Penne with Chicken, Artichokes, Red Pepper, & Goat Cheese- This tasted like something you would order at a fancy Italian restaurant, & coming from someone who does not even like artichokes I think this says A LOT! Now you may be asking yourself, “Darby, why on earth would you select a recipe with artichokes in the title if you don’t even like them?” Easy answer: goat cheese! Yes, it was solely the goat cheese that captured my interest. Yum-o! I will admit though, since I don’t like artichokes I have never bought them; in fact, I have never even seen them in the frozen food section (I have seen them in the produce section, but the recipe called for frozen artichokes, and I was trying to follow instructions), but keep looking they are there. There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe but it’s totally worth it. Some things I think you could cut back on: garlic (the recipe calls for 8 cloves, only do that if you want to have stinky breath for the rest of the year) & goat cheese (as you can see from my picture, it’s pretty creamy; I would cut back to about 4oz.). I used whole wheat penne pasta & will again next time I make this as well. I think I might add some spinach too.
30-Minute Chicken Fricassee with Mushrooms- This meal is so good you are going to want to lick your plate- I kid you not! I have no idea why I picked this recipe, but I did, & it was wonderful. Instead of microwaving the chicken I boiled it, & I added a little bit more bacon (because for real, who opens a pack of bacon for only 1 piece?!) This was fantastic. 
Skillet Lasagna- This recipe is one that is featured in the small photo section of the cookbook. After reading the note, where it boasted that this is a fast, one-pot recipe (the exact reason why I hide from lasagna recipes normally), I had to try it. They were right: it is a very fast recipe. I will probably make this again, but I would just add a few more things. It was a little boring for us, so next time I will add some oregano and other Italian seasonings and probably some more red pepper flakes. 
Maque Choux- The note said that very few people are aware of this dish outside of Louisiana. I think we fall into this category: not only have we never heard of this dish, but we don’t even know how to pronounce it. This was another delicious one-pot dinner. I can’t believe how easy it was to make, yet still so flavorful. We absolutely loved this dinner and will certainly make it again. I used Hillshire Farms Polish Turkey Kielbasa and it was fantastic!
Simple Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Worcestershire & Butter Sauce- Well the pork chops were exactly like the title suggests: simple. I’m really not sure it gets easier than this. They would probably be delicious on their own, but I added the Worcestershire and butter sauce. (2 recipes in one meal?! Woah I’m on a roll!) In the very last step, when you turn the sauce down to low, I added the pork chops back into the sauce so the flavors could mellow together. I totally forgot to add the parsley and it was fine; I’ll try to remember it next time though. I will say that because the Worcestershire sauce is salty enough on its own, you probably don’t need to add anymore. Because I need variety on the plate, I paired the pork chops with rice pilaf and some fresh green beans. This was a “simple” week night meal that I will certainly make again. 
Well are you hungry now? I think I am. What new recipes did you try last week? I’d love to read your recipes and add them to my to-try list.
