Kinda "stole" this from appetizer I had at a boardwalk place in Seaside, NJ. A million different ways adaptable. It was a grilled portabello mushroom, topped with a thin slice of grilled chicken, slice of roasted red pepper and topped with slab of mozzarella cheese. Can be totally veggie... swap out chicken for grilled asparagus or slices of avocado just before cheese goes on. Though some say not cheese with seafood... works with grilled scallops... grilled and split before assembling. Or butterflied shrimp. Or hunka grilled about any fish. A slice of pork/beef tenderloin (maybe 1' thick and pounded) works, too.

When I first had this... wasn't thinking how BIG this appetizer would be. The mushroom creation and a side salad woulda been a meal.

Welcome PudgyBaby!

Sorry I can't help you with any tasty recipes, I like things plain & simple and throw things together until they taste good to me... lol

My latest passion is left over roasted chicken breast over home made cranberry sauce..

Rita

All my food is tasty, lol! But seriously, my "tastiest" recipes tend to be stuff I POOF (Pull Out Of the Fridge) including chili and minestrone. I made kick butt chili this week but I couldn't give you the recipe, it was just a smidgen of this and dab of that--all little bits and bobs of stuff in the fridge that needed to get used up. I can because I love good taste--nothing store bought can top my home canned italian style tomato sauce or salsa.

Last weekend I made mulled cider. You can also do this with wine. 2/3 cider, 1/3 cranberry juice, large cinnamon stick, half an orange sliced up, five cloves and a big hunk of candied ginger. If you're using red wine you can also add allspice berries. Use a sweet red wine or throw in some fruit juice or sugar. Very nice to serve over the holidays. In the summer, I serve Sangria. For that, I use Seven Up, (the natural kind, lol!), white or red wine, peach brandy, and chopped sliced fruit--oranges and kiwis for red wine, use cherries or strawberries for white wine. Use a dry wine for this, and it doesn't have to be expensive. For teetotalers, lemonade with mint and strawberries, or a mix of orange juice and limeade.

Here are a few you might like. Some easy, some more difficult, all favorites in our house.

APPLE CIDER PORK

1 Pork Tenderloin, cut into 1" thick medallions
8 Ounces White Mushrooms, stems trimmed
2 Shallots, finely minced
1 Clove Garlic, finely minced
2 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Olive oil, divided
1/2 Cup Apple Juice
2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar, more to taste
1 Teaspoon Beef Bouillon Granules
1 Teaspoon Chicken Bouillon Granules
Red Wine

Slice tenderloin into 1" thick Medallions season one side only with Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons Butter in 2 tablespoons Olive Oil, add Mushrooms, Shallots and Garlic and cover, sautéing until Mushrooms are cooked and taking on a bit of color. Deglaze the pan with a bit of Red Wine and set aside.

In a separate sauté pan, heat 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil. Sauté the Pork over high heat until it is done how you like. Remove Pork to a plate, and cover to keep warm.

Drain off most of the Oil and deglaze the pan with Apple Juice. Add Cider Vinegar until the taste is as bright as you like. Add the Mushroom mixture and return to heat. Add Chicken and Beef Bouillon and taste again to correct seasonings.

When Sauce is bubbly hot and seasoned correctly, spoon over the Pork Medallions and serve immediately.

CHEESY GRITS

1 Cup Quick Grits
3 Cups Water
8 Tablespoons Butter
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
Milk to make 1 cup
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sate and freshly ground Pepper to taste

Cook the Grits in the Water according to package instructions. When the Grits are still hot, add the Butter and Garlic, stir to melt the Butter. In a measuring cup, lightly beat the Eggs, add enough milk to bring it up to one cup. Stir to combine, and stir into the Grits Mixture. Stir in the Cheese.

Pour into a casserole or baking dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake 30 ��" 60 minutes. Mixture will puff up as it bakes. When top is golden and no longer loose, they are done.

