Starkist's Tuna Tacos

     In an attempt to work more fish into our diets we came across a recipe on the back of the packet of lemon pepper tuna that I had a coupon for. Fish tacos are nothing new but I never thought to use canned tuna to make them. This is an extremely fast recipe that requires no cooking. So if you can’t cook you can’t use that reason to not try and make this easy dish.

2 Pouches (4.5 oz) StarKist Tuna Creations Zesty Lemon pepper

4 6" flour or corn tortillas

1/2 cup Coleslaw mix

1 tablespoon Lemon juice

1 Tomato, chopped

Shredded cheddar cheese

Cilantro

1. Mix tuna, lemon juice, and coleslaw in small bowl.
2. Divide the mixture over one half of each tortilla & top with tomatoes. Add cheddar cheese & chopped cilantro.

     I doubled the recipe because two small tacos weren't going to be enough for the two of us especially when one of us is pregnant. I forgot to buy a tomato and omitted the cilantro. These needed more than a tomato and cilantro to make them better. Despite being flavored with lemon pepper seasoning, they tasted under seasoned. Christine said they would have been better with a tomato but they still needed something else like a tropical salsa with mango and pineapple. I think a chipotle sauce would have done the trick as well. I would also increase the amount of coleslaw mix because these were soft through and through. The lack of texture made me bored of these quickly which lead me to not finish them.
Rating: Edible - These need help

Meatball Subs

     While grocery shopping this weekend we came across some very appetizing sub rolls with cheese baked in and on top of them. Christine said they looked perfect for meatball subs, I agreed. Once we got home I looked up a recipe for meatballs. I have a pretty good recipe that I normally use but for the sake of the blog, I wanted to try something new. I found this meatball  recipe on Allrecipes.com, one of my favorite websites for finding new things to try.

     I followed the recipe exactly as listed even though I prefer to caramelize the onions before adding them to the meatball mixture. After putting the meatballs in the oven, I warmed up some left over pizza sauce because I didn't have any homemade sauce in the freezer. Once the meatballs were done cooking, I cut open the rolls and put them under the broiler for a few minutes to toast them a bit to prevent the sauce from making them soggy. Next, I spread some sauce on each roll, put three meatballs on each one, topped with more sauce and some Italian blend cheese. You could start eating them at this point but I put them back under the broiled until the cheese bubbled and browned a little.

1 pound extra lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 small onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 dash hot pepper sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes

     These came out really good but I think the meatballs need a little work. For one, there was way too much onion. If the amount of onion was cut in half or if they were cooked down, I think they would have been better. I put the leftover meatballs in the freezer for later use. The left over pizza sauce I used was good but homemade sauce would have taken these to the next level. The star of the show was definitely the roll. I’ve never come across a loaf of bread or a roll that has cheese baked into it that wasn’t good. The ones we bought came four to a package and we liked them so much that we ate the other two toasted with butter and garlic salt.

Rating: Yummy – Meatballs need work but a decent recipe

Sliders Three Ways

     For our weekly meal with Matt, I decided to make sliders and salt potatoes. On the way home I decided I wouldn’t pick up salt potatoes and that we had a ton of chips to eat instead. But while at work I decided to make sliders three different ways. So the meal turned into sliders three ways and a variety of chips. I came up with cheddar/bacon and American/pickle for the sliders quickly but the third style took a bit of thinking. The problem with sliders is they can’t hold much because of their size to whatever you do choose to top them with, needs to be small or cut down to fit on top. Ultimately I decided to go with mozzarella/pizza sauce. I wanted to add pepperoni as well but I didn’t have any at home. I ended up with three sliders of each variety for a total of nine. Here are the ingredients if you want to try making any of these:

