easy – Page 17 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

3-21: Broccoli-Celery Soup

Adam Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 23, 2016August 26, 2022black pepper, boiled, broccoli, butter, celery, Cheddar, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chilled, crushed red pepper, diced, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, Glendale apt, gluten-free, herbs and spices, inexpensive, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, minced, potatoes, purée, revisited, salt, shredded, simmered, soups, vegetables, whipping cream

Jamie made this recipe, 3-21: Broccoli-Celery Soup, for me before on a mild Christmas Eve. 🎅🏽 We were living in Glendale at the time, it doesn’t exactly get cold there. ❄

(Editor’s note: I didn’t make this on Christmas Eve–my mom did. I don’t know which Christmas Eve, but that’s definitely her writing. I did however, make this when we lived in Glendale, CA, and he’s right about that–it doesn’t get that cold there.)

I really enjoyed the soup the first time around, so I took my own shot at cooking this recipe.

2-13: Waldorf Salad

Adam Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 22, 2016November 16, 2020American, appetizers, apples, celery, celery root, chilled, creamy, diced, dinner, easy, gluten-free, grapes, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, mayonnaise, New York, peeled, salad cream, salads, side dish, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, Waldorf, walnuts, whipping cream

2-13: Waldorf Salad is a short and easy recipe to make. This recipe is still popular despite its age–the maître d’hôtel (not the chef) of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel created this namesake salad in 1896. Jamie suggested that I watch the episode of Fawlty Towers called “Waldorf Salad” which originally aired in 1979. This episode features many jokes about the titular salad.

“Well I think we ran out of Waldorfs.” Most kitchens would have these ingredients on hand, so this joke got the biggest laugh of the episode. 🍏🍇🌱🌰

9-5: Modern-Style Hamburger

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 21, 2016October 20, 2020beef bouillon, black pepper, burgers, butter, chili sauce, chilled, chives, condiments, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, fried, green onions, griddle, grill pan, grilled, ground beef, ground meat, iceberg lettuce, lettuce, modern, pan-fried, parsley, pearl onions, salt, sautéed, sirloin, untested, whipping cream, white bread, whole wheat bread, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has provided a plethora of burger recipes for me to try, like 9-15: Peppercorn Beef Burgers and this recipe, 9-5: Modern-Style Hamburger. I like to cook these on the electric griddle because I can cook the entire batch off at once and they all cook evenly.

I tend to prefer burgers that are dinner sized. These burgers are more like sliders or a thin lunch style burger. 🍔

15-2: Chocolate Mousse

Jamie Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods August 20, 2016July 30, 2020chilled, chocolate, chocolate chips, coffee, cold desserts, creamy, dessert, double boiler, easy, egg yolks, eggs, fairly expensive, folded, melted, mousse, party food, powdered sugar, ramekins, restaurant-style, semisweet, untested, vegetarian, whipped, whipping cream

Since it’s currently summer, I’ve been experimenting more with the Cold Desserts section of Simply Delicious. Come fall & winter, we’ll get back to more of the Hot Desserts. 15-2: Chocolate Mousse is not the first mousse I’ve attempted (check out 15-1: Lemon Mousse for a citrusy variation), but it is a pretty solid chocolate mousse recipe–these are great for entertaining, or even making in individual servings and freezing for later. 🍨

As noted above on the card, chocolate mousse is a classic and popular dessert. There are a variety of ways to approach it, as explained in this Serious Eats feature on the dish, but Simply Delicious’ version is super easy–5 ingredients are all you need. 🍫

2-14: Quick and Easy Tomato Salad

Adam Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 17, 2016October 4, 2020appetizers, basil, breakfast, canola oil, capers, chervil, chilled, chopped, dairy-free, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, dressing, easy, egg-free, emulsion, gluten-free, heirloom tomatoes, herb salt, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, olive oil, salads, salt, side dish, sliced, summer, sunflower oil, tarragon, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, white wine vinegar, yellow onions

2-14: Quick and Easy Tomato Salad is a Simply Delicious recipe that is aptly named for once! This tomato salad was quick and easy, just as advertised. 🍅

