Week of February 23

Recipe: Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes
Book: ATK Quick Family Cookbook
Grade: A-
Needs: Easier artichokes

Notes: Why in the world did ATK choose frozen artichoke hearts? They're impossible to find. We substituted two cans of artichokes and the recipe was A-OK. Also, Meijer split-chicken breasts take 45+ minutes in the oven, not 20 minutes. 

Now that I'm done complaining - I don't like cooked tomatoes, artichokes, or capers. However, this recipe was awesome!

Recipe: Hearty Vegetable and Orzo Casserole
Book: ATK The Make-Ahead Cook
Grade: B
Needs: More squash chunks.

Notes: My lovely wife made this one. It was very good. The arugula, pine nuts, parm, mushrooms, and squash blended incredibly well. I'm not a mushroom fan, but this was great. I'm beginning to think I don't like food that is cooked incorrectly.

Recipe: Tequila and Lime Turkey Chili & Classic Corn Muffins
Book: ATK Quick Family Cookbook
Grade: Chili: A & Cornbread: B
Needs: Nothing.

Notes: I love this chili recipe. It's quick, easy, tasty, and rich. If I were to enter a chili contest, I'd take this recipe and add a touch more heat. 

The corn muffins are quick and good. There may be a touch too much butter in them, but I have no complaints for 5 minutes of work.

Recipe: Baked Chicken and Penne with Broccoli and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Book: ATK The Make-Ahead Cook
Grade: C+
Needs: Smaller tomato chunks and cheaper cheese.

Notes: My lovely wife made this one as well. She said, "It took a lot of time. There were a lot of steps. And I dirtied a lot of dishes." This recipe was OK, but it wasn't much better than a bag of frozen pasta, chicken, and veggies. Also, our $14/lb cheese was good, but put to waste. This one is out of rotation. I'll keep the base, but make it my own experiment.