I made up for not cooking much out of my cookbooks this week by using three new recipes just for today’s meals.
Earlier in the week I made one recipe:
1- Cheese and Basil Polenta from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Beans, Rice, and Grains
Modifications made were to use pre-cooked polenta, and pesto mozzarella, and fontina as the cheeses. I sautéed zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and red pepper in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper as a topping and it was delicious. The Husband didn’t eat it. He is not a fan of zucchini and was working late anyway. That was fine, it meant more yumminess for me to eat. I would make it again, but would definitely try making my own polenta.
Today started off with a new recipe, pancakes for breakfast! I made them diner style with a diner recipe and they were almost as big as my plate. I also had bacon and eggs and wasn’t really hungry for lunch.
2- Willy’s Diner Pancakes from Retro Diner by Lind Everett. Section: Rise and Shine
Dinner featured homemade rye bread for diner style patty melts, oven fries, and a salad. The new recipes were the patty melts and the rye bread. Details down below.
3- Carraway Rye Bread from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Breads
No modifications made. It seemed undercooked, so next time I’ll remember to set a timer. It was delicious without being too heavy. I halved the recipe to make one loaf.
I think my kitchen is too cold for bread to rise properly. This weekend I had trouble with it too. A trick I use when it’s too cold for bread is to turn on the oven to 350 and then leave the bread dough in there for about two minutes while it pre-heats and then turn the oven off and leave the door closed. It generally works pretty well to jumpstart the bread.
4- Blue Moon Diner’s Patty Melt from Retro Diner by Linda Everett. Section: Sandwiches From the Counter
Modifications: Changed the cheese for Muenster instead of Monterey Jack. They were delicious! I would definitely make them again. The homemade rye bread made them taste even more like diner food. The Husband liked them too. We think that neither of us has had patty melt before, so it was fun to try.
I’m going to attempt to get a better handle on meal planning this weekend. I’ve been picking out recipes just a day or so in advance and it’s a bit stressful. I like to have at least a few to pick from for the week. So fr we’ve only really had the one miss recipe and one so so recipe, so I think we’re on a good streak. Wish me luck that it continues!
