Pinterest Food #3

you can see #1 here and #2 here.

you can view my pinterest food board here.

so where do i begin on this one?  i realized something the other day with my pinterest food posts.  i could actually be helping out someone.  someone like me.  someone who forgets to buy an ingredient on the shopping list, even though it was written down on the list.  someone who looks at the ingredient list and automatically assumes how to put it all together without reading the recipe. someone who doesn't read all the way through recipes until you're actually making it.  someone who somehow skips a step in the recipe, even though you were reading it as you were going.

 yeah, that is soooo me.

with this said, sometimes i have to alter recipes, but i'll make note of that below the food item. 
as usual, i am sharing recipes that i liked and will make again, and i don't snap photos of the foods i made.


Peanut Butter Cup Pie from Cinnamon and Spice and Everything Nice.

I didn't find the chocolate cookies she was talking about for the crust, so I used Oreos instead.  Creme and all.  And retarded me didn't buy two packages of cream cheese, so I only used one.  I added a little extra peanut butter to compensate.  I also used a 9 x 13 pan, and I threw the dessert into the freezer.  I didn't serve it frozen, but I let it defrost a bit. 

Snicker Bars from How Sweet It Is.
You MUST make this TONIGHT.  Period.

After each layer, I chucked it into the freezer to speed up cooling times.  I left these refrigerated right until serving.

Naan Bread from Allrecipes.com

Really good.  I used garlic in mine.  I would reduce the heat on the grill to maybe med-high since mine got a little on the burnt side last time.  Matt's been in Afghanistan, and he says naan is really good sprinkled with cinnamon and coarse sugar over the buttered naan.  Of course, skip the garlic. 

Curried Green Lentil Soup from The Little Ferraro Kitchen.

I used only a 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes, added an additional cup of coconut milk, and skipped the salt and pepper.  I didn't add those decorative thingys to the top of my soup either.  I ate Naan bread with it.  Yum!

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries from The Art of Doing Stuff.
It say "gauranteed" in the title, but that really ain't so.  Even many people made comments about that in the comment box.  She says it's all about the ratio of oil and cornstarch, so I guess after the 20th time making them, you'll finally get them crispy.  Other than that, they still tasted good, and I am going to work my way up the 20th time.

Pizza Dough from Annie's Eats.

Let's just say I pinned this 14 weeks ago and I have made at least 20 pizzas.  You do the math.  I half the dough recipe to make one single pie, which feeds 3 people.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza from Annie's Eats.

I tried this with white crust.  Yum! I  also tried this with whole wheat crust.  Yuck!

I didn't have any of that fancy herb cheese, so I made my own using this recipe.  I had to add more spices into the mixture though.  I just thought it wasn't enough.

French Bread Rolls from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

I ended up throwing away my old roll recipe, and replaced it with this.

I don't knead it for as long as the recipe says.  Maybe two-three minutes in the KitchenAid.  I always use the window pane test when I make yeast rolls, and I half the recipe and make about 12 large rolls.  I think this recipe is fool-proof, but try not to go proving me wrong.  ;)

later taters,
nancy

Pinterest Food # 2

You can see # 1 here.

I am trying out the foods that are getting pinned on Pinterest because I LOVE variety.  I am not one of those gals who can eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I debated whether or not to share the recipes I disliked.  No one likes hearing their cooking sucks.   I know everyone has different tastes when it comes to food, and that's fine.  I am sure someone hates something I have made.   What would you do?  Inform others of poor recipes?  Keep it to yourself and let others find out on their own that the food tastes like crap?  Don't worry though.  I'm only sharing the recipes I liked and will make again.

As usual, I don't document the food I make, so I use the photos that were pinned. 

First up, the infamous 7up biscuits from Plain Chicken.  I'm sure you have seen this photo before because it's been pinned a bazillion times by now.  And I can see why.  They are freakin' awesome.  So easy to make.  So little ingredients.  So soft like a baby's bum.  I actually goofed the first time I made them.  I poured my melted butter into the Bisquick and had to add extra flour.  But they turned out just fine.  I made them a second time following the recipe, and they turned out great. 

