This week on Pinterest – Jan 18-25, 2012 January 26, 2012
Posted by Judy in Food.add a comment
All of my pins that I tried this week were food. I think it was a good week for trying new foods.
Let’s start with the desserts, because, let’s be honest, those are the most fun!
Cinnamon sugar pullaparts
Source: joythebaker.com via Judy on Pinterest
These are kind of like cinnamon rolls, but in a loaf form. The flavor was pretty good. I think I would tweak the filling a bit, but it was good. I did have issues getting all of the sliced pieces into the pan in a non-messy fashion. I’d get one set into the pan, and then they would start sliding down. Kinda like books that are leaning in a bookshelf. If there is no support, they slide down. This bothered me. It didn’t affect the flavor, but it didn’t look nice. I’ll be making this bread again. Maybe next time with some cinnamon chips or chocolate chips.
Cream cheese pudding cookies
Source: themotherhuddle.com via Judy on Pinterest
I messed up when I made these. Rather than mixing the pudding in with the eggs and sugar, I mixed it in with the dry ingredients. I’m not sure whether or not that made a difference. So, of course, I’m going to have to try these again! Even with the mistake, they were quite yummy. I modified the recipe a bit, using half shortening and half butter. You should definitely give this recipe a go!
Sweet potato burritos
Source: allrecipes.com via Judy on Pinterest
On a scale of 1 – 10, I’d give this a 5. The flavor was okay, but I wanted a little more punch, or something. It was ALOT of sweet potato. I think if I make this again, I’ll add more beans and less sweet potato, it just seemed like the balance of ingredients was a bit off. Not a total loss, but not a resounding win, either.
Cauliflower pizza
Source: eat-drink-smile.com via Judy on Pinterest
I’ve used cauliflower before to make fake mashed potatoes, and it was surprisingly good, so I thought I’d give this a go. I combined this recipe and another one I had for pizza. Basically it was a white sauce (mayo, olive oil, white cheeses), with artichokes, mushrooms and black pepper as the toppings. As with the fake mashed potatoes, I was pleasantly surprised at the flavor. It’s not something I’d do often, but for a change, this was good.
What did you pin and try this week?
The Pinterest reviews – Veggies January 17, 2012
Posted by Judy in Food.Tags: cooking, pinterest, veggies
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I’m really terrible at serving veggies at lunch and dinner. I’m lucky if we get them in once a day. Since I’m trying to be better about it, I’ve collected a bunch of veggie recipes. As you can see, I’ve only tried 3 out of the bunch, but collecting the recipes is the first step, right?
Apple, potato and onion gratin
Source: bonappetit.com via Judy on Pinterest
This was made for a potluck a few months back. As we were eating, I heard two people in a discussion.
“Did you taste the potatoes?”
“Potatoes? I thought they were apples?”
“No, I’m pretty sure they are potatoes.”
“Really? Tastes like potatoes to me!”
I jumped in and let them know that they were both correct! Apples and potatoes seems like an interesting combination, and it was pretty good. I’m sure the success of this recipe hinges on the type of apple you use. I personally wouldn’t want the super sweet variety, so a Granny Smith apple would be perfect here, while a Braeburn would be cloying. This dish has so many possibilities, what with all of the apple varieties available.
Roasted cabbage wedges
Source: marthastewart.com via Judy on Pinterest
Cabbage is a funny veggie to cook. Most of the time, it just tastes like dirt to me. (Except for the time we got an enormous cabbage from the farm. That one was VERY tasty!) This recipe was an exception. Most of my babes like it. The toddler was less enthused, but I’m pretty sure that’s because he doesn’t have molars, and I can’t imagine that gumming a cabbage is a pleasant experience. Anyway, the cabbage had a great flavor and it seriously took like 5 minutes to set it up, plus roasting time. My kind of recipe!
Spinach burgers
Source: thevillagecook.com via Judy on Pinterest
Being vegetarian, it can be tricky to find good protein substitutes. These burgers are really quite good. My only complaint is that they don’t stick together very well, so it’s a pain to fry them up. I might add more egg or something to help them hang together a bit better. Otherwise, the flavor was very yummy. Couple that with homemade burger buns and some fresh veggies . .. . yummy!
The Pinterest reviews – Entrees January 16, 2012
Posted by Judy in Food.Tags: pinterest
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No preamble today, just going to launch right in with the reviews.
