Cooked something super delicious?
Made progress on your goals for eating healthier?
Had a big win?
Or some good news you want to share?
Leave a comment below so we can celebrate together!
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Share Your Success!
I was really looking forward to making the white bean parm dip!!!! I started getting out the few ingredients and I realized I had no parm!!!! Oh no!!!! I then spotted the crumbled feta….because I so appreciate all of the substitutes etc that you always post, I thought ‘why not!?!?’ Prior to Stone Soup, I would have NEVER been brave enough to substitute ingredients! It turned out fabulous!!! I love it!!! Looking forward to trying it with parm next time =)
Fantastic Melissa! So fun!
So I really feel good about my choices tonight!!! Getting home late and I could have very easily stopped at Chick fil-a for dinner…..But instead I thought about the quick Ultimate Cheese Bread recipe that I wanted to try. I’m SO glad I did! The cheese bread was fabulous!!! I have to admit, I was really not sure about the ingredient combination….but I loved it!! I used Jewish Rye bread, avocado oil mayo, stone ground mustard and parm shavings. Delish!!!! Thanks Jules!!!
Well done Melissa! Your combo sounds amazing 🙂
I love your simple, 6 ingredient meals! I often riff on them, eliminate an ingredient, change them up. I am a committed Keto-er who doesn’t eat much meat, so I often make them vegetarian.
Being Keto limits a lot of high carb root vegs, beans, etc, but after 4 years, I have a varied list of subs that work for most recipes. Mushrooms are one of my favorite go-tos as well as tofu and cauli rice. I make an awesome risotto from mushrooms and cauli rice as a matter of fact. I also use a lot of Beyond Meat plant based offerings which are very versatile as well as delicious. I love your cookbooks, too. I have several that you have offered downloaded and I use them regularly. I look forward to your meal plans each week – keep up the good work!!
Oh Linda! Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I really appreciate your kind words and am so happy that you’ve made things work for you.
I’ve just started playing around with cauli rice recipes – LOVE the idea of your mushroom not risotto.
YOu’ve made my day 🙂
I have really enjoyed the new to me recipes I have tried, and also the workshops.
Our circumstances have change, and I must stop my SMP membership.
Thanks for all the help.
So glad you’ve enjoyed your membership Robin!
I hope everything is OK with you.
Will get Caroline my assistant to look after completing your membership for you 🙂
Just made my first recipe, Easy Almond was the only recipe that looked like my husband and I would like. Turns out it wasn’t so easy for me. Apparently since I moved a year ago I have lost or misplaced my kitchen scale. I wasn’t sure if the measurements were by weight or by volume. I googled some other almond pizza recipes & found one that showed 5 oz was equal to 1-1/4 cups of almond flour so this is what I used. I used 1/2 cup of water. I had a soupy mess. But I tried to use it anyway. I poured the egg-soup mixture onto my baking sheet & tried to maintain it as best as I could until I could get it into the oven-there was absolutely no way to put tomato purée on to of it at this point. I baked it until it was stiff enough to top with the tomato purée, cheese, & meat, & then baked a few additional minutes to reheat & melt the cheese. It didn’t turn out bad, but the base was sort of bland. I also didn’t know if I should’ve packed the almond meal into the measuring cups or just scooped it up to fill the measuring cup.
Wow Susan!
Lets celebrate that you really took the initiative here in finding creative solutions.
For future reference all my measurements are by weight not volume.
So 5 oz almond meal would be 1-1/2 cups US. And the 3.5oz water would be 0.4cups – about 1/3cup + 2 tablespoons.
And if the base was bland – it was probably because there was less almond meal and more water – assuming you added salt?
It might be worth investing in a new set of kitchen scales – they’re not expensive and make measuring so much easier.
Are you willing to give it another try? Or move on to something else?
Yes, I am definitely planning to get a new kitchen scale after this experience! And I am also willing to give it another try. I did add the salt. If I were to make using measuring cups rather than a scale, do you pack the measuring cups with the almond flour, or just scoop it into the cup?
Great Susan!
I don’t use measuring cups because they’re so variable depending on how you pack the.
But I think the standard wisdom when measuring anything with cups is to scoop it in and not pack it down.
Let me know how you find the flavour in the base when you try it again 🙂
I’ve been planning my meals for a long time, and when emergencies arise, I’m now finally able to alter my plans and stay on track. It helps that I have a lot of recipes from this site that I enjoy making and eating. I prefer to make my own meal plans, so they suit my mood and tastes, but most of the recipes I choose are from SMP. I have become a huge fan of simple, one pot meals with few ingredients.
