UrbanTherapy.

i’d misplaced my list of recipes to blog about until a few minutes ago, and since this poor blog hadn’t been updated since late april (oops! our bad!), i figured this was a good a time as any to post them up. links provided where available and substitutions listed where i can actually remember them.

shrimp piccata: somewhere between meh and nom. i only used 1 pound of shrimp instead of the 1 1/4 lbs called for in the recipe, and skipped the capers b/c i don’t like them. i can’t remember if i used vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water.

garlicky baked shrimp: nom. used regular bread crumbs instead of panko b/c that’s what i had on hand.

chicken with sundried tomatoes: nom.

hash brown cakes: nom. will make again.

herb crusted chicken: somewhere b/t meh and nom. the rice was an impulse buy, and since i keep boneless skinless chicken breasts in the freezer, it was relatively simple to pull together.

pasta cubana: somewhere b/t fail and meh. not sure if i’d make this one again. skipped the zucchini b/c no one at urbantherapy likes zucchini.

crispy breaded shrimp with garlicky beans: nom, although the beans weren’t as delicious as i’d hoped.

pecan crusted trout: nom. used catfish instead of trout b/c that’s what i had in the freezer.

spaghetti with shrimp, feta and dill: meh. maybe i shouldn’t have skipped the dill.

easy beef stroganoff: nom. would make again.

i figured it was time for a new post, now that our outing to margie’s has passed. what better way to follow-up a post about margie’s than with a list of recipes?

sauteed chicken with tonnato sauce: i didn’t try my hand at the sauce b/c, well, it sounded kinda gross. i was more interested in new/different ways to prepare chicken breasts, and this was nom.

fettuccine alfredo with bacon: not as nom as it could’ve been, primarily b/c i misread the recipe and added too much cheese. yes, i know, there’s no such thing as too much cheese, but in this case, it’s true. i’d try making it again, though, with the correct amount of cheese, to see what the difference is in taste.

shrimp and wild rice casserole: i’d tried my hand at this once before and decided to revisit it. glad i did, b/c it was nom. would make again.

butterscotch and black pepper carrots: nom. i didn’t slice the carrots in half, b/c they’re baby carrots and i didn’t really see the point.

weekend brunch casserole: nom. this is one of those recipes that i look at and realize that troy and i like all of the ingredients and therefore we should like the finished product. and we did.

tilapia soft tacos with chipotle cream: i didn’t actually make tacos or the chipotle cream sauce. the tilapia was nom, though. would make again.

chicken with cocoa tomato sauce: meh. i was disappointed with this one. this should’ve been epic nom, right? there’s chicken, there’s cocoa, there’s tomatoes and other yummy things, so therefore, this should be delicious. and it was. sorta. the cocoa taste was drowned out by everything else, and i don’t know if i care enough about this recipe to try it again and adding more cocoa powder.

balsamic pork chops: nom. would make again.

sausage and egg casserole with sundried tomatoes and mozzarella: meh. it was good, but not “omg nom must make again” good. i might try it again at some point.

lemon pasta with roasted shrimp: this, on the other hand, i’d make again. i used a pound of large (31-40 count) shrimp instead of 2 lbs. of the smaller shrimp, and linguine instead of angel hair pasta b/c that’s what i had on hand.

tilapia with green beans: somewhere b/t nom and meh. the tilapia was nom. the veggies, not so much. i think i want to try this again in the summer when i can get green beans and tomatoes from the farmers market, as opposed to when i tried this a couple of weeks ago and relied on the produce selection at jewel.

see, this is what happens when i go damn near 3 months (!) w/o posting about the recipes i’ve been trying out lately. actually, i could blame y’all for not reminding me about this, but that’d be 1) futile and 2) mean, so i won’t go there.

as usual, links are provided where available. assume that all was nom unless otherwise noted. there are a few vegetarian-friendly recipes, and i’m sure some of the other ones could be adapted if you so chose. if you’re interested in a recipe that isn’t linked, let me know and i’ll try to get you a copy.

bacon braised green beans.

