For the past couple of weeks, I have been using recipes I
found through Pinterest to make meal preparation a little more
interesting. All of these recipes have
been quite a success, though I did make a few modifications now and then. (One time I forgot to turn on the
crockpot. All that was in the pot was
potatoes and spices, so I made the meal on the stove instead to make up for
lost time. That was the Slow Low Country
Boil). I did not take pictures of each
of these meals because it had not occurred to me to write about this
experience. But I saw that one person
had a Pinterest board for pins she had tried.
I want to do that too! I would
like to share my thoughts on the following pins (and to remind myself of any adaptations
I would make).
Here is my Pinterest Board:
Visit Heather's profile on Pinterest.
Skillet Rosemary Chicken 2-24-14
Words cannot describe how delicious and how easy this recipe was! I used dried rosemary because that is all I had, and I just put all the herbs, spices, olive oil and lemon juice in a blender and pulsed it real good. I even forgot to place the chicken in the lemon mixture before browning the skin in the skillet, so I basted the chicken really good after I placed it on my mushrooms and potatoes. I wanted to use up some Idaho potatoes and they worked fine. I couldn't find anything at Walmart that said cremini mushrooms so I used the cute little white ones. Those were the best tasting mushrooms I literally have ever had! And the potatoes turned out very tasty as well. I only cooked four thighs and all the ingredients fit perfectly in my skillet. I keep my iron skillet well-seasoned so everything slid out like it was supposed to and I feel the skillet really added to the flavor. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. I can't tell you how good it is to find a thigh or leg recipe that's out of this world like this one. I collect these recipes because legs and thighs are more economical to buy than white meat. You can find a great chicken leg recipe I made right HERE.
Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Here is a picture of the Breakfast Burritos. They were sooooooooooooooooo good! They were actually better after reheating
them in the microwave than they were fresh. The cheese just got so gooey good. I can see this being a must have on any kind
of trip, especially a camping trip. If
your family likes to eat breakfast, these breakfast burritos are a must-have in
the freezer. I really love collecting
and preparing a month-full of dinners at one time and now I plan on doing the
same with breakfast foods.
I did about a half-recipe to try the recipe out for the
first time and I recommend doing that because there is a lot going on at one
time. It might be good to have a helper
like a child who likes to grate cheese and stir the hash browns or lightly warm
the tortillas. I chickened out at the
last minute and did not put the spinach in with the eggs—but I will try it next
time because I really love spinach.
Taco Pizza
The Taco Pizza was amazing! It turned out just like the picture (so I did
not need to take a picture anyways). The
only thing I would do different is to remember to kind of toss the chopped
tomatoes on a paper towel because it made the pizza a little wet in some
places. We did not have leftovers, but
if you did, you would not want any sogginess on the pizza.
Outback Green Beans
I made the Outback Green Beans and they were very
good. This is a great recipe if you can
get garden fresh green beans because store bought is just not the same. I steamed my green beans and they would have
been perfect if I had remembered to stir them in the steamer so they get the
same amount of doneness all over. Also,
I would only make a half recipe of the sauce.
However, I imagine using the extra sauce on chicken for another meal would
be delicious.
Forgotten Chicken
The Forgotten Chicken was very interesting. The rice turned out beautifully. However, I do not happen to like using Lipton
Onion Soup Mix as a seasoning on top of the chicken as the recipe
instructs. It was too overpowering for
me and I only used half a packet. I believe
using my own special seasoning blend would be even better because my blend
brings out the best flavors in chicken and the two condensed cream soups have
plenty of flavoring as well. My own
seasoning blend recipe can be found HERE but basically consists of salt, course
pepper, celery salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. I use it so much that it is kept combined in a
shaker to use whenever I need. This
recipe will definitely be tried again with the minor change. What a great way to use Minute Rice brown
rice which is supposed to be healthier.
I also recommend this recipe as a comfort meal to take to someone.
Skinny Slow Cooker, Chicken and Mushroom Gravy
The changes I made to Skinny Slow Cooker, Chicken and
Mushroom Gravy was to use boneless thighs instead of skinless chicken breast
filets. I believe this change made the
recipe even better than it already was, plus it was cheaper. You could combine thighs and legs if you
wanted to. The herbs and spices with the
oil (I used light virgin olive oil instead of canola) made the chicken so
delicious. When I make this again, I am
not going to bother with the gravy. The
chicken makes its own wonderful broth and I felt adding canned broth and making
a gravy was unnecessary. I put the
chicken and mushrooms on top of Minute Rice brown rice and the family gobbled
it right down.
Slow Low Country Boil
The Slow Low Country Boil, (the one I forgot to turn the
crockpot on for), was truly restaurant quality.
The cost was moderate and the meal was even better than a comparable one
we had at Red Lobster a few weeks before!
I even found Red Lobster biscuit mix at Walmart and had my husband whip
them up to go with the meal. He never
cooks and they turned out beautifully.
This is a fabulous meal. We made
it with frozen corn on the cob halves and just left them as halves, although
they would have been prettier if I could have followed the recipe with shucked
corn cut into four pieces. Ya’ll
definitely try this one because it would really impress guests!
Cheese Steak Sandwiches
One of my fav’s was the Cheese Steak Sandwiches. Fall is a great time of year to figure this
one out. I am going to give a few more
details because the pin does not have much.
I had never made cheese steaks before and was a little nervous. The recipe calls for cheap steak and that is
what I got! Look at the pictures on the
pin to get an idea what the steak should look like at the store. Then slice it pretty thin, discarding the fat.
I cooked it in its own juices with the onion and salt and
pepper on medium heat until its own juices were almost gone and then I put the
French onion soup in there and brought it to a boil, lowered the heat to
medium-low, and put the lid on the pan.
Being Southern, I wanted to slow-cook the steak in the soup until the meat
was very tender.
I used two pieces of American cheese for each hoagie
sandwich, doubling the cheese, and tearing in half so every part of the
sandwich had cheese. These sandwiches were
going to be cheesy! They were so good, I
felt like such a glutton!
My family said they were better than any restaurant sandwich
they had ever had, and my daughter has actually been to Philly and had an
authentic Philly Cheese Steak. This is
definitely a great meal for football fans.
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Okay now for Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas. I loved this recipe because it said you could
use thighs. I was skeptical and up to
the challenge of trying fajitas made with thighs. This recipe was out-of-this-world! It made a lot and there was NOTHING left
folks! This is definitely the one to do
for teenagers and guys—a really easy recipe for after church or Saturday
college football in front of the tube.
How have the recipes on Pinterest been working out for you? I find most of them fairly reliable but I have also had my share of disappointments. Let me know!
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