So happy to hear this Susan!
Being able to adapt when emergencies arise is such a powerful skill.
Keep up the amazing work!
Jx
Lots of good takeaways from Kitchen Confidence but I am most excited by SAUCES! To me they are the simplest, easiest way to elevate or redeem most unexpected results.
I couldn’t agree more about sauces Paula! So many options 🙂
That Pumpkin Cheesecake Jules.
AMAZING.
Go to desert for every and any occasion! It gets requested!
So happy to hear that Ben!
There was a tip somewhere here on the website about having a relationship with your local food market vendors.
I’m living in Taiwan, and in my local market we have 100+ stalls. I’ve made a point of buying something from almost every one of them.
It has been an amazing process.
I’ve developed connections and relationships with people I would never have bought from (from the 80+ year old guy who has just a couple of words of English, and only sells sweet potatoes, to the fish monger that buy just enough fish to sell each and every day, so that you’re always getting it fresh).
I’ve tried foods I would never have eaten before, and have found so many delicious vegetables… most of which I would have assumed I would not have liked. Other foods I’ve bought just to buy something at their store and, for example, I’ve bought carrots that weren’t washed well, but tasted far better than those that were being sold at the high turnover stores.
The process has been a real revelation for me and has totally reshaped the way I shop, it has very much become a joyous activity.
Its somewhat similar to trying recipes, ideas and adaptations I’ve found on this website… so many surprises in terms of foods that I’ve now come to love.
This is so great David!
I love thinking about your potato guy 🙂
Hi Jules!
Had an awesome time participating in Kitchen Confidence! My husband even joined in on the tastings.
I chose Chicken Satay Curry for my Plan B and made it last night. It’s a keeper for sure!
Thanks for the learnings and the fun,
Leesa
Brilliant Leesa! I need to make a satay soon 🙂
This week I cooked zucchini basil and feta soup, instead of fresh basil I used half a jar of store bought pesto and it tasted awesome!
BRILLIANT idea to use pesto here Alanna – LOVE it!
I cooked Broccoli Burgers for lunch after church and had a no-meat guest who loved it! These are a favorite for my guys. I’m still a newbie to Stonesoup and I’m loving it.
Oh yay for broccoli burgers Susan 🙂
We cooked the BLAT salad tonight – only had a little bit of lettuce, so added some baby spinach and a small handful of shredded cabbage we had languishing in the fridge. No dried tomatoes, so used fresh. Also added a can of cannelini beans. It was delicious and my husband loved it!
Yum Nikki!
Unfortunately I’m out of town for 15 min. challenge and won’t be cooking. Usually, I cook at least 4 of Jule’s recipes a week so I might have been able to meet the challenge! Good luck to all of you!
Thanks for sharing Ann!
So glad you hear you’re normally cooking lots of my recipes.
You’re welcome to join in next week – or the week after if you’d like. You have until Friday 21st May 2021 to claim your prize.
Tonight I made asparagus with miso butter. I couldn’t believe it would be enough for dinner, so I fried us each an egg to go with it. OMG it was delicious! And so darn easy! I made it even easier by melting the butter in a pyrex cup in the microwave and whisking in the miso instead of doing a bowl over the cooking pan. I would have commented on the recipe, but couldn’t find a way to do that.
Fantastic Nikki!
Sorry you couldn’t comment – for some older recipes there’s a problem with comments.
Good idea to add the egg.
I cooked my first meal from the meal plan! Not my first Jules recipe but first on the plan!!!
Green veg with chicken! I loved boiling the vegs on the chicken broth, yummy! I added some spices too
Fantastic Mada! Yum!
It’s very spring like here so I am mostly cooking from the Southern Hemisphere menu this week. Tonight it was the olive lemon salsa with shrimp (instead of fish) and roasted zucchini. It’s become a favorite! I am really happy with the meal planning. Everything is so easy and quick I find myself cooking even if I don’t want to. Because there is always a meal, I don’t snack and pick all evening. I’ve lost 14 pounds since starting the meal plans on Jan 3rd! Yay! Thank you!
Jessica!
I love the thought that ‘everything is so easy and quick, I find myself cooking even if I don’t want to.’ Brilliant.
And well done on the 14 pounds!