Slider buns

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

Salt and pepper

½ cup cheddar cheese

2 strips bacon, crumbles

½ cup mozzarella cheese

¼ cup pizza sauce

1 ½ slices American cheese

3 pickle slices

     Cook the bacon in a pan first and crumble it up, set this aside. While the bacon cooks, toast the insides of the top and bottom buns in a pan or on a griddle until golden brown. Place them open on each plate to make transferring the burgers to the buns easier. Take the ground beef and roll it into golf ball sized balls and then press them to about 1 inch in thickness. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the tops of the burgers and then add them top side down into the pan and then sprinkle more salt and pepper on the other side. Let them cook on a medium high heat for about 2 minutes and then flip them over. Immediately start topping these with the cheeses, dividing the amount listed over the three sliders. I add an ice cube to the pan and cover it with a large bowl, this helps melt the cheese quickly. Cook it this way for another two minute and they will be in between medium well and well. Obviously cook them for less time if you want them a little less done. Move them burgers to the buns and top with the other ingredient. I got them ready on the counter beforehand so I could finish them up quickly.

     It was nice to have a variety of smaller burgers because I normally get bored with the same taste throughout a larger burger. We all liked each burger but there was some discussion on which was the favorite. Christine liked the American cheese with pickle on top while Matt and I were both taken with the mozzarella and pizza sauce burger. The cheddar bacon burger was good but we’ve all had it before, so the sauce topped one was the star of the night. If it had just been tomato sauce I don’t think the burger would have been as good. But because I used left over pizza sauce from the pizza we had the night before, I think that made a huge difference. If you read my post about the pizza you might remember me saying I’d eat that sauce with a spoon, so I think the sauce is just that good to make the burger be great. I don’t know if I could eat a whole burger with those toppings but there is only one way to find out.

Rating: Yummy - Three burgers were three times the fun.

Sausage, Mushroom, & Pepper Pizza

     I like making pizza at home because you can do anything you want and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg for tons of topping. I have used raw pizza dough in the past but when loading up a pizza with a lot of toppings it is hard to cook the dough all the way through without burning the toppings. We decided to use a Baboli pizza crust which he hadn’t tried before but the fact that it was somewhat cooked already peaked out interest. We bought fresh meat and produce to make one of out favorite pizzas; peppers, onions, and sausage. Here is the recipe we came up with:

1 Baboli pizza crust

½ jar pizza sauce

1 8oz bag Mozzarella cheese

¾ pound sweet sausage, crumbled

1 green pepper, sliced thin

1 8oz package mushrooms, chopped

½ teaspoon garlic

Olive oil for sautéing

     Start off by browning the sausage in a pan until it is fully cooked through and crumbled. Put the sausage in a small bowl, leaving some of the fat in the pan. Add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic into the pan and let it cook for about a minute or so. At this point, turn the oven on to 450 degrees. I don’t like raw vegetables on my pizza so this next step works if you like them soft. Put both the peppers and the mushrooms into the pan and mix them until everything is coated with the oil. Once everything has softened up, pour everything into a strainer and let it drain for a minute or two just to get most of the oil and fat off. The last steps are to put the sauce, cheese, and toppings on before throwing it all in the oven. There is no set way of putting them on so just spread everything out evenly. This should cook for about 12 – 15 minutes but watch for the cheese to be fully melted and you’ll know it is done.

     There is no way the weight from the toppings would let raw dough cook all the way through so it was good that we used a precooked crust. I would have liked a more bready crust but the amount of toppings made up for that. Because the toppings layer was so thick, I used a knife and fork to eat most of mine. The sausage was from Spera’s and had a ton of flavor from the spices that they add when they grind it. Sautéing the peppers and mushrooms added another dimension that I don’t normally get from pizza shop pizza. The garlic and olive oil gave them a sweet taste that went well with they semi-spicy sausage. My favorite part of it all I think was the sauce which is just Wegmans brand pizza sauce. I’m not sure what it is about the sauce but I could eat it with a spoon, it is that good. Overall not a bad attempt at pizza but the crust needs some work.

Rating: Yummy – Who doesn’t like homemade pizza?

