CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED. This recipe took me the better part of a a day to make. Partly because I'm a slow chopper and partly because I'm a big believer in mise en place. This means I like to have everything organized and prepped before I begin the actual cooking. It ensures I have all of the ingredients ready to go, in whatever form they need to be in, so the process goes as smoothly as possible with no hurried dicing of vegetables or digging around my cupboards for that one spice I'm pretty sure I have but haven't laid eyes on recently. So in order to mise en place this recipe I had to do several things before I got to the cooking part. I had to blanch, peel, and deseed six tomatoes. I'd never blanched anything before but it turned out to be not that difficult. The deseeding part was messy but I got through it. Once blanched, peeled, and deseeded, I then had to dice all six tomatoes. I also had to dice up four onions, one pepper, and a bunch of green onions. Our grocery store gets onions that are BIG, like the size of a softball or a baby's head. Once I'd chopped up four large (baby's head sized) onions, I had a MOUNTAIN of diced onions. At the point, I thought other people were probably using normal sized onions and I decreased the amount of onions by about 2½ cups (which I set aside for a soup I'll be making in a couple of days.) I still had plenty of onions for this meal! So, you should probably use 4 medium sized onions for this recipe. And then came the part where I had to make my own ground chicken for the meatballs. Something else I'd never done before! The recipe calls for one whole chicken, skinned, deboned, and cut up but I had about a pound each of boneless skinless thighs and boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand already. So, I roughly chopped them up and put them in the food processor (with other ingredients, as per the recipe). Luckily, the blend came out very flavorful and didn't dry out like ground all white meat chicken tends to do. All of that took me awhile, but when it came time to assemble and cook, all the prep work had been done, and all of the dishes/messes created by the prep work were done too. Was the meal worth all that time and mess? YES! It made a lot of delicious food. I have leftovers that I'm looking forward to reheating for dinner tonight. Would I make it again? Yes!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED While I was making this, my husband pointed out that I've been making a lot of different stewed chicken recipes. He's not wrong. I really like chicken, a lot. And something about throwing all these things in a pot and letting them simmer and stew and fill the house with delicious aromas is very satisfying, to me. This is another recipe where it seems every family has it's own version and it is endlessly customizable. I think, as long as you have the Recado Rojo (had to order it online) and chicken, you're on the right track. Anyway, this was good! I was worried that it might turn out too spicy for me so I swapped a serrano pepper for the habanero and that was just right. I ate the chicken with Belizean Rice and Beans which is essentially jasmine rice cooked in coconut milk with red kidney beans. They were perfect together and I would eat this again.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED This one surprised me! I assumed it would probably taste like a typical beef stew but I was wrong, it did not taste like a typical beef stew. It had a depth of flavor that knocked my socks off. Full disclosure: I did make two substitutions. I used molasses instead of dark brown sugar because I didn't want to end up with a mostly full container of brown sugar. I just don't use it very much and it always ends up turning into a rock before I can use up the container. Other versions of this recipe use molasses so I felt this substitution was acceptable. I couldn't find a Flemish Stout Ale or anything close to it locally so I used Moose Drool Beer, which is a brown ale. It worked! It appears to typically be served over/with French fries but I opted to eat it with crusty French bread that I warmed up in the oven because I was in the mood for warm crusty bread with a soft inside. It was so so good. I would definitely eat this again!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE Well, this was the first flop in my culinary journey. I did not like this. At all. The recipe called for white sausage so I did a little research and bought some "bangers" at our grocery store that closely matched the ingredients in the white sausages that turned up in my research. I'd never had those before. I didn't like them. I'd never had buckwheat anything before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out I also don't like the flavor of buckwheat. I lasted 3 bites and I was done. I will not be making this again. Thankfully, I keep some tamales in the freezer that can be thrown in the microwave in the event my international meal fails. Tonight was the first time I broke out the tamales. It was bound to happen eventually and will not stop the international meal experiment. Maybe when I finish the rest of the world, I'll revisit Belarus and see what else their cuisine has to offer.

