My next effort was Cream of Celery Soup from the January 26 Taste section. This was delicious! It was easy, took about an hour and the calorie count was not too bad- 158 for a cup. We had our neighbor over and I had leftovers to take to work for lunch.

O-M-G, one of my favorite recipes- Green Goddess Dressing! I always loved this out of a bottle so to make my own seemed kind of fun. This recipe was a huge hit. It was thick, creamy, spicy, and only 28 calories per 2 Tbsp! Yum.

Turkey Juicy Lucys were my next attempt. these were pretty good but also pretty predictable. It's a turkey burger with cheese in the middle. Good but unremarkable. I won't make this again.

Orange-Edamame-Tofu Stir Fry was a disaster. It was from the February 23 paper. I love edamame but - note to self, it doesn't work to use edamame still in the shell. I WILL try this again since I didn't give it a fair shot. It had all the makings of a delicious meal but what I came up with literally stuck in my throat. I can still feel that first bite scrapping its way down my throat!

I have always liked the idea of polenta but actually, have never really liked it. My next recipe choice was from the March 1st edition- Polenta with Sauteed Peppers and Tomato Sauce. This seemed like such a great idea. I love peppers and Parmesan cheese. I always think I like Polenta. This was not great though. My Polenta was a little watery and the pepper mixture you put on top was not as flavorful as it could have been. This won't be appearing on the menu again. I should have made the homemade Chocolate Mint Cookies!

Ketching Up

I made a goal for myself to start a blog AND make a recipe from the Taste Section of the paper every week. Well, I did start the blog and I did make recipes from every Taste Section. Now I just have to "blend" the two.

I usually work on my experiment in self discipline on the weekends trying to choose, shop for and make a recipe or two from that week's offerings. I'm not always able to make the recipes that week but I always grab the Taste Section from the Thursday paper for a future date.

I take pictures of all my efforts but my images don't adequately describe the aroma and flavor of the winners or the disappointments but you'll get the idea.

The first Thursday of the year, January 5, I chose to make Milanese Pot Roast that sounded interesting and we were not disappointed. It's a slow cooker recipe perfect for January weekends in Minnesota- actually any day of the week in January in Minnesota. The calories were reasonable at 354 per serving and served with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, it was heaven. We all wanted to drink the leftover gravy.

The next week was Mini Barbecued Meatloaves. These were a disappointment in that there was not a lot of flavor in them. They needed more garlic (we LOVE garlic) and salt. There were some great things about the recipe - making it in a food processor (all of it) and baking in a muffin tin. They bake in 15-20 minutes instead of almost an hour for traditional meatloaf. For both of those reasons, I think I will play with this recipe on my own and see if I can up the flavor.