recipes galore!

Hello everyone!  So, Friday's lunch of sesame chicken was delicious - I would make it again in a heartbeat.  Friday night and Saturday for lunch, I ate out, so no cooking.  Friday I went to a department dinner catered by Foster's.  Saturday, after lounging at the pool, I headed to Twisted Noodle, which I had never been to before.  It was very delicous Thai food!  All I could think about was... can I use my fish sauce and make more Thai food soon?  There's a recipe for Scallop Pad Thai in my cookbook, and I will definitely be trying it soon!

Saturday after lunch, I picked up my boyfriend from the airport.  Later on, I made him Chicken and Ravioli Carbonara for dinner (#14):

 I can't believe how easy Carbonara sauce is!  It was a pretty easy recipe to execute, and I give it 4 stars - something I will definitely make again (especially for my boyfriend - he doesn't eat many vegetables, so this recipe was a perfect thing to serve him)!  Then, today for lunch, I cooked Cheesy Italian Chicken Pie (#15).  The first thing that I found strange about the recipe is that you don't really make a bottom crust - you spoon the filling into the pie pot, and then just pour the batter for the pie crust over it.  So it doesn't have a very sturdy bottom.  Other than that, the recipe was fairly easy to make.

It turned out... ok.  It wasn't like it was bad by any means, just bland.  I was surprised that it was bland given how much oregano/garlic/etc. was in it.  It also tasted a little bit eggy.  I think next time I cook this recipe (which, I realize won't be for a long time since I have a few hundred others to try first) I need to put the spices in the filling as well as the batter.  I also need to use less egg - although I'm not sure how that would affect the crust.  Hmm.  Things to ponder over the next year I suppose.  Lastly, you serve it (and cook it) with tomato sauce, and I think a more flavored marinara sauce would work better.  Basically, I just need to ramp up the Italian flavors.  Otherwise - the consistency, etc. was quite good.

Lastly, since I had one piece of chicken left in my fridge, I decided I ought to make lunch for tomorrow.  I chose Chicken with Thyme and Mixed Vegetables (#16).  The recipe suggests using a bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, or other combination.  Welll... I had frozen broccoli, so that's all I put in it.  I will eat this tomorrow along with a baked potato - I'll let you know how it tastes!

Now, it's time to clean my apartment and watch some Family Guy.  Tomorrow, if weather permits, I'm going for a run.  It's supposed to rain all day, and I'm not sure how I feel about a 45 minute long run by myself, so I might push it to Tuesday.   This week, I think I am taking my first step away from chicken/salmon and attempting something out of my comfort zone.  Stay tuned!