This past week, I’ve been running through everything that’s been forgotten in the freezer. Instead of starting the week by scrolling through recipes and asking, “What do I want to cook?” — I started by asking, “What’s already here?”

• Way too many frozen fruits

• Leftover frozen ground pork

• A few frozen salmon fillets

• Chicken thighs

I’m officially on a mission to clean out the freezer, and it’s been weirdly exciting — hence all the smoothie recipes before all my favorite fresh fruits come back into season. 🍑🍓

This is your sign:
📦 Defrost the forgotten foods
📦 Celebrate the hidden treasures you find

There’s something really satisfying about working with what’s already there, and seeing what you can create.

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

Number of Recipes Made This Week: 17 ✅ 

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 4/13: 210

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 15 out of 15

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Nothing this week.

Would Make Again 👍

One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta – NY Times Cooking by Alexa Weibel 🍝
Creamy Cauliflower Pasta With Pecorino Bread Crumbs – NY Times Cooking by Alison Roman 🥣
Two more easy and speedy NY Times Cooking pastas to add to my list. Both are creamy and perfect for a 30-minute lunch or dinner.

Chinese Egg Noodles with Five-Spice Pork – Fine Cooking 🍜
Leftover frozen ground pork meant another quick noodle dish — and this one delivered.

Miso and Soy Chilean Sea Bass – allrecipes 🐟
H and I have been on a salmon train lately so I wanted to mix it up. I picked up sea bass at Costco and made this simple marinated recipe — we both loved the flavor.

Creamy Peach Smoothie – All The Healthy Things 🍑
Also a smoothie fanatic here 🧃 — and I’m always looking for ones that give Jamba Juice vibes. This was a simple and tasty addition.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars – Dishing Out Health 🍫
I made this one for my sister and her family. She was obsessed and may have eaten the whole batch herself (she sent me this healthier version!).

Rachel’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies – The Stay at Home Chef Family Favorites Cookbook by Rachel Farnsworth 🍪
A quick and classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that gives you fresh-baked cookies in 30 minutes. I made a few and froze the rest of the dough for later.

Hibiscus-Ginger Tea – Run Fast. Eat Slow.: Nourishing Recipes for Athletes: A Cookbook by Shalane Flanagan and Elyse Kopecky 🌺
I really enjoyed this refreshing tea — I’m adding it to my go-to list for when we have guests.

Cookie Dough Oat Bars – Home is Where The Eggs Are by Molly Yeh 🍪
Basically a copycat of classic Chewy Bars — but way healthier. I made these to have before my morning runs… but then my twin brother came to visit and he might have eaten them all. I’ll adjust the kosher salt and brown sugar slightly next time.

Would Not Make Again 👎

These recipes didn’t live up to expectations or weren’t to my taste

Whether it was too much garlic or just too mushy overall, these were a no-go:

• Lemon Parmesan Vinaigrette – My Pretty Brown Eats 🍋

• Tomato-Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup – NY Times Cooking by Ali Slagle 🍅

• Yogurt Marinated Chicken – Sammy Montgoms 🍗

I’ve been clearing out the freezer in time for summer and tried a few smoothies. These didn’t make the cut:

• Pretty in Pink Peach Smoothie – Ambitious Kitchen

• 💗Peach Smoothie – Well Plated 🍑

• Sweet Peach Smoothie – Simple Green Smoothies 🍑

These two sounded fun but just didn’t taste great to me:

• Coconut Ginger Tea with Lime, Honey and Turmeric – NY Times Cooking by Martha Rose Shulman 🌶️

• Microwave Sticky Toffee Pudding – NY Times Cooking by Ali Slagle 🍮

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks