Broccoli Salad v. 2

Another summery day, another broccoli salad!  This was has some similar ingredients to the first, but it's amazing how just a couple small changes can completely alter the taste!

Broccoli Salad v. 2

12 oz. bag of broccoli slaw
1/2 red onion
1 red delicious apple, sliced and diced
4 slices of bacon
2/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
approximately 2/3 c. Ken's Low Fat Honey Mustard Dressing

Mix together and serve!  This one actually tastes better if you let it sit overnight in the fridge, but it's still very good the first night.  

So, from version one, I changed out broccoli florets for broccoli slaw, removed the Craisins and the sunflower seeds, added apple, and went a completely different route with honey mustard dressing.  This one is definitely more tangy than the first version, which has a sweeter, creamier dressing.

So far, votes are tied between version one and two.  I personally prefer version one, but enjoy this recipe quite a bit as well.  Guess I'll need to try a third broccoli salad recipe and see if I can top them both!

Nice and refreshing, just like version one, this would make a great lunch or light dinner, but easily works as a side dish as well.

Broccoli Salad v.1

A few months back I started using Caloriecount.com to track my eating.  I had no real idea of how many calories I was consuming in a day, or where I needed to be at to lose some weight.  One of the features I like about the site is that it provides you a nutritional report card based on the foods you eat each day. Because I'm a little bit competitive, even with myself, my goal is to eat in such a way that I'm getting at least an A- on most days.  What I found as I started logging the foods I ate, was that I didn't have enough variety in what I was eating and I wasn't hitting the nutritional guidelines I wanted.  So, in order to try and reach those goals, I've been making an effort to eat a bigger variety of foods, especially fruits and veggies.

I really like salad.  However, eating the same exact spinach salad, with the same veggies, day after day simply gets boring.  So, I've been pinning lots and lots of ideas on my Pinterest boards and trying them out as various fruit/veggies come into season and/or are on sale.

One of the recipes I've found is for a broccoli salad that I've now made about 3 times because it has lots of yummy bits that probably aren't so good for you, but also has a lot of yummy bits that are good for you, so it balances out!

The recipe for this salad is here: Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cheese  

I've made a few changes to the recipe.  It calls for both cranberries and raisins.  Depending on what I have on hand at the time, I've used Craisins, raisins, and various dried fruits.  So far, all of them have worked out well.  If you know me in real life, then you probably know I have an aversion to mayonnaise that I *know* about in a recipe.  So that means I'm never going to willingly put mayo into anything.  If it sneaks into my food and I don't *know* about it, sometimes I'm ok with it, but as a general rule, ick, yuck, no way.  So for the dressing on this recipe I've tried two different options.  I've made it with plain greek yogurt, and also with a combo of plain greek yogurt and light sour cream.  The version with the light sour cream/greek yogurt is a little tangier, so that's really my preference.  However, both options work out well, and in my opinion are actually a healthier alternative to using mayo.  I'm not sure how much of a difference in taste there would be with using the actual mayo, but I'm not going to try it out, so you're on your own if you go that route!  The other addition I've made to the recipe is to throw in a handful of sunflower seeds.  It goes well with the other flavors in the salad and I like the extra crunch.

Overall, this is a hearty salad, easily filling enough for a lunch or maybe even a light dinner.  I also like that the recipe is versatile in that you can really sub out a lot of the ingredients for things you have on hand without difficulty and still have the salad turn out tasty.  This one definitely makes a regular appearance in my house now!

Summer Obsession - Salads with Fruit!

Dinner Tonight:  Marinated Pork, Spinach Salad, Peas and Potatoes

Today was hectic, so it ended up being one big meal instead of three small ones.  But it was so worth it to have this fantastic dinner!

Salad:

Fresh Spinach
Honeydew
Blackberries
Feta
Honey-Ginger Dressing made from olive oil, fresh ginger, Amish honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper

I've been waiting for months for blackberries to be in season to try this salad and it's definitely going to be in rotation as long as blackberries are around and reasonably priced.  The flavors in this really went well together and it was super tasty!


Pork:

I marinated the pork for about 3 hours with olive oil, juice of one fresh lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, about 1  T. thyme, salt and pepper.  This was good for about two of the boneless pork chops shown above.  A friend had recommended the marinade for tenderloin, but I didn't have any on hand so I substituted the chops I was planning on stuffing.  It worked.

