Southwestern Style Corn Chowder with Chorizo and Chiles

Corn Chowder

This southwestern style corn chowder is a variation of the corn chowder recipe on page 41 (The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook).  It is a bit spicy and very good.  The fresh cilantro gives the soup a fresh flavor.  

French Potato Salad with Radishes and Cornichons

French Potato Salad with Radishes and Cornichons

We rated this potato salad as very good.  Rick really like the radishes add to the salad.  Please note, I could not find cornichons in my grocery store.  Cornichons are sour pickles made from mini gherkin cucumbers.  I subbed dill pickles in the recipe, I am sure it changed the taste so we will try to recipe again after I find correct pickle.

Greek Style Lamb PIta Sandwich

Greek -Style Lamb Pita Sandwiches

We rated this dinner excellent.  But I need to give you a little more information.  Tonight was the third time I made the pita sandwiches.  The first time I made the recipe "as is" with ground lamb and fresh dill.  It was excellent.  I made the pita sandwiches a second time last week.  The second time I made the lamb burgers with ground chicken.  The ground chicken was about half the price of the ground lamb and didn't really change the taste of the burgers.  Tonight I made the burgers with ground turkey.  The ground turkey was less than $5 per pound.  Tonight I also made the burgers with fresh mint instead of the dill.  They were again excellent.  The lamb burgers were excellent and the turkey burgers were just as good.  Another hint,  instead of chopping the cucumber for the sauce, consider grating it.  We liked the texture better.  I served the sandwiches with a fresh greek salad.  A little cucumber, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, onion, celery, olives and feta cheese.  A little lemon juice and oil make a quick and tasty dressing.  Not the quickest week night meal, but it is work the work.

Skillet Olive Bread

Skillet Olive Bread

This was a quick and easy bread to make.  It tasted excellent.  Basic quick bread recipe with savory spices. The bread bakes in the same skillet that you start the garlic in.  I paired this bread with a potato leek soup.  

Slow-Cooker Weeknight Beef Chili

Slow-Cooker Weeknight Beef Chili

There are several different chli recipes in the Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook.  I think we have tried at least three different recipes.  They are all excellent.  They all have very similar seasonings and taste. This time I served the chili with gluten free pasta and corn muffins.  The recipe for the corn muffins can be found on page 348.  The corn muffins were tasty and the recipe only made 5 muffins which was great for just the two of us.  I did substitute gluten-free flour in the recipe with not other additions to the recipe.

Chicken Fijitas

Chicken Fajitas

We rated this recipe as very good.  Be sure to take the time to brine your chicken breasts.  Just a few minutes in the salt water makes a lot of difference to the taste.  The chicken breasts are moist and flavorful.  It is my understanding that brining pork and chicken is an old school technique that has been forgotten in recent years.  More information about brining and salting chicken can be found on page 115 of The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook.

Chicken and Rice

Chicken and Rice

We rated this dish as excellent.  Not really a difficult dish to make.  I am sure you have all the ingredients on-hand.  But, it took about 15 minutes prep time and another almost 45 minutes to bake. Too much time for after working all day, in my opinion.  

Chicken Soft Tacos

Chicken Soft Tacos

We rated this recipe as excellent. I used the recipe for the crunchy coleslaw recipe that was included with the Grilled Fish Taco recipe on page 262.  It's cabbage, cilantro, vegetable oil and lime juice - how easy and low calorie, too.  I served our Chicken Soft Tacos with store-made pico de gallo and spicy rice.   Easy, quick weeknight meal.  

Turkey Taco Salad

Turkey Taco Salad

I realized about half way through dinner that I forgot to add the tomatoes but it was still delicous.  We rated this salad as "excellent".  Please note that I did not make the taco bowls as shown in the Cooking for Two cookbook.  I subbed homemade corn tortilla chips instead of the flour tortilla taco bowls.  The salad was great.  

Thai Style Green Curry with Tofu, Snap Peas and Mushrooms

 Thai Style Green Cuarry with Tofu, Snap Peas and Mushrooms

I have to admit, I made this dish twice and neither time did I use tofu.  The first time I couldn't find tofu at the market so I used some left over grilled tuna.  The dish was excellent.  The second time I made the dish, I used chicken thighs.  Again, the dish was excellent.  I am sure the tofu would also be good.  One thing that we didn't like were the strings in the snap peas.  The first time I used fresh snap peas and it took forever to trim the peas.  The second time I used frozen snow peas - all trimmed and ready to go.  Not much difference in taste but a lot of difference in prep time.  Target had frozen snap peas for less than $1.50.  