spicy yellow rice and smoked sausage: i can’t find the exact recipe, but this is a close variation. rating: somewhere b/t meh and fail. i mean, we ate it, but i don’t know if this would become a go-to recipe.

creepy corn bisque. scroll down to the 3rd recipe on the page.

chili-rubbed tilapia with aspargus and lemon: i can’t comment on the asparagus and lemon part, but the fish was nom.

maple-glazed chicken: (note: link opens as a pdf) this is a variation of the recipe i tried; i used boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of fully cooked chicken strips. also, i’m sure this would’ve worked better if i had real maple syrup on hand, instead of regular pancake syrup.

oven-fried catfish: another case of me being unable to find the original recipe and giving you a variation of it. apparently this is what happens when i take too long to blog. my bad.

parmesan chicken skillet with angel hair pasta: this actually is an old favorite that i decided to revisit. it’s still nom.

slow-cooker beef with root vegetables: no turnips or rutabagas were used in my version.

crispy polenta-crusted chicken.

black pepper shrimp: sorry about the lack of linkage for this one – i photocopied it from a cookbook and can’t find it online. basically you take some shrimp that have already been peeled and deveined, season them, and cook them in a skillet with a little oil and some garlic.

greek pasta with meatballs: meh. i did a bit of substituting with this one – i had a bag of turkey meatballs in the freezer, so i used those instead of making meatballs from scratch. it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t awesome, either.

spice-rubbed pork chops: epic nom. would make again.

adobo chicken: more epic nom. would make again.

buttery chicken “scampi” pasta – another one that i copied from a cookbook and can’t find online. it was nom, though.

greek pasta salad with feta and chicken. i skipped the mint b/c i didn’t have any on hand, but it was still nom.

black bean-salsa chili: troy wasn’t crazy about this one, but i enjoyed it.

sausage and pepper ‘hero’.

spaghetti with beef mushroom sauce: i used ground turkey instead of ground beef, and it was still nomtastic.

three bean farmers’ market stew: i used all green beans b/c that’s what looked good at the farmers’ mkt when i went shopping for this. if you follow me on twitter, you might remember me wondering about what to do with the bacon that’s called for in the recipe. it should come as no surprise that i returned the bacon to the pan right before serving. even with the bacon, this was kinda meh.

honey ribs: these were ok, but not as nom (imo) as the slow-cooker bbq ribs previously discussed on the blog.

blackened cumin-cayenne tilapia.

penne with ricotta and bacon: the only reason i’m not calling this fail is b/c i made it a day in advance. i want to believe that if we’d eaten it fresh off the stove, it might have been decent. as it was, we gave up on the reheated version after a few bites and dumped it all in the trash.

grilled pork chops with spice paste.

quick beef tacos: ground turkey instead of ground beef. this is a good one if you don’t have any taco seasoning mix on hand.

creamy rice with roasted shrimp: the only reason i decided to make risotto again (after my previously discussed ill-fated attempts) was b/c i had just enough rice left over for this. i see no reason why i couldn’t make this again with regular long-grain rice if i so chose.

pork chops with garlicky broccoli.

fresh tomato, sausage, and pecorino pasta: i think i used parmesan cheese instead of pecorino, but ’twas still nom.

easy feta chicken bake: the version of the recipe i have calls for ‘traditional’ feta, so that’s what i used.

shrimp with roasted peppers and feta: i thought it was nom; troy thought it was meh.

parmesan pasta with chicken and rosemary: i was not a fan of this. troy liked it, though.

mustard-basil chicken with grilled corn: note – you might be asked to log in to access this recipe. if that happens, look for a log-in at bugmenot; that’s what i did to get to this link. that said, i skipped the grilled corn portion of the recipe, but the chicken was nom – would make again.

sausage scrambles and cheese: another old favorite that i decided to revisit. still nom.

red potato and green bean saute. i’d just like to point out that this could be one of the healthiest recipes i’ve seen from paula, and it has the added benefit of tasting good.

sauteed shrimp with bacon and mushrooms: scroll down to the first recipe listed after the end of the article.

eta: smoky citrus shrimp with parsley: chili powder instead of chipotle powder and dried cilantro instead of parsley. still nom.

