Cooking Challenge Week One!

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.”

Below are three of my favorite recipes...pick at least one to make this week and get started on the challenge: 

1. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cheese-Ravioli-with-Pumpkin-Sage-Sauce-2/Detail.aspx

This shouldn't be too intimidating since most of the ingredients are packaged items. I made this recipe with some sauteed shrimp on top (bought the frozen stuff, defrosted in a bowl of cold water, took off the tails (they pull right off), then melted some butter in a pan, added some diced onions, sauteed the onions until they were soft, added the shrimp with a little salt and pepper and cooked till they were warm over medium heat.

2. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Italian-Calzones/Detail.aspx

This is a much more involved recipe, but would be fun to do on a Sunday. Yeast sounds intimidating but it's not too tough once you make a few things with it. I usually turn on the oven to 200, let it heat and then shut it off. I then make the dough and put it in the oven with a damp towel on top. That way my dough rises. When I don't do that, I think the temp in my house must be too cool, and the dough often doesn't rise.

I would also suggest reading the user reviews for these recipes. They often have tips for changes to make or things to add.

The last time I made this recipe, Ed and I had a friend over on a no-carb diet.  Obviously, I didn't know this prior, and our gracious guest ate multiple servings.  He stated later that he'd be happy to come back again and break his diet just for this meal!  Oh, I almost forgot...we LOVE Rhodes rolls.  I highly recommend following the instructions on the package for the breadsticks.  They go great with the calzones! http://www.rhodesbread.com/products/view/800

3. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Rempel-Family-Meatloaf/Detail.aspx

This is the only meatloaf recipe I've ever made. I actually don't really like meatloaf outside of this recipe and my moms. For this recipe I use 1/2lb pork and 1lb beef. I also line my pan with bread prior to putting the meatloaf in. This helps to make the meatloaf less greasy. The pork makes such a difference in the flavor though!
 
 
Happy Cooking!
 

  PS. I stumbled acrossed this photo this afternoon and decided it MUST be added to my blog.  This is a photo of my nephew "P".  I imagine him saying.  "Look, you just take the pot out of the cupboard like this..."

 

Cooking Challenge

I recently had a friend ask me to teach her to cook.  I was so flattered that this got me thinking...I have a ton of recipes that I love (many from http://www.allrecipes.com/) and would be happy to share.  So I'm creating a challenge for everyone who reads this. 

Here are the details:

• Each week I will post three recipes that I've tried and had great success with.  Many of these recipes will come from http://www.allrecipes.com/ and typically have high ratings from users on that site.  Which, by the way, if you haven't checked out http://www.allrecipes.com/ yet, you are missing out!  It's a free site and users rate the recipes after making it.  When a recipe has hundreds and sometimes even thousands of positive reviews, you can be pretty sure that it's worth your time making. 
• I will add my tips or comments to the recipe for that week.  I'll try and post the recipes each Wednesday so you have time to shop prior to the weekend (which I'm guessing is when most of us actually have some time to cook).
• All you have to do is make ONE recipe each week.  Of course, I suggest you make all three of them, but one recipe is sufficient.
• Once you make the recipe, please take a moment to share your review in the comments section.

Now...lets get cooking!