As you all know, I love Half Baked Harvest. I just got her 3rd book and I can’t wait to dive in. This book is the one I go for when I need something a little easier than her first book. Personally, I think both her books are great for everyone. The recipes are fairly easy. This book might just be a little better for a beginner. I’ve never had a bad recipe from her books. I do like that in this book, she gives several ways to cook some of the recipes. Crockpot, stove top, pressure cooker, you name it!
You can buy this cookbook here.
Buttery Croissant Strata
Find recipe here.
This was super easy! I made half the recipe… except I used the same amount of cheese because CHEESE. It was the perfect amount, honestly. I wouldn’t have changed anything about this recipe otherwise. It was so good, especially covered in Cholula.
Extra-Smooth Hummus
Find the recipe here. Just the hummus part but adding the veggies sounds so good!
Hey you know all those times that I tell you to actually check what you have and how much of it there still is? I’m definitely a “do as I say, not as I do” type of person. I didn’t have any tahini. Whoops. I swear I had some in my pantry (turns out it was ghee, I have no explanations here). I used peanut butter and olive oil instead which the internet tells me totally works in a pinch. The reserved liquid from the cooking of the chickpeas and garlic only gave me 1/4 of a cup (recipe calls for 1/2) so I used water for the rest. I added more lemon juice and olive oil after I tasted it. It’s fine. It’s better than most store bought ones, way worse than the hummus at the Farmers Market. For the effort, just buy hummus. Also, sorry for not having a photo… Where is my brain.
Creamy Chicken Gnocchi
Find the recipe here.
I know. Gnocchi again. I used the stovetop version because my husband keeps telling me that he owns a crockpot (pre-marriage and I’m actually pretty sure he bought it at my neighbors garage sale years ago) but I have yet to see this materialize inside of my home. So stovetop it is. Instead of buying whole milk, I had half and half on hand and you know how much I love using what I have. The parmesan just melted right into my soup. Speaking of this – once you’re done with parmesan, you need to keep the rind in the freezer for moments just like this (or chili or tomato sauces). This soup was a 10/10!! You could totally replace the gnocchi with potatoes but I like the gummy texture of gnocchi better. The broth is incredibly flavorful. Jacob said, “This is exactly what I want chicken noodle soup to be like”. Speaking of, do you like chicken noodle soup? I have never been a fan.
Potato & Burrata Pizza
Find the recipe here.
We love pizza in this house. I have heard of potatoes on pizza but I really couldn’t wrap my brain around it being actually good. It definitely was. Please note, I used that never ending bag of baby yellow potatoes that I bought. I swear it keeps multiplying. I didn’t get the arugula because… I didn’t feel like it. The recipe has you drizzle olive oil over it. I have several flavored olive oils so I thought I’d test them all out… These are my exact notes.
- Basil: Meh
- Lemon: brings out more of the lemon flavor
- Hot Chili: Very good. Gave a great zing.
- Garlic: Good-ish
- Truffle: HOLY CRAP this is amazing.
Curried Thai Spring Roll Lettuce Wraps
Find the recipe here.
I love the idea of lettuce wraps. But then, when I have a lettuce wrap and everything falls out and I have sauce all over my hands and face and go through 10 napkins, I remember why I don’t lettuce wraps. The flavor is amazing here and I really did love it, besides the serious mess it made. The next day, I just ate it with a fork and enjoyed it!
Greek Salmon & Zucchini
Find the recipe here.
I had yellow small potatoes… so I used yellow small potatoes instead. It was a little oily (I’d reduce the oil by just a smidge next time). I love how clean this dish is though. You could easily add another veggie (maybe asparagus?). This recipe calls for using a mandolin and BOY OH BOY will I never use one of those again. On Mothers Day weekend in 2018 – after a very long, horrible week for the family – we were having a BBQ where I decided to make a dish using the mandolin… My mom laid down for a short nap that I decided to disrupt by SLICING OFF PART OF MY PINKIE FINGER. Yup, you read that right. I’m missing a chunk of my right pinkie finger. My mom raced around the house, grabbing my ID and medical card as well as her car keys while my dad watched the blood spirting from my finger in the sink, telling me to just duct tape a towel over it until I stopped bleeding. Thanks dad. This was my first (and so far only) trip to the ER where they told me that this happens all the time. Almost as often as people coming in who tried to de-seed an avocado using a knife… in their hand. The follow up question everyone always has is, “Why didn’t you use the protective thing?” BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW THERE WAS ONE OKAY! Did I want to slice off my finger? No. I couldn’t wash my own hair for weeks (I did discover blowouts though and wow, they’re great). I did try to convince my nail tech that I shouldn’t have to pay full price since she was only painting 9 fingers instead of 10 (it didn’t work).
Which one was your favorite? Will you make any?
Writes with Wolves 