Spinach & Artichoke Mac 'n' Cheese

This wasn't a new recipe. Jen has made it a few times before, because it is in other Rachael Ray recipe books. However, it was in Look and Cook, so I had to make it. It was fun! I love cheese, and there was a lot of it in this recipe. I am using cheeses that I've never used before. Italian Fontina and Parmigiano-Reggiano were the two in this dish. I am also not a fan of artichokes, but it was a part of the dish. It wasn't bad! I would say this is the new ingredient I could incorporate into other dishes.

Three-Bean Pasta e Fagioli

There were a lot of vegetables in this dish. My sous chef, Jen Cassel, did a great job chopping them all up for me. The dish was very simple. Basically, I put everything into one big pot and let it cook for a while. I guess that is what soup is :) My mom was here for this one, so she got to have a bowl. From what she said, she enjoyed it. We've already made it again for friends, so it was a hit. Simple, but good. Just add a salad and garlic bread....and you're ready to go. No pictures for this one.

Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup

This dish had Cinnamon in it. We realized that we don't like cinnamon in a savory way. It is definitely not a dish that we'll have again. There was avocado in this dish. I've always said that it looks like playdoh, and that turns me off. However, it was in the dish, so I had to eat it. I thought it went along well with the dish and wasn't as bad as I thought.

Sausage and Onion Kebabs on Roasted Pepper Salad

I'm gonna spend some time catching up here, so I won't be writing a lot. However, this was a great mixture of flavors in one dish. The roasted pepper salad was strong, but good. I set the smoke detectors off with this one, and almost sent my daughter into a state of shock. I think we decided that balsamic vinegar is a new favorite ingredient in our home.