Chicken and Biscuits

     Chicken and biscuits isn’t really a summer dish but this recipe makes it easy because the chicken part is made in the crock pot. The biscuits are a dry mix that you just add water to and put in the oven for about ten minutes. The most time consuming part of this meal is making mashed potatoes but they are optional. I made them since Matt was coming over and needed more than just chicken gravy and biscuits for three people. Unfortunately, I forgot to buy sour cream so the potatoes didn’t come out as good as they usually do. Here are the ingredients for an easy meal that cooks while you are busy:

2 large chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

2 10.5oz cans cream of chicken soup

1 14.4 oz can chicken broth

1 large onion finely chopped

½ bag frozen mixed vegetables

1 packet Bisquick biscuit mix (I use cheddar biscuits)

½ cup water

     Plug in the crock pot and set the temperature on low. Everything will be done cooking long before the 8 – 10 hours that the low setting is for but because of the cream soup, you don’t want it to burn. Chop the butter into a few small pieces and scatter it in the bottom of the pot. Place both chicken breasts on top of the butter, side by side. Evenly top the chicken with the vegetables and onion. Pour in both cans of cream of chicken and spread evenly over the vegetables leaving room around the edges of the pot. Finally, pour the entire can of chicken broth over the contents of the pot making sure to get some to the bottom around the chicken. Let this cook for at least 4 hours but no more than 8. Just before serving you may notice the mixture looking kind of watery, don’t panic. Using tongs or forks shred the chicken thoroughly in the pot. While you do this, everything will mix around and thicken up. Following the directions on the biscuit mix, bake these in the oven and place one or two on each plate and top with the mixture from the crock pot. If you make mashed potatoes, put them on the plate and top with the mixture as well.

     Like I said before, the potatoes didn’t come out great but with the chicken mixture poured all over them I didn’t really notice. If you look at them recipe again you will notice that there are no spices or seasonings used. Despite the lack of those there was a lot of flavor from the chicken and the soup. The cheddar biscuits were a great vehicle to thicken up this dish as the chicken gravy soaked right into them. This dish would be perfect during a cold winter night but it was good on a humid one too.

Rating: Yummy – Potatoes didn’t work out but everything else did

Fried Rice and Cheese Wontons

     After weeks of procrastination over making fried rice each week for dinner, I finally made it and a ton of it because I was feeding three guests. As a side dish I made cheese wontons for the first time. I made the rice the night before because it stops the rice from becoming mushy when cooked a second time. I use jasmine rice which is long grain Thai rice but basmati rice is also a good rice to use when making fried rice. So to make this dish, the first step is to cook the rice as directed on the package the night before. Once it is done cooking, allow it to cool in a large bowl and then put it in the refrigerator, covered. I use the recipe on the back of the Kikkoman fried rice seasoning packet. Since I made two batches of rice, I double everything in the recipe including a second packet of seasoning. Here is what you need for a single batch:

3 cups cold cooked rice

1 egg

2 strips thick cut bacon (Substitute other meats if you choose)

3 scallions (green onion) chopped

1 packet Kikkoman fried rice seasoning

2 tablespoons water

Soy sauce for seasoning

     Since the directions are on the back of one of the ingredients, I’m not going to go into how to make the rice but I will tell you how it came out later in this post. Now to the cheese wontons, usually there is crab meat mixed into these but I omitted it. Here is what you will need for my recipe for cheese wontons:

8oz softened cream cheese

3 scallions (green onion) chopped

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

1 package wonton wrappers

Egg whites from one large egg

Oil for frying (Don’t Use Vegetable)

Sweet and sour sauce for dipping

     Before you do anything, put the oil in a deep pan or pot and turn the heat on. You are looking to get the oil to about 350 to 400 degrees. Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Take a teaspoon of the mixture and place it in the center of a wonton wrapper. Take two fingers, dip them in the egg white, and spread them along the edges of the wrapper. Fold over one corner across the top of the mixture top the opposite corner. Pull the other two corners up to meet the already combined corners and then you’ll have one done. Repeat this process until the cream cheese mixture is gone. I place the wontons on a paper towel until I’m done. Christine’s cousin, sister, and sister’s boyfriend came over during the tedious process of making these homemade cheese wontons so they had to wait a little while before we ate. Once the oil is up to temperature, begin placing these in the oil a few at a time until golden brown. Let them drain on some paper towels and serve them with sweet and sour sauce to dip in.

