This week, I used a new cookbook! Technically it is a calendar that my older brother gave me a long time ago. I also made two familiar recipes, beef stew and mac and cheese that I didn’t use a recipe for.

I realized writing that out that I’ve slowed down on using new recipes, mainly because most of my evening hours have been taken up by one or another of my jobs. I think I may have to adopt a friend’s method of making dinner, which is to make it in the morning and warm it up or finish it at night. It’s something to think about at least. A plus would be that I would get to eat the dinner if I made it in the morning.

Dinner timing is something that is still evolving, but I’m enjoying the challenge. Perhaps once I have my Sundays back, I can do some weekly prep on as well.

Anyway, I have confidence that we can figure it out eventually. Now, on to the recipes.

1- Muffins from How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. 2010 Calendar, Month: October

Modifications: This is the second time I have used this recipe. I forgot the oil the first time and had added protein powder to the batter as well, but since there was no oil, they turned out not very good. They were pretty dry and dense. Luckily, I had only made a half batch, so not as many went to waste. The second time I made these I remembered the oil and left out the protein powder, but added cardamom and cherries. They still weren’t very good actually, a bit bland. I think I will stick to my normal recipe.

2-Beef Stew in the crockpot. I didn’t use a recipe for this. I’ve made this often enough that I just throw everything in now and don’t measure. I browned the stew meat in some olive oil first and then added it to the crock pot with a carton and a half of beef broth, two large sliced carrots, 3 medium potatoes, half a chopped onion, a bay leaf, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Let it cook for 7-8 hours and you will have deliciousness. I didn’t actually eat this. It made a smaller amount than I thought and the Husband ate it for dinner and two lunches. We bought a smaller crock pot after our big one developed a crack, we think from cooking meals that were too small. This one is a 5 quart and it’s perfect for us.

3- Mac and Cheese with Ham, Butternut Squash, Mushrooms, and Onions. Recipe by me! Fancy followed us all over the house and was very sad that we wouldn’t share.

So I always start the cheese sauce for mac and cheese with a roux. I think it tastes better that way and helps it be creamier. The Husband says this was the best batch of mac and cheese I’ve made out of the three other recipes I’ve made, including the bacon one, so I’m thinking I’ll continue to make a roux. Why mess with something that isn’t broken?

I’ll give you the method, again, I don’t measure when I make this, so I can’t tell you exactly what I did. It’s different every time. So to start, I added olive oil and butter to about half an onion in a sauce pan. (The Husband had made noodles for me earlier.) Let it bubble and let the onions get soft. This batch I accidentally browned the butter lightly, but it just made it taste more delicious. Then I added chopped mushrooms-1/4 cup?, diced ham- 1/4 cup?, and frozen chunks of butternut squash and let them cook. I added around a 1/4 cup flour and stirred it all together. I also added salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper at this point.

When everything was lightly coated, I threw in milk, probably about a cup, and a quarter cup or so of chicken broth. Stirred everything until it started thickening up and added about 4 oz of Colby Jack shreds, 8 oz of cheddar, 4 oz of pepper jack and some shredded parm. The Husband had requested that it be extra cheesy for shells and cheese, so I was pretty generous with the cheeses.

I added the already cooked small shells and stirred until it was incorporated and then I threw it in a 350 degree oven and we took the dog for a walk around the park for about half an hour. It was delicious.

The Husband liked it a lot and had I not told him there was butternut squash in it, he wouldn’t have known. We have an agreement that I won’t hide veggies, but I generally don’t make separate meals. He’s an adult and can pick out what he doesn’t like. The squash was so soft though that it melted into everything and you couldn’t even taste it.

3- Szechuan Shrimp from Cook’s Library Wok and Stir-fry. Section: Fish and Seafood

Modifications: I added honey to the sauce. When I tasted it the first few times it was a salt bomb and was terrible. I have learned since experimenting with real Chinese food, that the thing I had been missing before was a balance of the salty/sweet/hot/umami. This recipe called for low sodium soy sauce, but that stuff tastes horrible, so we don’t use it. The honey took the edge off the salt, but wasn’t really a flavor you noticed.

I also doubled the sauce and added veggies. The original recipe is for an appetizer and we were eating it for dinner. I sautéed julienned carrots, snow peas, mushrooms, and yellow peppers in sesame and canola oil, pulled them out of the wok to cook the shrimp, and added them back in at the end to make it a dinner portion.

This recipe called for you to make a cornstarch/salt/egg white paste to coat the shrimp in and then deep fry it. I didn’t measure the oil, which was a mistake. The crunchy coating ended up stuck to the bottom of the wok. What did stick to the shrimp though seemed to help keep it from overcooking. They were nice and tender, no overcooked rubbery shrimp! The Husband has requested that I try this with chicken or beef too. The sauce was a good sinus clearing spice level and it turned out good.

We had leftovers tonight, but I do have a new pot roast recipe cooking in the crock pot right now that I may turn into dip sandwiches. It had thawed too much for me to re-freeze, so even when schedules shifted, I just threw it in. It should be done by now, so we’ll have good leftovers for the next few days. Hopefully we can eat it all, even with Easter leftovers on Sunday!