Sesame-Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Dressing

Sesame-Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Dressing

Another "excellent" entee.  This was also rated "fast" by the America's Test Kitchen folks.  Take care not to overcook the fish.  The fish cooked really fast and was overdone the first time I made this dish. The second time I made the recipe I cooked the fish to medium-rare.  Much better and even faster.

Tortellini Salad with Bell Pepper, PIne Nuts and Basil

Tortellni Salad with Bell Pepper, Pine Nuts and Basil

I served this salad as a side with Chicago-style Italian Beef sandwiches.  This salad got good reviews for family members.  A new twist to pasta salad. The second time I made the salad I used meat tortellini, because that's what I had in the freezer, it was also "very good."  This recipe was very easy to make.  Be sure to toast the pine nuts for extra flavor.

Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

We rated this entree a "very good."  This recipe was easy to make.  Cooking for Two recommended serving the chicken with rice and chutney.  I used the tomato chutney recipe that can be found on page 88.  The spices were the same - it was really good.  I served the chicken with rice noodles, we had already had rice once this week.  The noodles were an easy addition to dinner.  Be careful not to over cook the chicken.  My chicken was well done in just 30 minutes.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala

We rated this entee as "excellent."  According to the Cooking for Two Cookbook, this tomato sauce spiced with garam masal, ginger, and cilantro gives this Indian dish authentic flavor with minimal fuss.  This recipe was easy to make.  The only change I made to the recipe was that I served the chicken pieces whole, not into one-inch pieces like the recipe suggested.

Easy Skillet Pizza with Fontina, Arugula, and Prosciutto

Easy Skillet Pizza with Fontina, Arugula, and Prosciutto

This is not your ordinary carry out pizza.  Rated "excellent" by both of us.   There are several variations to the Easy Skillet Cheese Pizza recipe included in the cookbook.  The argula and prosciutto seemed interesting to us, The arugula offered a peppery flavor to the dish. I used gluten free pizza crust mix from Aldi's as the basic pizza dough.  Be careful not to over cook the pizza dough in the skillet prior to putting the pizza in the oven.  

Chicken Saltimbocca

Chicken Saltibocca

Doesn't really look like much but the Chicken Saltimbocca was "excellent."  This recipe was fast and easy to prepare - the chicken cutlets cooked in just a few minutes.  I did not add the fresh sage leaves to the cutlets.  I served the chicken with spaghetti with garlic and oil as a side.  Steamed green beans completed our menu.  

Salmon Burger with Tomato Chutney

I know, it sounds like something your mom made you eat on Friday night's when you were growing up, but try this recipe.  We rated this recipe as "excellent" both times I made the salmon burgers for dinner.  The first time I followed the recipe and used the salmon fillets.  They were wonderful.  The second time I made the burgers I used canned salmon.  Believe it or not, they tasted very similar.  I used instant potatoes as a gluten-free alternative to the panko bread crumbs. I think the fresh chutney on top is the best.  Don't wait until the end of the week for this burger.  Try the salmon burgers with the chutney tomorrow night. 

Salmon Burger with Tomato Chutney

Grilled Portobello Burgers with Garlicky Eggplant

Grilled Portobello Burger with Garlicky Eggplant

We rated this "burger" as very good.  The grilling directions were included in the recipe - just 12 minutes on the grill.  Keep your eggplant slices to the 3/4 inch recommended in the recipe, then all the veggies will be ready to eat at the same time.  

Chinese Chicken Salad

Chinese Chicken Salad

Easy week night dinner.  Also, this would be a great dinner for a hot summer night.  We rated this entree as very good.   

Juicy Pub-Style Burger with Peppered Bacon and Aged Cheddar

Juicy Burger with Peppered Bacaon and Aged Cheddar

We rated this burger as an "excellent."  It was everything you would want in a burger.  Nice and juicy without being greasy.  The peppered bacon was easy to make - you can buy peppered bacon - but just sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of pepper over three slices of bacon and  it's really good.  The special sauce was excellent.  Just a little of this and a little of that - mayo, soy cause, chives, brown sugar, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce - made this Sunday night dinner easy and tasty.