STUFFED TURKEY BREAST FLORENTINE

2 Boneless, Skinless Turkey Breasts
1 Pound Bacon, thawed and coarsely chopped
2 small Cans sliced Mushrooms
2 Medium Onions, coarsely chopped
2 Garlic Clove, crushed
3 Tablespoons Fennel Seed
2 6 ounce boxes Chopped Frozen Spinach, thawed and drained
Salt and Pepper, to taste, I use Morton's Nature's Seasoning

In a deep heavy bottomed Dutch Oven, sauté the Bacon until it is just starting to brown. Drain the fat or leave as desired. Add the Onions and sauté until clear but not browned. Add the Mushrooms, Fennel Seed and the Garlic. Squeeze as much water as possible from the Spinach and add to the Mushrooms. Stir until heated through, and taste for Salt and Pepper. Remove from heat. Cool completely.

Place the Turkey Breasts, one at a time, in a plastic bag and pound with a rolling pin or meat pounder until the Breasts are very thin but not to the point where they have holes in them. Repeat with the second Turkey Breast.

Place half of the Spinach mixture on each Turkey Breast, spread to the edges and carefully roll up. A fair amount of the filling will fall out, try to stuff it back in, or just sort of fold the whole thing up so that the spinach is inside. Secure with wooden toothpicks if desired. Repeat with second Breast. Brush the Breasts generously with melted Butter. Sprinkle the Breasts with a little Lawry's Seasoned Salt for color.

Place the Breasts in a baking pan, and bake in a 350 o F preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the tops have become golden brown and internal temperature is 140 o F. Remove the Breasts and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Carve into 3/4" slices to show the turkey / spinach swirls. Arrange on a serving platter and pour the defatted baking juices over the top if desired. Serves eight.

CHICKEN POT PIE

2 Cups Water
14 Ounces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into ½” pieces
1 Cup Diced Carrots, about 2 Carrots,
1 Cup Sliced Celery, about 2 Ribs
1 Cup Diced Onion, about 1 medium Onion
3 Tablespoons Chicken Bouillon Granules
½ Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
4 Tablespoons Butter
4 Tablespoons Corn Starch
1 Tablespoon Flour
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Cup Frozen Peas

In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, combine the Water, Chicken Breast Meat, Carrots, Celery, and Onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add Chicken Bouillon, Pepper and Butter. Stir Flour and Corn Starch into the Cream, and stir into the Chicken Mixture. Simmer another 3 minutes, or until thickened. Add Peas and remove from heat.

Place prepared crust into a 9” pie plate and ladle in the filling, top with a second crust, cut in several vents for steam. Seal crust and flute edges. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Steve

Hi Pudgy, I'm new to the "cooking" side of the forums as well since I started lurking for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. One of the most delicious things that I make is actually Thanksgiving turkey! I started doing Thanksgiving in the early 90's when the "Silver Palate" girls were popular. I still follow their recipe, including the cornbread, sausage, apple stuffing with pecans. The only variations that I've made over the years are the following:

a) I soak the turkey in saltwater overnight. Room temperature is okay if you lack space in a cooler area since salt is a preservative. If you don't have a stockpot large enough to fit a 15 to 20 pound turkey you can use a large plastic container that are available at any Target, Staples etc. just large enough to fit the turkey. I fill that with just enough water to cover the turkey and add 2 to 3 cups of Kosher salt. I'm strict about not adding any other spices that other brines require.

b) I've always used fresh turkey; It takes the worry out of thawing completely for me.

c) You will need 10 to 12 lemons to freshen the entire turkey and the cavity, squeezing all the juice and especially rubbing the outer rind all over the turkey. The same with the oranges in the recipe. To do this you will need plastic gloves because rubbing the cavity will make your hands raw and the acids will sting.

d) The most important thing to follow here is basting every 30 minutes. I am religious about that and I set a timer every 30 minutes. You will always lose a little time here or there since it's a busy day, but it's important to stay close to that schedule. The cheese cloth is important also.

e) I never add any other flavor to the turkey other than the citrus from the lemons and oranges, salt, pepper, paprika. The black pepper is key spice here. Imho when adding anything else, the flavors don't peak. I can't explain this, but these girls seemed to understand this as well.

f) They say 30 minutes before carving but trust me that never happens. Turkey is usually out for a while before we carve and as we are cooking and reheating sides.