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I imagine most people, when looking for recipes from an island or seaside locale, would probably lean toward fish or seafood. I have nothing against fish, I just live in the middle of the desert and my access to fresh fish is very limited. I don't want to substitute whatever lovely fresh fish the recipe calls for with whatever they might have at the one grocery store within 100 miles. I don't feel that would do the recipe justice and would not be a fair representation of the recipe. It seems this recipe is popular all over the Caribbean and every family has it's own version. I went with this one because it seemed like something a regular mom would make, with rice and "peas", for her family, and they would all sit down and enjoy it together. This recipe was simple and tasty. I initially thought the ketchup was weird but I didn't taste it in the finished meal, it melded well with all of the other ingredients. It was actually a whole lot tastier than I expected. I made it with rice and "peas" and, wow, did those go well together! I really really enjoyed this and I definitely would make it again!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED I love curry so the odds were good that I would enjoy this one. And I did! The recipe didn't specify what type of potato one should use but a little research determined that Yukon Gold potatoes were widely recommended and they turned out beautifully. This was so tasty! Would I make it again? Yes! Although I would probably use boneless skinless thighs next time, I didn't enjoy having to pick bones out of my curry.

Click here for the recipe I used. It took me awhile to get all of the ingredients for this one because I had to order a few of them online and, because I ordered them during the 2020 holiday season, there were shipping delays. Anyway, I enjoyed this one. I don't think I've met a version of chicken and rice that I don't like and this recipe adds another exciting version to my repertoire. I did have some trouble finding the cardamom pods that you are directed to remove before serving, the lumi were much easier to locate! Would I make it again? Yes, when I feel like having a more exotic chicken and rice meal and I've got time to spare.

Click here for the recipe. This was delicious and I would make it again. The ingredients were easy to come by and many are things I generally have on hand anyway. I did use less salt than indicated in the recipe because 1/4 cup seemed like way too much for me. The recipe also says the scotch bonnet pepper is optional. I did not use a scotch bonnet pepper but used a diced serrano pepper instead. I think the recipe does benefit from that little bit of heat, gives it a nice kick. I'm a lightweight when it comes to spicy foods so the serrano worked for me. I'm sure spicier peppers would work just as well for those who can handle spicier food.

The Recipe This was very similar to Kofta Challow (Afghanistan's recipe) which I loved and I loved this one too. Apparently, I really like meatballs with cilantro and tomatoes over rice. Would I make this again? Yes, the ingredients are easy to find locally, it's a fairly easy meal to prepare and I really really liked it.

The Recipe I found these to be very similar to pot pies. Maybe they're the same thing with slightly different names? They were tasty and very filling. Would I make them again? I don't know. While I did enjoy them, they did not reheat that well, and I don't know that I'd go through all the work to just make 2 at a time. I'm sure there are ways to freeze and reheat them but I don't have room in my freezer at the moment to experiment with freezing and reheating. So, I would eat them again, if someone else made them and dealt with the leftovers.

The Recipe I really enjoyed this one! It took some time, yes, and a little effort but it was worth it. If you don't like paprika, this is not for you. I like paprika and have 3 different kinds on my spice shelf. I ate it over noodles one day, then mashed potatoes the next day, and rice the day after that. It was delicious with them all. It was hearty and perfect on a cold winter's day. Would I make it again? Yes.

The Recipe These dumplings took a long time to make and were somewhat labor intensive but they were totally worth it! They are delicious on their own but with the yogurt garlic sauce they are to die for. If the recipe is intimidating to you, there are shortcut recipes using wonton wrappers on the internet. I opted to make them from scratch, to get the more authentic experience. And I have no regrets. Would I make them again? I don't know. I would definitely like to eat them again but they required a chunk of time to make and that's where I hesitate. I might try the wonton wrapper method in the future. I also might try to find more things to put the yogurt garlic sauce on because it's so very delicious.