Cooking Challenge: Week 1 Review & Week 2 Recipes

I try not to keep all of the recipes I've tried- there are so many recipes to try that I figure it's really only worth keeping very good recipes. When I'm determining if a recipe is worth keeping, I look at a couple of factors:
     * is it really good? (ok doesn't make the cut)
     * was it worth the time and effort of cooking it?
     * is it healthy enough that I can serve it without feeling like I need to warn people about an imminent heart attack?
     * were any of the ingredients cost prohibitive?

Recipe 1: Chicken Larb, from Cooking Light January 2011
This was a very easy recipe, with dinner on the table in less than half an hour. We substituted lettuce leaves for cabbage, because the cabbages at the store were bigger than we'd use up, and used pre-ground chicken (because we don't have a food processor), but otherwise followed the recipe. I though it was tasty, but compared to Thai food from a restaurant I felt like it was missing a strong savory flavor. I'd cook this again, but probably would add some fish sauce or more salt to the chicken, to see if I could up the flavor.

Recipe 2: Southwest Shrimp & Corn Chowder, from Cooking Light April 2009
We couldn't find canned corn that had peppers in it, so we used plain canned corn. I also substituted fresh red potatoes for the hash brown ones because I didn't think we'd use the rest of the bag. The change made this take a little longer to cook, but it was still fairly easy and tasty. It definitely has a southwest flavor to it, which was a nice way to update chowder. I would cook this again, but would do it on a day when I have a bit more time to spend in the kitchen- it took about an hour with the additional chopping a cooking time for the potatoes.

Recipe 3: Mediterranean-Style Poached Eggs, from Cooking Light April 2004
This is a version of shakshuka, which is an easy dish where eggs are poached in a tomato sauce mixture. I generally like it, but I wasn't impressed with this one- it just felt like there were too many different things going on (artichokes! cumin! olives!). I don't think I'd make this version again- I'll stick with my favorite version.

Bonus Recipes:

Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup:
This was probably my favorite recipe of the week- it's delicious and super easy (other than cutting up the butternut squash). Rather than wait 4 hours for the crockpot, we cooked this on the stove. Absolutely going to make this again, and I expect the portions in our freezer to disappear pretty quickly.

Pumpkin bread recipe from the Kathleen's Bake Shop Cookbook:
Delicious and gingerbread-y. Exactly what you'd expect from a pumpkin bread. This continues the string of fantastic recipes from this cookbook. Definitely not a health food though, so bake it for a crowd or you'll eat too much!

Chili (adapted from Cooking Light's Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili)
2 lbs ground beef
2 red bell peppers 
1 chopped onion 
4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

8  garlic cloves, thinly sliced 

2 cups organic vegetable broth (decrease this amount if you like a thicker chili) 

1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash 

1 (28-ounce) can no-salt-added tomatoes, undrained and chopped 

1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained  

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove and discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place pepper halves in a paper bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and chop peppers.
3. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add beef to pan, cook until brown. Transfer to crock pot, leaving residual juice and fat in dutch oven. Add onion to pan; cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cumin and next 4 ingredients (through garlic); cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add bell peppers, broth, squash, and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Transfer to crock pot.
4. Add beans to crock pot; cook on low for 8 hours.
5. Sprinkle with green onions or cheese, serve.

Verdict: This chili was a little labor intensive, but was very tasty and is full of healthy veggies and protein. It's probably not the platonic ideal of chili, but it's the best I've found so far for the amount of work and calories involved.

Week 2 Recipes:

Recipe 1: Szechuan Pork, from Cooking Light June 2008
Recipe 2: Grilled Zucchini with Sea Salt, from Cooking Light September 2011
Recipe 3: Cheesy Meatloaf Minis, from Cooking Light November 2012