I didn't want to tie up the thread if you have access to the recipes but if you need them I can provide. One good rule of thumb is one hour per 5 pounds of turkey but keep in mind please that if it is stuffed it will take longer to cook, and I always allow myself about 6 hours for a 20 pound stuffed turkey.

You will have a lot of drippings at the bottom for gravy.

What is good to me is not good to everyone.

My most popular item I call beans and hamburger. Making a big batch Monday for our T-day potluck at work... by request. I'm the bean person for all our dinners. This is something that sort of grew over the years. I like to make it at home for a quick "hamburger helper" type meal.

Most often Bush's Best baked beans. Amount depends on who all is eating. I have a 6.6lb can for Monday. At home I use the regular size.

Some cooked crumbled hamburger... drain the grease. About a pound package works well for my home sized can of beans.

Add beans to burger! Add brown sugar to taste... for work I adjust to my taste and then double that amount. People like sweet beans. Then just a small squirt of maple syrup.

To spoil my friends at work I'll fry a pound of thick bacon cut into bits. Then I'll nuke it a minute between paper towels to get every last bit crispy... no soggy bacon in my beans. At home I normally just use burger but I want something special for work. The bean/burger/bacon with lots of sugar combo makes a nice side dish and will add weight to the potluck plate. We have lots of younger or single people so chip selection will be huge but the "real food" stuffs limited. This will make certain everyone has a filling meal. We have had people that don't like turkey so this gives them an option for getting a plate full. My other trick for work is to make certain it is in a deep microwaveable dish.... easy to rewarm at dinner time.

Stir it up and heat until simmering. Edible soon as it is warm. Early on it will be a bit soupy... later it cooks down into a thicker mixture. Nice to cook it long enough to let the flavors marry.

This is something that can be made in about 20 minutes from cold frying pan to dinner on a plate. As a teen/twenty person I loved this as it is very filling... best with a big glass of cold milk. Something I've made from the time I was old enough to put a pan on the stove. Started with plain "pork & beans" when I was young... Bushs just has more sugar to start with. The thing I make that most everyone likes.

: )
lyra

here's one
VEAL WITH BLEU CHEESE SAUCE (serves 6)
1 1/2 lbs veal scallops
Salt & pepper
2 TBL butter
1 1/2 TBL brandy
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
4 oz pkg crumbled bleu cheese
Chopped fresh parsley
Sprinkle veal w/salt & pepper. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add veal & saute 2 minutes on each side until golden. Transfer to a serving platter & keep warm.
Add brandy to skillet. Bring mixture to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add beef & chicken broth. Boil 10 minutes or until reduce to about 1 cup.
Stir in cream; boil 12 minutes or until slightly thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low; add cheese & whisk until melted. Simmer 8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Season to taste. Spoon sauce over veal; sprinkle w/parsley.~~ (If you prefer a thicker sauce, a little cornstarch dissolved in water may be added & simmered until thickened. I didn't find it necessary.)

Hi! Welcome to the CF. I think I recognize your name from the kitchens forum. I've been hanging over there this past year, working on my kitchen redo. It may be finished soon, my goal was Thanksgiving but I'll be lucky if it's even partially functional by then.

In your quest for tasty recipes, I have a suggestion or two. We have been collecting recipes under the Cookalong heading. Many of the recipes collected are forum favorites. They are collected with a specific ingredient in mind so that you can find a recipe that includes something that you really like. Reading through the Cookalong recipes might give you some great ideas.

The Cookalong recipes are all archived in the FAQ section, at the top of our home page, you will find the link to click on.

