New Recipes Reviewed

Well, we’re nearly half way into our second month of monthly menu planning, so I thought I should tell you how it’s going, and let you know whether those new recipes were actually worth it!   Also, I found out a few weeks ago that my friend Ginny from my pilates class reads this blog and wonders whether or not I actually cook all the stuff I post about.  And, that made me suddenly realize….. There are actually some people out there reading this that I do know in real life!   

Confession: I stalk lots of people through their blogs.  And I’m guilty of not leaving comments.  This is something I want to get better about.  I hope you’ll leave a comment here (or let me know in real life if you have the opportunity) if you’re reading.  I’d also love to read your blog(if I’m not already lurking)!  

So the answer is… I do use the menu plans to make a grocery list, and generally follow them pretty closely, but it is often hard from week-to-week to follow an exact schedule.  Lots of things get bumped around just to fit in our day-to-day activities, but I’m ok with that.   The main point is, to have food in the house for recipes we like so we don’t end up eating out all the time.   So, on to the recipe review….

New recipes we’ve made so far this year….

Chicken Pot Pie … excellent recipe (ThanksLindsey!)  I will definitely make this again.  Also, I will take my indigestion medicine before-hand because it gave me major heartburn, but I LOVED it, and so did my hubby, so that’s a win-win.  Probably need to get it back on the calendar before the weather gets warm though, cause this is a definite winter comfort food.  

Crockpot Lasagna …. Forgot to put it in the crockpot, so just emailed the ingredients to my husband with modified directions for the oven and he made it (he volunteered).  It was FANTASTIC.  I love Lasagna.  Can’t wait to actually try it in the crockpot though.  Also, don’t think I’ll ever get Ryan to volunteer to make it again, apparently he had no idea how much work goes into Lasagna.

Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches… oh.my.goodness.  I should’ve known by the frequency that these show up on Leigh’s menu plans that I should’ve made them sooner!  I absolutely love any type of shredded meat in the crockpot (if you’ve read my menus, you already know this), and this was the easiest recipe yet.  We will absolutely eat this again and again.. and again!  

Chicken Enchilada Soup… oh, boy did I flub this one up.  I cannot tell you if I like it or not because I messed up not only the ingredients, but also the instructions.  It was heartbreaking because it was a TON of food, and we ended up wasting it all because it turned out so badly.  I often substitute ingredients in recipes when I don’t have exactly what it called for, and it has never turned out quite this bad.  The only other recipe I remember being this bad was when I mistakenly put Italian tomatoes and peppers in my shredded beef tacos instead of tomatoes and green chiles (that’s the last time I buy store-brand Rotel… the cans for Italian tomatoes looked EXACTLY the same).  If anyone tries this recipe and it turns out good, I’d like to know.  But I think I’m too chicken to try this one again anytime soon!