(I am also a little bit psyched that only one recipe is from the Pioneer Woman's cookbook so far, because I only just ordered it today. Three out of our four January recipes are from the Pioneer Woman's blog, at www.pioneerwoman.com. Phew.)
Oh -- forget to mention that, did I? Our little cooking group is cooking from Pioneer Woman recipes. Why, you ask? Well, because her recipes generally have wonderful illustrations all the way through, are easy enough for beginning chefs to follow, and don't require anything special that you can't get at any grocery store. (I had no say in the decision, as I was a joiner and not a founder of the group, but those reasons are pretty smart, aren't they? I get so frustrated when I find a to-die-for recipe only to realize I can't find half the ingredients without driving an hour each way.) So anyway, I ordered the cookbook today, and the other three recipes are from the blog. (Actually, now that I typed all that out, I am realizing that it's not really a big deal after all, because Mick wants to buy the book for the iPad anyway. I wanted the cookbook in hand and had a little bit of tunnel vision, I suppose. Oops.)
The January recipes are: Chicken Tortilla Soup, Twice-Baked Potatoes, Shrimp Scampi, and Quiche.
I have to say, they are perfect for me, both in the balance of what they are, and the timing of "having" to make these particular recipes this month.
My friend Marie and I were just talking last month about how she really wants to find a good recipe for chicken tortilla soup, and I literally had three different ones sitting on my printer when I printed the PW recipe just now. Maybe this will be it, and I won't have to try those others?! I hope so! Twice-baked potatoes are something that I always see and remember how much I love them, but yet I never seem to remember to, ohhhh, I don't know ... actually make them. So that's a win! And shrimp scampi? Let me tell you, I am a scampi expert. In fact, we always have shrimp in our freezer and vermicelli or angel hair in our pantry, so scampi is one of my go-to I-don't-feel-like-cooking-but-don't-want-fast-food-believe-it-or-not-so-what-can-I-whip-up-in-a-hurry-that-everyone-loves-and-we-can-eat-before-I-gnaw-off-my-elbow-or-tomorrow-arrives meals. I checked out the PW recipe and it's pretty much, well, scampi, and that's cool by me, because I never turn down a scampi'd anything. Maybe there'll be a neat little trick or tip in the PW recipe and it will be even that much better.
And that only leaves the quiche. I'll be honest, it's the only thing that is completely new to me, and I have always wanted to make a quiche -- I have gobs of recipes -- but never quite gotten around to it. This forces the issue. That was one the things I hoped this cooking club would do for me, and here it is, happening the very first month. Awesome! (And no, I am not being sarcastic.)
Hmm. Tomorrow is Saturday. I have everything on hand to make the soup and/or the scampi, and I only need a few ingredients for the quiche. I'm thinking it might be a perfect day for a soup. I'll keep you posted.
-Jen
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