My other suggestion is to narrow the range of your request. We all think that every recipe we post is tasty and I honestly don't know how to pick one that you would like.
You might try asking for a certain meat, cooking method, etc. Same with vegetables, desserts, salads, and so on.

We are here to help!

Nancy

Thanks, everyone, for your recipes and hints. I will give all of the recipes a try - it may take me a couple of months, but I will make them.

Wizardnm: I do read the cookalongs - I was just looking at the butter one. I was purposely vague in my request because I want the best of the best. And if it's not to our taste, that's fine. Just testing the waters to see what I got!

Thanks again, everyone!

Check out the WFD threads and cookalongs posted here. There are a lot of recipes listed there - with pictures! Hope this helps. Weird, I am blanking right now on anything that stands out to me for a favourite recipe.

I like the idea of a best of the best recipe thread! I'd love to see many more!

One person's tasty is another persons yuk.
I like these:

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan-Sage Crust
• 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Lemon wedges (optional)
• Orange wedges (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.
-----------------------------------------------------------

I change out or omite some of the veggies in this one. The sauce is wonderful!

Pasta Primavera
by Ree Drummond
• 1 cup Bite-sized Broccoli Pieces (up To 1 1/2 Cups)
• ½ whole Onion Diced Finely
• 3 cloves To 4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped Finely
• 2 whole Medium To Large Carrots, Sliced On The Bias (diagonally)
• 2 whole Medium Zucchini, Sliced On The Bias (diagonally)
• 1 whole Medium Yellow Squash (optional)
• 1 container (about 5 Oz.) White Button Or Baby Porcini Mushrooms, Roughly Sliced
• 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Into Strips
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 pound Pasta (I Like Penne)
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• ¼ cups Dry White Wine (up To 1/2 Cup), Optional (replace With Additional Broth If Not Using)
• ½ cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Whipping (heavy) Cream
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 5 leaves Basil (or More To Taste), Plus Extra For Garnish
• ½ cups Frozen Peas
Preparation Instructions
First, prep the vegetables. Chop the broccoli into bite-sized pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ cups worth. Dice half a yellow onion. Chop 3 to 4 cloves of garlic. Slice carrots on the bias (diagonally), and do the same for the zucchini and yellow squash. Roughly slice the mushrooms and slice the red pepper (seeded) into strips.
Heat 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic together and cook for a minute or two, until they start to turn translucent. Then throw in the broccoli. Stir, and add in the carrots.
Stir it around, and PLEASE, PLEASE cook it for only a minute, tops. Transfer the mixture to a plate. Add in the red pepper strips to the skillet. Stir them around for a minute or so, then transfer them to the plate.
Add pasta to slightly salted boiling water and cook to al dente.
Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet. Add squash and zucchini, cook for less than a minute, then transfer to plate. Cook mushrooms for a minute or two (add salt to taste), and again transfer to the plate.
FOR THE SAUCE
To make the sauce, pour ¼ to ½ cup dry white wine into the skillet (see note below). Add ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth, a tablespoon of butter and scrape the bottom of the skillet to pull up the flavor left behind by the veggie cooking. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the liquid starts to thicken.
Add 1 cup whipping cream and 1 cup half-and-half. Measure out ½ cup grated Parmesan; add to the skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chiffonade 5 to 6 fresh basil leaves and add that to the sauce; stir.
Dump veggies and mushrooms into the sauce along with ½ cup frozen peas right out of the freezer. Add pasta al dente and stir. If the sauce seems a little thick, or if there doesn’t seem to be enough sauce, add a good splash of chicken broth and a little more half-and-half. Top with more Parmesan, salt, pepper, and basil to taste.

