Growing up in Panama City, we used to eat at a restaurant called The Cheese Barn and they served one of my favorite dishes, their French Onion Soup.  I had a bit of nostalgia a few weekends ago, so I started hunting for a recipe to satisfy my craving.  If you have time one weekend, I recommend you try out Betty Crocker’s Golden Onion Soup.  It takes a little over 3 hours but the majority of that time is spent cooking the onions in the oven so you won’t be in the kitchen all day.

I made a few subtle changes to the dish merely because I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed.  Instead of making the Parmesan Croutons, I cubed up some Asiago Cheese Bread from Panera Bread.  You could also use Parmesan croutons, like those you put on a salad.  I only had one can of condensed beef broth so I improvised; using water and beef bullion cubes.  Once the soup was complete, I poured portions for Adam and me into two ovenproof bowls.  I added the cubed bread and sprinkled 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese on top.  I then broiled the bowls of soups in the oven for about 2 minutes until the cheese was melted and golden brown. Be sure to put the bowls on a sheet pan as it is easier to get them in and out of the oven and the pan will catch anything you spill.

I made my first dish from the July / August issue of Food Network Magazine, Chorizo-Potato Tacos. Adam and I loved the dish. The dish reminds me of a meat and potato hash but with Mexican flavors. I also love that the dish includes yellow squash but cooked in a way I haven’t tried, diced and cooked until crispy. I did eliminate the jalapeño pepper from the dish but I didn’t tweak anything else. The only thing I didn’t account for was the amount of oil that the chorizo exudes. Don’t worry, you will love it so much, you won’t care that your hands get messy.

Look in the latest issue of Food Network Magazine in the weeknight cooking section on page 90 or visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chorizo-potato-tacos-recipe/index.html

Last night I made a great dish that the kid in you will love called Pepperoni Pizza Chicken. This recipe comes from Pillsbury‘s July 2009 issue entitled Best Ever Chicken that instructs readers to stuff a skinless, boneless chicken breast with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. After cooking the stuffed chicken on either side to a golden brown, you then cook elbow pasta adding your favorite pasta sauce.

Photo from Pillsbury.com

As is my nature, I altered the recipe by adding sundried tomatoes to the interior of the chicken with the pepperoni and cheese. I chose Bertoli tomato and basil sauce from a jar. I finished the dish with freshly grated Parmesan and straight from the garden basil. Wow! For simple ingredients and 35 minutes I thought the dish was super yummy. I could see my little one asking for this dish again and again (once she is able to talk, of course). You should definitely go to pillsbury.com and check it out. CwB says YUMMY!

On Monday, I chose to make the Meaty Quesadillas and Perfect Guacamole from the May 2010 issue of Food Network magazine.  I made the 30-minute Meaty Quesadillas recipe with lean ground beef and only used a few alternative ingredients.  I didn’t have ancho chili powder so I just used the generic chili powder.  I also used the Mexican blend shredded cheese instead of muenster or Monterey jack cheese.  Zoey LOVED the taco meat mixture and shoveled it in as fast as possible. If the recipe can entice my picky 21 month old to eat, I’m sold! 

I wanted an all around Mexican meal so I also made the Perfect Guacamole recipe from the same issue of FNM.  I am a fan of spicy but my tummy is not so I left out the Serrano chiles.  I used roma tomatoes and fresh cilantro to finish out the recipe.  It turned out creamy and light with a little kick at the end.  I made store-bought cheese dip and refried beans from a can as sides.  I also made some of my own Mexican rice.  I brought 2 cups of water to a boil.  I added 1 cup of white rice, 3 tablespoons of my favorite salsa, a 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and a pinch of salt.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes and you have a tasty side dish for you favorite Mexican meal.

Both of these recipes were simple to make and wonderfully delicious.  The guacamole recipe has three additional recipes, Spicy Papaya Guacamole, Southwest Corn Guacamole and Creamy Tomatillo Guacamole.  I am looking forward to trying these later. 

I received the May 2010 Food Network magazine last week and decided to use recipes from its contents to feed our family for the week.  I chose Meaty Quesadillas, Chicken Tandoori, Skillet White Fish With Feta, Green Onion and Basil Salad, Curried Salmon Cakes, Ham-Taleggio Grilled Cheese and Trail Mix with Honey-Oatmeal Clusters.  I also made Italian Sausage Lasagna from my Betty Crocker’s New Cookbook and Strawberry-Banana Milkshakes from a recipe I heard on Nick Jr.

The Food Network magazines have such great articles and recipes, but my favorite feature is the Recipe Index at the front of each issue.  As soon as I get the magazine, I grab a notepad and write down the five or six recipes I am going to make for the week.  I write down the recipe name, the book it comes from and the page it is on.  Doing this helps when I have more than one book I am working out of for that week.  I then go through and read the recipes to see how long they will take so I know when I will need to make them according to our schedule.  I also check to make sure I have the majority of ingredients.  I make my grocery list and try to use substitutes when possible.  I try to pick recipes that have some similar ingredients such as the arugula and feta that I bought for this week’s recipes.  I also dig through my pantry to find the items that have been in there for a while.  I look through the magazine to see if they have any recipes that include these ingredients. 

Most of this weeks meals I made to the recipe, but I did change some of the recipes slightly.  I changed the Curried Salmon Cakes to crab cakes which turned out wonderfully.  I used the Ham-Taleggio Grilled Cheese as a template for my own recipe that I think I’ll call the Chipotle, Ham & Arugula Grilled Cheese.  I would say that the family favorite this week ended up being the trail mix.  I filled a airtight plastic container with homemade trail mix and left it on the table. Everyone has been munching on it all week and I even took a few small containers to my coworkers.  Look for later posts about each of the recipes I chose and what changes, if any, I made to make it my own. Cheers!

…Bob, Meet Everyone.”  I admit it. I admit it. I love Rachel Ray’s cookbooks.  More importantly, I adore her book Rachel Ray’s Big Orange Book or better known as BOB by her followers.  I have probably  made around 30 recipes from the book since it was mailed to me from one of those annoying book clubs. I intended to send it back but then after flipping through the pages, I couldn’t help but use it as a spoon rest while I fixed a myriad of recipes from inside its tangerine colored cover.  Darn that enticing photo of Roasted Lamb Meatballs with Honey-Rosemary Polenta and Tangy Red Onion and Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce. All I can say is, if you like quick meals that are super easy and very tasty but aren’t the best chef in the world, you should try this book.  I have a couple of her other books and don’t like them nearly as much because there is no rhyme or reason to the layout. Sometimes it is really hard to find recipes by category. Thankfully, BOB is well put-together with gorgeous full-color photos. The recipes are typically 30 minute with easily accessible ingredients.  I give this one a 9 out of 10.

I am a huge fan of the Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks that you can find in the checkout isle of your grocery store or by mail order. I would have to say that my favorite issue is the Brunches & Desserts issue from April 2001. I have made at least twenty plus recipes from this book and continue to make variations of the recipes every sunday. Being an advocate of sleeping late and having a breakfast/lunch meal to feed my family, these recipes give me inspiration to try new combinations of food without a lot of new editions to my pantry.

My favorite of all these recipes is a dish I made for my mother and grandparents right after I got the book, Spring Skillet Frittata. A beautiful display of small red potatoes, crisp asparagus, feta cheese and fresh basil in a fluffy cushion of eggs. I still make variations of this dish when I few veggie leftovers from the week that need to be used up. You can add what you like to this dish and serve it at any time.