Sometimes it’s hard to remember what I did yesterday, much less what recipes I used. Luckily, the Husband helped me remember, so I could share them with you. We ate a lot of leftovers, due to long work days and mismatched schedules this week.

We joke that we saw each other more when we were dating than after being married. I had taken a break during grad school to get married and then went right back to two jobs and school. Between the two, I was working 12 hour days. Lots of crockpot dinners and unexpected menu changes were had in those days.  Now after changing jobs to what is my dream job, I ended up taking a second job until my dream job starts paying my dream salary. So we’re back to mismatched schedules and long nights. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer until I am working more regular hours.

You didn’t come here to read sappy thoughts about missing my husband though, so back to the recipes.

We had spaghetti and lasagna leftovers a bunch this week to use them up.

1- Creamy Chicken Ravioli from Good Eating Pasta: Your Complete Guide to Cooking Perfect Pasta Every Time. Section: Filled and Baked.

Modifications: I used dried herbs. I’ve been having trouble finding fresh. Not surprising, since it’s winter. I also didn’t let them rest for as long as it said to let them rest. It didn’t seem to make a difference in the final product. They were delicious. I used the pasta dough recipe I’ve used before from Luca Manfe’s cookbook My Italian Kitchen. I like this pasta dough recipe because I can use my mixer for it.

I do need to keep working on my ravioli cutting skills. They were a bit uneven. None of them exploded in the pasta water though, so it was a success. These were delicious. The Husband would like this recipe to go on a regular rotation. I am getting more comfortable with making pasta, so it might happen.

2- Dumplings from a family recipe. I was going to make them from the same cookbook as the Scallion pancakes, but my recipe seemed more exciting. This is actually from my side of the family. The Husband’s side has one too, but they use pork. We have discovered that ground chicken instead of pork works well. Pork and I are not friends. I also don’t have a recipe. This is one that we got from my uncle’s wife and she just gave us ingredients on a list. Now we just make them by smell and look. It’s very hard to think about measurements. Someday maybe I will try to figure out actual measurements for it.

3- Scallion Pancakes from The Food of China by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds. Section: Appetizers 

Modifications: I didn’t let the first batch rest as long as they were supposed to and I think they didn’t stretch out as much as they should have.  The recipe calls for three rest periods of 20 minutes after each step, raising the dough, after coiling, and again after rolling the circles. I did not read the recipe all the way through and missed the second and third rest. Since both the Husband and I were considering eating the cookbook as it was 9 pm with no dinner yet, I decided to make the first few without it. I have been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time, but just never was brave enough to tackle it.

They were delicious and cooked quickly. If I was making this for a crowd, I would definitely be able to fit the rising in, but would have to start it really early.

4- Shrimp Parchment Packets from Food Network Magazine. Jan/Feb 2015, v. 8, N. 1. 

Modifications: I left out the clam juice. I forgot to write it down, so when we got to the store, I couldn’t remember if I needed it for this recipe or not. The look on the Husband’s face when I said I might need it was absolutely hysterical. I don’t know if he was trying to figure out how they got juice out of a clam or what, but it was funny.

I also used dried herbs instead of fresh. I would like to try this again when we have fresh from the garden herbs, as I think it would better. Also forgot salt and pepper. It was good. Too much lemon for the Husband. We had it over rice. I had olive oil asparagus as well.

While waiting in the ridiculously long line at the store to check out, we started looking at pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid and discovered that there is a pasta press that has shaped pastas, like macaroni and rotini.  I did get excited about it, but told the Husband that I didn’t think I was ready for that much pasta responsibility. His response? “Think of the pastabilities.” I may have snorted loudly enough in line that the people behind us went to a different register.

Food puns are just one of the reasons I love him. So with that thought, I’ve got to go plan my next meals and crafty things. Hopefully there will be more food puns in my future.

Here are the latest recipes from my cookbooks. Mostly hits, not too many that I wouldn’t make again.

1- Baked Spring Rolls from 400 Thai and Chinese Delicious Recipes For Healthy Living. Section: Light Bites

Modifications: Substituted ground chicken for the ground pork, since I can’t eat pork. These didn’t crisp up as much as I wanted, but they tasted good. I might look for a fried spring roll recipe in the future. We had these for our Chinese New Year party.

2- Buttermilk Scones from Celtic Teas with Friends by Elizabeth Knight. Section: January Women’s Tea

No mods made. I followed the recipe. They came out a little bland. I might add a little spice next time. They didn’t rise as much as I thought they would. I think I kneaded them too much.

