Recipe Review: I Went on a New Recipe Binge

Until last week, I really hadn't cooked much in the last month or so. With all the moving and Darryl's recent travels for work, there really hasn't been much opportunity to cook. But last week, I
 was chomping at the bit to try some new recipes, so here are some links to some recipes you might want to try (or avoid):

Salted Oatmeal Cookies: Several years ago, when I was still teaching high school, a student's mother made some delicious oatmeal cookies that had a hint of a salty taste. Then a couple of weeks ago, my friend Tim (seriously, Tim...bring back the blog) posted a photo on Facebook of some salted oatmeal cookies he had ordered from a bakery up North. I was intrigued. A quick Google search found this recipe for me, and I thought they were amazing. They are thick and chewy with just a hint of salt.

Verdict: Definitely keeping these in the cookie recipe rotation.

The Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti Sauce: I love spaghetti and always have. No one else in my house seems to appreciate it. Darryl will "tolerate" it on occasion, but he claims I made it all the time when we were first married, and now he is tired of it. (Dude, that was fourteen years ago. Whatever.) Thursday night, Darryl was out of town, and I decided just to try a spaghetti sauce recipe for my own personal happiness. PW's seemed easy -- and I haven't tried many of her recipes I haven't liked -- so I gave hers a go.

Verdict: I didn't love it. I halved this recipe and had a good bit left over that I froze (Darryl, there is definitely some spaghetti in your future), but it was lacking something for me. I think the bay leaf flavor is a little strong. It certainly isn't BAD, but it didn't rock my world.

Chicken and Rice Casserole: I had pinned this "healthy" recipe a while ago on Pinterest. (Truth: I typically pin something healthy and then pin something like a cupcake recipe. It's a problem. I want to be skinny, but I like my cupcakes too much. Or my oatmeal cookies. Or my spaghetti.) ANYWAY...I think this recipe originally appeared in Cooking Light. I have made some CL recipes in the past, but I have found their recipes are super time-intensive or to have 25 ingredients. This one looked fairly simple.

Verdict: This recipe takes more time than you think, and it is a casserole, for Pete's sake. That being said, it WAS very good. I had already taken one shortcut in buying a rotisserie chicken breast from Fresh Market, and now that I've made this dish once, I think there are a few other shortcuts I could take. So basically, this is good recipe that I plan to try again, but I want to try a few other ways to save time.

The Pioneer Woman's Baked Creamed Corn with Red Bell Peppers and Jalapenos: I actually made this from her cookbook rather than from the recipe I linked to here, and that recipe is a little different. The most notable difference is that the cookbook calls for just one red bell pepper, and I thought one provided just enough red bell pepper-iness. (But if you are a fan of red bell pepper, go crazy and use two.) Interestingly enough, in the cookbook, this is referred to as a "casserole," but that term is misleading...so I'm glad the website basically names it what it is.

Verdict: Y'ALL. THIS CORN WAS RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING. So, so, so good. Like slap yourself good. (Also, I served this with a slotted spoon, and a good bit of the heavy cream and butter is left in the dish...so while I'm sure this dish wouldn't qualify as a "healthy food," I don't think it is as bad as you might think when you see the list of ingredients.) Bottom line: Make this dish. You won't be sorry.

Ina Garten's Tomato Feta Salad: My friend Martha recommended this recipe, and it seemed very summery and yummy. I found some good cherry tomatoes as well as some yellow tomatoes at a farmers' market (have you tried the yellow ones? they taste like sunshine in your mouth), so I gave this a try.

Verdict: Very tasty. I also love, love, love feta cheese, and combo along with some white wine vinegar and olive oil? So yummy. I will definitely make this again.

Side Note: Saturday night, our friends Damian and Rebecca came over for dinner. We had the tomato salad, grilled steaks, the PW corn, and blueberry cobbler. For me, it was kind of the perfect summer meal. :-)  (For my parents...we will definitely recreate that meal the next time you visit.)