This salad made a quick dinner on a hot summer night where I didn’t want to heat up the oven. 🔥

15-51: Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

Adam Martin Group 15: Cold Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods August 15, 2016October 29, 2020blender, chilled, cold desserts, creamed, creamy, dessert, easy, eggs, food processor, frozen, fruit, gluten-free, ice cream, ice cream maker, inexpensive, lactose-free, loaf pan, powdered sugar, purée, snacks, strawberries, summer, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, yogurt

15-51: Frozen Strawberry Yogurt: I really liked this cold concoction. I have never attempted a frozen desert before this. I’m glad to say this recipe was a great success. 🍧

This card describes the flavor like a certain presidential candidate I am loathe to quote, except it’s so quotable…it’s fantastic. 🍓

12-23: Tortellini with Broccoli

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 14, 2016October 28, 2020al dente, black pepper, blanched, boiled, broccoli, butter, Cheddar, cheese, creamy, dinner, easy, garlic, grated, green onions, inexpensive, Italian, julienned, leeks, lunch, melted, minced, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, side dish, sour cream, tortellini, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian

12-23: Tortellini with Broccoli is yet another Simply Delicious recipe where their idea of a cream sauce is pouring sour cream on top of something warm and stirring it in. When using lactose free sour cream, the sauce comes out too thick. It’s still chunky on top of the pasta. Maybe I need to cook it longer or stir it more, I will keep experimenting to find out. Onto…the recipe!

It had been a while since I ate tortellini and this recipe gives you an idea of how to make a sauce in a pinch. Simply Delicious has other recipes such as 6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole where the method to make a quick cream sauce is to dump sour cream into the pot.

9-6: Filled Tacos

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 13, 2016October 20, 2020avocados, black olives, butter, canola oil, Cheddar, cheese, chili powder, diced, dinner, easy, egg-free, filling, green olives, ground beef, ground meat, ground turkey, hot sauce, inexpensive, lettuce, lunch, Mexican, Monterey Jack, party food, salt, shredded, sliced, sour cream, Southwestern, stuffed, taco shells, tacos, Tapatio, Tex-Mex, tomatoes, untested, vegetables

I never expected to find a recipe for filled tacos in the Simply Delicious cookbooks. 9-6: Filled Tacos are an easy and filling dinner. The prep is the longest part. 🌮

I bought a box of prepared taco shells at the store. Different from the kind shown in the photos provided by Simply Delicious, but they got the job done. 🇲🇽

8-32: Indian Beef Casserole

Adam Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses August 11, 2016October 18, 2020all-purpose flour, Asian, beef, boiled, casserole, Chinese/dark soy sauce, chopped, chuck roast, cubed, curry powder, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, grated, herbs and spices, Indian, Indonesian, lunch, marinated, minced, nutmeg, Oriental, rice, round steak, salt, sambal paste, sherry, untested, yellow onions

8-32: Indian Beef Casserole is an affront to Indian cooking worldwide. It is a dish that barely any Indian people would actually eat because it contains beef! 🐮

During my brief trip to India, I actually ate some beef served by the hotel which was spiced similar to this dish. This hotel served beef because it hosted a lot of travelers from USA and Europe who usually eat beef. Indian culture perceives the cow as sacred and a significant portion of the population observes a vegetarian diet. 🇮🇳

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 8, 2016July 27, 2020al dente, all-purpose flour, basil, boiled, butter, chicken, chicken broth, chives, chopped, cooked chicken, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, grated, herbs and spices, Italian parsley, lemons, lunch, melted, pasta/noodles, roux, salt, sour cream, untested, yellow mustard, zested

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken sounds like a recipe my mom or I would have attempted back in the days we were cooking out of this book–it’s possible we did and never marked the card. Both of us were suckers for dishes just like this. 🐓

I probably would have made this recipe earlier if curly pasta was easier to come by–I wanted to find just the right shape for this dish. I have a fascination with different pasta shapes. 🍝

4/13/19 EDIT: Speaking of pasta shapes, take a look at the cover photo for the very similar 12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken and the one above. Notice anything strange?