On the menu, week five

Last week's new recipes were a mixed bag. One new fave, one big fail, and one so-so.


Let's start with the good! Crispy Cheddar Chicken. It was SO. GOOD. The topping was delicious, the chicken as nice and moist, and the sauce was a breeze to whip up! I forgot to take a picture of the finished dish, but here's the chicken before I popped it in the oven:


My only change: I halved the recipe since it served 4 and we're only 2. The halved recipe called for one sleeve of Ritz crackers. I found I had a ton of extra cracker crumbs left over, and sadly I couldn't save them for future use since they'd gotten raw chicken on them (and there was shredded cheese interspersed with the crumbs, too). So I would use a half a sleeve for 2 people, then crush up more if needed.


Now on to the fail. It was the bowtie pasta with feta, veggies, & cream. I think that I screwed this one up somehow, but it ended up tasting really nasty. The noodles were sort of...sweaty. They had a strange taste. Maybe I let them linger too long in the boiling water? I dunno. I made a variation of this a few weeks back as a quick side, and it was so easy and delicious that I figured this would be the same! Alas, it was not....but look at how tasty it looks when others make it!


And now the so-so: melt in your mouth chicken breasts.


I liked this one, but Ryan wasn't a fan. He ended up scraping the topping off the chicken. I enjoyed it, but it was basically Miracle Whip, parmesan cheese, and some salt and pepper, so in a way it was kinda just like hot mayo, haha. The meat itself was very moist and delicious, but obviously that's just the cooking method, not really the sauce or the recipe...So it seems like I won't be making this one again, especially since the crispy cheddar chicken was super delicious!


This week, I'm sticking to a lot of familiar recipes and only trying out one new things...BORING, I know, but I'm facing some busy times in school for the next few weeks, so I want things at home to be easier. As always, I have class on Wednesday nights, so I don't make dinner.


Monday, March 12: Fish sticks & mac n cheese! Gotta love kindergarten-style dinners!


Tuesday, March 13: Orange chicken and chow mein


Thursday, March 15: Turkey chili


Friday, March 16: Chili leftovers


Saturday, March 17: Paprika chicken with noodles. This is my one new recipe, selected from Rachael Ray's Look & Cook book. I hope it's a winner!


Sunday, March 18: Breakfast for dinner. I have a mad pancake craving now.


What are you making this week?