untested – Page 26 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

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.” 🌶

5-13: Italian Easter Pie

Adam Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 26, 2016October 14, 2020all-purpose flour, asparagus, baked goods, boiled, breakfast, broccoli, butter, carrots, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chilled, creamy, cut in, diced, dinner, Easter, egg wash, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, flute, food processor, grated, half-and-half, Italian, lattice, lunch, milk, Parmesan, pastry wheel, pie crust, pies, quiches, salt, sautéed, smoked ham, snow peas, spring, tart pan, tender-crisp, untested, vegetables

🐰 The Easter Bunny has come early this year and he’s brought 5-13: Italian Easter Pie! I prefer the Cadbury Bunny to the Easter Bunny, but I’ll eat this pie any day.

This dish is certainly elegant and delicious, I’ve never made a Torta Pasqualina before. Now I can check it off the list. ✅

16-4: Blueberry Pie

Adam Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods August 25, 2016July 31, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, baking powder, birthday, blueberries, boysenberries, butter, cherries, chilled, cornstarch, cut in, dessert, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fruit, granulated sugar, hot desserts, lukewarm, party food, pie crust, pies, raspberries, slit, strawberries, summer, tart pan, twice-baked, untested, vegetarian, whipping cream

The photo of the pie for this recipe, 16-4: Blueberry Pie is epic. The peasant blueberry picker doll in the background is a great departure from most of the photos in Simply Delicious. 👍 We bought a case of blueberries during a trip to the market because they looked super fresh. I was going to make blueberry muffins, but after flipping through the recipes, this seemed like the best choice.

The whipped cream in the receptacle looks great. Check out how they used the pie in the background as well as in the center of the photo. The blueberries scattered on the table and the baby’s breath everywhere makes this photo extra fancy. 🎩

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!

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. 🍫

12-14: Brown Rice Casserole

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 19, 2016October 27, 2020boiled, brown rice, casserole, celery, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, chutney, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, garlic, gluten-free, green bell peppers, green onions, hazelnuts, healthy, inexpensive, leeks, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, parsley, raisins, red bell peppers, sautéed, side dish, sliced, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

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. 🌾

6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole

Adam Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses August 18, 2016October 14, 2020all-purpose flour, bone-in, boneless, braised, breasts, butter, canola oil, casserole, chicken, chili peppers, chili powder, chives, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, dinner, drumsticks, Dutch oven, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, green chiles, lactose-free, paprika, salt, sautéed, sliced, sour cream, spicy, thighs, untested, yellow onions

The whole time I was making 6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole, I had this image in my head because I thought my sauce came out wrong. My sauce was light colored and the chicken in the photo shows a crispy, golden skin. If you look hard at the bowl in the upper left corner, you can see the white sauce that the authors described.

My version of the casserole came out a lot differently than the image shown on the card and didn’t taste very “fiery”. This dish would need a lot more heat to be considered “fiery”. 🔥

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. 🔥