Pepper-Shrimp-and-Noodle Salad with Crunchy Spring Vegetables
Martha Stewart Living, Apr 2021, p.99
5 stars

So delicious!!! Lots of veggies and loved our additions -- definitely adding this to the rotation. So flavorful and loved all of the textures. We've made a recipe like this before, but this was GOOD.

Couldn't find a link to this recipe online.

Ingredients: ramen, shrimp, natural peanut butter, cucumber, radish, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, hot sesame oil, vegetable oil, unseasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, maple syrup, Kosher salt, pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Used crunchy peanut butter since we didn't have creamy which the recipe called for
• Used avocado oil instead of vegetable oil
• Used 4 garlic cloves instead of 10-12
• Added edamame
• Added tofu -- make 2x next time
• Made 1.5x the dressing, but note didn't increase the amount of avocado oil
• Served with vegetable egg rolls

Recipe: Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Chorizo

Lentil Stew with Potatoes and Chorizo

Food & Wine Magazine, Dec 2024/Jan 2025, p. 54
4.9 stars

This was another recipe where I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. In fact, we were not looking forward to making this recipe. It was GREAT!!!! It's a dish where I looked forward to eating the leftovers. Super simple with lots of flavor.

Ingredients: Spanish chorizo, Yukon potato, carrots, yellow onion, dried brown lentils, sweet mild pimenton, chicken broth, garlic, olive oil, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:

• Used 2 tsp of a mix of sweet and hot paprika vs. just sweet; use more if you use more veggies
• Used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
• Used plant-based Spanish chorizo

Recipe: Tofu Cashew Nut

Tofu Cashew Nut

Better Homes & Gardens Aug 2021, p. 92

4.9 stars

The title of this recipe is actually Chicken Cashew Nut -- it's a recipe from Pepper Teigen and Garrett Snyder, authors of The Pepper Thai Cookbook.

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out because I knew we were going to make some substitutions, but it turned out GREAT. Love all the flavors and textures and especially the flavor of white pepper and sesame oil that came through. It's just like cashew chicken but with tofu!

Ingredients: jasmine rice, chicken, cashews, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, yellow onion, scallions, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sweet chile jam, garlic, dried red chiles like chile de arbol, light brown sugar, sesame oil, dry sherry, cornstarch, white pepper, red pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Used TWO blocks of tofu instead of chicken
• Used sweet chile sauce instead of jam
• Take out the chiles before serving
• Made rice and also quinoa
• Add sriracha at the table
• Next time, make 2x the sauce as there is more tofu than chicken called for

Recipe: King Ranch Casserole

King Ranch Casserole

Food & Wine Magazine, Feb 2025, p. 48

4.8 stars

Really delicious, not hard for a weekday meal, but it's not super healthy -- though we tried to make it healthier!

Ingredients: corn tortillas, rotisserie chicken, red bell pepper, yellow onion, diced tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, heavy cream, sour cream, salsa macha verde, unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, Monterey Jack cheese, chili powder, ground cumin, Kosher salt

Serve with avocado and fresh cilantro

Tips/Notes:

• Instead of rotisserie chicken, added a can of drained black beans and 1.5 cup of cooked quinoa
• Instead of rotel, used one can (about 14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes and a 4 oz can of chopped hatch chiles
• Used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and because of the greater quantity of tomatoes and hatch chiles, cut down the broth to 2 cups
• Cut up the corn tortillas
• Cooked everything in a large casserole dish

Recipe: Chocolate-Amaretto Pudding Cake

Chocolate-Amaretto Pudding Cake

Food & Wine Magazine, Feb 2025, p.42

4.8 stars

I'm starting to bake again(!) and decide on this "easy" recipe because of its description: "At first glance, pudding cakes may look like classic cakes with a breadlike crumb, but they actually bake into two different textures."

I loved that this had a cake-like texture on top and then a gooey pudding/lava-like cake at the bottom -- and chocolate chips that added crunchy texture throughout when eating it cold. It was an interesting process making this as there were essentially 3 "layers" I created, including the coffee and almond extract that were poured on top.

Ingredients: all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, dark chocolate chips, coffee, sour cream, amaretto, vanilla extract, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda, Kosher salt, water

Ingredients for serving: vanilla ice cream, fresh berries

Tips/Notes:

• Used decaf coffee
• We were out of amaretto, so used almond extract (did research and used one-eighth amount of almond extract)

Recipe: Lasagna Soup

Lasagna Soup

Food & Wine Magazine, Jan 2025, p. 45

4.9 stars

We will definitely make this again! It really is what it says ~ it's a lasagna soup! I thought it was interesting that harissa is an ingredient -- it gives SPICE to it, but you wouldn't guess it was in the dish.

Ingredients: lasagna noodles, Italian sausage, yellow onion, harissa, marinara sauce, shredded mozzarella, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic, dry white wine, chicken broth, basil, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:

• It was SPICY! Use 2 Tbsp instead of 3 Tbsp of the harissa
• Did not add any salt, and it was fine
• Used Beyond Sausage
• Used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth

Recipe: Spicy Braised Tofu

Spicy Braised Tofu

Bon Appetit Magazine, Sept 2020, p. 79

4.8 stars

Delicious! One of my favorite preparations of tofu. YUMMY sauce. We had never used gochugaru (coarse Korean red pepper powder) before, and it was good.

Ingredients: extra-firm tofu, scallion, gochugaru, soy sauce, mirin, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger,  grapeseed or vegetable oil, Kosher salt; sesame seeds and rice for serving

Tips/Notes:

• This is so good -- make double the amount!
• Served with QUINOA and steamed broccoli

Recipe: Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Lentils

Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Lentils

Bon Appetit Magazine, Oct 2020, p. 14

4.7 stars

This tasted a lot better than it looks!

