The Last (and Best) Pinterest Dinner of the Week

Chicken Enchilada Pasta
Ever since I saw the beautiful picture on Pinterest, I knew this recipe was for me. A combination of two of my favorite things, this concoction lived up to the hype. I used a rotisserie chicken and I didn't have enough sour cream left, so I used cream cheese. I'm sure this made it even more delectable.

So, while I thoroughly enjoyed the taste, I could also feel my pants get increasingly tighter as I ate. I love this recipe so much, though, that I will attempt it with some lower fat ingredients.

Add this one to your grocery list, ya'll. It's a winner!

A Whole Mess of Pinterest Dinners (#6,7,8)

I've been doing a whole lotta cooking, but not a whole lotta writing.

We had a great soup on Saturday - Spinach, Tomato, Orzo Soup...except Meijer was out of orzo. So, I went with alphabet noodles. I thought maybe Maddie would not notice the spinach as much if she was trying to spell her name with noodles.

Sunday, I had my parents and sister over to sample the Balsamic Pot Roast. I took no pictures of it because it was a SUNDAY and I was so busy all day - what was I thinking?!? It was good, but I don't think it was any better than any other pot roast. Maddie made a cake for dessert. The Cherry Vanilla Pudding Poke Cake was yummy!

Monday was a bust because my cat ate the meat that was defrosting on the counter, so I had to go to a plan B meal. Yes, a cat ate 1/4 pound of ground beef from off the counter. After he ate through the wrapping. I have a strange cat.

And tonight is Valentine's dinner. My valentine loves brussels sprouts, but I only make them on special occasions because, seriously, who loves brussels sprouts? Gross. I've tried many a brussels sprout recipe and I only like them when I can make them stop tasting like brussels sprouts.
Tonight is a pasta with creamy brussels sprout and mushroom sauce. Alongside garlic bread. And there is a pineapple upside-down cake in the oven. Man, I'm tired.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pinterest Dinner #5: (NOT) Chicken Gyros

Well, we've finally found a stinker. This recipe was not good. My hubby thought it was OK, the kids wouldn't touch it.

Though it claims to be a gyro, it lies. It is really just chicken soaked in tzatziki sauce, cooked, then stuffed in a pita and topped with more tzatziki sauce. There was raw garlic in the sauce and it totally made me have a very upset tummy (hence the lateness of this post). So, therefore I officially do not recommend this recipe.

On a happier note, I have proclaimed Thursdays to be leftover night. So, I used some of the shredded pork from earlier in the week and made some open faced sandwiches. I grilled up the bread, piled on the pork, added some shredded cheese and put it under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

Yeah, it was super good.
Tomorrow is take out night since it is FRIDAY - thank goodness. A day off from the kitchen and well-deserved after this Pinterest craziness.
Here is the recipe if you would like to torture yourself with (NOT) Chicken Gyros

Pinterest Dinner #4: Turkey Stuffed Peppers + Dessert!

Tonight's dinner was YUMMY! It took me a while to get used to ground turkey, but in the right dishes it is really great. This is one of those dishes.

I'm sauteing up some onions, garlic and parsley. The recipe suggested cilantro if you like it. I do like it, but rejected that suggestion. I'm just that kind of girl.











I used red bell peppers and I left the stems on cuz it's pretty.

So you add some cooked rice to the turkey/onion/garlic mixture along with some tomato sauce and chicken stock and then...you guessed it...stuff the peppers. I topped them with some cheese too.

Add a spinach salad and you've got a great, healthy meal. Apparently, these are great if you do Weight Watchers. I think it said 4 or 5 points for one of these. I had plenty of leftover stuffing and could have easily made 2 more full peppers, if I had them.

As an added bonus...DESSERT! Maddie did help with the dessert, but I didn't take her picture this time. It's called Nutella Mousse Brownie Pie. Seriously, you pour a boxed brownie mix into a pie crust and bake it (GENIUS) and then top it with this Nutella/cream cheese/whipped cream concoction. It was amazing. I don't believe you want to know how many WW points that would be.

Thank you to my good friend, Jessie, for making this dessert possible. Apparently, there is some Nutella conspiracy going on in Battle Creek as EVERY store I went to was completely out. She's a great friend for letting me raid her cupboard.

Links to the recipes: Turkey Stuffed Peppers and Nutella Mousse Brownie Pie
Eat up, y'all! Tomorrow night is Chicken Gyros!