     The rice was good but not the best that I have made. I chalk it up to making a double batch all at once. The stars of the meal, at least in my eyes, were the cheese wontons. They cooked pretty evenly for not being able to use my new deep fryer. They were crunchy and didn’t taste greasy like they sometimes do when ordered out. Christine commented that they were cream cheesier than from an actual Chinese restaurant which she enjoyed. For a first try, they came out well and I will definitely be making them again. Overall a good meal that I mill make in the future.

Rating: Yummy - I can't wait to perfect these dishes.

Delaware

Normally this blog is for food I make but I decided to share what others made for us while we were on vacation. The sandwiches are reviewed on the Syracuse Sandwich blog. So here are some pictures of the food we enjoyed in Delaware:

Grilled Ham Cheese and Tomato at Robin Hood's

Seafood Scampi at Irish Eyes

Shepherd's Pie at Irish Eyes

Doughnuts at The Fractured Prune

Onion Rings at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats

Asparagus Peppers and Chicken Pizza at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats

Vegetable Omelet at Sunrise Restaurant

Eastern Omelet at Sunrise Restaurant

Pretzel Sticks at The Greene Turtle

Chick N Ranch at The Greene Turtle

The Chesapeake Chicken at The Greene Turtle

Taco Salad at Dos Locos

Spicy Pork Burrito at Dos Locos

French Toast at The Penguin Diner

Breakfast Burrito at The Penguin Diner

Corn Flake Chicken Tenders & Seasoned Potato Wedges

     I had the idea of serving Matt a dish that my mom used to make when we were kids paired with a recipe I made for football one Sunday afternoon. Baked Corn Flake crusted chicken tenders and baked potato wedges are a healthy alternative to heavily breaded and fried tenders and French fries. I remember eating the chicken tenders with a side of honey and bbq sauce for dipping. They were crunchy and had a sweet taste from the cereal while still being tender. The potato wedges were a huge hit when I made them for the guests I had over for football. Paprika, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder mixed with olive oil spice up russet potato wedges that gives them a kick once baked. I hoped that the combination of the two would make a great meal. Here are the recipes:

Potato Wedges

3 Russet potatoes cut into wedges

1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

1 ½ teaspoons onion powder

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons paprika

3 tablespoons olive oil

Olive oil for drizzling

Corn Flake Crusted Chicken Tenders

2 lbs. Chicken tenderloins or Chicken breast cut into strips

4 cups crushed Corn Flakes

1 tablespoon season salt

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

2 eggs

1 tablespoon water or milk

Olive oil for drizzling

     Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees and start working on the potatoes. I leave the skin on the potato when I cut it into wedges. Once you have cut the potatoes up, put them in a large mix bowl and set aside. Combine the spices and the olive in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and stir the potatoes around until they are coated on all sides. Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and spread the potatoes evenly on top. Put the potatoes in the oven for about 25 – 35 minutes depending on how thick you cut the potatoes, flipping once. Immediately get started on the chicken so both will be done around the same time. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a deep mixing bowl then eat the eggs and water (or milk) in a small bowl. Dip a few tenders at a time in the egg wash and then roll them in the dry ingredients until fully coated. Place these on a plate with a paper towel on it until you have coated all of the tenders you will be cooking. Drizzle olive oil on a large baking sheet and place the tenders on the sheet about an inch apart. Put the chicken in the oven for about 20 minutes, flipping once.

     When the potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork, they are done. The chicken however is tricky because each piece won’t be the same size. I cut the thickest piece to make sure there is no pink left. The potatoes were thick and tender with the consistency of steak fries. The spices added a kick but could be adjusted if you like it more or less spicy. The chicken didn’t get crunchy enough like I wanted and I think I know why. The pieces I cut were thicker than when my mom made them so there was more juice which soaked the cornflakes, not allowing them to stay crunchy. The chicken was tender and cooked perfectly in my opinion. I think I will change the size of the chicken slices next time and change the steps during the breading process.

Rating: Fair - These recipes need some work but definitely worth another try.

