Recipe Rundown- The Good, The Bad and The Sound-Good-But-Have-Not-Tried-Yet

I have been cooking a ton since becoming a stay-at-home mom. I really enjoy it and have discovered some things that I think everyone should try and things that I think no one should try. Here's a quick rundown.

Winners

Asian Lettuce Wraps- Rob said it was in the top 3 of best meals I have ever cooked. I also made some Mu Shu Chicken Wraps from my Dream Dinners cookbook and some steamed rice which were both good but the lettuce wraps were killer. And I don't like Chinese food. If you follow the link to the recipe, make sure you read through people's comments to find the sauce to make with the wraps because that's awesome too.

Fall Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette- I love me some Gorgonzola cheese. I'm not too adventurous when it comes to soft cheeses but that stuff is tasty! The dressing is sooo good but read the reviews because everyone says to cut back on the vinegar. I didn't cut back enough and had to add more of everything else so it still came out great.

Doughnut Muffins and Cinnamon Bread Pudding- Both recipes came from the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook I recently got. I'm not really into their knitting or craft stuff nor I am into the country look for my home but they have some excellent recipes in that book and those are two of the best- at least that I have tried so far. The muffins tasted just like cake doughnuts. Mmmm.

Weight Watcher Oven Fries- I love french fries and you might think I would be skipping them while I am dieting now. But you'd be wrong. These are so good and they are only 3 points a serving! Recipe is found in this cookbook. I also made the pot roast from this cookbook which was excellent- despite the fact that it caused my first ever kitchen fire. I blame it on a terrible dutch oven that has tried to burn the house down before. I have never had any problems like that except when I use that pan. Said pan has now been turned over to Rob for use on one of his future projects where it will be treated badly, as it deserves.

Losers

Whoopie Pies- From my December issue of Better Homes and Gardens. They looked so Christmasy and really had that "Wow" factor that I thought would be good on plates of cookies to give away. However, they don't taste very good and they are some high-maintenance cookies. Because of the cream cheese in the filling, they have to be refrigerated and are only good for 4 days. I can see why their popularity died out decades ago.

Gorgonzola and Herb Steak- This was from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals show. It looked so tasty and easy when she did it but I smoked us out of the house trying to grill up the steak in a pan on the stove. Such a bummer because as I mentioned earlier, I love Gorgonzola.

Things to Try

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies- Martha and Paula Abdul made these this morning and they looked so yummy and far less labor-intensive than most of Martha's recipes. Since these are not exactly on the Weight Watcher approved list, I should probably only make a half-batch since a full batch yields 90 cookies!

Sweet Potato Cupcakes- I have seen recipes for these twice lately and they sound so good. Not sure if I will try the Better Homes and Gardens version or JustJenn's version but I'm sure either will be great.

In non-food news, my new camera arrived on Monday! I got the Canon SD790 and I am loving it. And, of course, on Tuesday I found the charger for the old camera. I think Rob's suspicious but I swear I did not know where it was and thought it was gone forever. Hee hee. No, seriously, I really thought it was gone. You'd think this post will be full of photos but I have not gotten any onto the computer yet. I think I have a picture of Rex at least every 5 minutes since I got the camera so there will be plenty to share next time.