------------------------------------------------------

Chicken Piccata by Woodie
4 Chicken breast halvesboned and skinned
Salt and Pepper
Flour (enough for coating)
3 Tbl butter
Juice of 1 lemon
1 -1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 Cup white wine
Put a piece of waxed paper on the counter and place chicken on top. Use a meat pounder, the side of a saucer, the un sharpened side of a heavy knife or other object to pound the breast into a thin piece that's uniformly thick (about an inch). Salt and pepper the chicken generously, then coat with flour. Melt butter in a large skillet and brown chicken on both sides.
Remove chicken from skillet. Add lemon juice, chicken broth and wine. Boil down until its about one-half cup. Place chicken back in skillet, cover and cook 3 minutes. Remove cover and serve.

Arkansas girl, that would be fun but this isn't a competition. We just try to help and post methods and ideas when someone needs help or suggestions.

Everyone has different tastes and ideas on what is the best...that's only natural. We come from different states and different countries. Often we are influenced by the flavor of foods we grew up with and that flavor might be dependent on the region of the country and who was doing the cooking.

There's also the whole sweet/sour, spicy/bland, salt/pepper gamut of tastes that are very personal.
Every so often a recipe is posted on the forum that almost everyone likes. We all make it and have fun serving it, then we get tired and move on to something else. That's the way it is with foods.

We are all here because we love to cook and want to enjoy the best foods we can.

Just watch and collect the recipes that appeal to you and you'll have the best of the best.

Nancy

I interpreted the request in this thread as "your favorite recipe" and that the op is asking which ones we've had the most success with. I don't understand how the threat of competition factors in, but that's just me. Isn't taste for the most part subjective?

I'd have to say it's the Chicken Marbella, the pic that I posted in the WFD thread. The flavour is out of this world, and it's a super-easy dish.

This is the Silver Palate recipe, I downsized it for us.
**I also omit the brown sugar. I find the flavour just right with the prunes adding the sweetness without the sugar, too.

You also don't need to marinate it for 12 hours. Just during the day is as good.

Chicken Marbella
from The Silver Palate Cookbook
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Marinating time: 12 or more hours
Cooking time: approximately 1 hour
Yield: 12-14 servings

4 chickens, 2-1/2 pounds each, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/4 cup dried oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley finely chopped

1. In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerated, overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

4. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at their thickest, yield clear yellow (rather than pink) juice.
5. With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

6. To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in cooking juices before transferring to a serving platter. If chicken has been covered and refrigerated, allow it to return to room temperature before serving. Spoon some of the reserved juices over chicken.

When did this turn into a competition? Just posting your favorite recipe is not a competition! It's like your favorite tried and true recipe...what possible harm could come of it! There's no one judging these recipes! wizardnm, you are reading too much into someone posting their favorite recipe! You've totally misunderstood the OPs request!

Welcome Pudgybaby to the Cooking Forum!

I don't want to offend anyone, which is NEVER my intent. I do think your request is just too general for me to respond to, as I have so many tasty recipes (which include whole books/binders), I simply wouldn't know where to start. I liked what Nancy said about everyone having different tastes, so what's ''tasty'' is very subjective.

I'll just say, if you stick around and start making almost any of the recipes others post, you can't go wrong. Some of my best have come from this very place.

Please, forgive me if what I'm about to say doesn't gain me any popularity points, I am fine with that. Many of us including myself use the forums as an exchange of information. It's great when conversation and friendships develop within the forum members, but I failed to see how the original poster was either being too vague or not being politically correct. I would have liked to see this thread develop, yet it was stomped on.

Most of us have a signature dish. It might be a cucumber sandwich that someone will travel hundreds of miles for. I personally don't want to go through hundreds of cookalong recipes to try to find someone's signature dish. Just my 2 cents.

I have a broken hard drive on another computer where my entire collection is inaccessible and now I find myself using the forums to see if I can at least try to retrieve some or most of my recipes. I am grateful to have been able to get most of my Thanksgiving recipes. I apologize for the intrusion.

