One surefire way to determine the success of a recipe is to eat the dish every night for a week and if you find yourself craving more after it’s gone, you know you’ve got a winner. For instance, you know a batch of baked shells is worth sharing with the world (and by “the world” I mean my mother and the three other kind souls that read my blog) when you single-handedly take down three-quarters of the pan and, when they’re finally gone, you find yourself wishing for just one more dinner’s worth. Forgive me for a moment while I lament the fact that these little beauties will not be my dinner again tonight.
Alright, I’ve had a moment to compose myself and I’m ready to tell you all about these spring vegetable stuffed shells. The shells have been stuffed with a filling of sautéed mushrooms, leeks, artichoke hearts, and tarragon. They’re then blanketed in a lemony béchamel sauce and baked, with just enough cheese melted over the top. All in all, it’s my perfect kind of comfort food–cheesy and a bit indulgent, but not to the point where you’ll be wracked with guilt after eating it, nor is it “food-coma” heavy. It’s exactly the kind of thing I could eat it every night of the week–oh wait, I kinda did.
In a continued effort to simplify my life, spend less money, and wash fewer dishes, I came up with this recipe for roasted chicken thighs and radishes. And, of course, I’m always on a mission to eat well. I’m happy to say, this chicken covers all of my needs.
Twice last week I had the good fortune of running across a recipe that I couldn’t wait to try and, more remarkably, I actually had all of the necessary ingredients for each recipe on hand and ready to roll. My luck continued from there, as both recipes turned out every bit as good as I had hoped and will undoubtedly work their way into my repertoire.