Pinterest Dinner #3: Ranch Crockpot Porkchops

Right off the bat I'm going to go ahead and diverge from the recipe. Pork chops were not on sale and, therefore, almost $8.00 to get 4 descent sized, normal cut chops. Pork LOIN, however, was on sale and I got this big old piece for $8.40.


So, since I was winging it, just FYI, I seared it on both sides for just a couple of minutes after sprinkling it with salt, pepper, and (what else) magic Bavarian Inn seasoning. Have I mentioned about the magic BI seasoning before?








OK, get ready because there are a lot of ingredients now:

HA! Gotcha. Just a packet of ranch and a can of cream of chicken. The recipe didn't say, but take my advice and mix these two together BEFORE throwing into the crockpot. It was kinda messy there for a minute. Monday is my day off, so crockpot works great since I don't have to rush around in the morning. I let it go on low for 6 hours and then it looked like this:

No, that's not it. That's my pretty kitty-Jack laying in the sun.










Here is the real deal:

Yeah, it looks kinda gross, but trust me it gets better. I shredded it up with a fork. The recipe suggested serving with mashed potatoes. It gave instructions for said potatoes, but I have to say that I already have a pretty great rhythm with mashed potatoes. Maddie helped mash them (SEE, Sunday School friends, I'm TRYING!!)

The whole family loved it! This one is a winner, winner chicken dinner....uh, PORK dinner!

Here is the link to the recipe. You can use pork CHOPS if you must. It's at Real Mom Kitchen.

Pinterest Dinner #2: Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

OK, I realize I'm not impressing anyone with these recipe choices so far. Sundays, though, have to be easy. It's a wonder I cook on Sundays at all, really, and I try to avoid it if I can.

I love macaroni and cheese and I don't mean the homemade kind. I love the good old Kraft in a box. The kind with the powder cheese. I always thought my aunt, Loretta, was so fancy because she had the kind with the creamy cheese that you just mix in. This recipe is more in the vein of the Velveeta style .

In an effort to be more aware of my parenting choices (thanks to our current Sunday School class), I asked Maddie to help me with this recipe. It is EXTREMELY hard for me to let Maddie help in her own way. So, I am also having a lesson in patience.

We grated some American cheese.

More grating.











Meanwhile, I started the water to boil for the pasta. I used whole wheat elbow mac. I'm not a big fan of the whole wheat pasta, but when it is slathered in cheese, I can tolerate it.

I ALWAYS forget to turn the burner down after I put the pasta in. Every time. So, here is the water boiling over. I think my stove must roll its eyes every time it happens. Mean-old, judgmental stove.










So drain the pasta (saving some water) and add in the cheese, some Greek yogurt, some pasta water, and peas. I really liked the tang that the yogurt gave it and it was super creamy. Although, in retrospect, I should have added some magical Bavarian Inn seasoning. It needed a little something and when something needs a little something it's always the magical Bavarian Inn seasoning. Unless it's dessert.

I know, how hobo are the mandarin oranges? It's SUNDAY, people. It's a day of rest. I'm not gonna cook any fancy meals today. God said to take a break and I'm just following the rules.

Here is the link for the recipe. The Foodie Bride has some other great recipes, so check some more of them out while you're there!

Pinterest Dinner #1: Ham & Beans with Cornbread

Did I really need a recipe for this? No. It's just that I never think about ham and beans. But, now I have Pinterest. Ahhhh, Pinterest. An escape from the drama of Facebook and a bountiful supply of inspiration for my lazy-sitting in front of the laptop way past my bedtime-self.

Here's the food.

Oh, did I mention it's a crockpot recipe? Yay! So, since today was low-key, I started this up about 9:00 a.m. and dinner made itself until about 5:00 p.m. Above is dried Great Northern beans. I know you can get the ones in a jar, but I kinda like doing this better.

Now the ham. I diced up a little ham. I was not in the market to get a $17 bone-in ham hock this week, but this was great.

The recipe from Pinterest said to add 2 teaspoons of onion powder. I had none. So, I reached for my trusty Bavarian Inn All-Purpose Seasoning. It does amazing things to all food. Go to Frankenmuth and buy some. Now.

Now wait 8 hours (on low). I went to Hobby Lobby, took the kids out for lunch, put baby down for nap, wasted time on Pinterest (how did I waste the ENTIRE nap time on Pinterest??), and thought about sewing.








The Pinterest recipe suggested making cornbread to go with it. And who am I to argue with Pinterest?

Here is our dinner. It was delicious! Thank you, Pinterst, for reminding me how easy ham and beans are to make!