enjoy!

funny you should ask, b/c here’s another recipe post!

shrimp scampi with spinach: meh. i skipped the spinach b/c troy’s not a fan, and i used large shrimp instead of medium. the sauce was thinner than we would’ve liked, and the sliced garlic got annoying. if i make this again, i’m definitely chopping/mincing the garlic. oh, and i skipped the tarragon b/c i didn’t have any.

potato salad with bacon and parsley: nom. i forgot to buy parsley when i went to the farmers market for the potatoes, so i used a little dried cilantro instead. i’d want the potatoes to cook a little longer, though – these were still nice and crunchy. we liked it both warm/at room temp and chilled.

black bean taco bake: nom. this is a old favorite i rediscovered while sorting through my hundreds and hundreds of recipes. use a small can of corn, and it’s ok to skip the tortilla chips if you don’t have any on hand. i usually use ground turkey or ground chicken.

lemony chicken and orzo: meh. i’m not sure i’d make this one again. it didn’t suck, but it wasn’t made of awesome, either.

cheese ravioli with toasted walnuts: nom – would make again. somehow the sliced garlic here wasn’t as problematic as it was with the aforementioned shrimp scampi. go figure.

steak with quick mushroom ‘risotto’: the focus here is on the ‘risotto.’ it is nom. it gets a little gummy the next day, as ‘risotto’ tends to do, but it was still delicious.

baked chicken and rice: meh. again with the not sucking yet not made of awesomeness. if i had all these ingredients on hand, i’d think about making it again, but it’s not going to become a go-to recipe.

green bean and shrimp salad: i thought it was nom; troy thought it was meh. troy didn’t think the tomatoes added any flavor, while i thought the sweetness of the tomatoes was a nice touch.

that’s it for this edition. stay tuned for more nom!

honey-apple pancakes: first try – nom. second try – nom. the 2nd time around, i used a teaspoon of apple pie spice instead of the 1/4 teaspoon called for in the recipe. i also added some chopped walnuts to my batch, b/c, well, i had them and i figured honey + apple + walnuts = win. still nom, although the additional apple pie spice seemed to have v. little impact on the flavor. methinks i’ll keep experimenting with this one.

grilled cumin chicken with fresh tomatillo sauce: nom. i skipped the sauce b/c jalapenos and i don’t play nicely together. the chicken, though, turned out well. i think next time i’ll let it marinate a little longer, just to see what happens.

cuban pork chops with mojo: epic nom. i skipped the garnish b/c i’m not a huge watercress fan. same goes for avocado. and i used 2 relatively large bone-in pork chops instead of 4 b/c that’s what i had in the freezer. i’d make it again.

pasta with onion, bacon and goat cheese: somewhere b/t meh and nom. i skimped on the red onion b/c 4 onions seemed a bit excessive to me – i think i probably used the equivalent of 1 sliced red onion. i don’t know if i’d make it again, since there’s so many other pasta recipes w/bacon that we like.

sweet and spicy chicken: epic nom. i had a couple of packs of chicken thighs in the freezer that i was going to use to make lemon-garlic chicken again, but decided to try this instead. for the brown sugar, i used 1/2 light and 1/2 dark brown sugar, just as an experiment. i’m definitely making this one again.

rigatoni with creamy mushroom sauce: somewhere b/t meh and nom. i used button and baby bella mushrooms. maybe i would’ve picked up more of the shallots/garlic/white wine flavor if i’d used all button mushrooms, b/c all i got taste-wise was mushrooms, pasta, and cheese.

garlicky lemon shrimp: nom. the version of the recipe i have calls for 3 tbsp. of lemon juice, so that’s what i used. i also used large shrimp (31-40/pound) instead of medium. i’d make this again.

pina colada pork chops: nom.  i used chili powder instead of cayenne pepper, and i should’ve had the stove turned up a little higher so the sauce could thicken a bit more, but it was still nom.

lime-jalapeno chicken: nom. i skipped the jalapeno, and added a 1/2 tsp each of black pepper and garlic powder and a 1/4 tsp each of dried oregano and onion powder to the marinade.

