This week’s recipes (if I’m being honest) are from over the last month – I’ve been a little slower on the cooking front with the new baby. It’s been lots of super basic meals that either don’t follow a recipe or I’ve already posted about before. But – alas, these are the highlights.
Here’s a roundup of recipes I’ve made recently! Enjoy!
1. Pretzel Chicken Fingers with Spicy Honey Mustard Sauce – Half Baked Harvest
6.5/10
I love the pretzel chicken our country club has on the menu, so was excited to try this one! Though time-consuming, I love the concept of using pretzels to coat the chicken for something different. I crushed the pretzels by hand which took forever, so next time I will use a food processor or blender to make that step go faster. I air-fried with a spritz of olive oil instead of baking which helped them get extra crispy! The honey mustard cheese sauce I unfortunately didn’t love and wouldn’t make again. It took a lot of effort, dishes and ingredients, and in the end, I felt like regular honey mustard dipping sauce would have been just as good, if not better (and healthier!).
2. Carbone Spicy Rigatoni Copycat – Erin O’Brien
8/10
The spicy rigatoni at Carbone is a if you know, you know dish. It’s DIVINE, so I wasn’t expecting much when we tried to copy it at home. And I would say this recipe is close and itched the scratch, but nothing will ever compare to how it is at the restaurant. They probably use an amount of butter that is over the legal limit for at-home cooking. We make vodka pasta a lot at home and I loved this recipe more than our usual, so I think we found a new winner! The Calabrian chilies really do add great flavor.
3. Orzo al Limone with Crispy Parmesan Chicken – Carol Bee Cooks
9/10
This one was so simple yet delicious – and will definitely be in the rotation from here on out! The lemon, parmesan and shallots make this feel rich yet springy, and the chicken is basic but great. Don’t skip pounding the chicken breasts. I lightened up slightly by using whole milk vs. heavy cream, and next time would increase to maybe 1 1/2 cups of orzo (we had leftover chicken but no leftover orzo). My husband loved this one, and so did I! Again, I’m rating this one high for it’s simplicity rather than “OMG this is the best thing I’ve ever made”. It’s a solid weeknight dinner option.
4. Korean Beef Bibimbap with Zucchini, Mushrooms, and Carrot – Hello Fresh
7.5/10
I got this recipe in a Hello Fresh box probably over 5 years ago and still crave it/remake it every now and then. Packed with veggies, easy protein, and a flavor profile that’s a little different–I think it’s worth the effort of all the chopping! It makes good meal prep if you store the veggies/protein/rice separately. I’ve never had real bibimbap, so I can’t speak to the recipe’s authenticity, but I enjoy this one!
5. Chicken Pasta Primavera – Skinnytaste
6/10
I love a good Skinnytaste recipe! This was a good veggie and protein-packed pasta – and my first time cooking with leeks (would use again!). My only beef with this one is that it was super filling, but I was over it after eating it once – meaning it didn’t sound great as leftovers (and we had a lot of leftovers, this recipe makes a lot!). My husband approved (which I was shocked by, he’s usually not a huge vegetables guy, so that was a win!) and ate all of the leftovers though.
Favorite WINE GLASSES + dishes
Nom nom nom!