Challenge Stove Top Stuffing ~ Melissa

When Steve thought up Stove Top Stuffing as the ingredient, I really had no idea what to do that would be both good and not just serving as a side or on top of a casserole. I basically never use this stuff. So I started thinking of other breading type dishes, and came up with my chicken and dumplings crock pot recipe. Instead of making "normal" dumplings, I'd incorporate the stuffing into it. The directions below are how I would make them next time. This time they were too moist and kind of became one giant blob in the crock pot. It still tasted good though! You could definitely taste the Stove Top stuffing flavor, and I thought it was a nice addition to chicken and dumplings. That's why my hubby gave it only 4 stars, since they didn't turn out as well as we had hoped for. But other than that, pretty good, easy, and delicious on a cool fall day like we have been having a lot of recently! :-)

Orange Juice Challenge ~ Melissa

Orange Juice Challenge ~MAW Steve

Mushroom Challenge ...daphne

Mushroom Challenge ~MAW Steve

Mushrooms are a wonderful ingredient, so when I heard that it would be the challenge ingredient of the week, I was excited.  I also knew that I would need something for lunch because a large dinner party had already been planned for later that evening and so I had to do something quick and easy that wouldn't make too big a mess.  This recipe fit all the criteria, and my Soldier absolutely loved it!

Sweet Potato Challenge ...daphne

Sweet Potato Challenge ~ Melissa

Even though you get the soldier's review on the recipe, here's what I think about this dish!  When Steve chose sweet potatoes, he said we couldn't use brown sugar or marshmallows, which was fine by me because I never make them that way.  Something weird about using marshmallows, I dunno.  But anyway, there aren't too many things made with sweet potatoes, so I started thinking of what is made with regular potatoes I could use sweet potatoes instead.  I came up with gnocchi!  After doing a little online inspiration searching, I realized my idea is not original, there are many recipes out there for sweet potato gnocchi.  So I found one that sounded pretty easy for a first-timer, and then tweaked it for the flavors I wanted to use.  I also found the sauce recipe online, again tweaking it for my flavors.  I must say this turned out pretty dang good!  I think all the flavors worked well, and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes brings it to another level, not just pasta with a yummy sauce.  I can probably use some more practice on my actual gnocchi making, but they weren't too rubbery, and weren't undercooked, so I think it was a nice first time success!  We'll be making this again for sure!  Fair warning though, this takes a long time to make, so make sure you have a few hours to devote to it before you start! :-)

Jalapeno Challenge ~ Melissa

Challenge Jalapeno - ~MAW Steve

Challenge Peach - ...daphne

Challenge Peach ~MAW Steve