inexpensive – Page 12 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

5-6: Cheese Soufflé

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 28, 2016April 29, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, Béchamel sauce, black pepper, breakfast, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cornstarch, creamy, dinner, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, French, Gouda, grated, Gruyère, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, melted, milk, Monterey Jack, party food, salt, shredded, side dish, soufflés, stand mixer, untested, vegetarian, whipped

Soufflés are one of the stereotypical fancy foods–a harried chef attempting to keep one from falling due to its delicate, temperamental nature used to be a common comedy trope.

The two most common variations are the dessert version (like a chocolate one) and the savory version (like this recipe, 5-6: Cheese Soufflé). I’ve covered one savory soufflé dish already from this book: 4-11: Potato Soufflé with Onions.

This would be a good recipe to add some green onions or chives to–I think it would add some nice color to the soufflé without weighing it down. Simply Delicious shows this recipe in individual ramekins, but I’m going to make it all in one big soufflé dish–I have to justify its existence in my cabinet.

3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 26, 2016March 14, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, bacon, black pepper, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, crab, creamy, croutons, dinner, easy, egg yolks, eggs, grated, green onions, half-and-half, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, leeks, lunch, melted, milk, parsley, roux, salt, sautéed, shredded, shrimp, side dish, soups, Swiss, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream

Here’s a question for you: is cheese soup really soup? To me, it’s essentially the sauce from macaroni and cheese, thinned down and maybe dressed up with some onions or bacon. Often potato or broccoli gets added as well, in an attempt to “healthify” it. No matter what, it just seems…indulgent. I was on my own to make and eat 3-5: Creamy Cheese Soup, so I kept this one simple.

Don’t get me wrong–I do enjoy broccoli cheese soup (and make one every few months or so for work), but leek & cheese (which this one is) doesn’t excite me as much. This one was a bit leek-y for me, but maybe I just lack appreciation for the leek.

9-24: Tangy Double Meat Patties

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses May 26, 2016July 6, 2020all-purpose flour, anchovies, barbecue, black olives, black pepper, breakfast, burgers, butter, chili sauce, chives, chopped, deglazed, demi-glace, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, eggs, garlic, green olives, green onions, griddle, grilled, ground beef, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, ham, horseradish, inexpensive, ketchup, lunch, mushrooms, pan-fried, parsley, party food, pickles, salt, sautéed, shiitake, stuffed, tangy, untested, yellow mustard, yellow onions

We’ve covered the fact that burger patties are a common recipe for using ground meat–9-25: Juicy Grilled Meat Patties, 9-44: Wok-Fried Beef Patties, and 9-31: Savory Turkey Patties are just a few of the methods outlined by Simply Delicious. 9-24: Tangy Double Meat Patties are another variation, this time with a flavorful filling of your choice.

Snappy is such a great adjective for describing food. I don’t think anything past about 1988 has been described as such, but if you dig into the 1950s-60s era of cookbooks (of which I have a ton), it’s all over the place.

17-55: Scottish Shortbread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 17, 2016November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, almond extract, anise, baked goods, butter, coconut, cookie cutters, cookie press, cookies, creamed, dough, easy, egg-free, flavorings, food coloring, gift ideas, grated, inexpensive, lemons, Mother's Day, oranges, party food, powdered sugar, rum, Scottish, shortbread, snacks, untested, vanilla extract, vegetarian, walnuts, zested

Here’s another good cookie press recipe. It’s a long way away from the holiday season, and cookie cutters/presses tend to get a bit dusty during the spring & summer months. I had a bunch of shapes for the press that weren’t holiday-related, so I decided to get creative with some colors & flavor extracts and use 17-55: Scottish Shortbread to play with the press.

Theirs look really thick–mine came out thinner since I used the press. These would probably work well with differently-shaped cookie cutters too, not just rounds. As I learned, they also work well with food coloring and flavor extracts.

I ended up using these for Mother’s Day gifts, and made a mix of three colors/shapes to bag up and mail/hand out. 💐

1-28: Picnic Tuna Sandwiches

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 15, 2016February 5, 2020appetizers, avocados, black pepper, breads, butter, celery, cheese, chilled, chopped, diced, easy, eggs, hard-boiled, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, lemon juice, lunch, mayonnaise, paprika, party food, Pepper Jack, pickles, picnic, radishes, red onions, salt, sandwiches, sour cream, tuna, untested, whole wheat bread, yellow mustard

Leave it to Simply Delicious to try to make tuna sandwiches sound fancy. 1-28: Picnic Tuna Sandwiches is a basic method for constructing a sandwich, using tuna fish, presumably for a picnic. It’s really all in the title.

I suppose you have to learn how to make tuna salad somehow–maybe you grow up with parents who don’t like it and you never learn. That’s not what happened in my case (my mother adores tuna salad), but I suppose it’s the case for some people, and so recipes like this must exist. Reminds me of this xkcd comic.