Peas:  Just frozen peas with a little bacon, nothing exciting, but I love peas with my baked potatoes.  I know I just said I was cutting down on white carbs, but maybe I lied.  In any case, white carbs in moderation are fine.

Overall, this was a really summery feeling meal, even though there was more than enough to feed an army.  But hey, it's Memorial Day, so maybe that's appropriate.

The Blackberry salad as well as the pork are both going to be seen again soon!

A New Twist on a Favorite - Southwestern Shepard's Pie

So, I'm pretty much a terrible blogger.  I've been doing plenty of cooking, but not much in the way of posting.  I've got a back load of pics I've taken and I'm going to try to get caught soon with some of the yumminess that's been happening in my kitchen!

Shepard's Pie is one of my favorite comfort food meals, I think I've posted about it before.  I saw a couple recipes for Shepard's Pie with sweet potatoes, and as I'm trying to move away from eating *so* many white carbs, I thought maybe trying a Shepard's Pie with a Southwestern flair might be tasty.

What I did:

I browned about a pound of ground beef with about a half an onion and some garlic.  Drained.  Added some frozen mixed vegetables (probably 2 cups) and a can of drained diced tomatoes.  To this mixture I added what I'd usually use for taco seasoning - chili Powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. (I can't tell you exactly how much because I really just keep adding spices until it tastes "right".)

I put this mixture at the bottom of a deep casserole dish.  On top of the beef/veggie layer I sprinkled about 1.5 cups of sharp cheddar cheese.  On top of this, I spread out a layer of mashed sweet potatoes and sprinkled it with paprika.  I cooked it for about 45 minutes at 350.

It came out fabulous.  The flavors I used in the beef an veggie layer really complimented the sweet potato topping well.  The only complaint I have about the experiment has to do with the mashed sweet potatoes. sweet potatoes seem to hold on to more liquid than regular white potatoes.  So even though I drained most of the liquid before I mashed them (which I just mashed with a little butter and some of the water I used to boil the potatoes), you can see from the picture that there was some extra liquid once it baked and the sweet potatoes were a little watery.  If I try this experiment again I have two ideas - either I'll bake the sweet potatoes first and mash them like you would for twice baked potatoes, or I'll omit *any* additional water when I mash them.  I'm leaning more towards baking the potatoes first, though, I think that will probably give me the desired effect, though I'm open to suggestions!

Pork with Feta Cream Sauce

My husband texted me at 4:30 this afternoon to say that he'd be off work at five and he was starving.   Having settled into a 3rd shift schedule, I had just woken up.  I had found a recipe a while back on Pinterest for Chicken with Feta Cheese Sauce and had wanted to try it, but hadn't really looked over the recipe so assumed it was going to be complicated.  (You know what happens when you assume!)

We didn't have any chicken in the house, but I figured that it would work well with pork and I did have some thawed in the fridge.  The longest part of making this recipe is cooking the pork.  I chose to cook mine in the oven instead of on the stove top as I needed the burners for other things.  For the pork I just brushed it with a little olive oil, and threw on some onion powder, garlic, and basil.  Cooked at 350 for about 30 mins.

Other than that I followed the recipe as written.  I served it with a boxed curried cous-cous mix and some green beans.  My husband, who is often skeptical of anything with feta thought it tasted great and I really liked it as well.  A fine dinner in about 35 minutes from start to finish.  I can't complain about that.

You can find the recipe for this dish here:  Chicken with Feta Cheese Sauce

Pasta with Creamy Bacon and Pea Sauce

It seems like I feature a lot of not so healthy looking recipes in my blog.  In reality, we eat a lot more healthy than not meals, but many of those don't seem exciting or exceptional enough to blog about.  So, mostly I end up posting on the best of the best, which are often of the creamy and or fattening variety.

I found this recipe for Pasta with Creamy Pea Sauce on Pinterest and had been meaning to try it out for a while.  It combines two ingredients that I love - bacon and peas.  It also looked like it would be a quick and easy meal and I wasn't really in the mood to spend hours in the kitchen.  No lie, if you start heating the water for the pasta at the same time you start cooking the bacon, everything will be ready to throw together by the time your pasta is done.  Might not be the healthiest meal on the planet, but it's nice to have a meal that seems "special" without hours of prep time.