Baked spaghetti in garlic bread
Source: rhodesbread.com via Judy on Pinterest
This was ridiculously good, it is now a staple at our house. I used homemade bread rather than the Rhodes loaf, but use whatever is convenient for you. Try it, it’s really delish!
Sweet potato quesadillas
Source: fixmeasnack.com via Judy on Pinterest
Super easy, quick and very good for you. Plus, the kids loved them. Win- win!
Salsa verde bakes eggs and hash
Source: themotherhuddle.com via Judy on Pinterest
This recipe got a resounding “meh” from me. The rest of the fam thought it was good, but as I recall, it was a bit of work and there wasn’t much to show for it at the end.
Enchiladas
Source: jessicainsd.blogspot.com via Judy on Pinterest
I’ve always made enchiladas a particular way, the way my mom taught me, and I love them. This recipe comes in at a VERY close second. They are easy, you make your own sauce and you can fill them with whatever you want and make as much or as little as you want.
Tortilla and black bean pie
Source: marthastewart.com via Judy on Pinterest
I really should make this recipe once a week . . . that’s how good it is, and it’s super easy. (Are you seeing a theme here? I have a great appreciation for easy and delicious recipes!) The use of a springform pan here is genius. If you don’t have one, don’t worry, you can just use foil paper like I did here:
Sweet and sour tofu stir fry
Source: blog.cookingwithtraderjoes.com via Judy on Pinterest
I’ve made alot of stir fry in my life, this was definitely not the best one. In fact, it was quite bad. Maybe the fact that I had to make my own soy sauce (I didn’t have any!) had something to do with it. Somehow, I don’t really think that real soy sauce would have salvaged this recipe. It really tasted nothing like sweet and sour, at least not the sweet and sour that you can get at the Chinese restaurants. On the plus side, I got to play with my new KitchenAid attachments.
Pumpkin mac n’ cheese
Source: bonappetit.com via Judy on Pinterest
Here’s another recipe that I didn’t particularly like. I love me some homemade mac ‘n cheese, but I didn’t particularly care for the pumpkin. The kids loved it, so I let them gobble it up since it was somewhat healthy. On second thought, they must not have liked it too much as they haven’t ever requested to have it again.
Apple and sage quesadillas
Source: fixmeasnack.com via Judy on Pinterest
I liked the premise of this recipe . . . .although DH doesn’t like fruits in his entrees, I don’t mind it. I didn’t like the big chunks of sage. I would have preferred to have the flavor from the sage without having to bite into a sage leaf. Dried, rubbed sage is probably the way I’d go next time.
That’s it for today, folks. Got any recipe ideas for me? Leave me a comment, I’m always game to try something new!
The Pinterest reviews – Breads and grains January 15, 2012
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Not much beats a slice of freshly baked bread. I’m always on the prowl for good bread recipe. Thanks to pinterest, I’ve found several winners.
Cinnamon and Sugar Pull aparts
Source: joythebaker.com via Judy on Pinterest
I made these for DH’s birthday . . . . delish! There were sort of a pain to make. Stacking up the strips without the sugar mixture sliding off was tricky, and then getting them into the bread pan was also tricky and messy. But, the end result was fabulous!
Cheddar and Bacon Scones
Source: seasaltwithfood.com via Judy on Pinterest
We are vegetarian, so I made these with Morningstar Farms Stripples. Another winning bread recipe.
Cream Scones
Source: savorysweetlife.com via Judy on Pinterest
Scones made with lots of cream and sugar . . . need I say more?
Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch
Source: cakeandallie.com via Judy on Pinterest
These turned out better than I thought they would. I didn’t particularly care for the Avocado Ranch, but the egg rolls were easy enough to make and they were healthy since they weren’t deep fried. A different dip and this would have been perfect.
The Pinterest reviews – drinks and desserts January 14, 2012
Posted by Judy in Food, Musings.add a comment
We like to bake at our house, so I think this is the category that has gotten the most use on my Pinterest page. Some have been fantastic, others, not so much.
Here we go! (I know nothing about html coding. As such, I can’t figure out how to keep the next line of test from bunching up after the pinterest photo. Any ideas?)
Black bean cupcakes
So these weren’t as gross as they sound, but they definitely weren’t delicious. They needed LOTS more sugar, a problem that was solved by slathering them with chocolate buttercream frosting. I suppose using that much frosting sort of negates the fiber benefits . . I’m okay with that!
