fairly inexpensive – Page 16 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods December 24, 2015September 13, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking soda, brown sugar, butter, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas Eve, cocoa powder, cookies, creamed, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, Glendale apt, holiday baking, oatmeal, oatmeal raisin, orange juice, pecans, raisins, revisited, rolled oats, salt, snacks, unsweetened, vanilla extract, vegetarian, walnuts, XMAS 15

The only chocolate-containing component in my holiday baked goods assortment, 17-31: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies are honestly pretty good any time of year. So if you’re reading this at some other time of year besides Christmas Eve, don’t feel like you can’t make these.

I found a way to mess these up as well (seems like this year I had a hard time with some things that should have been really easy), but I’ve made them before previously to this, and both times (then and now) they’re still definitely very edible and good.

17-52: Apricot Macaroons

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods December 23, 2015November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, almond paste, apricots, baked goods, butter, chilled, Christmas, cookies, egg whites, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, granulated sugar, holiday baking, jam/jelly/preserves, macaroons, parchment paper, pastry bag, untested, vegetarian, XMAS 15

This recipe is another Simply Delicious “take” on something that already largely exists in a slightly different form. These aren’t really these kind of macaroons (the Passover kind). They’re not these kind of macarons (the French kind) either.

17-52: Apricot Macaroons were part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

Mine were a horror show compared to the picture on the card–I blame poor tools (my pastry bag blew its side out early on, rendering it useless and me bagless) even though any chef knows that’s a cop-out. I also blame exhaustion–these were the last ones I made of all of the recipes.

17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods December 21, 2015September 21, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking powder, baking soda, breads, breakfast, butter, Christmas, creamed, dates, dessert, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, granulated sugar, grated, holiday baking, loaf pan, muffins, nuts, orange juice, oranges, quick breads, snacks, untested, vegetarian, walnuts, winter, XMAS 15, zested

I’ve made quick bread from Simply Delicious before (17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread) and it turned out well–this recipe is no exception. 17-43: Orange Date Quick Bread is part of my big batch of assorted baked goods that I made as gifts for people this year–you can find the others linked at the end of this entry.

I chose to include this recipe in my holiday gifts this year because I wanted to include some different textures, flavors, and shapes, as well as reflecting the abundance of citrus fruit during winter in California. 🍊

17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods November 19, 2015November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, allspice, autumn, baked goods, baking powder, breakfast, canola oil, cinnamon, cocoa powder, dates, dessert, dried fruit, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, fall, gift ideas, ginger, granulated sugar, mace, milk, muffins, nutmeg, nuts, pumpkin spice, raisins, salt, snacks, spice blends, unsweetened, untested, vegetable oil, vegetarian, whole wheat flour

Another recipe that I intended to cover earlier (when it was more relevant). Whatever, you can totally still eat 17-53: Spiced Whole Wheat Muffins in mid-to-late November.

The recipe card says “not-too-sweet”…they’re not kidding. These are good, but only if you have some preserves or butter to go along with it. On their own, they’re a bit…dry.

17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods October 6, 2015September 21, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking powder, baking soda, bananas, breads, breakfast, buttermilk, coconut, creamed, dates, dessert, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, granulated sugar, loaf pan, quick breads, shortening, sifted, snacks, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, yogurt

17-51: Three Palms Quick Bread tastes delicious, but took forever to end up making, since I never seemed to have bananas, dates, and coconut all at the same time. 🌴

If you like banana bread, this is a really good take on that. Plus, 3 palms instead of 1! Such a deal! 👍

4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 15, 2015April 13, 20204-6-09 dinner, blanched, butter, cilantro, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, favorites, green beans, hazelnuts, Italian parsley, lemon juice, lemons, lunch, melted, nuts, parsley, pecans, revisited, roach motel apt, salt, sautéed, side dish, snipped, string beans, sweet butter, tender-crisp, vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts

This recipe, 4-2: Green Beans with Hazelnut Butter along with 7-55: Sunday Pork Stew and 4-4: Scalloped Parsley Potatoes were my first attempt at trying to do 3 of these entry recipes at once. It ended up being harder to do than I thought.

One I’ve made before, about 6 years ago along with 6-40: Peppercorn Chicken Breasts and some other ones. I really like this technique/flavor profile–I use it a lot, even when I’m not documenting it for the Internet.

9-28: Stuffed Meat Loaf

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 25, 2015July 6, 2020apples, bacon, basil, black pepper, bread crumbs, chopped, diced, dinner, dried herbs, dry mustard, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, garlic, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, herbs and spices, lunch, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, panko, parsley, potatoes, salt, sliced, steam-baked, stuffed, stuffing, thyme, untested, white bread, yellow mustard, yellow onions

I grew up with turkey meatloaf. You probably grew up with some version of a loaf of meat. 9-28: Stuffed Meatloaf doesn’t stray too far from the traditional mold.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too thrilled if the planned dinner for a party was a meatloaf. Don’t get me wrong, I’d appreciate the gesture. However, it’s tough to get excited about…meatloaf.

6-40: Peppercorn Chicken Breasts

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses August 16, 2015December 10, 20204-6-09 dinner, boiled, boneless, breasts, butter, chicken, creamy, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, gluten-free, lunch, orange juice, peppercorns, ranch house, reduced, revisited, roach motel apt, rosé pepper, sherry, skinless, tarragon, tenderized, whipping cream

Here’s one I’ve made in the past–there’s even my Sharpie notations to prove it. I remember making 6-40: Peppercorn Chicken Breasts for my mom, since she’s not a red meat eater and I was making another recipe from this book for everyone else that was heavy on meat. I’ll cover that one eventually, and update this to reflect that. 😉

My notations claim that it’s easy. It is, when you use the right ingredients. If you don’t, it gets a bit tougher…

4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 13, 2014April 14, 2022appetizers, black pepper, boiled, bread crumbs, breaded, canola oil, cheese, chicken fat, crispy, deep fryer, deep-fried, dinner, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fail, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fried, hors d'oeuvres, Italian, lunch, mashed potatoes, Mozzarella, pan-fried, panko, Parmesan, potatoes, rendered, side dish, snacks, sticks, string cheese, stuffed, tomato sauce, untested, vegetarian

This one…was challenging. And it seemed so simple! 4-30: Cheese-Stuffed Potato Croquettes are essentially mozzarella sticks with a mashed potato/panko coating. These turned from a quick snack into a multi-day attempt.

Now, before I scare you off this recipe: it was 100% my fault it went south. I tried to improvise in several places, and it proved to be my downfall each time. Sometimes you can take liberties, and sometimes you can’t.

Here’s how you learn those lessons.

12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses October 9, 2014July 27, 2020all-purpose flour, black pepper, boneless, breasts, butter, cheese, chicken, chopped, cooked chicken, creamy, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, fettuccini, half-and-half, Hutton house, lunch, mafalde, pared, Parmesan, parsley, pasta/noodles, peeled, red bell peppers, revisited, roux, sautéed, sherry, skinless, tangy, white wine, yellow onions

Here’s a recipe I’ve actually made before–it’s been a while since we’ve seen one of those. When I was about 8 or 9, my mom decided that she, my dad, and I were going to take turns making dinner each week. One of the recipes I actually planned for and made (before this grand plan inevitably fell apart) was this one: 12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken.

I probably was drawn to this one because my favorite meal as a kid was fettuccini Alfredo, and this one seems relatively similar (to an 9-year old). I also remember being fascinated with the fact that I got to use alcohol in something.