Breaded Ravioli

     Friday was one of the cooler days last week which in turn allowed me to use my oven without sweating to death. I’ve made these breaded ravioli a few times and thought they would be nice to serve to the guests we had coming over. I had about 20 minutes before Christine’s sister and boyfriend would be over which gave me enough time to bread the ravioli, get them in the oven, and clean up the mess I made breading them. Since I was short on time and I had to make a double batch, I didn’t bread these individually like I normally do, I used the shake and bake method. Here’s the recipe before I go any further:

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 egg

3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 25 ounce package frozen cheese or beef ravioli

1 16 ounce jar spaghetti sauce

     If you double this recipe it will yield about 40 ravioli or so. Start by combining the salt, parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs on a plate and set aside. I put this in a freezer bag so I could shake the ravioli in it to save time. Beat the egg and milk in a deep bowl and begin to coat the ravioli with this mixture. Coat about half of the ravioli(a quarter if you double the recipe) and put them in the bag with the dry ingredients. Seal the bag shut and shake until sufficiently covered. As you take them out of the bag, brush off excess coating. Place the ravioli on a large cooking sheet sprayed with butter flavored non stick spray. Continue coating and breading until all of the ravioli are done. Once arrange on the cooking sheet, lightly spray the ravioli with the butter spray; only spray enough to dampen the breading. Place the sheet into the oven at 400 degrees. Allow the ravioli to cook for about 20 minutes, flipping once halfway through. You’ll know they are done when they have a golden brown crust to them.

     You can serve them with the sauce directly over the ravioli or on the side. I chose to pour a quarter of the jar of sauce in each of the bowls and then pile the ravioli on one side. This allowed us to use as much or as little sauce as we liked. I used Wegmans Italian Classics Puttanesca Sauce which contained Kalamata olives, portabella mushrooms, artichoke hearts and capers which went well with beef ravioli. The ravioli should have a buttery crunch to them as if they were fried. The recipe originally called for oil to fry them but that can become messy and isn’t nearly as healthy for you. This is one of my go to quick meals when I want pasta but don’t want just sauce and noodles.

Rating: Yummy – A quick recipe that always turns out great.

Cheddar Bacon Burgers

     High temperatures cause me to cook out of the grill because there is no way I’m using my oven. I will use the stove top but don’t really like doing that either. Matt was headed over for his weekly meal with us and he chose burgers from the list I gave him. I’ve found quite a few burger recipes online that I want to try and this one is one of them. Bacon cheddar burgers that incorporate horseradish and a few spices caught my eye a few months ago but decided to wait until it was grilling weather to try them out. Here is the recipe for those of you out there who enjoy a good burger:

1 pound ground beef (I use 80/20)

½ cup real bacon pieces

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

4 hamburger buns

     I made only two changes to the recipe: 1) I only used ¼ cup bacon pieces because that is all I had and 2) I made 3 burgers instead of 4 because there was just the three of us. To prepare the burgers, add all the ingredients except the buns into a mixing bowl. Mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined; I use my hands to ensure this happens. Shape into patties and place the patties on a plate to go out to the grill. You might notice that the patties are barely being held together once you’d shaped them. Once they begin to cook, they should bind together enough to keep from falling apart. Spray the grill with some nonstick spray and cook the burgers for five minutes or so on each side, or until cooked to your preference.

     To go with the burgers, I boiled up some salt potatoes and served them with butter. I garnished my burger with a pickle slice, lettuce, and a squeeze of mustard and ketchup. After the first bite I knew this was the best burger I’ve made thus far. The burgers made up of beef tenderloin that I made a few weeks ago were very juicy but I like my burgers with tons of different flavors. These burgers definitely had that and none of the ingredients stole the show. The bacon, cheddar, and horseradish melded well together and gave the burger a smoky taste. Matt said there was the perfect amount of bacon and he liked the horseradish despite not normally liking the taste of it. Christine and Matt both finished theirs and I ate about ¾ of mine before stopping. I get tired of thick burgers about half way through even though I loved the taste of this specific one. I will definitely be making these again and next time maybe I’ll step up the bacon to see how that works out.

Rating: Delectable - Best burgers yet.