Source: fabulesslyfrugal.com via Judy on Pinterest
Blackberry syrup
Meijer’s had blackberries on megasale, so I bought tons and needed something to do with all of the berries. This syrup is fantastic in smoothies, on ice cream and in soda.
Blackberry cream soda
This was really delicious the first time I made it, less so the subsequent times, but still a keeper!
Pumpkin icecream
Can’t say that I really enjoyed this recipe. It could have been mediocre pumpkins, or maybe just a mediocre recipe. In any case, I won’t be making this again.
Source: williams-sonoma.com via Judy on Pinterest
Blackberry icecream
This was pretty good, not too creamy, but still decent. I have yet to find a to die for homemade icecream recipe!
Source: saveur.com via Judy on Pinterest
Piping icing trick
The first time I used a pastry bag, it was a disaster. Enter this fabulous trick, and my pastry bag is now actually useful! Try it, it’s a great trick!
Source: chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.com via Judy on Pinterest
Chocolate tangerine bars with clementine buttercream
A really disappointing recipe. It sounded to delicious, but when it was all said and done, we all agreed. … “Meh.”
Source: dana-made-it.com via Judy on Pinterest
Pink lady cake
I made this cake for DD’s birthday, it was quite good, but more work than I’m willing to put into cakes. And besides, it’s pink, enough said!
Source: smittenkitchen.com via Judy on Pinterest
Double dark chocolate pomegranate cookies
Another disappointing recipe here. The pomegranate added a nice flavor, but the seeds were unpleasant, and the cookie itself was only mediocre. Alas.
Source: dana-made-it.com via Judy on Pinterest
Frozen hot chocolate
The success of this recipe really lies in the hot chocolate mix. Mediocre hot chocolate yielded a mediocre frozen drink, while yummy hot chocolate yielded yummy results. The recipe said it would make 2 large drinks, I ended up with more like 4-5 very large drinks.
Source: 247moms.blogspot.com via Judy on Pinterest
The Thanksgiving Feast December 4, 2010
Posted by Judy in Food.2 comments
For the past several years, we have spend Thanksgiving on our own, no extended family, no friends, just our immediate family. This year, we decided to invite some friends over, and boy are we glad we did! We had such a lovely time shooting the breeze, eating TONS of food, and watching our kiddies play together. We’ll definitely be inviting people over every year, I think!
But back to the food. I have NO. IDEA. why we had so much food. There were four adults and four children under the age of five. We had so much food left over, we were eating left overs until Sunday! And it didn’t help that our friends left all of the food they brought and didn’t take anything with them! We still have dessert in the freezer (and that’s only because we put it there . . otherwise, we would have finished that off first!)
Come and take a tour through our spread! Pretty much everything was something totally new, either recipes from friends, magazines or foodie blogs. Most everything was delish, some more than others.
The main entree . . .. tofu. Every year, DH uses tons of tofu to make some sort of dish with stuffing. This year, it turned out quite good (the first year was pretty much a flop!)
(For some reason, I don’t have a picture of this. I KNOW I took one, I just can’t seem to find it now! Oops!)
Next up, stuffing. I made Artichoke Parmesan Sourdough Stuffing. It was pretty good, not to die for delicious like I expected, but good, none-the-less.
We had two different green veggies: brussel sprouts and broccoli. These were brought by our guests, so no recipes to share on these.
I roasted some sweet potatoes ala smitten kitchen, and then made a cinnamon butter to go on top. (I only following the roasting instructions, didn’t make the topping as it didn’t sound all that good to me.) The butter was really yummy, and was perfection atop the pull apart rolls I made. I’m not much into making homemade bread . . . but this was an easy recipe and they were soooo good!
The spread would have been incomplete with out cranberry sauce. Can’t say that I really liked this recipe all that well. Found it in my Parents magazine . . .. .it was REALLY tart and had lots of orange zest. But, it was really quite good in the cake.
And now for the desserts. First up: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. . . . need I say more?
Remember that cake I mentioned earlier? It was a regular made from a mix bundt cake that had some of the cranberry sauce swirled into it after placing the batter in the pan. I also tried to make a glaze . . .notice I said tried. For some reason, it was SUPER runny and it didn’t have that nice white look that I was expecting. It DID add a nice flavor, just not as pretty as I was expecting.
Our guests brought an apple pie with the most delectable crust . . YUM!
So I bet you aren’t surprised that we had oodles of leftovers, right?=)
A Diva Moment 