minced – Page 5 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

12-10: Cheesy Tagliatelle

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses October 29, 2016July 27, 2020al dente, all-purpose flour, basil, Béchamel sauce, black pepper, boiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cheese sauce, chopped, creamy, dinner, easy, fettuccini, frozen, garlic, grated, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, Italian, lunch, melted, milk, minced, nutmeg, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, red bell peppers, roux, salt, sautéed, sesame seeds, side dish, sliced, spinach, sweet peas, tagliatelle, toasted, untested, vegetables, vegetarian

I’ve been meaning to make this one for a while–spinach fettuccine was my favorite as a kid (and is SUPER hard to find these days). I usually had it with Alfredo sauce, and the cheesy sauce in 12-10: Cheesy Tagliatelle is like a thinner, red pepper-ier version of that. 🍽

I’m not quite sure what the major difference between tagliatelle and fettuccini is–the TL;DR of a quick search indicates it has to do with fettuccini noodles being the same width as tagliatelle, but a bit thicker. The two come from different parts of Italy, but both roughly refer to the same concept.

4-18: French Vegetable Casserole

Adam Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 27, 2016October 13, 2020basil, black pepper, chopped, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, eggplant, fairly inexpensive, French, garlic, Glendale apt, gluten-free, green bell peppers, herbs and spices, lunch, minced, olive oil, parsley, peeled, red bell peppers, revisited, salt, sautéed, side dish, simmered, sliced, squash, summer, thyme, tomatoes, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions, zucchini

Everything I needed to learn about making 4-18: French Vegetable Casserole was told to me by Remy the animated rat, star of Ratatouille. I know…the editors of Simply Delicious call this dish “French Vegetable Casserole” to make the name more palatable for Middle America. 🇫🇷

The card mentions that the dish is referred to as “ratatouille” in its area of origin.

Editor’s note: I did the underlining you see above when I realized this recipe was “ratatouille”. I’ve made this recipe before, a year or two prior to embarking on this project. I even watched Ratatouille on my laptop while I made it. 🐀

3-4: New Orleans Bean Soup

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 26, 2016March 14, 2020American, apple cider vinegar, bay leaves, black pepper, boiled, brown sugar, butter, Cajun, carrots, celery, chopped, Creole, cubed, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, garlic, ham, herbs and spices, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, melted, minced, molasses, New Orleans, pan-fried, parsley, peeled, pinto beans, red kidney beans, salt, sautéed, smoked ham, soups, thyme, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetables, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has a few New Orleans/Southern recipes–3-4: New Orleans Bean Soup is one of them. There are a lot of different takes on a “New Orleans Red Bean Soup” that exist out there–most of them have more exciting ingredients than this version. 🎺

I made another “New Orleans” recipe at the same time as this one–you can go back and read 12-29: New Orleans Beans and Pasta for what is essentially a pasta version of this dish. Either one is a hearty and relatively inexpensive meal. Since the two share a lot of ingredients, consider making both–they store and reheat well. 💰

12-3: Pasta Bolognese

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses October 16, 2016October 27, 2020black pepper, boiled, carrots, celery, celery root, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, diced, dinner, dried herbs, easy, fairly inexpensive, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, Italian, lunch, meat sauce, minced, mirepoix, olive oil, party food, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, smoked ham, spaghetti, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, white wine, yellow onions

This recipe, 12-3: Pasta Bolognese calls for spaghetti on the back of the card, but the dish on the front clearly shows the meat sauce on Rotini. 🍝

The blurb on the front of the card is definitely true. “Quick to prepare and not too expensive,” is exactly how I felt about this dish.

5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters October 10, 2016October 14, 2020Asian, breakfast, candied, canola oil, chutney, cooked rice, cooked shrimp, dairy-free, dinner, dips, eggs, fairly easy, garlic, ginger, granulated sugar, green onions, ham, inexpensive, julienned, layers, leeks, lunch, minced, omelette, Oriental, rice, salt, Saturday, sautéed, seafood, sesame oil, shellfish, shrimp, smoked ham, soy sauce, stacked, steamed, tamari, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Hey there. October’s been a crazy busy month IRL so far, but I’ve got some entries banked that I’ll start posting, so expect some more entries coming soon. This one, 5-33: Omelette Stacks with Rice, was a Saturday morning breakfast a few weeks ago that was born out of an abundance of eggs and leftover cooked rice. 🍚

Simply Delicious suggests serving it as a main course (presumably for lunch or dinner as opposed to breakfast, to which they seem to be drawing a contrast), but you eat it whenever you like. 🌇

5-19: Eggs en Cocotte

Jamie Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 21, 2016October 14, 2020black pepper, breakfast, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chives, chopped, cream cheese, creamy, easy, eggs, French, gluten-free, grated, Gruyère, half-and-half, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, melted, minced, ramekins, salt, shredded, untested, vegetarian

Here’s another Simply Delicious recipe that exists outside of this book: 5-19: Eggs en Cocotte is a version of a pretty well-known French way to cook eggs. Variably known as shirred eggs (although that’s slightly different), this is a really easy (and delicious) breakfast or lunch option.

Cocotte has a rather interesting meaning outside of the culinary world–I’ll leave it to you to find out. 👄

9-14: Chili Con Carne

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 27, 2016October 20, 2020American, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, canola oil, chili peppers, chili powder, cloves, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, minced, oregano, paprika, pared, peeled, pinto beans, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, simmered, Tex-Mex, untested, vegetables, white beans, yellow onions

This recipe card gave me an excuse to cook up a big ol’ batch of 9-14: Chili Con Carne, not that I needed an excuse. I’ve made a few pots of chili in my day, but not one quite like this. My favorite episode of the Simpsons, entitled El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer), features a chili cook-off as a vital plot point. The infamous space coyote scene still cracks me up to this day. 😹

With the peppers featured prominently on the front of the recipe card, Simply Delicious has pointed out the one major issue I had with this dish. WHO PUTS BELL PEPPER IN CHILI? 🌶 Jamie and I enjoy a little spice in our chili. I’ve always wanted to try adding a pepper akin to the “Merciless Pepper of Quetzalacatenango … grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.” 🌶

12-27: Chicken Broccoli Lasagna

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 24, 2016July 28, 2020at work, basil, boiled, broccoli, canola oil, casserole, cheese, chicken, chopped, creamy, crushed tomatoes, diced, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, frozen, garlic, grated, ground chicken, ground meat, ground turkey, healthy, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lasagna, lunch, melted, minced, Mozzarella, oregano, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, Ricotta, salt, shredded, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

Here’s something a bit different…and I’m not talking about the recipe. In fact, 12-27: Chicken Broccoli Lasagna itself is pretty boring. But here’s what’s interesting: I made this recipe at work, for work. This one will be a bit of a glance into what I do all day–my other kitchen, if you will.

I usually use ground turkey for ground meat recipes (there’s a few kids with special dietary preferences) and I’ve made lasagna before for work, so this one seemed like a perfect recipe to try to scale up for the amount I need for a daily meal. “Healthy” is what parents are looking for these days when it comes to school lunches–another way this recipe is a good fit. 🍴

EDIT: Full disclosure–this was written in 2016, and I now have a career in a completely non-culinary related field. However, this still serves as a fun reminder of a previous “life”. Enjoy!

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.

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.