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. 🍏🍇🌱🌰
12-14: Brown Rice Casserole doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it is very cheap to make and very filling. I made this dish before I took a trip as a meal prep and it really helped me keep my eating in check. ✅
As advertised on the card, this dish is hearty enough to be a meal in itself. I did eat it with a side of pepperoni slices, but the majority of the meal was this casserole. 🌾
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: 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. 🍓
Stroganoff was a VERY common dish in my house when I was growing up. Since this was the 90s (low-fat everything), it was usually made with plain ground turkey, powdered mix from a packet, and some light sour cream (which is essentially tasteless mush–real sour cream was a revelation when I got older). It got to the point where I couldn’t even stand the smell of stroganoff because my mom made this dish so often.
Time has passed, and stroganoff & I have had a reconciliation. I make it about once every other month now for work, but from scratch and not with packet mix (but still using ground turkey since it’s leaner). Simply Delicious has two stroganoff recipes: 13-6: Mushroom Stroganoff (a vegetarian version) and this one, 8-12: Beef Stroganoff. I made both at the same time, as part of a stroganoff-off.
Beef stroganoff is a pretty well known dish, and it’s not surprising that it’d be included in a book like this with so many other “classic” dishes. Let’s see how far Simply Delicious strays from the norm–who knows…they might surprise us.
This recipe, 15-31: Pavlova Meringue Tart had a couple of firsts. It was my first attempt at making a meringue, but it was also my first failure at making a meringue. However, my first successful meringue came out of this experience too, so in the end, it was all good! 👍
Due to lactose intolerance, I substituted the whipped cream for a coconut whipped topping. Half of my berries were bad so this tart had a lot more kiwi than raspberries. 🍧
🔥 Flambé! 1-19: Flambéed Mushrooms isn’t something I would normally serve because most people I know are not huge fans of mushrooms. I really enjoy using the lighter to flambé these mushrooms! 🔥
Mushrooms and garlic are one of my favorite flavor combinations. I really enjoy stuffed mushrooms and these taste similar, just without the breadcrumbs and butter. If you’re looking for something more similar to stuffed mushrooms, check out 1-16: Mushrooms Escargot. 🐌
I definitely did NOT eat a lot of lamb or veal growing up, but cooking through these recipes has given me the opportunity to try out some different dishes these days. On a recent Costco trip we found lamb chops on sale, so I decided to use them for 10-17: Lamb Chops with Mozzarella.
This seems like a strange trend that Simply Delicious is perpetuating–7-2: Pork Chops with Tomatoes is essentially the same idea except with pork, Cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and green beans. Take meat, stack a slice of cheese and random fridge/pantry items on it, call it a recipe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I have never cooked steak using the method in this recipe, 8-11: Sirloin Steak Baked in Foil, before and I probably would never cook them this way again. I like all the extra garnish, but it is a pain to cut and prepare that many vegetables for people to pick around to get to the main ingredient, the BEEF. 🐮
I used the red wine suggestion on the card, but I felt like I should have used beef broth to keep the beef-y flavor. This recipe also keeps a trend going, sticking with the foil pouch cooking method that Jamie used in the previous recipe on here, 6-25: Salmon-Filled Chicken Breasts.
12-18: Mushroom Risotto is another recipe with a loose definition of risotto. This one didn’t even ask you to cook the rice in wine, just broth. I already had some mushroom broth infused white rice on hand, but the recipe called for brown rice.
This ended up being a dish that tastes very similar to the 12-41: Spaghetti with Green Sauce recipe that I cooked recently. Mushrooms and basil give this dish an earthy flavor. 🍄