For me I need all the inspiration I can get! My absolute favorite thing is for someone to send me a recipe that they are in love with! These days, suppose it's my hopeless state of depression...but I just have no ideas for meals these days and look to posted yummy recipes for some inspiration. I wish I had a yummy recipe to share but my idea of cooking is throwing seasoned chicken in the oven and baking it...HA!

I thought I was very clear, tried to be welcoming, interpreted the question in my own way, and don't see any evidence here of ''stomping''.

When someone is new to the Cooking Forum, it's easy to misinterpret a response.

I've received so many inspirational recipes from this place, I'd suggest searching the WFD threads, New Recipe Reviews, the Cookalong threads, the latest of which is ''BUTTER'' (which is #37, so there are 36 before that to review) and starting with the oldest posts and searching forward. There are an incredible number of the entire Cooking Forum's favorite and tastiest recipes which can't possibly include only a few IMHO. I have recipes I consider my tastiest in every category, and posting them all in one place doesn't interest me much. (There are simply too many you see!) As I'm still learning to cook well (after seriously cooking for decades) I think a review of what's currently on the CF is never a waste of time. The absolute wealth of what's available here is worth looking around for, and the source of many of my favorite recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong #37 ''BUTTER''

This is a quirky question for me to answer. I know it is not meant to be, but on a cooking forum, many of us like to try cooking differnt cuisines. It is too open ended for me to choose my tastiest recipe. I'd prefer the question to be "Your tastiest __________ (fill in the blank) recipe.

We've been down this road before. Over the summer, a seemingly great question, "Do you have a signature dish?" ended up proving difficult to answer as different audiences prefer different food. Willing to make the same requested recipe over and over again doesn't make it a signature dish. It just makes you and accomodating cook.

Here is the link to signature dish thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Do you have a signature dish? thread

Wow. I sure didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. I certainly didn't mean to imply that any recipes posted on this fourm are not tasty.

As I stated in my response above, I do read to cookalongs. I read the WFD threads, too. I read the signature dish thread, too, and saw many responses but not too many actual recipes. And of course everyone's tastes are different.

I just want your tastiest recipes. It sounds like some others would like them as well. We can decide if we think we will like and want to attempt it. For instance, I NEVER cook with prunes, but I am going to make jasdip's Chicken Marbella because he/she considers it his/her tastiest. I probably wouldn't have tried it from the WFD thread because of the prunes, which is stupid, I realize.

If you can't chose just one or a couple recipes or don't want to, that's fine, don't.

Thanks again to all who posted recipes. I've told my kids (teen boys) about this thread that I started, and they are anxious to try these recipes.

That Pot Pie recipes looks really yummy! I've just got to make that.

Though this is certainly no gourmet recipe...my husband absolutely loves it over mashed potatoes. It's an old recipe that came from a children's cookbook called Mad Hatter Meatballs. It really is simple and good especially if you have finicky chidren. They would probably like it over noodles though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mad Hatter Meatballs

I find inspiration and ideas from many threads at the Cooking Forum, pudgybaby, and I hope you will too. Welcome!

Here are a few recipes I make that everyone seems to like.

PORK CACCIATORE

1 lb. boneless pork, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, shredded
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 (1 lb) can tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
1/2 bay leaf

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add pork and cook pork over medium heat until brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add onions, garlic, celery and carrot to same skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add pork and remaining ingredients, stir well, cover, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve over hot cooked pasta. (We like rotini or gemelli shapes best with this recipe. Unless you are a big fan of rosemary, you may want to start with less than the recipe calls for.)

FRENCH ONION SOUP ��" serves 4 to 6

3 Tbs. butter
4 large sweet onions (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp. sugar (optional, see note)
1 cup dry white wine
2 quarts beef broth
2 ribs celery with leaves, each rib cut in half
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry fino sherry
4 to 6 slices baguette, cut 1/2 inch thick, lightly toasted
1/4 cup coarsely grated Emmental, Gruyere, or other Swiss-type cheese

Melt the butter in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan over low heat. Add the onions and sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly caramelized, a minimum of 30 minutes. (The longer the onions cook slowly, the richer the flavor of the soup.)

