What's Cookin'?

It's time for an update on my cooking adventures. I have made no effort to hide the fact that I am not the best chef, but once in a while I get the zeal and inspiration and go for it. For some reason I tend to get these ideas in bursts. I will make several new dishes in one week and then be satisfied with mac 'n' cheese for weeks. 

Here are a few of the things I have made...

Lemon Shrimp:

I found this recipe on Yahoo. I can honestly say that the picture above looks just like the picture on line. It was really yummy! For those that don't like shrimp, I think you could easily do this with chicken.

Chipotle Popcorn Chicken:

Ryan found this on Yahoo as well. It was super easy, and super good. I was worried that it was going to be too spicy - and it definitely had some kick to it, but it was really good. 

Whole chicken:

I have never baked a whole chicken before. It turned out a little dry, but it was still good. One of the reasons I wanted to make a whole chicken was so that I could use the leftovers to make homemade chicken noodle soup. 

Chicken Noodle Soup:

Delicious! It turned out super yummy!

I also made dinner rolls. I have attempted dinner rolls before and it was a total flop. But these were really good!

Little P has had a cold for several weeks. It was nice to give him some homemade chicken noodle soup. I think it at least perked up his spirits. :)

The apples Ryan's mom sent home with us are super good and I didn't want them to go to waste, so I have made several desserts with them.

Apple Cobbler:

Dutch oven cobbler is WAY better, but this was pretty good too. I also made an apple and raspberry cake and apple crisp.

Cafe Rio:

I don't have any pictures, but it turned out divine! It was so stinking good! Honestly, almost as good as the real thing.

Salsa:

I made my first batch of homemade salsa on Cafe Rio day. I don't know what I did, but it was SPICY! Super good, but wow! We calmed it down by adding more tomatoes and I even threw in a little sugar. Then it was exciting salsa... sweet going in, and then the spice really came into play. Haha. We didn't bottle any of it, but I sent some of it to work with Ryan and we ate the rest. It was really good.

I am sure there have been a few other things I have tried, but those are just a few of the highlights. At least I have some experience trying some new things now. :)