Crossing Off Recipes!

Above are "Lemon Chicken with Croutons" from Barefoot in Paris and "Frozen Key Lime Pie" from Barefoot Contessa Family Style.

These are both great, easy recipes that I'm happy to have made for the first time. The Key Lime Pie can last for several days in the freezer so it's great to make ahead or just leave in the freezer to eat piece by piece each night. ;) The chicken is a winner dinner for sure. You might have everything you need to make it in your pantry already, besides the chicken and the baguette. The chicken is juicy and flavorful and the croutons soak up all of the tastiness.

In my first post I said I was starting this journey with the Barefoot Contessa At Home book. I am changing my course in order to find sooner success. My focus is now to complete the recipes in the Back to Basics book. Here are my counts of # of recipes left in each category:

Starters- 6

Soup- 6

Lunch- 8

Dinner- 8

Vegetables- 6

Dessert- 11

Breakfast- 10

10 months left!

Here are the recipes from this post:

Lemon Chicken with Croutons

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lemon-chicken-with-croutons-recipe2/index.html

Frozen Key Lime Pie

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/frozen-key-lime-pie-recipe3/index.html

Back in Action!

The wedding and honeymoon were AMAZING! Dream come true. But, I was dying to get back in the kitchen. Here's what I've been up to!

Below are caramelized shallots. I was super excited to try these, because I've loved every other recipe that included shallots. However, I think these were a little too sweet for my taste. Sweeter than onions. Not for me.

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

This soup was great! It was a great way to use some yummy tomatoes we got at the Farmers' Market. It was also my first experience using the food mill, and that was very fun. I look forward to using that tool again in the future. That's a little bit of basil chiffonade floating around in there. It tasted very fresh and sweet.

These guys are trouble! First I halved the recipe (9x13 of these would be too dangerous!) I intended to make these and send Mac to work with the leftovers. They never made it to the office, and when we had people over on Thursday night, they became an impromptu dessert. I will definitely make these Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars again!

This is what we made the very first night we were home from Hawaii. White Pizza with Arugula salad on top. This is a must make. The dough instructions were easy, and it tasted light and fluffy. The arugula salad had a great bite with all of the white cheeses.

Recipes in this blog can be found at:

Caramelized Shallots - give them a try...maybe you'll enjoy them!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/caramelized-shallots-recipe2/index.html

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cream-of-fresh-tomato-soup-recipe/index.html

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bars-recipe/index.html

White Pizzas with Arugula -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/white-pizzas-with-arugula-recipe/index.html