Fan Friday - July 3, 2015 edition

Time for another Fan Friday post. Thank you, dear readers, for not only tuning in but for giving our recipes a whirl and adding your own tweaks along the way.

xoxo,
The Ladies

Kerri made Spring on Toast (featuring eggs and asparagus).

Kerri made it her own by roasting some cherry tomatoes along with the asparagus and cooking her egg over easy, which she prefers to sunnyside-up. This is what Kerri had to say: "It's delicious! Also made it for lunch the other day over hashbrowns, rather than toast, for a light lunch along with a salad." 

Jamie made Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers.

As soon as Jamie read our recipe for Turkey Feta Spinach Burgers, she started thawing some ground turkey. Here’s how she tweaked her burgers, which she served with a side a asparagus:

“To make these turkey burgers, I first sauteed onion, garlic, and fresh basil from my garden. Next I added spinach to the saute pan until wilted. I then chopped up several pepperoncinis and added the onion, garlic, basil, spinach, peppers and feta to the ground turkey to mix and make into patties. I cooked them in a skillet on the stove for 6 minutes on each side. Once cooked, I topped them with some of the pepperocini juice and sliced tomato vs. using a bun!"

The verdict?

"Srumpdillyicious! Even my picky daughter decided to give them a try and liked them. Total thumbs up in my book!"

Fan Friday - June 5, 2015 edition

It's Fan Friday again, dear readers. Back by popular demand. Since our last Fan Friday post, more of you have sent emails and pictures chronicling your adventures testing out Hot Dinner Happy Home Recipes in your own kitchens. Thank you -- and keep 'em coming.

xoxo,
The Ladies

Kristi made Amy's Roasted Chicken.

Here's what Kristi had to say: "It was great! I wish I hadn't tented it though. May double the spices next time and rub under the skin. Made yummy broth, as well!" (Kristi tented the chicken with foil to hold it until her husband got home. The chicken got a little soggy. Perhaps next time she should try keeping it in a warm oven -- 200-225 degrees -- and telling hubby to hurry home.)

Like she said, Kristi also made her slow cooker chicken broth. Here's what she does: tosses the chicken frame in the slow cooker, adds onion, celery and whatever herbs she has on hand, covers with water and cooks on low over night. She strains in the morning! She promises you will never made broth on the stovetop again -- and Amy is convinced of that fact.

Both Sarah and Brian made Tomato-Avocado Quino Salad the same day that it posted to Hot Dinner Happy Home. They each reported that the dish was a big hit with their families. (You guys are so good for our collective ego here at HDHH.)

Sarah said: "Loved it. Brian (my husband) ate every bite and asked for seconds. Never happens with quinoa. xoxoxo."

Brian said: "I liked that the quinoa made a nice nest for the other ingredients. The vegetables just seemed to go better with the quinoa than they would have with rice or other grains; I wouldn't even want to think about doing this with rice. Bulgur maybe. 


This was my first time cooking quinoa, so it was hard for me to gauge when it was done. 

The olive oil makes a difference — I drizzled with garlic-infused oil (which Terry and I got at an oil boutique on Prince Edward Island on our honeymoon), and it was great. Terry used mushroom/sage olive oil, which seemed to be too much for this, surprisingly. I was expecting that the plain ingredients would benefit from some additional nuanced flavoring, but they were fine on their own. I did use chicken stock to cook the quinoa.

I would make again, though I'll probably try other quinoa experiments first for a while. 

Thanks for the inspiration!"

Don't you love Brian's detailed review? We also love that Brian used red quinoa (so pretty!) and served this "salad" as a side to a beautiful piece of salmon.

Fan Friday

We love it when you guys make our recipes. And we really love it when you tell us what you think after you've made them!

Today, in honor of you—the fabulous fans of Hot Dinner Happy Home—and your stellar culinary skills. we're sharing pictures and comments from HDHH readers. These are their favorite recipes, but what about you? What's your favorite Hot Dinner recipe? Share your kitchen creations with us, and we might feature them on the next fan Friday! Find us on Facebook, email us at hotdinnerhappyhome@gmail.com, tweet us (Amy, Andrea, Erin), or give us a shout-out on Instagram.

xoxo,
The Ladies

Mo made Shepherd's Pie II.

As you can see in her picture, she whipped up four shepherd's pies at once. Impressive! We asked her about bulk cooking, and here's what she shared, "I made four pies in the picture and froze at least 3. I cover in foil then put in a plastic produce bag with twistie. Then when I want to serve I put in the oven at 400 degrees for about 2 hours, or thaw for most of the day and then put in the oven til hot and bubbly. Still delicious! I can't get enough of it!" (Mo, we're impressed by your planning ahead. And by your recycling of plastic produce bags! Great idea.)

Dave made Turkey, Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili.

Here's what he had to say, "This was a really, really good chili recipe and I have made dozens of versions before. When I posted this on Facebook, one of my friends, who lives in Oregon, dissed it as impossible to be chili because it has sweet potatoes and other non-traditional ingredients. But I totally disagree, a really interesting recipe. Of course, I messed with it since I used both black beans and kidney beans, and doubled up on the tomatoes and some of the spices." (Dave, we're glad you made this dish your own. And thanks for defending this non-traditional chili!)

Cindy made Carmelitas.

She also baked Brown Sugar Oatmeal Coffee Cake.

She says, "The carmelitas turned out perfect. One of the best recipes I've found for these addicting bars. The oatmeal coffee cake was a big hit with my family and friends. The oatmeal, brown sugar and not too sweet outcome made it delightful. This blog and variety of recipes is fantastic. The blog is so pleasing to the eye and stomach and the recipes I've tried make my family smile." (Thanks, Cindy! You're making us blush.)