penne with shrimp and herbed cream sauce: nom. i used large shrimp (31-40/pound) here instead of medium, and i used a can of diced tomatoes that i drained instead of the canned whole tomatoes called for in the recipe. no red pepper flakes, so i used a little bit of chili powder. oh, and i used dried basil instead of fresh, and skipped the parsley altogether.

giant chocolate chunk cookies: somewhere b/t meh and fail. i hesitate to call these fail, b/c, well, we’re talking about cookies here, and cookies should be made of win. but these were not. maybe the dough wasn’t blended as well as it should have been. i don’t have a mixer, so i blended the sugars and butter together by hand, then used a spoon to mix in the liquid and flour mixture. maybe i should’ve added the flour mixture all at once instead of in batches. maybe i should’ve only kept the dough in the fridge for an hour instead of two and a half hours. i don’t know. the cookies weren’t inedible, but they definitely weren’t nom.

shrimp paulista: epic nom – would make again. i used one pound of shrimp and adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly. i recommend serving this with rice.

bon appetit!

chicken and chorizo pasta bake: nom. a few substitutions were made – i used milk instead of cream, mixed 1/2 the cheese in with the pasta/meat mixture, and seasoned the chicken w/seasoned salt and garlic powder. i made this b/c i had a link of leftover chorizo in the freezer and couldn’t figure out what to do with it. i’m not sure i’d go out and buy chorizo for the specific purpose of making this again, but that’s just me.

quick jambalaya: i am many things but a food snob is not really one of them. far be it from me to say that jambalaya can only be had in new orleans and anything else is a pale imitation. hell, you can give me a box of zatarain’s jambalaya mix and some smoked sausage and i’m a happy girl. that said, i have to admit to laughing every time i look at this recipe in my file b/c it involves bbq sauce. final result: somewhere between nom and meh. after we tried it, we decided to pick out the shrimp and sausage and just eat that.

ravioli with spinach and bacon: i thought it was nom. troy’s no spinach fan, so i consider it a small victory that he even tried this. i’ve decided i’ll only make it when troy’s out of town. oh, and i skipped the salt called for in the recipe and felt ok about that, since i’d salted the pasta water and there was bacon involved. and b/c i’m kinda lazy, i used a bag of baby spinach instead of chopping up spinach.

cuban black beans and rice: i say nom. troy says meh. i skipped the radishes b/c, well, i’ve never really understood the point of radishes, and i have no idea why you’d want them on or in beans and rice. i added a little dried cilantro vs. fresh b/c that’s what i had, but i probably could’ve added a little more.

mushroom and chicken quesadillas: nom. don’t be afraid to add seasonings as you see fit with this one. i think next time i’ll warm up the beans a little bit and add some pepper and/or garlic powder. i used pre-cooked chicken breast strips, which made things easier (and also provided a little more flavor, imo).

orzo pasta with shrimp and feta: meh. i thought the final result tasted kinda bland, even with the seasonings i added during preparation. we basically picked out the shrimp and whatever feta and orzo decided to come along for the ride. luckily troy had leftover quesadillas as a supplement.

grilled stuffed chicken breasts: nom. messy, but nom. ok, so it was messy b/c i made this on the foreman grill and the chicken didn’t really lend itself to stuffing as neatly as the picture would indicate. at troy’s suggestion, i used dried basil instead of fresh, and it still tasted nom.

chocolate-toffee cookies: nom. the recipe says it’ll yield 4 dozen cookies. if you’re like me, you like using an ice cream scoop to measure out cookie dough, which means that you wind up with about 2 dozen large cookies. i don’t think these will be replacing the symphony brownies any time soon, if for no other reason than i don’t own an electric mixer. it took a lot of mixing w/a spoon and kneading w/clean hands to get these ingredients to resemble cookie dough.

walnut-crusted tilapia: nom. would eat again. i let the fish cook for the whole 15 minutes listed, but it could’ve come out a couple of minutes earlier. i didn’t make the swiss chard, though, so i can’t comment on the nom/fail of such.