Cooking Challenge: Week 4 Review & Week 5 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: Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, from FiveHeartHome
This was both delicious and easy. Other than chopping and setting the crockpot there wasn't any work to do. I've never had potatoes in my split pea soup before, and they were very tasty. I will definitely make this again, but may add some onions and celery because I love those in soup. I'd highly recommend this for an easy, healthy dinner.

Recipe 2: Asian Style Veggie Rolls, from Cooking Light August 2010
If  you've never made spring rolls before, this recipe gives a good outline of the process. That said, I found the rolls themselves not very filling, and the dipping sauce too acidic. The rolls were better with some peanuts thrown in (shrimp would have been good too), and that improved the sauce as well, but I'd try a different recipe over this one unless you're really into lime juice.

Recipe 3: Roasted Cauliflower Soup, from Cooking Light January 2013
This was an ok soup- it wasn't bad, but it wasn't worth the work of preparing it. Between roasting the cauliflower, then simmering it with other ingredients, and blending it all, it was just too much effort for a middle of the road cream soup. The flavors were not outstanding enough to justify the effort.

Week 4 Recipes:

Recipe 1: Beef & Guiness Stew, from Cooking Light March 2010
Recipe 2: Polenta Bown with Garlicky Spinach, Chicken Sausage & Poached Egg, from The Kitchn
Recipe 3: Chicken Thighs with Olives and Tomato Sauce, from Cooking Light March 2009