LOVED the glaze -- and all the components together ~ scallions, pistachios, etc. was better than expected!

Ingredients: sweet potatoes, lentils, scallions, pistachios, maple syrup, soy sauce, white miso, sesame oil, unseasoned rice vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes

• To cut on time, cut the potatoes before roasting them
• It was a bit too many scallions for me -- reduce and also cut them to smaller than matchsticks

Recipe: Layered Taco Salad

Layered Taco Salad
Gourmet Magazine, Aug 2023
4.8 stars

Really great recipe! I think this is the best taco beef recipe we've made -- so flavorful and moist with the tomato sauce.

Salad Ingredients: lettuce, tomato, avocado, black beans, black olives, extra-sharp Cheddar

Beef Ingredients: ground chuck, medium onion, tomato sauce, garlic, serrano chiles, chili powder, ground cumin, olive oil, salt, pepper

Dressing Ingredients: lime juice, cilantro, sugar, chili powder, ground cumin, olive oil, salt, pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Used Impossible Beef
• Heated up the black beans

Recipe: Spicy Bulgur in Lettuce Cups

Spicy Bulgur in Lettuce Cups

Bon Appetit Magazine, Apr 2021, p.43

4.5 stars

This grew on me! The dressing wasn't that exciting, but overall the flavors were good ESPECIALLY with the falafel added. The lettuce wasn't strong enough to hold everything together so it ended up being a salad.

Salad Ingredients: Little Gem lettuce or romaine, bulgur, walnuts, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, parsley, mint, pomegranate seeds, Kosher salt, black pepper

Dressing Ingredients: pomegranate molasses, double-concentrated tomato paste, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, Aleppo-style pepper, biber salcasi (Turkish hot pepper paste) or more Aleppo, Kosher salt, black pepper

Tips/Notes:

• Served falafel with it
• Didn't have biber salcasi so used more Aleppo pepper
• Substituted date syrup for the pomegranate molasses

Recipe: Buddha Bowls with Crispy Sesame Tofu

Buddha Bowls with Crispy Sesame Tofu

"I Love You" by Pamela Anderson, p. 114
4.8 stars

Another great Buddha Bowl recipe! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sesame-crusted tofu, and for some reason, the roasted sweet potato and broccoli tasted really good even though it's how we always roast our vegetables.

New recipe for us to rotate in!

Ingredients: brown rice, sweet potatoes, broccoli, tofu, red cabbage, avocado, cilantro, cornstarch, maple syrup, tamari, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, pepper

Sauce Ingredients: creamy almond butter, maple syrup, tamari, rice vinegar, black vinegar, ginger, sriracha

Tips/Notes:

• Used quinoa instead of brown rice
• Used balsamic vinegar instead of black vinegar
• Used soy sauce instead of tamari
• Used an organic broccoli slaw instead of cabbage
• The sauce is thick
• Didn't blend the sauce in the blender -- didn't think it was necessary
• Add a squeeze of lime for acidity and add more sriracha at the table

Recipe: Chipotle-Shrimp Tacos with Fennel and Beans

Chipotle-Shrimp Tacos with Fennel and Beans

Martha Stewart Living, Jun 2021, p. 102
4.8 stars

Reading the ingredients, I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out -- it was delicious! An easy weeknight meal. The longest part of prep is shelling (and deveining) the shrimp. We served this with black beans and rice.

Ingredients: tortillas, shrimp, pinto beans, fennel, chipotle in adobo, cilantro, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, lime, vegetable oil, Kosher salt, pepper

Tips:

• Didn't grill -- sauteed them in a pan
• Make sure to buy sour cream as that would have made it amazing!

Recipe: Lemon Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

Lemon Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

Food & Wine Magazine, Dec 2024/Jan 2025, p.38
4.7 stars

This was good, not amazing -- but then we forgot to add the hot honey which would probably take it to another level, so we need to make this again! The grocery store also ran out of large pasta shells, so we used manicotti shells instead.

Ingredients: jumbo pasta shells, marinara sauce, frozen chopped spinach, whole milk ricotta cheese, garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese (such as Boursin), egg, Parmesan cheese, lemon zest, hot honey, Kosher salt

Tips/Notes:

• Use just a little bit of lemon zest like 1 tsp, not 2 Tbsp. Even with 1 tsp, it was very lemony.
• Added crumbled Impossible meatballs

Recipe: Vegetarian Red Lentil Wraps

Vegetarian Red Lentil Wraps

Food and Wine Magazine, Dec 2024/Jan 2025, p.59
4.6 stars

Delicious and healthy. The red lentil and bulgur wheat mixture had the consistency of fluffy Mexican rice.

Tomato Brown Butter Ingredients: butter, fire-roasted tomatoes, garlic, Kosher salt

Wrap Ingredients: flour tortillas, red lentils, bulgur wheat, carrot, white onion, romaine lettuce, peperoncini slices, tomato paste, ground cumin, Aleppo pepper, unsalted butter, Kosher salt, extra-virgin olive oil, water

Tips/Notes:

• Not sure it was necessary to make the Tomato Brown Butter -- I think it used too much butter; next time, I'd heat up the fire-roasted tomatoes and garlic with just a little butter.
• Didn't blend the butter to make it smooth as we didn't think it was necessary to be "butter."
• Basically made tacos!
• Peperoncini slices added a nice kick (acid) to it.
• Served with salad.