Tasty Thursday

    I only have two new recipes to review this week. Additionally, Tim thinks that I should include his ratings of the meals as well, because sometimes they deviate from my scores. He would also like to stress that the Malboro Man pasta from two weeks ago was really good and deserved higher than a B.    

Peach Whiskey Barbecue Chicken: A

     This new recipe was really good and really easy. I just browned the chicken thighs and then plopped them into my slow cooker with the other ingredients, minus the whiskey. So I guess I can’t say that this exact recipe is a winner because I haven’t made it like Pioneer Woman does. But the recipe with chicken broth substituted for the whiskey is really good. I cooked it for about four or five hours on low and the chicken meat was falling off the bones and so tender. The sauce was really tasty and there was a lot leftover so I froze it to use on something else in the future.

Man Rating: A-

Italian Drip Beef: B+

     I made some alterations to this recipe so again, I can’t really accurately judge Pioneer Woman’s recipe. I omitted the juice from the jar of pepperonici peppers because I didn’t think Tim would like the flavor. Instead I added some more broth. The meat was good, but I really didn’t like the flavor of the dried Italian seasonings. It was kind-of like having dirt in the au jus. If I made it again, I would probably use an Italian dressing seasoning pack instead of dried spices. Tim on the other hand thought the meal was really good. 

Man Rating: A

And for this week’s menu…

Thursday: Malboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich (and soon to be my husband’s favorite sandwich, possibly) It is a Pioneer Woman recipe. It uses cube steak, which is one sale at Albertson’s this week. And we have leftover sub sandwich rolls from our Italian drip beef last week. I’m all about saving money by using up what I have when I plan my weekly menus.

 Friday: Cajun chicken pasta. This is my absolute favorite meal of the moment. I love everything about it. The reason I am making it is because we got take-out from a restaurant over Labor Day weekend and I ordered a Cajun pasta dish. When we got home, it had mysteriously transformed into basil pesto pasta with mushrooms. So anyway, I am still hankering for the Cajun chicken pasta so I’m going to just make it myself. This recipe is from Pioneer Woman. It is warm and spicy and creamy and contains lots of vegetables. The first time I ate it, I died and went to heaven.

 Saturday: Pork chops with apples and creamy bacon cheese grits and fresh green beans. This meal of course hinges on my ability to find grits at the grocery store. Do people in Washington even know what grits are? It seems like a really good comfort food meal. And if last week’s UGA game against Boise State is any indication, we’ll be needing some comfort after the Dawgs play South Carolina Saturday afternoon.

Sunday: Steak marinated in Dale’s Steak Sauce with sautéed onions, asparagus, and mashed red potatoes. My mom was awesome and sent us a care package this week and included the steak sauce. I haven’t been able to find any here so Tim and I are really excited to be able to grill steak with it.

 Monday: Breakfast for dinner. We’ll be having French toast and I am very excited about it. I’m going to try and make it like the French toast that was my favorite at Café Marigold in Winterville, Ga. It was never soggy and always delicious. We haven’t been there in a really long time and I’ve heard rumors that the restaurant has closed. That would be a travesty. If it’s not closed, you should go there to keep it in business until we can come home and eat there again. 

Tuesday: Pork chops with leftover peach BBQ sauce from last week, steamed broccoli, and sweet potatoes. The leftover sauce is from the Peach Whiskey (but not in my case) Barbecue Chicken that I made last Friday. It resulted in so much extra sauce that I chose to freeze it and use it again on pork this week.

Wednesday: Grilled chicken with one of the approximately 8.5 million half-bottles of marinade in my fridge door. This is something that my Dad and I would always rag my mom for when I was living with them. Oh the irony. Anyway, we will eat it with lots of veggies, most likely corn or spinach or carrots or broccoli or some combination of the above. And maybe that will make up for the maple syrup and mass quantities of butter that I will be using this week.