A few new recipes...

In between projects and work, I tend to surf the web looking for new things to cook. Particularly this time of year when it feels like I've been making the same things for months (as opposed to other times of year when I find new things to cook but I don't make them because I just feel like cooking the same things over and over again).
Recently I came across the website SkinnyTaste by Gina, who's goal is to take recipes and reduce their calories while obtaining great taste. A wonderful goal, and one whose effectiveness I thought I'd test. Of the three recipes I tried I would make all of them again, however one thing to note about this source is that some of the recipes are a bit abbreviated in their instructions. For those who have been cooking for awhile, it's not really an issue to figure out what you're supposed to do next. For those who like step-by-step instructions, this may be a problem...

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken: In short, this turned out pretty well and Mike said it was good. I only had a couple of issues with it.

• The ingredient list called for Sesame Oil. I went to the store, bought an expensive bottle of it, then noticed that she never noted where to use it in the recipe instructions. I threw a little in with the chicken and called it good. I didn't notice the additional flavor so I'm not sure that it was worth the purchase. 

• The other issue was that the ingredients called for "Better than Peanut Butter" as a PB substitute. This is available at Trader Joes but I didn't have time to drive across town and fight parking at TJ's so I just used real peanut butter. I reduced the amount a little though, and as a result the PB flavor was overpowered by the Sriracha sauce. Next time I'll use the PB substitute or reduce the amount of Sriracha sauce.

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken: I really liked this and it was very easy (as crock pot cooking should be). It took about 10 hours to cook on high, which is exactly how long I'm gone each day so the timing was perfect. The only variation was that I didn't have scallions - I didn't miss them.  I served it atop Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice and chopped romaine, then added spicy pickled carrots and shredded cheese.


Then of course, there is my favorite cooking website, Smitten Kitchen, where Deb impresses me with her kitchen prowess, humor and photography skills. I've made several of her recipes, but most recently I tried the Sally Lunn Bread. It turned out very well and didn't last long. I made this on a Saturday night and we had it for breakfast on Sunday morning. It went fast and I will be making it again very soon.