Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

We rated this easy t make Chicken Piccata a "very good."  But remember Rick really doesn't like lemon. To be honest, I am not really sure we gave this recipe a fair chance.  I forgot to defrost the fish for dinner so I had to figure out a quick meal.  I defrosted the chicken in the microwave.  I am sure it made the chicken a little dry.  I thought the sauce was "excellent."  Capers add a salty, pickle taste to the sauce that I really liked.  I would try this recipe again.

Lemon-Steamed Sole with Green Pea Sauce

 Lemon - Steamed Sole with Green Pea Sauce

It might look a looking too green but it was really "excellent."  Even better as left overs.  This is identified as a light entree in The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook.   At only 190 calories and ready in only about 10 minutes, Lemon-Steamed Sole with Green Pea Sauce was a great Monday night dinner.  I served the fish with risotto.  I used the same white wine in the pea sauce and risotto. We will be repeating this dinner. 

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Italian Sausage

 Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe

We rated this dinner as "excellent."  I really had never cooked with Broccoli Rabe.  Before tonight, the only other time I had even eaten broccoli rabe was on pulled pork sandwich at Citizens' Bank Park in Philadelphia.  "Don't confuse broccoli rabe with broccoli or broccolini; broccoli rabe is a member of the turnip family and has a peppery bite" (The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook). I found the Broccoli Rabe near the green onions in the produce department.  This was a quick and easy week night meal. Please note, I did have to substitute the orecchiette with  a gluten free rotini pasta.  

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

We rated this dinner "excellent."  We thought this entree was just as good as carry out.  The combination of broccoli, red pepper, and scallions not only tasted good but also made a great presentation.  I think I might double the "sauce" next time. This recipe is rated "fast."  I think it took only about 10 minutes to prepare this dinner.  

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken

We rated this dinner as "very good."  This was not really a hot entree, not really a cold salad either. It was more like a pasta salad at room temperature.   The combination of cucumber and red pepper remind me of summer.  I think this would be a great salad to serve on a hot summer day.  

Thai-Style Red Curry with Beef and Eggplant

Thai-Style Red Curry with Beef and Eggplant

Our experience with Thai food is very limited.  As far as we can remember, we have only eaten Thai carry-out once before. But we really liked this entree.  In fact, we rated this entree as excellent.  Please note, I did substitute dried basil for fresh basil.  This recipe called for 1/2 of an eggplant.  There was plenty of sauce, next time, I would use the whole eggplant and maybe skip the beef.  I guess the name would need to be changed to Thai-Style Red Curry with Eggplant. 

Steak Fajita

Steak Fajitas

Easy,  tasty, and fast Steak Fajitas

"Very Good" was the rating for this Sunday dinner.  Listed as a fast recipe in The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook,  the total cooking time for the Steak Fajitas was less than 20 minutes. I used both red and green peppers to add color.  I also added a few tomatoes to the pepper mixture.   I served the fajitas with rice, chips and Quick Tomato Salsa (The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook, page 11).  The beef was tough - not the fault of the recipe - but I think I would try a lime juice marinade to make the steak a bit more tender next time.  Chicken thighs or ground beef would also work in the recipe.