Next I made this Chicken Enchilada Soup from Home is Where the Holmans Are.  The recipe calls for some fancy Mexican cheese (okay, I'm just too lazy to look up what the cheeses are), but I used cheddar and mozzarella instead.  It is a hearty, thick soup.  I enjoyed it.  Matt loved it.  I will be making it again. 

The other week I made BBQ Chicken on the grill, and I used a sauce recipe from Our Best Bites.  Oh my word.  I thought this sauce was delish.  In fact, I was eating it by the spoonfuls before putting it on the chicken.  You would have thought I was pregnant.  Matt liked it, but he wasn't as super impressed as I was.

I love eating Broccoli and Cheese soup.  Especially from Panera Bread.  This photo looked tempting, so I made the soup from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I did enjoy it, but I wasn't super thrilled by it.  It was delicious, don't get me wrong.  I guess I will hold every Broccoli and Cheese soup up to PB's standard.  Shame on them!  This recipe also calls for swiss cheese, which really gives it a different flavor to the soup.  Matt suggested ham would be really good in the soup.

From Me-To You made this gorgeous roasted bird.  Take a look at that photo!!  Doesn't this make you want to go out and kill (or buy :) a chicken RIGHT now??  Well, that is what happened to me, though Goldie, Tweedle, Sassy, Baby, and Halley are still alive.  I didn't have any of that fancy herbs de Provence or lavender, so I googled it and made up my own with what I had on hand.  It turned out great!

Zuppa Toscana soup from Mommy For Reals = YUM, and not because I "know" Danny. All I can say about this is I have made it 3 times since pinning it.  I made it once for my two sisters.  One sister made it for two weeks straight until she literally got sick of it. 

Thai Coconut Rice from Cooking for Seven.  This was good, but it was not as sweet as I was expecting, and the coconut flavor is not as pronounced as I would have thought either.  I will make it again though.

Have you made or pinned any of these items listed?

Pinterest Food

If you have a Pinterest account, more than likely you have some sort of food board.

I decided to actually make the food I pinned, and here are a few recipes I tried in the last few weeks.

Maybe you pinned one of these dishes?

Sorry, no pictures of the food I made.

All pics come from my Pin board, and you can find the recipes there.

First up, Pretzel Bites.  (I'm actually eating these as I am typing :)

These are NOT like the pretzel bites you get in the mall.

This is just frozen roll dough you dip in butter and sugar and cinnamon. (that's the version I did)

They taste fine, nothing spectacular.  I'm eating them, so they don't go to waste. :)

I could see little kids loving them, but adults will not be fooled.

I don't plan on making these again, but I am glad I tried it out.

If you do make these, make sure you roll the dough between your palms after the first rise.

If your dough tears apart before going into the boiling water, they will not cook properly in the oven.  I learned that today.

If you make the parmesan kind, let me know how it turned out.

Second recipe is Creamy Tomato and Sausage Pasta.

First off, I used two drained cans of diced tomatoes, a teaspoon of sugar, hot Italian pork sausage, light cream, and dried Italian and basil seasonings. 

This was really good and super easy to make.

It's a very simple dish, and because of that, you think it might not be that great.

I will definitely make this again, especially if I need to serve a larger crowd.

This dish reheats well too.

I made this Mongolian Beef, and I was quite impressed.

I purchased sale beef from my local store, and I knew it was not flank steak.  It turned out just fine.  I used powdered ginger, accidentally added some rice wine vinegar, and used 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes.

I thought it tasted "authentic" (in quotes because I really don't know what authentic is), and the dish made me feel better because I knew I was not consuming MSG or cat. ;)

It tasted like something you would get at Chinese restaurant, and I would make this again.

Last up is this fried chicken dish.

I LOVED this chicken.  I bought chicken breast with the bone in, and they were huge (big mistake).  I should have filet the breast or cut it in half to reduce its size.  I used whole milk plain yogurt (not greek), and I added a few tablespoons of buttermilk powder.  I fried the chicken in canola oil since coconut oil is expensive.  I had to end up baking the chicken at 400 for 20-30 minutes after frying because they were so large.  The crust was crispy and very tasty.  Adding parmesan cheese was a great addition.  I will definitely make this again.  I skipped the sauce, and I served a side salad with the chicken.  Amazing!

(I have a giveaway starting tomorrow, so make sure you come back!)