I took lots of pictures this week and the Husband helped too! I took a few different shots to see what looked good, so you’ll have to tell me which ones you liked best.

1- Salted Caramel Gelato from KitchenAid. I bought it along with the mixer attachment. https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/kitchenaid-reg-2-pack-fanzese-gelato-salted-caramel-mix/1047357136?Keyword=Salted+caramel+gelato

Modifications: None. It was my first time using the attachment, so I didn’t deviate from the instructions at all. We just added the milk and made it up. It was extremely fun and made us feel ever so fancy. We froze it for a few more hours to make it more of a harder texture, but it was still nice and soft. We ate it with mini chocolate chips. Fancy was very sad that she couldn’t eat it.

The Husband helped me take pictures, as it is impossible to pour the gelato mix into the mixer and take a picture.

It was definitely a hit and I have a bunch more recipes pinned on the blog’s Pinterest page. The Husband has requested a rich vanilla ice cream next, because we can put all sorts of toppings on it. I want to try a basil  ice cream recipe that I found as well. It looks very interesting and I bet it would be good if I used the lime basil too.

2- Mongolian Ginger Beef Freezer Meal from Freezer Meals: 365 Days of Quick and Easy Make Ahead Meals for Busy Families by Julianna Sweeny. Section: Beef Freezer Meals

Modifications: I added a little bit more water to the crock pot and added white pepper as well. I also used chuck steak instead of flank. We couldn’t find flank or skirt steak and it was going to be cooking for a long time in the slow cooker.

It was delicious! My first thought when I took a bite was “oh my gosh, this is melting.” The meat was so tender! I thickened the sauce more at the end, as it was a bit watery. I might make a double recipe of this, it seemed like it wasn’t going to make a lot. I will definitely make this again. The recipe includes directions to freeze the meal and then make it in the slow cooker, but we cooked it right away this time. This book was a birthday present from a friend and it will be put to good use.

3- Freezer Spicy Enchilada Soup from the above cookbook. Section: Chicken

Modifications: I added garlic and garlic powder, because who makes a recipe for an enchilada soup with no garlic? I used diced tomatoes instead of crushed, because it was what I had, and I didn’t crush the bay leaf. I just left it whole and then fished it out at the end.

This was another slow cooker recipe and it cooks for 8 hours, so was perfect for my long day on Monday. It was also delicious.

I did notice a few odd things about the cookbook. One, there are page numbers in the index, but no page numbers on the actual pages, which makes it a little confusing to find things. Two, there seem to be some repeat recipes with different names and slightly different instructions, but the same ingredients. The beef recipe has a twin about 10 pages in front if it that just has differently worded instructions, but that mean the same thing.

Overall, I really like the cookbook and will probably break my rule about one recipe per section, mostly for the sheer simplicity of it. We are in desperate need of meals that go in the crockpot, or can just be put in the oven by the Husband too and this book has plenty.

4- Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup from Our Best Bites. http://ourbestbites.com/2009/10/tortellini-sausage-soup/

Modifications: First off, I finally made the soup! I had only been talking about for weeks and it somehow never got made. I don’t use the recipe anymore, just kind of throw things in, but the one thing I do not ever leave out is the apple juice. The recipe says it is not the same without it and they are totally right.

I put this in the crockpot before I left for work, made the tortellini when I came home and then added them in. The spices cooked off a little and it wasn’t as flavorful, so I think I will stick to the stovetop for this.

5- Thin and Lacy Pancakes from Food Network Magazine: The Big Breakfast Issue, April 2015. V. 8, N.3.

Modifications: None! I love crepes. I cooked down frozen strawberries and peaches to make a sauce.  I completely forgot about the vanilla yogurt in the fridge, which was perfect the next morning for breakfast as a topper. I actually made these for dinner on Tuesday, as I was feeling rather horrible and wanted something gentle for my stomach. (Apparently stress is bad for you. My doctor told me I should stop having so much of it… Thanks, I guess?)

I didn’t have to share any of them either, as the Husband doesn’t like them. I also played around with the picture and was pretty pleased. Maybe a lighter color plate might be nicer next time.

6- Leg of Lamb from A Taste of Lebanon by Mary Salloum. Section: Entrees. 

Modifications: This was a circus. A full circus with clowns, tigers, and bears. I thought it was only a pound and a half of boneless leg of lamb, but apparently it was 2.38 pounds, which meant it was nowhere near cooked when I had said it should be cooked. The Husband, who was cooking it for us was extremely distressed and I had clients, so couldn’t tell him to do anything until later in the night. It did work itself out, he found the package and had the recipe, so figured it out. By the time I got home, it just needed a few more minutes. Recipes that have a set time to bake seem to be a better idea.

I used Lamb Seasoning from Penzey’s Spices. It has allspice, ginger, oregano, pepper, cumin, and something else that I can’t remember. The recipe called for allspice, salt, pepper, and 6-8 cloves of garlic. The garlic was sliced and stuffed into slits in the meat. It made the lamb delicious and it wasn’t overcooked at all. I highly recommend any Penzey’s spice. My brother and sister-in-law gave us some spices from them several years ago and they were all wonderful. Plus, Penzey’s is currently supporting various peaceful protests and attempting to spread kindness through food, which I highly approve of.

7- Wheat Free Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats from Doggy Dessert Chef.

http://doggydessertchef.com/2011/11/08/wheat-free-peanut-butter-pumpkin/

Fancy is undeniably a spoiled pup. Lately, she has been waking me up for morning snuggles when the Husband leaves for work and now thinks she can sleep on the bed whenever she wants! Silly puppers. I really should snuggle her on the couch, but it’s normally half an hour before my alarm goes off and it seems like a lot of work to get up and move.

Modifications: I used Chickpea flour for this recipe instead of brown rice flour, since it was all I had. They smell funny, but she seems to like them. I’m still on the hunt for a hard biscuit recipe for her, but can’t seem to find one that bakes up hard. I’ve got a few more to try. This was her, waiting patiently for her treats.

I don’t remember making homemade things for your dogs being a thing in the past. I know our dogs when I was a kid got table scraps and vaguely remember giving them treats, but certainly never actually making stuff for them. I tend to go nuts when buying her treats though, so as long as I make ones with things we have on hand, it might be cheaper. I just can’t resist when I think she might like something. Plus, I bake for everyone else, so why should she be any different?

8- Spicy Beef from Wok and Stir-Fry. Section: Poultry and Meat. 

Modifications: I am not supposed to eat spicy foods for at least two weeks thanks to my stomach being dumb, so I left out the spicy part. I also really only used the recipe for the sauce recipe, as I have trouble with proportions when making stir-fry sauces. The recipe doesn’t call for any veggies, just scallions. I added red pepper, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms. I cooked the separately and used already seasoned beef left over from kebabs at a friend’s house that we had frozen. It turned out really good.

Reenergized by my sad review last week, I made a lot of new recipes. Now I just have to remember that feeling in the next few weeks, so my next review is full of new things. I also need to realize that my new recipes can also be breakfast, side dishes, or lunch dishes, they don’t always have to be dinner. I’ve used a lot of the entree sections of cookbooks and need to look for sides to go with my familiar dishes as well.

I’ll leave you with those thoughts and a picture of Fancy with her new favorite toy. We now get our cardio by playing tug with her. She has an amazing grip and gets so excited while playing. She likes playing tug with the Husband more, because he’s a little rougher with her. She’ll go bark at him until, he comes out of his office and plays with her. Last night she did that four times. She just couldn’t get enough playtime. Hopefully, you all have something that makes you as happy as she gets with her toy.