Add the white wine and cook over medium-high heat until the wine reduces to about half, about 10 minutes. Add the broth, celery, salt and pepper and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and allow the soup to simmer until the onions are meltingly tender, about 40 minutes. Remove and discard the celery. Add the sherry and simmer soup for another 5 minutes.

To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Ladle the soup into individual ovenproof bowls. Top each with 1 slice of bread, sprinkle with 1 Tbs. cheese, and place the bowls on a cookie sheet. Heat in the center of the preheated oven just until the cheese melts and bubbles, 5 to 6 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and serve at once.

Note: The tiny bit of sugar added to the onions helps caramelize them, but the onions themselves will caramelize if they’re sweet enough and if you’re patient enough. I never use it, just keep them cooking. I always use firm yellow onions. The large white onions don’t seem to get soft enough and vidalias become soft but have such a bland flavor when cooked.

MOLASSES COOKIES ��" makes about 4 dozen

2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 tsp. grated orange rind (optional but nice for a change)
additional sugar

In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients except sugar. Mix well. In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls (you can chill dough for 1/2 hour to make it easier to roll) and roll in sugar. Place 2” apart on ungreased baking sheets. (I always use baking parchment paper on the cookie sheets.) Bake in preheated 375 oven for 9-11 minutes or until the edges are firm and the surface cracks. Cook on cookie sheets for 1 minute; then transfer to wire racks to cool thoroughly.

Tip: I usually triple the dry ingredients, mix, and divide into three zip-lock bags. They’ll be fine stored in a cool dry place for months. Then when I want to make cookies, it only takes a few minutes to mix the other ingredients and stir in the mixture in the bag.

Here is a recipe that I am asked again and again to bring to potlucks.

Old World Sauerkraut Supper

3 strips thick-sliced, hickory-smoked bacon -- cut in small pieces
3 medium small Idaho potatoes* -- cubed
2 large Granny Smith apples -- cored and cubed
2 pounds Polish sausage, sliced -- remove casing to slice
3 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 27-oz cans sauerkraut**
1/2 cup water

Fry bacon and Polish sausage until crisp. Remove from skillet. Add
flour to drippings in skillet and blend well. Stir in sauerkraut; mix
well. Place sauerkraut mixture, bacon and sausage pieces, and all
other ingredients in a very large bowl; stir together thoroughly.
Put in crockpot. Cover and cook on Low 7 to 9 hours. (High: 3 to 4
hours).

*Not real small, but not large, large.
**I like to buy two 32-oz jars of Bush's Best Shredded Sauerkraut;
use one whole jar and all but approximately 10 oz of the other jar.

These were a favorite when I did a lot of cooking. A hint of thyme in the sweet-sour melody with garlic being an undetected back note.

*** Ground Beef in Cabbage Leaves (Joy of Cooking)

8 lg cabbage leaves *

1 lb. ground beef
3 Tbsp. minced onion
2 Tbsp. minced parsley
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 mashed clove garlic
a few grains of cayenne
2 Tbsp. vinegar
3 Tbsp. br. sugar
1 tsp. capers

1/2 cup tomato juice

Parblanch cabbage leaves.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter baking dish (9x5 bread pan).
Roll 1/8 meat mixture in each leaf, folding in ends so rolls are 5 inches wide..
Place close together in pan
Dot each roll with 1/2 tsp. butter.
Pour in tomato juice to slightly cover.
Bake 50 min.

Notes:
* leave cabbage overnight, unwrapped, in refrig. Very easy to peel off outer leaves.

for 2-people batch in microwave use 1/2 meat recipe with 5 leaves;
subst. tomato sauce diluted with water (1 Tbsp) for tomato juice
microwave on high, covered, 5 min.; rotate and nuke 3 min. more.
In fact I think usually used diluted tomato sauce.