Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pesto

Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pesto / Annie's Eats

Rating:

This was a quick, tasty meal. It has too much raw garlic in it, though. I'd reduce that next time. Or roast/cook the garlic before adding it to the pesto. We'll make it again, I'm sure.

Polynesian Chicken

Recipe: Polynesian Chicken // Serious Eats
Rating: 

This is a tasty chicken stir fry. The most important thing in this recipe is to cut the brown sugar in half!! The sauce is plenty sweet from the rice vinegar and pineapple.

I marinated the chicken in crushed pineapple for a few hours before cooking, and it turned out tender and tangy. The vegetables and cashews add a nice crunch. We served it over rice.

Stuffed Peppers with Goat Cheese and Couscous

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers with Couscous and Goat Cheese // How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (pg 399)
Side Recipe: Blumenthal's Roast Potatoes // Serious Eats

Rating: 

This was a tasty vegetarian entree. The peppers, goat cheese, and couscous blend well together. We roasted the peppers over our gas stovetop before stuffing them; we set them over a low flame and let the skin soften and blacken. The original recipe calls for quinoa, but we had couscous on hand, so that's what we used.

My favorite was the roasted potatoes. We liked them better than our homemade fries. The recipe called for peeled potatoes, but I like potato skins, so I left them on. They were great.

Orzo with sausage, peppers and tomatoes

Recipe: Orzo with Sausage, Peppers and Tomatoes // Serious Eats

Rating:

This is the second time I've made this. It's spicy & satisfying, comes together quickly, and I can easily keep most of the ingredients on hand. We used Shady Brook Farms turkey sausage that I pulled from the freezer.

The only thing I'd alter is the pasta ratio--I'd like more veggies & meat or less pasta.