PS. Would you mind if I used your comments in my marketing?
Feel free to use my comments!
Thank you!
Hi Jules, we are making several of your meals each week and liking them. For my family’s taste I add extra vegetables to each suggested meal.
I am liking that we are eating fewer carbs compared to previous meals and I am loving the much easier clean-up! Wonderful! Thank you for this unexpected bonus!
So glad to hear you’re enjoying the surprise cleanup bonus Heather 🙂
Love the idea of 1/2 and even 1/4 birthdays. It sounds like something out of Winnie the Pooh☺ May have to start implementing this!
They do sound like something out of Winnie the Pooh Linda – and so fun – you definitely should celebrate them 🙂
I’ve had two weeks off from cooking, but start tomorrow, using lots of SMP recipes! We don’t celebrate half birthdays in our house, BUT since my husband and I got married in our 60s, we do celebrate half-anniversaries. in January we celebrated 12-½ years, which will become 13 at the end of July. For me, celebrating half-anniversaries is important, because it is miraculous that we found each other and that it has lasted so long. And there is no hint of it deteriorating any time in the future.
ooh I LOVE the idea of 1/2 anniversaries Susan – am totally going to use it. Thank you!
Now that school holidays are nearly over getting back into the swing of things and have smashed out ‘Lentil Meatballs’ – will be a regular for our family. Also the ‘Stupidly Easy Banana Bread’ – my breakfast for this week. ‘Eggplant Parmigiana’ made super easy by use of the Tupperware MicroPro Grill – soft and silky in 15mins!!
You’re on fire Amy! LOVE it 🙂
I just want to encourage people to not be afraid to come up with creative ideas. Last night in bed I realized I hadn’t put my usual protein for the Sunny Parisian Carrot Bowls on my shopping list (we only go for groceries every 2 weeks now), but I started thinking about what I might have hanging around my freezer, and decided to use bacon. The combination of carrots, parsley, bacon, hard boiled eggs and feta cheese is the best version I’ve ever made. My take away from this is that emergencies don’t necessarily mean disasters. Jules, your motto that if you think it will be delicious it will be, has proven true for me. Thank you!
ooh I LOVE this Susan! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Have enjoyed the one pot Beef,zucchini & cashew Stir fry this week & have just finished one of my(your) quick “go to” tea of the Mexican Omelette with smashed Avo so quick & tasty. thank you Jules.
It’s totally YOUR omelette Carolyn 🙂
I have a new family favourite – devoured by all and asking for more: I blended a few recipes, i.e. the Easiest Baked Bolognese served as a pot pie with mashed potato on the base, sour cream and parmesan as the topping and crowned with mashed peas. Very yummy. Perhaps a little more time consuming but worth it.
Oh wonderful Sharon! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I dry-brined and smoked a turkey for my son and me for Thanksgiving. Since there was just the two of us and a 12 lb bird, I have been combing this site for recipes with poultry or for which I can sub leftovers. I have found several candidates and I’ll leave some comments when I begin putting them to good use! I don’t care for dark meat, so those recipes that camouflage the taste are high on my list. Waste not, want not!
Wow Linda! That’s awesome you smoked a whole turkey for the two of you. Excited to hear what you do with the leftovers. I’m thinking these Flexitarian Pot Pies would be a great place to start
Been meaning to make the Magic Green Sausage Supper for ages & today was the day. It is scrumptious! I used Angus beef sosses & a bag of pre-cut kale. The pesto gave it the added edge of deliciousness. I love how even the broccoli stalks are so yummy when roasted. Can’t believe I used to throw them out in my pre- Stonesoup days. Thank you as always, Jules, for another winner!
So glad you enjoyed Amrita!
And even better that you’re now loving broccoli stalks 🙂
I cooked the Zuccini Parmigiani last week. This is a keeper. It might even show up on our Christmas dinner table, because some familymembers are vegetarians. So good was it!
ooh yes it would be a lovely festive treat Ryanne. Great idea 🙂
Hi!
Made the simple bacon and cheese pie for brunch on Sunday. Served with a kale salad and a Bloody Mary!
Very tasty!
ooh yum Leesa!
For the coming week I’m making the gorgeous greens tart and the everybody happy nachos for lunch. Dinner will include the magic green sausage supper, the crisp beef and balsamic salad and the oozy red lentil risotto. I’m looking forward to a delicious week. 🙂
Man that sounds like a really delicious week Susan – enjoy!
