Awhile back a friend of mine posted on her blog about some pinterest meals that she had tried. Well in an effort to expand my meal repertoire I have been challenging myself to try a few new recipes. In addition to the new recipes I have been doing meal prep once or twice a week for the entire week. It makes making dinner so much easier since now that I have a little one, I never have time in the evening that I can actually make a meal that takes prep work outside of sticking something frozen in the oven or making a sandwich. It's been working quite well. It's also cut back on doing dishes during the week and if I plan well I can cook a bunch of chicken up for 4 recipes at the same time. And if I'm extra good, I can double recipes for a meal to enjoy on a crazy week that I am not together on. And since I plan everything all at once it forces me to look at the week as a whole and evaluate some of our meal choices.
So back to my friends challenge. Here are the pinterest meals we've tried and our thoughts:
1. Slow cooker Honey Sesame Chicken - this was okay. Not a favorite. Something about Asian food in the slow cooker is not quite working for us.
2. Coconut Chicken w/ Sweet dipping sauce - this would have been better had the recipe specified that you need 'sweetened' coconut, not the plain stuff as I used. I plan to try this again with the right stuff.
3. Chicken Broccoli Supreme Casserole w/o the canned soup - excellent. We've had this a couple times.
4. Braised Short Ribs - This is a favorite of mine. I cut the red wine and use beef broth. Aaron seems to sometimes like it and sometimes not, so I don't know if I didn't space it out far enough in between or what. He likes variety whereas I could eat the same delicious meal every night several nights in a row.
5. Honey Spice Chicken Thighs- Good, but not as flavorful as I was hoping. Need to kick up the spice next time.
6. Pot Roast - I've made pot roast before, but I thought I'd try this as it had a few more seasonings and spice. We both enjoyed this and especially the pot roast leftover quesadilla's that were suggested as a follow up meal.
7. Left over Pot Roast Quesadillas - Awesome :)
8. Chicken, Potato, Bacon Au Gratin - sounded better than it was. It was fine, I definately need to add some red pepper or something next time. Needs some serious spice.
9. Orange Chicken - made in the crock pot, another Asian meal I decided doesn't work in the crocker. To many varieties of flavors blended together. The flavors need to be kept separate and layered and then maybe we would have liked this better.
10. Best ever Beef Sandwiches - good. very salty from the soy sauce. maybe beef broth next time? We'll see. I haven't given up on this one.
So inspired again by my friend, I put this question out there... What are your go to meals? and what about recipes you've tried? Anything good enough to share? I need some more awesome hits and less misses.
So back to my friends challenge. Here are the pinterest meals we've tried and our thoughts:
1. Slow cooker Honey Sesame Chicken - this was okay. Not a favorite. Something about Asian food in the slow cooker is not quite working for us.
2. Coconut Chicken w/ Sweet dipping sauce - this would have been better had the recipe specified that you need 'sweetened' coconut, not the plain stuff as I used. I plan to try this again with the right stuff.
3. Chicken Broccoli Supreme Casserole w/o the canned soup - excellent. We've had this a couple times.
4. Braised Short Ribs - This is a favorite of mine. I cut the red wine and use beef broth. Aaron seems to sometimes like it and sometimes not, so I don't know if I didn't space it out far enough in between or what. He likes variety whereas I could eat the same delicious meal every night several nights in a row.
5. Honey Spice Chicken Thighs- Good, but not as flavorful as I was hoping. Need to kick up the spice next time.
6. Pot Roast - I've made pot roast before, but I thought I'd try this as it had a few more seasonings and spice. We both enjoyed this and especially the pot roast leftover quesadilla's that were suggested as a follow up meal.
7. Left over Pot Roast Quesadillas - Awesome :)
8. Chicken, Potato, Bacon Au Gratin - sounded better than it was. It was fine, I definately need to add some red pepper or something next time. Needs some serious spice.
9. Orange Chicken - made in the crock pot, another Asian meal I decided doesn't work in the crocker. To many varieties of flavors blended together. The flavors need to be kept separate and layered and then maybe we would have liked this better.
10. Best ever Beef Sandwiches - good. very salty from the soy sauce. maybe beef broth next time? We'll see. I haven't given up on this one.
So inspired again by my friend, I put this question out there... What are your go to meals? and what about recipes you've tried? Anything good enough to share? I need some more awesome hits and less misses.
melskitchencafe.com is my go-to right now for recipes. Her desserts are delicious, and also her main dishes, she has a HUGE variety and they all are easy without weird ingredients. And most important of all, yummy.
ReplyDeleteI have two chicken recipes that you might love. I'll send them along to you. They aren't Pinterest found, but they are good! And pretty easy to boot.
ReplyDeleteHey Melis, just pinned the one casserole you said was good. We also tried the Honey Sesame Chicken, and yes it was okay. Here are a few we have liked from pinterest. You can find them on my food board. 1)Ham & Swiss Strombolli (you can put in it whatever you like. Quick & Easy Meal Idea. 2)Shrimp, Sausage, corn & potato kebabs (sounds weird but was really good) and there is a rolls recipe on there that is fantastic! (The rest I don't think I have actuallu made!)
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