Pinteresting Recipes #5: Dinners

Here are some more reviews on recipes I've pinned. 

Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta

Another not great recipe (Lynden hated the squash).  I think it's way too much squash, not enough bacon, and don't use it as a topping; mix it in.  The flavours were overpowered by the squash (hence the too much squash) so you lost the pasta amongst it.  I doubt we'll try this one again. 





Baked sweet and sour chicken

I was looking forward to trying this since Lynden is all about Chinese Food these days.  It was pretty good.  The kids and Danny enjoyed it.  I felt it was missing pineapple and Danny thought it was too sweet (it does call for a lot of sugar).  I think this one could end up a keeper if I can tweak it to satisfy everyone. 

I made the fried rice at the end of the recipe to go with it and it was a HIT. 



Slow Cooker Bacon-Wrapped Apple BBQ Chicken

I wasn't thrilled with it, which is shocking since it's a Six Sisters recipe.  If you haven't checked out their blog you are missing out.  95% of the time I see someone wonderful on Pinterest (food related) it's from them. 

Back to the recipe: wasn't thrilled.  The bacon wasn't crispy (I prefer crispy bacon, not that I say no to bacon...ever!) and I think it would have been better if it had been.  The BBQ and apple combo was nice but not strong enough for a slow cooker meal. 

I will say this, it comes out looking Exactly like the picture, which was a nice change.  If we try this one again I think I am going to do it in the oven instead. 


Crock Pot Pizza Casserole

Again, wasn't thrilled with it.  But... I didn't make it in the slow cooker, and I am not sure how it would do in a slow cooker since it only calls for 3 hours on low.  If I started it before I left for work it would have been on warm for twice as long as it cooked. 

I also did not have pizza pepperoni - I don't know if it affected the flavour or not.  It wasn't enough tomato paste; I think pizza sauce would have been better.  I don't think this will get a second shot. 


Honey Apple Pork Roast

Made this on a Sunday, which are my go-to-slow-cooker-days (since Danny and I both work until 6) and it was pretty good.  I liked that the roast didn't just fall apart once it was cooked (that's the only thing I don't like about slow cooker roasts, I want slices of roast not a pile of shredded meat) and the apples were a nice compliment to it. 

Next time I'm going to add some potatoes and carrots to the pot to make it a true one dish meal. 




Chicken with Black Beans and Rice

This was good (another one that comes out looking like the picture).  Good flavour and an easy one dish meal.  It was a bit small for us, so next time I might serve with some additional veggies or salad.  You can always change up the seasoning. 





Caribbean Dump Chicken

I am really liking the dump chicken recipes, but this one wasn't as nice as the last one. Every now and again you'd get a great bite it would be followed up by a plain one. I don't think it's so much the recipe but the fact that I didn't let it marinade. If you try any recipe from this site and don't freeze it I recommend prepping it the night before and letting it soak in the flavours.



Garlic Lemon Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Onions

This recipe gets points for being something different than the every day pork chops and it took no time to make.  However, both Danny and I felt it was too much lemon.  If we make it again I'll leave out some of the lemon and see if it makes it better. 







No sweet recipes this time around.  With the holidays I stuck to my go to recipes (not that they worked well for me).  I've got a few I've got my eye on to try over the next bit. 

{On another note: I'll be getting back to posting new stuff next week}

Pinteresting Recipes Part 4

Another round of reviews (read the previous ones here)

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken

Ok, a few things went wrong.  First: before using coconut milk, shake it.  I didn't know this so it wasn't too coconutty.  Second: I only marinated for 4 hours instead of 8.  Third: we bought a bulk meat deal from a local butcher.  I didn't realize that 1lb. of chicken would be one breast instead of 2-3.  This caused me to completely scramble at the last minute for another dinner for the kids.  However, I was happy with how it cooked and if I had let it marinade longer the flavour would have been better.  This I will make again. 

**I have made a second time and it was awesome!  I let it marinade over night and cooked on the indoor grill.  This was a hit!

Cowboy Casserole

I had this as left overs, which I was told wasn't as good as the night before, but I liked it.  It's basically Sheppard's Pie topped with tater tots instead of mashed potatoes.  A good kid friendly meal.






Corn Chowder

This was pretty good and the kids loved it.  I did forget the red peppers and celery (I don't know how) and it was missing "something" so add at least the celery, although the red pepper adds colour.  Danny later said it needs some bacon, but he says that about most soups.  It does make a lot so plan for a left over night or freeze it - I googled it and you can freeze it with the milk in it.  The potatoes might get a little soggy in the defrosting but in soup do you notice?