Crock Pot Chili

     Chili is a dish that you can do so much with because you can add virtually anything to it and it will still taste good. You can make chili is a stock pot but I use my crock pot to make chili so I can let it cook while I am not home. Most crock pot recipes for chili make a lot of servings so I made sure to invite Matt over to help eat it all. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare the chili so I went with the recipe on the back of the seasoning packet I bought. Here is the recipe, with a few changes, if you would like to try it out:

1 packet McCormick Crock Pot Chili Seasoning

2 lbs ground beef

2 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 14oz can dark red kidney beans - drained

1 14oz can light red kidney beans - drained

1 12oz can tomato sauce

1 large onion – chopped

     I have a large crock pot that tends to cook hot so I put it on low even though it was only going to be 4 hours until I got home. Start off by browning the beef in a large pan so you can drain some of the fat. While the beef browns, open all the cans, drain the beans, and then pour the contents into the crock pot. Roughly chop the onion, don’t worry about large pieces because they will soften during the cooking process. Once the beef is browned for the most part, drain as much fat out of the pan as you can. Add the ground beef to the crock pot and pour the seasoning packet on top. Stir until all the ingredients are mixed thoroughly. I didn’t think there was enough sauce when I mixed everything but the tomatoes will break down and there ended up being plenty.

     When we got home, the chili was done so I turned the crock pot off. I used a packet of corn bread mix and made corn muffins. I was only able to make six muffins with the one packet so if you have more than three people, you will need at least one more packet. Just about the time that the muffins were done, Matt arrived, he was just in time. I ladled two large scoops into each bowl, served them with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. We all enjoyed this simple recipe and like I said you can add whatever you want. Next time I will add green pepper and maybe some mushrooms.

Rating: Yummy – A great base chili recipe.

Portobello Mushrooms & Garlic Rolls

     Friday is a toss up when it comes to what I’m going to cook or if I’m even going to cook. Since we went out a few times last week I thought it would be best to stay in and cook. I made up two recipes, Marinated Portobello mushroom caps and buttery-garlic rolls, and served some French fries on the side. Portobello mushroom caps are very meaty and are often a substitute when making burgers. Normally I would make the mushrooms caps into sandwiches but they tend to make the bread mushy with all of their juices so I took a different approach while still including a roll. Before I get too far, here are the recipes for both:

Buttery-garlic Rolls

2 rolls, split

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon garlic salt

Marinated Portobello Mushroom Caps

2 Portobello Mushroom Caps

½ Bottle Italian Dressing

¼ cup mozzarella cheese

     I marinated the mushrooms for about 10 hours in the Italian dressing. Using Italian dressing for a marinade is convenient because we always have it in the house for salads. Using a fork, I pierced the mushroom in the center because the outsides are too soft from the marinade and will rip if you try. Using my indoor grill, I cooked the mushrooms on high until they shrank about a half in size. While the mushrooms cooked, the fries were near completion so I could get the rolls ready. Once I split the rolls, insides facing up, I brushed the mixture of butter, olive oil, and garlic salt liberally on each one. I put these on a pan along with the mushroom caps. As soon as the fries were done, I turned the oven off and turned the broiler onto high. Just before putting the pan under the broiler, I split the ¼ cup of mozzarella between each mushroom cap. When using a broiler, you should turn the oven light on and keep an eye on whatever you have in there so it doesn’t burn. The second the cheese started to bubble and brown, I pulled the pan out. The rolls got a little dark because of this but they didn’t burn.

     I won’t comment on the fries because they came frozen and I didn’t do anything to them. The mushroom caps were very juicy and tender. The tanginess of the dressing and the creaminess of the melted cheese contrasted nicely against one another. The mushrooms shrank during the cooking process and I wished I had bought two more of them but we ended up making more rolls so maybe next time. Christine and I really liked the rolls so I went back into the kitchen when we had finished eating what we had on our plates to make two more. They kind of tasted like garlic bread but had a more buttery taste. I think next time I will use more garlic salt and perhaps parsley for some color.

Rating: Yummy – Not bad for two easy recipes I just made up.