Journey Into Deliciousness

Steak Skewers in the Oven

Grade: A (for the steak) C (for the veggies - but a remedy below!)

Time it takes: 40 minutes, plus overnight marinating (10 minutes easy prep, 20-30 minutes baking)

Yield: Enough steak for 5 skewers

Source: Marinade from The Life of Spice - a food blog (steak marinade and steak kabobs); oven baking technique from foodnetwork.com - courtesy of Emeril Lagasse (Ka-Bam Kabobs)

To go along with the chicken fettuccine alfredo, and to satisfy Chris' tastes, I made steak skewers for Christmas Eve dinner. Since I don't really enjoy steak I didn't try any, but Chris said the he loved the steak marinade and they were cooked perfectly. The only thing was that the veggies weren't done enough for him. I was planning on skewering potatoes with the kabobs and then realized they would definitely not have enough time to cook at 10 minutes. Instead I oiled and seasoned the chopped potatoes and put them on a baking sheet in the oven for 45 minutes at 450 and they came out perfectly. Next time I think I will do a baking sheet of all the veggies I would put on the skewers (mushrooms, onion, and bell peppers) and roast them for about 20-30 minutes by themselves, and keep the steak on the skewers exactly the same. A little more juggling in the end, but everything will be done how it should be that way.

Click below to expand for the recipe!

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Grade: A

Time it takes: 1 hour and 15 minutes (30 minutes prep, 45 minutes bake)

Yield: 13x9 casserole dish

Source: My grandma

My family always has this dish for Thanksgiving. If we weren't hosting then we would be asked to bring it as our contribution to the feast. My grandmother would be the one to make it until I moved out to Colorado where I realized I had to actually cook things. The first time I made this for Thanksgiving I read 2 tablespoons of grated onion as 2 cups of grated onion - it was a bit on the onion-y side that year. I've since gotten the recipe down pat.

It is a great side dish for your Thanksgiving spread. It has vegetables in there, but covered in cheese to fool the children - like me when I was a little one, I always hated vegetables but I loved this casserole. The prep isn't too involved, but if you don't feel like tackling it on Thanksgiving day you can make it the day before and stick it in the refrigerator. I pop mine in the oven right when the turkey gets out, and then I have 45 minutes to finish up everything else and get the table ready.

Click below to expand for the recipe!

Oven Bundles

Grade: A

Time it takes: 2 hours (30 minutes prep, 1 hour and 30 minutes bake time)

Yield: 1 bundle

Source: My grandmother would make these all the time, and I just follow her example.

This is my go to, make them all the time, super easy and tasty weeknight recipe. There isn't much prep, the ingredients are simple, and you can pop it in the oven and forget about it for a while

You can certainly tweak the recipe to whatever your tastes are and whatever you have on hand. Season your chicken and then add in some vegetables - onion, carrots and potatoes are pretty standard.

Click below to expand for the recipe!

Garlic Ginger Glazed Carrots

 

Grade: A+

Times it takes: 40 minutes (10 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking)

Yield: Serves 4 (unless of course you find it incredibly delicious and want thirds...then it may serve less people)

Source: Stephanie Cooks - a food blog (recipe)

I like to bookmark any veggie recipe that looks remotely good. I'm not great at my vegetable side dishes - they are usually something with potatoes or steamed broccoli...can you say boring! I am so glad I decided to make this one because it was heavenly. It tasted just sweet enough and deliciously ginger-y. Chris, not the biggest carrot fan, said that they were pretty good...better than your average steamed carrots. He will just have to grow into a carrot fan because anytime I have leftover ginger on hand I am making these! Or, maybe I will just eat them all and make him some steamed broccoli...mwahaha.

Click below to expand for the recipe!

Sweet Soy Glazed Chicken and Onions, and Spicy Garlic Shrimp and Green Beans

Grades: C (sweet soy glazed chicken) and A (spicy garlic shrimp and green beans)

I got both of these recipes from Stephanie Cooks, a food blog I'd browsed a few times. I'd bookmarked the sweet soy glazed chicken and onions recipe a couple months ago when it caught my eye. When I was thinking about what recipe I wanted to try next for my "new recipe of the week" I figured I'd give it a whirl. I wanted to pair it with another recipe so I searched under the archives for Asian and came up with the spicy garlic shrimp and green beans recipe. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned my dislike of vegetables, but I don't mind green beans - so I figured green beans mixed with a yummy sauce could be money.

Click below to expand for the recipes!

 

Chicken Pot Pie

Grade: A+

I'm a fan of delicious and homey cooking, so I figured chicken pot pie is something I should have a yummy tried and true recipe for. I made chicken pot pie once several years ago and the first bite tasted like the best thing ever, and so did the second bite and maybe even the third, but right around bite four I realized wow this is incredibly rich and filling and I can't eat another bite. It was just too something....too filling too rich too just something. I'm not sure. I couldn't eat it. Hopefully this recipe turns out better. Less is more.

I hopped over to allrecipes.com to find a pot pie recipe. I read about four or five plus a bunch of their comments (always read the comments), and combined what I found to form this recipe.

Click below to expand for the recipe!