For the past two weeks, my kitchen has been under construction. Spouse can eat deli sandwiches all day. I was miserable with take-out. The only way I could get enough veggies was to empty a veggie wrap. I remembered I had some ok cabbage left, parmesan cheese, walnuts, mayo, and no lemon! From making many Stone Soup recipes, I knew to look for substitutes. I found I had rice vinegar! Three happy meals!
Go Ellen!
You are an excellent student 🙂
How fun to have a new kitchen on the way
Jx
I made the moussaka on Saturday, the baked bolognaise on Sunday for the freezer (Lovely and easy as long as you set the timer for each half hour stir) and am planning to try tuna ragu tomorrow.
The balsamic cabbage and sausages recipe is now a favourite and since I make it each week, I no longer need to look up the recipe so definitely a go to meal for us.
Fabulous Sue! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I just made the Spanish version of the Cheesy Cauli & Bacon Bake, and even though I made it in only one pot (essentially christening my newish wrought iron frying pan) it was still very good.
Excellent Mark!
I made the Butter Chicken and it was delicious. Had to stop myself from eating it all. Lunch tomorrow with some spinach and rocket (arugula) added. Put it in my favourites list. Tomorrow night is Katie’s Chilli Verde.
Yay for Butter Chicken Anna!
I just finished my photoshoot and have a new Indian curry recipe in the pipeline 🙂
Enjoy the chilli!
The butter chicken is one of my all-time favorites. I have been making this for years. I vote for more Indian inspired recipes!
You know Paul I was just thinking the other day I need to cook more Indian!
Thanks for the request 🙂
I have a Lamb Korma recipe I’m putting the finishing touches on that will be ready soon – 🙂
This week I made the parsley walnut salsa over poached shredded chicken. It was super delicious! ?
Isn’t it great Susan!
I also love the salsa on steak or broccoli – it’s super versatile.
Made Tandoori Cauliflower with chick peas instead of chicken last night and it was a hit! Bonus – the leftovers were delicious for lunch!
Fabulous Diane!
I was just thinking I need to make that again soon 🙂
Flexitarian Pot Pies were such a hit in our household of 6!
Fabulous Kelly!
I cooked your Cheesy Chicken but made a few changes. I noted the comments about it being too dry and overcooked from others so reduced the temp to 180 degrees and covered the dish with foil and cooked it longer. Yes there was a lot of liquid so I dissolved 1tpn cornflour in little water and added it to the pan and then sprinkled the cheese on top and turned on the top element to allow the cheese to melt and brown. Yes it did take onger to cook but the chicken was moist and tender and husband loved it. margaret
So glad your husband enjoyed Margaret!
I cooked the Balsamic Cabbage with Sausages yesterday and added a couple of handfuls of mung bean sprouts and a dash of sherry. Ended up super delicious and husband asked me to make it again
Nice work Melita!
My second recipe on the plan. I cooked the Cacio e Pepe Broccoli and the parmesan cheese congealed into two big lumps that refused to diffuse into the greens. What did I do wrong?
Hi Mandy
How did you grate the cheese? It needs to be super fine like with a microplane grated to melt into the sauce.
It’s not meant to be super smooth – a little chunky like scrambled eggs (but not big lumps).
Did it taste OK?
I didn’t cook one of your recipes, but I was inspired by the pot pies to make one with leftover chicken. I added yellow beans to the potatoes, carrots, peas, and leeks, so it had a bit more vegetables. It was deeeeeliteful!
Yay for pies Colleen!
This is my first week with the meal plan! I have cooked many dishes from the website and 5 Ingredients, 10 Minutes aleady, though. So I already know and love all of the suggestions for variations and waste avoidance.
It has been a rough week with a pup in the ER an no time getting to the store, so I appreciate the suggestion to cook just one of the recipes, so I wouldn’t forgo it completely!
I made an Italian version of the Sausage and Cabbage dish. I had a cabbage in the fridge I needed to use up from my CSA box. I defrosted some hot & spicy Italian sausage from my freezer and went to work. When I couldn’t open my balsamic vinegar bottle, I pivoted to red wine. I topped with the last of the fresh Parmigiano Reggiano in my fridge and topped with some fresh basil. My husband was skeptical, but we both loved it! THANK YOU!
Welcome Carrie!
Sorry to hear about your pup.
Great work with your cabbage supper – sounds so good!
