The Challenge

So I subscribe to Rachael Ray’s cooking magazine and always love to check our her “3 Great Meals” section that basically has you put together 3 meals with under 10 items.  Unfortunately there tends to be an entree or two that deter me from ever doing it, but this week I thought… why not? One grocery trip and $30 bucks later I was ready to cook for the week.

On the Menu:

Smoky Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Asian Lasagna

Potstickers with Radish Salad

On the Grocery List:

• 10 radishes (1 large bunch)
• 1 1/2 lbs bok choy
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 large bunch cilantro
• 2 cups whole milk
• 6 oz shredded sharp white cheddar
• 2 1/2 lbs ground pork (you could easily sub turkey)
• 1 jar (12 oz) bbq sauce
• 4 6-oz hoagie rolls
• 1 pkg (16 oz) square wonton wrappers

(they assume you have lemon, onion, garlic, butter, oil, white vinegar, mayo, soy sauce, salt pepper, flour, sugar, crushed red pepper)

Comments:

Sandwiches – I like my Banh Mi sandwich recipe way too much to save 20 minutes to make these.  Although it was very nice to have dinner made in like 15 minutes with minimal effort.  If you do follow the recipe and have breadcrumbs on hand, I would add them to the meatballs because they did not stay together very well.

Lasagna – It took FOREVER to make.  That is my own fault because they say it has a 40 minute prep and a 40 minute cook time, but I was not paying attention apparently.  J liked this much more than I did… maybe it was the butter/flour/cheddar cheese that I saw being put into the recipe that made me feel a little guilty.  But I do have to say while making the sauce was a success (key = stir stir stir!), and the bok choy/onion/meat/lemon zest mixture did have some good flavor, I would recommend adding your own spices … it was slightly bland dish overall.

Potstickers – Easy and dare I say fun to make… but the flavor was a little bland.  I good dipping sauce came in handy to help with that.  There was no way that would have been a suitable meal for two people, but we did have those as appetizers and I made a batch of brown rice and cheated by making some Trader Joe’s General Tso’s Chicken for dinner (in the freezer section).

Overall Thoughts: It was definitely 3 easy dinners with a cheap price tag and a quick shopping trip, but for me personally I think I’d rather take the time to shop, cook and really enjoy dinner each night… but if you know you will be short on time this is a great option.  I’d just recommend being more creative with your cooking and adding more spices/herbs to really make the dishes pop.