The recipe is fairly straightforward, add frozen peas, mint, and a few other ingredients to cooked bacon.  The recipe didn't specify to drain the bacon fat, and so I didn't, but the end result did not seem overly greasy.  I'm sure some substitutions such as turkey bacon and low fat sour cream could bring the calorie count down tremendously, but I don't think there is anything wrong with an occasional indulgence.

Hearty enough for a main dish, but could also be used as a side.  Plenty of flavor and the hubby asked this one to be put into my regular recipe rotation.

The recipe for this can be found at:  Pasta with Creamy Bacon Sauce

Valentine's Pudding for the Hubby

Homemade Banana Pudding

I haven't been doing a very good job of keeping up with my blog, but I have been cooking a lot lately, so I'm going to try to do better about posting.  Life has been hectic, but I'm settling down to a routine now, so I should have more time.

My husband loves banana pudding.  Actually desserts in general, but he has a particular fondness for bananas.  I'll be honest, I've not had a lot of banana pudding myself.  I'm definitely more of a salty kind of gal.  Banana pudding is fairly easy to make, the longest part is probably waiting for it to set.  

I assumed, incorrectly it seems, that banana pudding was banana flavored pudding layers with Nilla wafers and fresh bananas.  I was wrong.  Banana pudding is actually made with alternating layers of a very rich vanilla custard/pudding, bananas, and Nilla wafers.  The end result is a very dense, rich, and flavorful dessert.    The banana flavor seems to kind of meld into the vanilla as it chills and it's really delicious.

Although this was really tasty, I don't think it will be something I make for more than a special occasion.  When I say the vanilla pudding layer is rich, I'm not kidding.  The recipe I used had half and half, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy whipping cream.  So, it's definitely a once in a while treat.  Recipe is really simple, and it passed the husband taste test, so this will probably become my usual recipe for this dish.  The only substitution I made to the recipe was using the entire can of sweetened condensed milk, and subbing half and half for the water. (I can never leave a recipe alone!)  Great recipe when you need a quick dessert that is sure to impress!

The recipe I used can be found here:  Banana Pudding

First Week of Local Produce

As most of those who know me are aware, I get interested in things and then I'm not.  I kept meaning to get back to my food blog, but I never got around to it!  So, since we're getting settled in the new place, and I'm cooking again, I thought it was time to start this thing back up.

We started getting weekly produce delivered this week.  For a very reasonable cost, a box of fresh, mostly local produce is delivered to my front door.  I'm choosing the mystery box, so we'll never know exactly what we'll get.  I think that's going to make for some exciting cooking.

Here's what we got in the first box:

So, as we are heading to my parents' house this tomorrow, I wanted to use up the most perishable food first.  The first recipe I tried was a new one for me Saag Aloo (Indian Spinach and Roasted Potato Curry).

I made a whole bunch of substitutions as I do. I added a can of chickpeas to make it more filling.  Instead of the curry type spices in this recipe, I actually used some mild yellow curry seasoning made by my friends M and B.  Homemade is always better!  Super quick to make, too, it took about 30 minutes start to finish.  I loved it, but Bis thought it was bland and needed more salt.  I think if I made it again I would use broth and coconut milk instead of the half and half to give it more complexity.  I'm not giving up on this recipe yet, as it's super filling and super cheap to make.  I'll let you know how round two goes!

Super Easy and Very Delicious!

This meal was so easy to make and both Biscuit and I loved it.  Chicken baked in a curry-orange sauce.  The chicken made the whole house smell yummy.  I served this one over plain white rice with a side of steamed broccoli.  Meal took about 45 minutes total, and 30 of that was just the chicken baking!

Here's the recipe:

1 c. orange marmalade
1 T. curry powder
2 t. red pepper flakes
1 t. salt
1/2 cup water
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat over to 350.  Mix first five ingredients together.  Pour over chicken and bake for 30 mins.  Serve over rice.

That's it.  It's that easy to have a delicious home cooked dinner. :D

I love pasta!!