Jx
I recently joined SMP. I love the simplicity and have been surprised at how tasty the meals are. I am not a fan of cooking. I tried recipes with a lot of ingredients and steps—made me dislike it more!
I just made the broccoli and goat cheese soup. Very simple, yet tasty. I did add a handful of chopped nuts as suggested.
I am enjoying the recipes and love that I have enough for lunch the next day.
Looking forward to learning more tricks and tips too!
So glad you’re loving the recipe Shelley!
Maybe you actually do love cooking – you’re just not a fan of complicated recipes 🙂
That is me! It was the complicated recipes that have been holding me back. Getting more confident since I came across a recipe of pan fried butter beans and kale, sounds so silly but it was the game changer that lead me down to cooking rabbit hole and back to your offerings which I found YEARS ago. Here now, better late than never. ☺️?
So good to have you back Heather! Simple is the answer for sure 🙂
The Moroccan meatballs recipe is one of my favourites. Jules, I use your special spice mix of paprika, cumin & coriander – though I put in a full teaspoon of each. Love it! I keep changing up the accompaniments and this time we had it with mashed potato and spinach dressed with olive oil and lemon. That spice mix is the best. It’s the one I use whenever I roast veg as well. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
Oh yay Amrita – that spice blend is so versatile.
I love it with everything. If you ever want to get a bit fancier with it a pinch of fennel seeds can add a lovely complexity.
Thanks Jules! I’ll try the spice mix with fennel seeds next time I use it. Sounds yum! 🙂
Hi Jules,
I made the Mushroom, Sausage & Feta Hash for the first time. My husband raved about how delicious it was! It ate the leftover on a wrap for lunch the next day!
Yay!
Nice one Leesa!
So glad he enjoyed.
There recipe is over here for anyone else who want to try it.
Jx
It’s been 34 weeks since I switched from “dieting” to eating healthily with Jules’ Simple Meal Plans + 18/6 fasting.
I do not follow the plans rigidly, but I am guided by them. My cooking is much less elaborate, yet very tasty. I make a point of incorporating more greens (and reds, purples and yellows!) and my template is simple: pick a protein, add 1 or 2 (preferably leafy) vegetables, and a fat.
Oh, and I have lost 20kg (44 lbs)!
20 more kg to go for my well-being. This works for me. Slow and steady…
Thank you for helping me find my way to a happier version of myself.
Wow you are really going from strength to strength Gone2seed!
So glad the simple long term approach is working for you (although not surprised at all)
Thank you so much for taking the time to check in – you’ve made my day
Keep up the excellent work!
Jx
PS. Do you mind if I use this in my marketing?
No problem. Glad if it helps.
Thank you!
I haven’t cooked it yet, but I have to say being a member if SMP has paid off big time this week. My husband and I share cooking duties, two weeks on, two weeks off. He does all the grocery shopping these days because I am high risk for the corona virus. I forgot to put enough ground beer/ground lamb on the list and he came back with double the chicken I asked for. I had feta and meat balls on the menu for next week, and not enough meat for them, so, thanks to the creativity you’ve taught me, I decided I could grind up the chicken and use it in the feta and meat balls. Then today I found the Thai Chicken Balls recipe – AND I actually have red curry paste in the fridge! I’ll still have to grind up the chicken, but I don’t have to worry about the other balls being bland. Being a member of SMP is the big win for me.
Top marks for creativity Susan!
And thank you for the kind words. I really appreciate you.
having just rejoined as well, I used the produce in my fridge to pick out one meal to start with ~ I had a huge bag of curly kale but as there was no immediately obvious match on the meal plan I added some very finely chopped kale to the mushroom and sausage dish instead of parsley. yummy.
I also tried the kale carbonara as had to use the bag up but sadly shredded curly kale was a bit too chewy.
Welcome back Hannah!
And thanks for sharing your success so quickly 🙂
Made the Indian-spiced Omelette today for brunch. Added some chopped red pepper and goat cheese-yum!
ooh nice additions with the peppers and goat cheese Leesa!
I just joined 2 days ago and have made 2 recipes: the warm beet salad w goat cheese; and frittata with pesto. Both were delicious! Both used goat cheese I had in fridge. Looking forward to putting together a meal plan for next week and getting shopping list going.
Go Lynn!
That’s fab that you’ve made 2 things already! And thanks for being the first one to share your success.
Keep up the excellent work 🙂