Garlicky Pork with Eggplant

Garlickly Pork with Eggplant

"Excellent" we both commented after our first bite of the Garlickly Pork with Eggplant.  This was a quick and easy week night dinner.  Really it was easier than take-out, except for the clean-up, and I used gluten-free soy sauce so I knew it was safe to eat.  Really easy, really good and enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Rated "excellent."  I served this gumbo over grits.  Lots of veggies in this dish, onion, red bell pepper and celery, however, I did miss the okra.  I think next time I would add just a little bit of okra for color and texture.

Catalan-Style Beef Stew with Mushrooms

Catalan-Style Bee Stew with Mushrooms

Rated "basic" by both Rick and I.  I will not be adding the recipe for this entree to my favorites.  This recipe didn't work for us.  It took a long time to make this dish.  It cooked in the over for about 3 hours and then didn't really taste that great.  I marked this recipe as "don't repeat."

Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder

We rated chowder as an excellent despite the fact that I substituted canned corn for the fresh corn on the cob.  Sorry, it's the beginning of April and fresh corn on the cob is not really available in northern Illinois.  I used two cans of corn in this recipe.  Instead of using a bx grater - I put one can of corn in the blender for just a few seconds.  I added the other can of corn when I added the cream to the soup.  Another note,  I made the chowder on Friday night and we ate the soup for lunch on Saturday.  Even with the substitutes, we gave this soup high marks.

Meaty Skillet Lasagna

Meaty Skillet Lasagna

Easy, easy, easy and so delicious.  We gave this entree an excellent rating.  This is an easy one-pan dish that can be made with items that I generally have in my pantry.  A can of tomatoes, a onion, garlic, ground beef and a about a cup of pasta.  I did have to substitute a gluten free pasta into this dish.  I used a penne.  It did not change the cooking time.  This was another recipe that I made ahead. I followed the recipe through step 4.  Then added the cheese after warming the pasta in the microwave just before serving.  I think making this ahead really enhanced the flavor of this dish. We have already repeated this entree.