oldest son ate three servings of the stuffing.  I loved the stuffing with the pepper-it was delicious!

I hope you try this out.  Enjoy!

Tasty Kitchen Review : Toasted Ciabatta Sandwich with Brie & Bacon

When I was trying to figure out the menu for my family these next two weeks, I needed some inspiration.  I really do like trying other's recipes & sharing my versions & thoughts.  So this time, I went with the Pioneer Woman's "Tasty Kitchen".

I clicked under the Recipes Tab to Main Courses, and set to work finding some new, fun, and exciting recipes.

The first one I'm going to share with you is basically a Grown-Up version of the grilled cheese sandwich.

Toasted Ciabatta Sandwich with Brie & Bacon

{Recipe found Here}

-Excuse the Burnt top...you know One minute it's good & the next, your hurridly trying to get the pan out of the oven-

My husband was very surprised that I chose this recipe.  You see, I'm very finicky when it comes to cheese & I don't really like cooking bacon {the smell bugs the crap out of me}.  But I thought that I would try it, I mean I love Ciabatta bread :)

I liked how simple the ingredients were : ciabatta rolls, brie & bacon.  Of course I had to get all cheap & healthy & I bought Turkey Bacon; but the smoky aspect of the bacon was still there & paired very well with the cheese & bread {just like the author of the recipe said it would}.

Now, this isn't an every day meal, but it sure would be something to have again....maybe even with a cup of soup {we ate this sammies with Chips & Edamame}.

Some tips:

• Since I bought Ciabatta Rolls instead of a loave, I just sliced off a little bit of the top {as seen in the pictures}, and just buttered the tops of the bread.
• I cooked the bacon on top of a wire rack that was sitting on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  I stuck it under the broiler and let it cook up for a couple of minutes.
• More so because the top of my stove was occupied with pickling supplies {my hubby was pickling up some beets}, I declined cooking these sandwiches in my skillet.  I instead turned the oven onto 400 degrees and stuck the sandwiches on the same wire rack, and let them cook for at least 5 minutes.  When I noticed the cheese start to melt, I turned the broiler on to brown up the tops {and as you can see, I did it a wee bit too long}.
• Don't pre-slice your Brie; I thought I was being efficient in doing so, and didn't realize how soft this cheese really is.

I hope you'll give this recipe a try; I thoroughly enjoyed it!