A Few Recipes

Happy weekend! Here are a few recipes we have tried and enjoyed lately. I don't always stick exactly to the recipe as written -- especially those that come from Real Simple. Sometimes they're...too simple. Anyway, I'll put some "cook's notes" under each one.

Cheeseburger Skillet Pie

This is one of those "too simple" recipes. We made the beef mixture almost as stated in the recipe (we used regular tomatoes instead of Rotel), and it didn't have much of a "cheeseburger" flavor to it. So I added a tablespoon or two each of Worcestershire and Dijon, along with a little pinch of sugar, garlic and onion powders, and plenty of salt and pepper. I made pickles to go alongside, and a green salad would be good too!

{Recipe Here}

 Greek Marinated Chicken (for Gyros)

This chicken is marinated in Greek yogurt, lemon juice, oregano and other yummy flavors. I sliced it really thinly, so it went a long way in our gyros. The first batch got done but not brown, so I cranked the heat up a little. I think the yogurt marinade kept it moist even cooking at the higher heat, and you can see that it turned out really "pretty"! Yum. We had this in pitas with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and the tzatziki from the blog post.

{Recipe Here}

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Instead of using the two cans of condensed tomato soup, I used one box of Pomi strained tomatoes. I love these tomatoes! They come in a cute little carton and have a lot of flavor. I also just used regular tomato paste instead of the sun-dried tomatoes. Finally, instead of simmering it all together, I left out the half-and-half until the very end. I turned the heat down and stirred it in after a few minutes. Every time I've followed a recipe that says to simmer/boil half-and-half, it curdles! Tastes fine but doesn't look so fine. This was great with bread and salad.

{Recipe Here}

Island Pork Tenderloin

We have pork tenderloin pretty frequently, so we appreciate finding ways to cook it that are a little bit different. This recipe seems kind of Caribbean-inspired, with sweet and spicy flavors. If you're not sure about the cinnamon (and I wasn't), you could easily leave it out. But we did end up liking it! Instead of the recommended cook time, I browned it on all sides in the pan and then roasted at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. It was totally done/no pink (my preference) but still juicy...success! Beware though -- if you spoon over extra glaze from the bottom of the pan, it is pretty darn spicy.

{Recipe Here}