I don't think I ever get tired of good old pasta with meat sauce.  Here's my cheater's way to almost homemade sauce:

Kath's Not Quite Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

3 16 oz. cans Hunt's Tomato Puree (not sauce, the sauce is icky salty)
1 small can tomato paste
1/4 c. red wine
1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef
4 cloves garlic
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. sugar
1 lb. baby bellas
1 small onion
pinch of salt
oregano
basil
marjoram

Brown ground beef and Italian sausage over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and chopped onion, continue to cook for about 5 mins.  Add mushrooms and cook about 2 mins more.  Drain off any grease from the meat.

Add the tomato puree, wine, vinegar, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and spices to taste. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust spices as needed.

Serve over the pasta of your choice.  Almost homemade, but faster!

Very Citrus Stir Fry

Because I can't always eat creamy fattening goodness, I'm always on the lookout for healthier recipes for balance.  Biscuit's a big fan of stir fries, so I decided that would be good for a lighter dinner.

I found a recipe for an Orange based stir fry sauce recipe, which had enough diversity in ingredients I felt it would be tasty.  The sauce was to be served over chicken and scallions, but I wanted to incorporate some additional veggies, so I doubled the recipe for the sauce and added broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and snow peas.  The other change I made was to add a bit more orange juice to the sauce, probably equivalent to the juice of one whole orange for the double batch.

It turned out to be a really flavorful stir fry.  I served this over rice tossed with toasted sesame seeds. There was just the right amount of heat from the red pepper flakes and a nice strong flavor of orange in the sauce.  Fairly quick and easy to make as well, so good for a week night.  We will definitely make this again.

If you are interested in trying the recipe, you'll find it here: Yummy Orange Stir Fry.

Mango - Lime Icebox Pie

I've been trying to do more baking as it's an area of cooking that I'm weakest at.  Biscuit said he was in the mood for a fruit and meringue pie.  Though I've never made any kind of meringue pie, I knew I wanted to do something different than the traditional lemon.

I found a recipe for a Mango/Lime Pie.  I thought I would like this recipe because the Meringue is cooked with hot simple syrup instead of a baked meringue (which I'm not terribly fond of).

The mango/lime custard filling went perfectly.  Remembering my issues with my Boston Cream Pie filling, I made sure I didn't stop stirring for a second.  Perfect consistency.

The Meringue was super simple to make, mostly because my KitchenAide mixer did all the work.

I did cheat and use refrigerated pie crust.  Really, for all the additional work to make pie crust, and the minimal difference in taste, I'm happy to use the Pillsbury crusts.

I have to admit I was disappointed in this pie.  I really was looking for a stronger mango taste, and the lime was really overpowering.  If I had been looking for a lime pie, it would have been fine, but that wasn't what I had in my head.

The pie did come together well enough that I decided to try it again for my parents.  This time I omitted *all* of the lime and substituted more mango nectar.  This was more what I had originally had in mind.  I did run into a little trouble with the custard as my mom's stove heats up far quicker than mine at home and I ended cooking the egg a bit.  Once the pie was put together, you really didn't notice at all.

I'd like to try this recipe again using just orange juice.  Biscuit and I both think that would be delicious.  I'll let you know how it turns out!

If you'd like to see the original recipe you can find it here: Mango-Lime Icebox Pie.  It's a nice base recipe to experiment from at the very least.

Yummy, Yummy Pork

I had some boneless pork chops I needed to use up last night, so I made Chinese Marinated Pork with fried rice for dinner last night.

I let the pork marinate for about 4 hours and then Biscuit grilled it on the charcoal grill.  This was one of the best marinades I've had and we liked this so much I'm probably going to cook it again tomorrow for my parents, though I may substitute chicken for the pork as my Mom isn't the biggest fan of pork chops.

Here's the recipe for the marinade: Oh So Yummy Pork Marinade.  We were out of Hoisin sauce, so I added an extra tablespoon of black bean sauce as well as a tablespoon of Thai sweet chili sauce.  I added one extra tablespoon of soy sauce, as well.  One of the reviewers of this recipe said she thought it lacked flavor, but I strongly disagree.  The marinade was as close to perfect (for my taste anyway) as any I've tried recently.  As a side note, I looked up some of that reviewers other reviews, and the only recipe she liked had TWO TABLESPOONS of cayenne in it.  I think she must have killed her taste buds!

