Recipe reviews.

We often get into "food ruts" around here. If your family is anything like ours, you probably know what I mean. We eat the same several meals over and over and over again. And, don't get me wrong--we like the foods that we eat. But, variety is the spice of life, right? Last week, I decided to spice up dinner times around here by making one new recipe every day for a week. (Thanks to Pinterest, my recipe search was harder to narrow down than it was to find!) Just in case your family is in a "food rut" nowadays, here are the recipes that we tried (and my own notes/substitutions!).

Mexican Lasagna
This recipe was FANTASTIC! I used whole wheat pasta and Monterey Jack cheese, and I omitted the cilantro and cumin. I substituted medium salsa for the hot sauce. Our entire family could not get enough of this lasagna--we will absolutely be making this again!

Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce
This recipe was another winner. I substituted about 7 ounces of crushed tomatoes for the pimento, and used 1/8 cup dried basil in place of the fresh basil.

Coconut Chicken with Apricot Sauce
This was, hands down, our favorite recipe that I tried. The chicken was crunchy on the outside, tender and juicy inside. I did find the the recipe for the coating made a lot more than what I needed (and I used cutlets, rather than whole chicken breasts), so I ended up making enough chicken for two dinners. I also reduced the butter to 1/4 cup (and still had plenty for the extra chicken). Delicious!

Slow Cooker Stuffed Green Peppers
Never having eaten a stuffed pepper before, I had high hopes for this recipe. It was disappointing, to say the least. I substituted ground turkey for the ground chuck, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. None of us really enjoyed this meal, although it was easten with heaps of catsup for dinner! Not a repeat.

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder
This was another outstanding recipe! I followed the recipe loosely because I wanted to use my crockpot for this meal. It was not a disappointment, and we all enjoyed this dinner very much. Even the leftovers for lunch the next day were delicious!

Coconut Wheat Apple Muffins
These muffins were delicious! I followed the recipe, but added a handful of both shredded coconut and cruched pecans to the batter. I also only made 12 large muffins (instead of 18), so the cook time was a little longer. Nevertheless, our little family finished off all 12 within two days!

Chili Seasoning
I tried this recipe for homemade chili seasoning, and was very satisified with it. I omitted the flour, and decreased the salt to one teaspoon. I used the seasoning in my regular chili recipe, and it was outstanding. No more store-bought chili seasonings in this house!

Homemade Banana Chips
This recipe was not what I expected, but it was good. I used lemon juice instead of lime juice, and cooked the bananas for about 4 hours total. They never did get a crisp as I expected, and they ended up similar in texture to other dried fruit that I've had (apples, raisins, etc)--not at all like banana chips from the store. Nathaniel was a huge fan of these, and ate them constantly until they were gone! Now he blames Daddy for eating all of the "manamana chips!"