Time to eat!

I feel like it's been a while since I shared any recipes that weren't cakes, so I rounded up some photos and links to recipes from the past few months to share with you.

The other night I was making one of Leighton's favorites, pork schnitzel.  Most of the time I make lemon roasted potatoes when I am making this for dinner, but I recently came across this recipe for perfect roast potatoes and decided that I MUST try them!  The step where you get to shake them about in the pot really is key - don't skip it.  We all reaaaaally loved these.  I sprinkled them with salt and paprika before their time in the oven and then with a little more salt when they were right out of the oven.  We got some new salt that seems to be extra salty (I know, weird!), so I am having trouble figuring out how much to use!

I recently saw this turkey, white bean, and pumpkin chili recipe on a blog and figured I should try it out.  I was interested to see how the pumpkin base would taste.  When it was first mixed up in the pot (I did this on the stove top and not in a crock pot), I was worried it wasn't going to come together because the tastes just weren't working for me.  There wasn't any depth or something.  After simmering for a while and topping each serving with some fresh cilantro and sour cream, I can say that it definitely came together was pretty yummy.  Leighton didn't like it (no surprise) so good thing I kept some beans plain for him, but Riley loved it (no surprise).  I've made this twice now with the same success rate, by the way!  And I can't speak for the crock pot version, but if you make this, I highly recommend doing a good saute of your onions and garlic and meat to develop some flavor there before adding in the pumpkin and stock.  I also like to wait until shortly before serving before adding in the beans to recipes like this or else they can sometimes mush up and disappear into the sauce/base/gravy.  If you are not a cilantro fan (I know some of your weirdos exist out there!) then try some parsley.  This dish really benefits from the fresh herb brightness.  I've served it both times with cornbread and a vegetable or salad.

A new recipe for cajun chicken fettuccine alfredo I tried out a couple months ago has quickly become a favorite around here.  Among all 4 of us.  Score!  I made it when my parents were here last month, and they really enjoyed it, too.  My Dad, who isn't the biggest fan of leftovers, even happily finished it up the next day.  I don't follow the recipe exactly (less cheese, plain goat cheese, no nutmeg, no parsley, extra garlic, sundried tomatoes or grape tomatoes, add in spinach), but I think you can do all sorts of variations/exclusions/additions to this one and still have it taste fantastic. 

Last year this recipe for faked & baked chicken parm was brought to my attention, and it has been a hit with both kids (and me & Roy, too) every time I've made it since then.  It's so easy to put together and comes out with perfectly moist chicken every time.  Leighton loved watching the video of the preparation last year and was excited to describe the crunchy and soft parts of the crouton layer to Roy.  I still remember how cute that conversation was.

When we were at Phoenicia a few months ago, I picked up a box of Shan Spice Mix for Butter Chicken.  I got around to making it a while ago, and it was incredibly yummy!  I forgot to grab another box when we were there last, but will be sure to the next time we are there.  I usually don't use a lot of packaged spice mixes anymore, but this one tasted so similar to some of the restaurant butter chicken dishes we've found in the past that I will happily make it again and again. I served it with some naan (store bought!), basmati rice (helllllo Trader Joe's!) and Aloo Palak (spinach and potatoes).  It was a delicious meal.  Roy and I enjoyed it all.  Riley liked the chicken and Leighton liked the potatoes and spinach separated.  I can live with that!

I think I've mentioned before that my kids can be tricked into eating something they've had a lot of recently if it somehow looks different, like the time I used cookie cutters to make the watermelon more exciting.  Well, this past week, I came across red corn tortillas and some red/purple/fuchsia corn and knew the kids would love them.  I used the red corn tortillas when I made fish tacos.  The corn changed color drastically when it was cooked, but the kids still liked the look of it!