The fried rice was my standard recipe:

2 cups of medium grain rice (better if it's day old)
1/2 onion
garlic (I don't actually measure this, probably 1-2 cloves)
2 eggs
1 cup frozen peas/carrots
olive oil or butter
soy sauce

Scramble eggs and set aside.  Cook the onion and garlic over medium high heat until soft.  Add a little more oil (sesame oil is nice, but olive oil works in a pinch) and add the rice.  Stir fry for about 2 minutes then mix in the frozen peas/carrots.  Cook about two minutes more and add the egg and soy sauce (more or less depending on taste, again I don't measure this).  Mix well and cook until everything is heated, maybe 2 minutes more.  It's a really simple recipe that can be tailored to your individual taste (different veggies, more or less soy, etc).

This was one of the best meals we've had in a while.  I will definitely be making this again!

Late Night Crepes

Growing up, my Mom would sometimes make crepes.  We actually had this gadget called a crepe maker, and I thought I remembered crepes being a big pain to make.  I saw a recipe that looked interesting and decided to give crepes a try.  I didn't even pull out any fancy gadgets.  Just a skillet and a spatula.

Crepes are ridiculously easy to make in a pan.  In fact, I think it's way easier than using that silly crepe maker.  Who would have thought that?  (Well, maybe lots of people, but I'm not one of them)

It was a pretty standard crepe recipe, I made it up in my Magic Bullet Blender and let the batter sit for about 45 minutes so the air bubbles had time to settle.  Cooked the whole batch up in less than 20 minutes.

I stuffed the crepes with Monterey Jack Cheese and corn kernels.  For a heartier meal, you could definitely add chicken to this.  The stuffed crepes cooked in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.

I topped these with a Poblano Cream Sauce.  The recipe is here: Crepes and Poblano Cream Sauce.  I had to use Serrano Peppers as my infamously awful Kroger did not have Poblanos.  I read that they were an acceptable substitute, but have since learned that my sauce was probably far spicier heat-wise than if I had used the Poblanos.  I'll definitely hunt them out next time.

Both Biscuit and I loved this recipe.  Spicy, gooey cheese goodness, and a fairly quick meal to boot!

Moroccan on a Saturday Night

Tonight I made North African Meatballs with Cous Cous.  This was an extremely tasty dish.  The sauce is tomato based with white wine, onions, and garlic.  The meatballs are super flavorful, full of ginger, cinnamon, cilantro, cumin, and more!  Served with cous cous with dates, this made for a filling delicious meal.

I made a couple of modifications to the recipe - It actually calls for olives in the sauce, and I omitted them.  I really hate olives, so more than likely I significantly altered the taste of the meal. It was still great.  Biscuit wanted less cinnamon, as he's not a big fan of cinnamon with meat (I love it in dishes like this), but still said that he would add this to our regular meal rotation. 

If you're interested in trying this it can be found here: North African Meatballs with Cous Cous.  One thing I'd recommend if you're making this on a work night is to cook the meatballs in the oven, instead of doing them in batches in a skillet.  I know the taste is a little bit better because they were browned in a skillet, but you can save a *lot* of time by oven cooking.  Sometimes we have to make small sacrifices to make life easier!

I would definitely recommend this if you are looking for something different!

Boston Cream Pie

 

I had a craving for Boston Cream Pie this weekend, and figured since I'd never made one before, I'd give it a shot.  I didn't want to do the cheater way - using vanilla pudding and chocolate icing.  I wanted the real deal with scratch made custard and ganache.

I've always been fearless in the kitchen.  When I was little, my mom used to let me do cooking experiments, letting mix any ingredients I wanted into a big mixing bowl to see what would come out. I'm pretty sure a lot of it was paste, but it began my lifelong love of cooking.

Note that I say cooking, not baking.  They are two vastly different things in my opinion.  I'm a great cook, I've get to find many recipes even slightly daunting.  However, baking, that's a different story.  I'm not the best baker on the planet.  Cookies don't always turn out, I'm not great at making a cake pretty.  That being said, I figured how hard could boston cream pie really be?