4-34: Italian Roasted Vegetables

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 14, 2016October 13, 2020appetizers, asparagus, black pepper, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, eggplant, favorites, gluten-free, green beans, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, Hutton house, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, pared, party food, red bell peppers, revisited, roasted, Rozie house, salt, side dish, snacks, tender-crisp, Thanksgiving, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow bell peppers, zucchini

This one’s short and sweet. I’ve made 4-34: Italian Roasted Vegetables a few times before, once as part of a big dinner party I cooked for when I was about 13 (6-22: Crispy Chicken Drumsticks and 9-20: Meat Roly-Poly were part of that as well) and Thanksgiving 2000 based on my mother’s notations on the back of the card. I know I’ve used the concept multiple times in other instances, even if I wasn’t following this exact recipe.

This is more a method than a particular recipe–you can use pretty much whatever vegetables you want with this one. Now’s a perfect time for this recipe–farmer’s markets are open and there’s lots of good stuff out there to roast. 🔥

17-38: Olive Bread

Jamie Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods May 12, 2016September 20, 2020all-purpose flour, appetizers, baked goods, basil, black olives, breads, breakfast, brushed, buns, cheese, chipotle, crescents, crispy, dairy-free, dinner, dough, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, garlic, Greek, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, hors d'oeuvres, inexpensive, kalamata, kneaded, lunch, olive oil, oregano, parchment paper, Parmesan, party food, proofed, revisited, rolls, rosemary, salt, sandwiches, side dish, Silpat, sliders, snacks, Tarzana apt, vegetarian, yeast

Here’s one I’ve made a couple of times before. 17-38: Olive Bread is a nice, easy bread to make, especially if you don’t have a ton of experience with the process. I think sometimes yeast doughs can be intimidating to beginners, but this one hasn’t failed me yet–even when I was still just beginning to make bread. If you’re looking for a more “plain” type easy bread, check out 17-6: Best Ever White Bread. However, if you like those olive batard breads from the bakery section of the market, you’ll love this one.

I’ve made this twice before, once in its intended form (but with more olives because I LOVE olives) and again soon after, but in a smaller bun-size with chipotle peppers & garlic instead of olives. I used them for slider buns for burgers intended for a New Years’ party, judging from the date on the card. What will I change about this recipe this time?

12-5: Greek Rice

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses May 12, 2016July 27, 2020almonds, black pepper, blanched, boiled, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, Greek, green bell peppers, inexpensive, long-grain, lunch, minced, nuts, olive oil, party food, pine nuts, red bell peppers, rice, sautéed, side dish, sweet peas, tomatoes, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Here’s a healthier option–some of the last few have been more on the indulgent side. Don’t get me wrong–there’s plenty more indulgence to come. 12-5: Greek Rice is a nice vegetarian option for a party, picnic, or just an everyday meal. I’m not entirely sure what makes it “Greek”, but we’ll go with it.

What else can I say–it’s just not that exciting. The final dish actually ends up similar to what Americans call Spanish rice, but with more veggies and a somewhat tangy flavor. If that interests you, read on.

3-20: Italian Tomato Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters April 25, 2016March 14, 2020alphabet, appetizers, basil, bay leaves, blanched, boiled, chili sauce, creamy, crushed tomatoes, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, garlic, herb salt, herbs and spices, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, olive oil, pared, parsley, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, simmered, soups, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, whipping cream, whole wheat flour, yellow onions

It’s been a while since I’ve covered something out of Group 03: Soups on here–the last one was 3-14: Creamy Corn Chowder back in January. 3-20: Italian Tomato Soup is pretty simple when it comes to ingredients…and flavor. I ended up inadvertently turning my batch into what was essentially Spaghetti-Os, but even that wasn’t terrible.

This soup is pretty basic–Simply Delicious has you add a bit of cream to make it more of a bisque-type tomato soup. If it’s not tomato season, no worries–you can make this with canned tomatoes too. 🍅

12-2: Rice and Vegetable Bake

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses April 8, 2016July 27, 2020black pepper, bundt, butter, celery, cooked chicken, cooked rice, diced, dinner, easy, eggs, gluten-free, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, milk, nutmeg, nuts, pared, parsley, pecans, red bell peppers, rice, salt, sausage, side dish, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts, yellow onions

I’ve done over 100 recipes for this project so far, and I’m about a week shy of working on it for 2 years. Most of those recipes weren’t bad. Maybe not repeats, but not too many of them stick out as YUCK in my mind…until now. I did NOT like 12-2: Rice and Vegetable Bake, but maybe that’s just me–I can admit that I’m weird about certain textures and flavors.

Simply Delicious describes this dish as “colorful” and “nutritious”, which is 1980s code for “bland diet/health food that nobody really likes but can tolerate to varying degrees”. Having had too much of this kind of stuff forced upon me throughout my parents’ yo-yo dieting phases, the mere notion sends a shiver down my spine.

Onward, for science. 💀