my latest dinner adventures

I like trying new things. Ideally, I'd like to try one new thing a week, but that has yet to happen. So here's the three meals/sides I tried in April:

1. Barley Risotto with Ham and Mushrooms (from Food Network Magazine) I wanted to do something different with the leftover Easter ham this year--actually, turkey ham; we're not ham people--and I happened to come across this recipe. I have yet to attempt a real risotto; this sounded easier and less time-consuming. I thought it was pretty good. I had half a box of barley left from a soup recipe; both recipes called for the barley to be toasted, which gives it a nutty flavor that takes some getting used to. (Which reminds me, I should check to see which of my cereals contain barley. Just curious.)

I don't cook with wine, but I have tried and liked restaurant dishes made with white wine, so that would probably round out the flavor nicely. Next time I'll probably add the fennel seeds, though.


2. Lemon-Dill Shrimp and Pasta (Better Homes and Gardens)  I was really proud of myself with this one. You know how if you overcook shrimp they get all chewy? Well, I cooked these perfectly. There's nothing worse than a shrimp dish with inedible shrimp.

I've really been getting into light pasta dishes lately. I can't eat anything too cheesy or creamy because of my lactose intolerance, so it's nice that there's alternatives out there to making spaghetti all the time.


 3. Honey Glazed Carrots (the link is Food Network but I ripped it out of People magazine)  My mom has been saying forever that she wanted to try to make glazed carrots so I stepped up to the plate (so to speak) as soon as I saw this recipe. The appeal here was glazing with honey instead of sugar, and I was surprised at how thin the glazed turned out. Not that I'm complaining; I just expected the honey to make a thicker glaze. But it was easy and delicious, so I hope to have that more often.


**I know I said blog tinkering was forthcoming--it still is, sometime this month.

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