Recipe Successes

Well, it's all over...sigh. We had grand Christmas, spent with good friends and family. Over the course of the past few weeks, I've been trying out some new recipes. Considering that my oven died a few weeks ago--so the extent of my cooking has been done on the stovetop--I've found some real recipe winners. I thought you might be interested in seeing what I've made. If I was super awesome, like The Pioneer Woman, I would've taken beautiful photos of each step-by-step process but, alas, I'm not, so consider yourself lucky to get links to these recipes.

Potato Leek Fondue Soup
(courtesy of {cringe!} Sandra Lee)

I don't have a hand blender and didn't feel like transferring the soup to the regular blender either, so I just left it chunky. Aside from having to make sure to spoon from the bottom when serving (all of the chunky goodness went to the bottom of the pot) it was perfect. I highly recommend serving this with a crusty sourdough bread on a cold day.

Roquefort Pear Salad
(courtesy of Jana)

Yum. The dressing alone is going to become my new salad dressing staple in this house (naturally, we have to keep a trusty bottle of Ranch on hand as well, for a certain toddler). I couldn't find Roquefort at our grocery store, so I used bleu cheese. This salad is dressy enough to serve with a nice dinner but simple enough to use often.

You Won't Be Single For Long Vodka Cream Pasta
(courtesy of Rachael Ray)


I made this for our Christmas Eve dinner. Oh Holy Night, indeed! This pasta was awesome (if I do say so myself)! I don't normally cook with heavy cream or this much butter, but for a special occasion, I absolutely plan to whip it out again. We ate the leftovers tonight for dinner and I think that the sauce improved after spending a couple of days in the fridge. I served this with the above salad and some crusty bread. The toddler ate 2 helpings of it on Christmas Eve (almost making us late for church!) and then ate another 2 helpings tonight at dinner. That's saying a lot...this child who eats like a Hollywood starlet.

Olive Cheese Bread
(courtesy of The Pioneer Woman)

I prepped this then flash-froze it at home and then baked it at my mother-in-law's house for our Christmas evening festivities. It got rave reviews from even the pickiest of eaters, who looked sceptically at the copious amounts of olives piled on top. Again, not the healthiest option, but really good for a special appetizer.