I described contents of my pantry to the dicea. She gave me ideas. So here we go

( Pork Loin by 'dicea )

OMG. WILL DO AGAIN. Though I think I will try to get apple cider next time and cut back on the vinegar by a Tbsp.

Rating: 5

( Timeout Roast Chicken with Ham Sauce )

Yes I was leery based on the name of the recipe. But I was feeling adventurous so I gave it a go.

It wasn't that bad. Nothing wow-whee-wow but it was edible and somewhat tastey.

I think I would have liked it more if the prosciutto had been browned/sauteed a little before being put in the dish. Or maybe Panchetta rather than prosciutto. But I like smokier and saltier ham that prosciutto is.

It's not something that I will rush out to try again, but it's a nice thing to add to the recipe catalog.

Rating: 3.25

Recently the girls helped me deal with something. As a return I experimented on made them dinner using a recipe that I had recently found in a pile of pamphlets that my mother had used when she was a demonstrator for Iroquois Gas (which eventually became National Fuel here in Buffalo). Mom would go show people the new cooking gizmos that IG offered by showing them how to make meals on them

Anyway, in one of the pamphlets I found:

( Magnificent Mushrooms )
The general agreement was that it was tasty, though I used too much butter on the top of it. We talked about ways to adapt it for appetizers, and what to serve with it. Generally we thought a nice pork roast and a spinach salad.

Average rating between the three of us: 4.25

I know I am so far behind in the goal of trying 50 new recipes this year.

But I give you

( Chicken & Roasted Garlic Risotto )

Rating - a weak 3

It was ok. Definitely better as a second day dish. Last night it kinda looked like something the cat coughed up. Today it looks more like a risotto.

The differences I did was that I cut up the chicken first as I'm a big fan of one bowl meals that don't require lots of work to actually eat. I also used corn rather than peas/carrots or mixed veggies as corn was all I had in the house.

Not sure I will do it again, but it was a good try.

( Hearty Chicken & Noodle Casserole )

RATINGS: 3. It was ok. I over cooked it as I got involved with something and didn't hear the timer. I wasn't keen on the cheddar cheese. If I ever make it again, I might try it by topping it with breadcrumbs before baking.

( Mini Meat Turnovers )

Rating: 3.75 They were OK. I will try them again as I only had enough biscuits to make 16 turnovers. I think when I make up more I will try it with crescent rolls rather than buttermilk biscuits. To me the biscuit overpowered the flavor of the filling. If I make this from start to finish again, I might do less tomato sauce and more chili seasoning.

Still nothing beats the pasties from the hispanic place by the Girls' house.

( Chicken Saltimbocca )
RATING: 3. I will not be rushing to try this again. See, I'm not a fan of Chicken Cordon Bleu. I had hoped this would be a good replacement for it. It was ok. Not Wow. I didn't hate it, but I can't really say I liked it either. I give it a three because it's smack in the middle of I absolutely hated it and I absolutely loved it.



Now I just have to find a recipe to try that uses Chicken and Mushrooms. I have both that I need to use up in the next couple days. I might just do my old fall back of a chicken with lemon and mushroom sauce.