Chocolate Cupcakes

This is the recipe I used for Lynden's birthday cupcakes.  The recipe said it makes 16 but I didn't alternate between the flour and milk and ended up with 42 cupcakes between 2 batches.  I found them to be a little dry; but I don't know if that's because of how I added the milk (slowly added) or my oven, which is quite off.  They were flavourful cupcakes though. 

Pinteresting Recipes - Part 3

Sorry I took last week off - I seem to take a late week off each month.  But, I'm back... sort of...

Starting Thursday I have some wonderful bloggers filling in for me while we enjoy some vacation time - I can't wait for you to "meet" them! 

Until then it's time for another batch of reviews of Pinterest recipes.


Spaghetti Pepperoni Pie

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this recipe but it wasn't too bad.  I used garlic sausage instead, because I had some left over from perogies earlier in the week, and it was nice.  I think next time I'm going to add some veggies to it and make it a true 1 pot dish.  I should point out Alyssa loved it!  It was nice to have a new way to eat spaghetti. 


Apple Fritters

I have been pretty lucky so far, everything I've tried has been edible.  It was bound something was not going to succeed and these were them.  The recipe makes it sound so easy and they were easy to prepare - the only thing I found (and maybe it should have been my clue) was 1 cup of apple was too much for the amount of dough so I quickly made another batch of dough to reduce the amount of apple.  When it came to frying them it was a complete flop!  I went through 3/4 of the dough before I decided there was no way to make them without burning them to the point of no return and even still the dough inside would be raw. 
I was disappointed, I was looking forward to home made apple fritters.  I guess I'll stick to getting them from Tim Hortons.

Pintersting Recipes Part 2

I thought I would share my thoughts on some more recipes I've tried from Pinterest.  You can check out my last review here.



Lemon and Garlic Infused Lemon

It was good, but my poor beans never stood a chance (it came out looking Nothing like the picture).  If you're not a big lemon fan don't eat this (or modify it so you don't toss everything in the lemon sauce).  I think next time I'll marinate the chicken in the lemon sauce (by the way, make twice as much as the lemon marinade than it calls for), and toss the potatoes but not the beans; it was a lot of lemon.  But, we liked it and will make it again. 

Jello Cookies

I figured Lynden likes cookies and jello so these would be a hit.  I was sort of right.  He loved making them but, like all sweet stuff I make, he wasn't as keen on eating them.  Granted, the first day I found them to be a little doughy, to me they even smelled like playdoh.  The next day they were better.  Like a cross between a shortbread and a sugar cookie with a bit of flavour to them.  I will try it again but will use a stronger jello flavour (we used orange pineapple) like lime or raspberry. 

Italian Herb & Lemon Zest Chicken Wings

Don't these look amazing?!?!?  They were tasty but they need to be cooked on the grill (we did them in the oven).  We let them marinade over night and it was worth it, but next time we will be grilling them instead of baking them. 

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

This is a slow cooker meal but I just made it on the stove.  I wasn't really sure what to expect from it but it was quite tasty.   Alyssa ate quite a bit of it (while attempting to use a fork) and Lynden decided to skip dinner (and I wasn't in the mood to fight him so I told him if he was hungry later he was having dinner).  I enjoyed it and that's mainly what counts... right?  Next time I think I'll add more seasoning and some extra vegetables. 

Pinteresting Recipes

I've been showing you a lot of what I've been pinning, 97% of which I haven't done anything with.  So, I thought I'd show you some of the recipes I've actually tried from Pinterest.


Lazy Sunday Casserole

I don't think I made it on a Sunday, so I don't know if that's why something was missing from it.  I liked the fact that it's a one-pot dish (in theory easier cleanup right?) and we are big sausage fans in this house so I thought this would be a hit, but it wasn't.  Something was missing.  I don't even recall what "taste" was missing, maybe something acidic, but it needed something.

I don't know why I can't link it, so you can see it here



Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

These were Awesome!!  Lynden helped me make them and he discovered he likes coconut.  The cookies were light and highly addicting.  I was not upset that Danny did not like them, because it meant I could eat more of them.  I think next time I make them I'll add more lime and there will be a next time.





Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Another big hit.  Taste like a cinnamon roll but less time making them.  Granted, you do have to chill them for about 2 hours it's still less time than actual cinnamon buns.  I didn't add as much icing sugar as I should have so next time I'll add more.  Our downstairs neighbour and I exchange baking and he said his daughter just devoured them so I know she's waiting for the next batch.