3- Baked Mac and Cheese from What Can I Bring? By Anne Byrn. Section: Sides

Modifications: I was skeptical when I put this in the oven. Normally I make a roux with butter, flour, and milk, but this recipe had you combine the milk, cheese, and flour and pour it over the hot cooked noodles and bake it. It looked like soup! I was afraid to put the cracker crumbs on top because I thought they would just get soggy.  I hate soggy things, so I waited until it was half done to add them. I also added garlic powder, and more salt and pepper. It was good. We haven’t had Baked mac and cheese for a while. I would make this again. We had sautéed bok choy with garlic as well.

4- Shortcut Bolognese from the February issue of Food Network.

Modifications: Used tomato sauce in place of part of the tomatoes, since I had it in the fridge. It turned out very well. We liked it and would have it again.

5- Pancake Men from The Little House Cookbook by Barbara Walker. Section: Foods from the Tilled Foods

Modifications: I followed the recipe! I even started over when I forgot to add the baking soda to the water and put it in the dry mix instead. They had no sugar at all, so they definitely needed syrup or jam. I felt like you could taste the baking soda more too, which was a little off putting. With the jam though, they were good. We had them with eggs for a nice weekend breakfast.

6- Homemade Corndogs from Food Network Favorites. Section: Alton Brown. 

These were fun to make. They tasted good. We used all beef franks and I cut the recipe in half, since it was just the two of us. We didn’t think the leftovers would hold well. I did end up with extra batter, so I used it to make  fritters, which were also good. The batter didn’t stick on the dogs as much as they should have. I maybe didn’t cornstarch them enough. Also, the pan was not quite deep enough to have the dogs go all the way into the oil, so some of the of the breading burst off and stuck to the bottom. We had them with a salad and berries.

7- Vanilla Fudge Marble Cake from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Section: Cakes

I made my own chocolate syrup, as we didn’t have any. It tastes delicious. I left it with no frosting, since I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to use. We ate it with ice cream, so the frosting wasn’t missed.

Whew, this turned into a long post! I’m still trying to figure out which system is going to help me keep track of which cookbook sections I still need to look at. Now to find the recipes for this week.

Wow- time flies when you have guests! My Mom and brother were staying with us for a few days and I wasn’t able to write up my recipes. I’ll do my best to remember all of them. We have a chalkboard on our cupboard door where we write our menus for the week, so hopefully I can remember all of them.

1- Stuffed Meatballs/Polpettone Ripieni: Food Network Favorites, Section- Mario Batali. 

Modifictions: I mostly followed the recipe! I did use mozzarella and provolone instead of the fancy italian cheese, since I couldn’t find it in stores. I also left out the strips of carrots and spinach. The Husband doesn’t like spinach and I had run out of carrots the day before.  It called itself a meatball, but really it was rolled like a jellyroll. It was very delicious, with prosciutto and cheese. Very rich though. It said to eat it at room temp, but I don’t enjoy meat that way. I would make it again. We had it with salad and leftover herb biscuits.

2- Deep Dish Pizza from Food Network Magazine- It was delicious. I added ham and used the last of the provolone from the rolled meatballs. Not many mods, just those couple. It made two pizzas. We ate one of them over a few days and froze the rest in pieces for lunches. The crust was a bit tough, but the cornmeal gave it a nice crunch.

3- Slow Simmered Curried Chicken: Crockpot Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes, Section: Winter Warm-ups. 

Modifications: I used yellow peppers instead of green, as I’m not a big fan. I used homemade salsa given to us by a friend and it made it even more delicious. The Husband added the last few spices, since he got home first and it turned out to be delicious. We ate it over rice. Nest time I might take the time to cook down the liquid to make a thicker sauce.

4- Popovers: Baking Unplugged by Nicole Rees, Section- Treats for the Beginning of the Day. 

Modifications: None. Baking is an area that I do follow recipes in, otherwise they don’t turn out. This was a good recipe, although it had you mix everything but the milk in at the same time, which caused lumpy batter. It worked out alright though. I had them with lemon curd and lingonberries. Mmmm…

5- Creamy Mushroom Soup: My Recipe Keeper, Section: Soups, Salad, and Pasta

Modifications: I think I added garlic powder. I wouldn’t make it again, although it was good. I apparently don’t like mushrooms in that form. I like them better in things, not being the complete taste of the meal. We had popovers dipped in olive oil and herbs and cooked veggies.

Now for a PSA: Don’t cut toward yourself! Especially when you’re cutting partially frozen chicken. Puncture wounds hurt for days! Here’s hoping  you learn from my mistake and avoid my experience.