Busy weekend

We had a busy weekend in the Fleming-Park household! I am happy to say that as of last night I have completed 47 recipes. There is still a long way to go on this “cooking journey” but so far it has been exciting and I have had an opportunity to grow in my cooking.

On Friday Matt got together with his co-workers after work for some “team building” so Emma and I relaxed at home and had a girls only movie night. One thing about this cooking project is that I get a little bent out of shape when life happens. I tend to focus on the recipes that I’m not cooking and the missed opportunity to add to my recipe count. I think that I need to just let life happen… so what if I miss a night cooking.

I cooked 10 recipes on Saturday and Sunday alone!

Croissant French Toast p.494— This was a great breakfast and a good way to eat some left over croissants. I am HORRIBLE at making pancakes so I will always turn to a good French toast recipe first. We ate this with some thick-cut bacon, fresh cut strawberries and of course powdered sugar overtop.
Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins p.537— After breakfast Emma helped me whip up these easy blueberry muffins. She did a great job counting all of the blueberries that we added and it was a fun activity for us to do together. She is having fun throwing on her apron and cooking along with mommy! The muffins were delicious and we ate the leftovers for breakfast on Sunday.
Beef w/ Gorgonzola burgers p.173— These burgers were massive and so good that they belong on the menu of a 5 star restaurant!!! The basic burger recipe was so simple, make 4 patties put gorgonzola cheese in the middle of two and top with the other two patties. Close up the edges and grill! Along with the burger basics like arugula, fresh tomatoes, and red onion I also added some avocado (surprise surprise).
Bistro Oven Fries p.441—These fries were a great complement for the burgers! After baking they were tossed with garlic, sea salt & fresh chopped parsley.
Chilled Avocado & Mint Soup p. 92—I thought that I would fall in love with this soup at first bite but I am sad to say that was not the case. If I make this recipe again it would be as a dressing, marinade, or sauce to go with something like a Mexican chicken or steak dish.
Enlightened Tuna Sandwiches p.157— I HATE tuna salads usually but for lunch on Sunday I figured that I would fill up on my avocado soup and that Matt would enjoy these tuna sandwiches. The opposite turned out to be true… I LOVED these sandwiches. With only cucumber, bell pepper and red onion, mayo, pain yogurt, and white tuna this sandwich was light and refreshing! I even served the left over mixture with crackers when my parents came over for dinner. This is a recipe which is guaranteed to be made again.
Grilled Ribeye Steak w/ Parsley and Garlic Butter p.370— Since the steak that we has was so large we decided to invite my parents over for dinner. The parsley and garlic butter was the highlight of this easy to make dish.
Potato Gratin w/ Cream & Fresh Herbs p.439—This side was AMAZING and super easy!!! I bought a new manoline slicer at HomeGoods on Sunday and it made this recipe so easy!!! If you do not have one I would recommend investing in one immediately. Mine only cost $12.99 and folds up into a plastic case for easy storage. Back to the food though… In this recipe all ingredients were brought to a boil in a large saucepan and pored into casserole dish. I didn’t have to worry about layering all of the ingredients as everything fell right into place. After we started eating my parents asked what cheese was used in the recipe and they were shocked to find out that there was NONE. The result of the ingredients were so rich and creamy that I even second guessed the contents after the first bite.
Broccoli w/ Garlic & Parmesan Cheese p.484—Quick, Easy, Fresh… this recipe lived up to the claim in the cook book title!
Sugar Cookies p.598—On Sunday afternoon Emma put her bunny apron back on and helped me make the dough for sugar cookies. The original plan was to roll out the dough after and hour in the refrigerator and make shapes however time got away from me and I ended up just rolling the dough into balls and made regular cookies. I am planning on making Halloween cookies in late August or October using this recipe.

I will post photos of the above recipes tonight!

453 recipes to go…