Eileen in AR

I'm in my forties, oldest of five kids, so I've been cooking a long time. I have three beautiful sons and a wonderful husband to cook for. I love cooking Italian food and look for quick, simple and fresh recipes.
Thai Style Shrimp
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

This was just an "okay" dish that I will probably not make again. I too could not get a paste in my blender and added two Tbsp. of the coconut milk to the mix to get a paste. I also used a can of diced tomatoes. The color was wonderful, it was a little soupier than I'd hoped, and even though it smelled fantastic, my husband and I both felt it lacked flavor. Overall, not a bad recipe, but needs some tweaking, I think.

Chicken Jalfrezi
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

My husband and I both really enjoyed this dish. I don't like dark meat, and had run out of chicken breasts, so I used cubed turkey, and it came out great. I followed the rest of the recipe to a "t" except I think I used a little less cilantro. The spice quantities scared me, but I took the plunge, and while the dish was VERY flavorful, I would not say it was overwhelming at all. To quote my husband, "I'd give it a four...it's really a good flavor, but it's not like WOW in my mouth." I will definitely be making this again, since aside from grating the onions (sweet agony), it was very easy to make. Thanks for the recipe!

Naan
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

I'm giving stars based on how much I liked it rather than how close it was to restaurant taste since this is the first time I've ever had naan, and I have nothing to compare it to. The only variation I did was to omit the chopped garlic and instead put a sprinkle of garlic powder in the butter to baste the bread with. We served it with Chicken Jalfrezi from this site. My husband thought it was too dry on its own, but enjoyed it as a sauce-soaker-upper. I pulled mine apart (think pita) and put the meat and sauce inside...very enjoyable, and my son had a blast helping me make it.

Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

I decided to play it crazy and doubled the garlic on the recipe. Whoo-boy! Tasted great, but couldn't talk to other people for 24 for fear they'd keel over. Great recipe, thanks!

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Jay's Signature Pizza Crust
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

Makes more dough than my pie pan could handle! Great taste, will make again.

Roasted New Red Potatoes
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

These were simple, and tasted great. There wasn't much pizzaz involved, but it was a nice easy side dish. I cooked them in the same oven as my chicken (at 350 degrees) for the last half hour, and they were done. Thanks for the recipe!

Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

This tasted fantastic. I was an idiot and accidentally put my bird in the pan upside down, but it still came out wonderfully. Word of advice: Don't try to use the pan juice to make gravy...the lemon tastes too weird in a gravy! Thanks for the recipe!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

Easy, delicious, standard chocolate chip cookie. I omitted the nuts. Made them again for a bake sale, and they were once again fabulous. I used milk chocolate chips and again left out the nuts. Thanks!

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Pizza Crust
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

I chose this recipe because I was running late on dinner and needed a quick dough (compared to another recipe I tried and liked on this site). I followed the directions exactly, except I kneaded it a bit and in doing so added a smidge more flour (not much). It made a nice medium thickness 10" pie. The cooked dough texture was what bothered me. I'm not really sure how to describe it. It was light, chewy, bland and very floury tasting. It was not typical pizza crust consistency. My six-year-old had no complaints. All in all, it was edible, but not a recipe I'm likely to try again.

Delicious Easy Chicken Francese
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

If I could rate it 4 3/4 stars, I would! I was worried about the backwards dredging, but it came out great. I used two chicken breasts and only two eggs. I also used re-hydrated parsley flakes. I think the sauce could have been a little thicker. I mallet-hammered my chicken and made medallions. Hubby said "I'd give it a 5" and it was gone in a blink. The chicken was OUTRAGEOUSLY tender. I did use cooking sherry instead of white wine because it's hard to buy wine where I live and I was out. I will definitely try it again with all the exact ingredients and maybe a smidge more cornstarch. This chicken REQUIRES bread to soak up all the delicious sauce. Thanks for a yummy meal!

Mama D's Italian Bread
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

I have to agree with a previous reviewer that for those of who've just started out baking, this recipe is a little vague on times. the bread came out edible, but not fantastic. It's good for soaking up juice, but I don't know about eating it without a sauce to soak. Okay recipe, I'll keep looking.

Burnt Butter Rice
Rating: Unrated
Eileen in AR's rating

Hold on while I unclog my arteries. Ah-hem. This is one of the best tasting rice dishes I've ever had. It's simple to make, and the whole family scarfed it down. I made the following changes: One can of chicken broth, one can of vegetable broth (slightly less than 4 cups, but it turned out perfect). I also added a little garlic powder before boiling the rice. I also made mine in my electric skillet which made clean-up a breeze (the butter I burned in a separate pan). Imagine...burning your food on purpose! Who cares, it works! Thanks so much!

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