More Pinterest Meals!

Ok, so as I've stated many times before...I pretty much do all of my cooking from Pinterst these days. Before Pinterest, I was so in that rut where I had tried almost all of the meals in my cookbooks that didn't require tons of ingredients/was super expensive. Cooking was becoming such a burden...not because I didn't like it, but because I got so tired of coming up with budget friendly ideas for meals! And then came Pinterest. And now cooking is fun again. I've had lots of ideas and nothing I've tried has been an absolute bust. Most everything I've tried I can see myself making again. So here are a few things I've tried lately.
#1. Bourbon Street Chicken...
This was very good....I slightly over-cooked the chicken (I am VERY picky about dry chicken)..but that is easily fixed and the flavor was great. However it was too spicy for the kids. I cut down on the red pepper in the recipe, but it was still pretty spicy. The best part...it didn't require real bourbon!

#2. Fruit Tea...

This was delish. I made it twice. The first time I followed the recipe exactly (requiring me to puree a peach). Not that it was a hard task, but the second time I didn't feel like getting the blender out, so I left that part out. Definitely was better with the peach..but despite the lacking peach flavor we still drank the whole gallon.

#3. Ham and Cheese Sliders...

Oh, boy...these were good. MOST definitely will be making these for lunch again. Basically its just your hot ham and swiss sandwich, but on yummy Sister Schubert rolls and with a very yummy poppyseed sauce poured all over the top. Sooo good!!

#4. Ranch Pork Chops and Stuffed Zucchini...

Yes we had potatoes too, but those aren't from Pinterest (however they are still very yummy and a family favorite). The pork chops only require 3 ingredients and are cooked in the crockpot. They had great flavor however the meat was a little dry for me (again though...I'm extra picky about that). But the yummy sauce really helped with that...plus the meat was falling off the bone. I think my favorite consistency of meat is grilled (on a grill or in a pan) just until its done. (Just trying to give you a thorough review). Now the stuffed zucchini...we've already made it again since this. It was absolutely wonderful. We will make this a lot this summer!

#5. Alice Springs Chicken and Zucchini Parmesan Bites...

This meal was delicious. I will MOST definitely be making both these dishes again. The chicken, modeled after Outback Steakhouse's Alice Springs Chicken, was wonderful and fairly easy to make. The sauce was made with ingredients I already had on hand. The only thing I needed to buy was the mushrooms (I usually have the cheese and bacon on hand as well). The zucchini was good too...but I let them bake a little too long. A little less time and these will be super good!

#6. Grilled Bacon, Guacomole, and Cheese Sandwiches...

Oh. my. word. Need I say more. I am craving these right now. Of course for me...guacomole is simply wonderful by itself. So adding melted cheddar cheese, bacon, and two buttery grilled pieces of bread can ONLY create something utterly delectable.

I have tried quite a bit of other recipes as well but don't have pictures for them. They include...

--Twix Bars....really? Need I make a review on those? Ok, I will anyway becuase I must talk about anything chocolate...they were wonderful. Next time however, I will be adding peanuts and a little more caramel to make them even better!

--Cheesy Bacon Potato Rounds...Very yummy. Again I baked them too long (I think my oven cooks faster than others)....but oh man...great flavor. Again, can you go wrong with potatoes, bacon, cheese, and butter? I didn't think so.

--Rosemary Garlic Chicken Skillet...I made this awhile ago, and can't remember if I blogged about it. But it was sooo delicious as well. Definitely will be making it again too.

--Mongolian Beef...This was a good meal. The beef was really tender. The sauce was good, but a little sweet. I might add a little less brown sugar next time.

--Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup...This soup had a great flavor. And it was SUPER easy. I even stuck the chicken in there frozen and it turned out just great!

Ok, so that's all I can think of for now. As you can see, I've been cooking Pinterest meals almost every night. And its been extremely fulfulling....probably even more so since I'm pregnant. Oh, and since I'm talking about food, Saturday I went to Pittsburgh with our youth girls and some ladies from the church for a conference. When it was over, we ate at a place called Chipotle for dinner. Basically (for those of you southerners like myself) its the same thing as Moe's. Oh yummy! I got a big ole' chicken burrito and am ashamed to admit (but not really) that I ate the whole thing... (well I did leave about 3 bites). My stomach literally felt like it was about to pop. But it was worth it (and so was the pound I gained the next day). Ok, so enough about food for one day. Now I need to go plan my meals for the week. :)