I've never actually made home made custard. It didn't look so different than making Bechemel, however, I learned a little bit about timing with this experiment.  I've never been good at "stir contstantly".  I like to multi-task in the kitchen, and have been known to leave a roux or white sauce unattended for quick moments.  Unfortunately, with my custard I didn't realize a mere moment could matter and almost ruined the entire batch by walking away long enough to take my cake from the oven.  Fortunately with a little extra work, I was able to save the custard, but it was definitely a humbling experience.  I guess I don't know everything there is to know about cooking!

In any case, all three elements of this cake came together well.  My saved custard was delicious, and so much better than any vanilla pudding substitute.  I used Ghiridelli chocolate in the Ganache and I swear it makes a huge difference.  The cake was delicious as well.

If you'd like to try the recipe I used, you will find it here:  Boston Cream Pie.  The only alterations I made to the recipe were to use two 9 inch cakes instead of slicing one cake in half (recommendation of several of the reviews) and adding a splash of almond extract to the cake batter.

Decadent.  I will definitely be sharing this one with friends!

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce

I've been out of town for about a week, so I thought I should spoil Biscuit on my first cooking night since I've been home.  I found this recipe for Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce.  I've never cooked with Mascarpone before, and it really made for a rich meal.  This is no doubt an artery clogger, but I think I found a great recipe for company.  Very fast and easy to make.  I used baby portabellas instead of cremeni mushrooms, as my Kroger is a little bit limited in selection.  For company I'd definitely get some fresh parsley to add to the pasta, but for just Biscuit and I, I didn't bother.  Biscuit came back for seconds, and said he loved this, but agreed it's just too fattening for regular rotation.  Heavenly meal, but I'll probably have to watch what I eat the next few days to make up for it!

Sometimes you just don't feel like cooking...

After all the work going into the Pastitsio last night, I just didn't have it in me to do much cooking today.  Fortunately, both Biscuit and I can be perfectly happy with the occasional PB&J.  Tonight's sandwich is made from Almond Cashew Peanut Butter and Tart Cherry Preserves.  Yum.

My First Pastitsio

Disclaimer:  I'm not even going to being to pretend there is anything healthy about this meal.  Indulge at your own risk!!!

If you were to ask me what is my very favorite meal, I would have to say Pastitsio.  The Greek dish is the ultimate comfort food.  Two layers of cheesy macaroni with a layer of savory spiced lamb, all topped with a nice fat layer of bechemel.  Every time I go to a Greek restaurant, this is what I order.

Although I love this dish, I've never attempted to make it myself.  I knew there would be a lot of work involved, and I wasn't at all sure I could replicate this dish to my satisfaction.  While looking for new recipes to try, I found this recipe for Pastitsio and decided to give it a shot.  Biscuit's been under the weather this week, so I felt like he deserved a special treat.

I cut the recipe in half, and made the following substitutions.  The market didn't have ground lamb this week, so I used lean ground beef instead.  We also didn't have any white wine, so I doubled the amount of tomato sauce.  I will admit I was still skeptical that this would compare with my memory of this dish.

I am now in a food coma.  Even with the substitutions, this came out almost *exactly* as I remember.  Biscuit commented that it's one of the only times he has minded cinnamon in a meat dish. (There is a small amount in the meat filling, and it isn't optional, in my opinion.)  He said he'd like me to put into our regular meal rotation, but considering the caloric/fat count of this meal, not to mention the time it spends to make, it will be a sometimes food.

Hands down, this was fantastic. 



Parmesan Stuffed Chicken with Melted Strawberries

Tonight I tried a new recipe.  It's summer and strawberries were on sale at the market.  This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens.  I found a new to me kind of Pearl Cous Cous, which was basil and herb flavored which I thought would be good with the basil and cheese stuffed chicken and strawberries.  Both Biscuit and I decided the couscous went with the chicken, but not the strawberries, so if I made this recipe again I'd probably just serve it over rice.  The strawberries were a nice constrast to the sharp parmesan in the chicken, although I'd add more balsmamic to the strawberries next time.  It's a really pretty meal, but kind of a lot of fuss for a week night.  Definitely good enough for company.  Both Biscuit and I rated this a seven, and Biscuit liked it well enough to have seconds.  The meal was definitely heavier than expected, but having just eaten I'm not feeling uncomfortably stuffed. 

I don't think this recipe will become a regular in our house, but we definitely enjoyed it and I would probably make it again.