Stuffed Peppers

The original recipe for this is from skinnytaste.com.  I don't think my version was so skinny.

The recipe used ground turkey, I used 95% lean ground beef.  And I didn't use low fat cheese, and to top it off, I added bacon to it.  Because bacon makes everything better.

I also used orange bell peppers instead of red, just a personal preference.  They were really good and again, the kids ate it, minus the actual pepper.  The only thing I wish I would have done differently was followed the directions to add the cheese at the end.  I added it prior to cooking, so after it had cooked for 35 minutes, you couldn't really tell there was cheese on it.  I used white rice this time, but I think it would be just as good with brown rice for the next time and it would add a little more fiber.  

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I am a bit of a soup connoisseur.  I love a good soup.  One of my all time favorite is Panera's Broccoli Cheddar soup.  When I saw this on Pinterest, I had to try it.  It's from mangiodasola.com.

I didn't have any nutmeg or cardamom, so I just left them out.  I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, and it didn't.  I like to prepare dinner when my three year old is napping, so this was made and put in the fridge to be warmed up on the stove at dinner time.  When I warmed it back up it was much thicker, so I just added a little more chicken broth until I got the consistency I wanted.  Also, I only had sharp cheddar cheese on hand, so that was all I used.  When I make this again, I think I will substitute the half and half for just milk.  With all the cheese you add, I don't think it is necessary, and it would save a few calories too.  If you haven't noticed, I'm not afraid to try recipes even though I don't have all of the ingredients.  Don't be afraid to substitute similar items, or it a recipe calls for such a small amount of something, omitting it all together.  

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Valentine's Peanut Butter Blossoms

I made a batch of these last week for Ian's work.  They were divine.  The recipe is from bettycrocker.com.  I used heart shaped chocolates, obviously, instead of kisses to make them a little more festive.

Eight minutes was plenty of cook time.  And it made a little more than four dozen cookies.  Try them.  You won't be disappointed. 

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

 

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Stuffed Pizza Rolls with Homemade Pizza Dough

I hate when I buy a bottle of spaghetti sauce, only use half of it and then forget about it and have to throw the other half away.  I saw this on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try, and freeze it in portions just enough for one meal.  The recipe is from budgetbytes.blogspot.com.

It cooks in a crockpot for eight hours.  And it really needs the whole eight hours to cook.  I was pretty worried about it in the beginning stages of cooking.  It tastes really bitter until all of the dried spices have "undried" themselves.  The only thing I changed was I used 1 1/2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning in the place of the oregano and basil.  I also added about a teaspoon of white sugar.  It is pretty good.  It tastes a little different than the classic jarred spaghetti sauce, but it is good.  I used it last week to make these Stuffed Pizza Rolls...

The recipe is from ourbestbites.com.  I made mine with pepperoni.  The kids LOVED them.  And the homemade spaghetti sauce was good in them too.  Awhile back I had made pizza dough and froze it.  The recipe was from allrecipes.com.  I didn't have granulated garlic, so I just added a little minced garlic in it's place.  I made the dough in my bread maker on the dough setting.  It was the first time I had used it and it turned out well too, even after freezing it.  Here's my final product...

They don't look like much, but they were easy and pretty good, and a good change up from the usual pizza.

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Roasted Lemon Garlic Herb Shrimp

I've always been a little intimidated to cook shrimp.  I don't know why.  It's really not hard.  I was glad I experimented with this recipe to warm myself up to it.  The recipe is from cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com.

I bought a half a pound of raw shrimp from the deli and adjusted the recipe accordingly.  It cost me about $5, which is a little more than I like to spend for just a part of one meal.  But it's good to splurge every once and a while, right?  The only problem, was that Ian and I easily could have eaten a whole pound of shrimp.  You bake the shrimp, which is now something I will be trying for tacos or other recipes that call for shrimp.  It was so easy.  The only thing I didn't really care for in the recipe was the thyme.  I used dried thyme, which maybe was the problem.  It still tasted dried by the time the shrimp was fully cooked.  It would have been great with just the garlic and lemon and butter and olive oil of course.

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Country Club Chicken

Any recipe with bacon calls to me.  We LOVE bacon in this house.  So I gave this recipe a try.  It's from www.kayotic.nl/blog/.  It is a little different.  Not only does it have bacon, but diced apples in it also.

I actually did take a picture of this one with my phone.  I didn't have any white wine, so I substituted water.  Because I haven't ever cooked with white wine, I don't know if it would have made a difference.  It was pretty good. The bacon of course made the meal.

Pinmaker's Rating:  Like it
Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Chicken Enchiladas and Enchilada Sauce

I wanted to make enchiladas the other day, but had no enchilada sauce.  And I hate going to the store for just one or two items.  So I found this recipe for enchilada sauce.  It's from http://www.bloglander.com/cheapeats/.  Luckily, I had all of the ingredients.  

I didn't love it.  I think there was just too much flour.  After I made it, I looked for some other enchilada sauce recipes online and found several that used much less flour.  I will be trying a different sauce next time.  I wasn't a huge fan of it, but when my husband took his first bite of the enchiladas, his first reaction was, "this enchilada sauce it good."  And that was before I told him it was homemade.  So maybe it was just me.  The recipe I used for the enchiladas was from asweetpeachef.com.

I liked how you cooked the chicken in the sauce.  I will be doing that again.  But because I didn't love the sauce I was using, I added a scoop of sour cream to the chicken.  Sour cream always makes everything better.  I also used flour tortillas instead of corn.  They were really easy.  I will be making these again.

Pinmaker's Rating:  Like it and Love it

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Pioneer Woman Meatloaf and Linguine with Garlicky Breadcrumbs

So I've been really bad at taking pictures of the food I've been making, but I assure you I am back to cooking!  A few weeks ago I made Pioneer Woman's meatloaf.

It was really good, as all of Pioneer Woman's food is.  This recipe is a little different than any meatloaf I've ever made.  Instead of the traditional breadcrumbs, you use a slice of bread soaked in milk.  I liked it.  I cut the recipe in half as usual and used store bought barbecue sauce just to make it easier.  The only thing I would do differently is I don't think I would add the bacon.  Ian and I like really crispy bacon and because this bacon is baked on the meatloaf, it's soft.  I think next time, I would fry some bacon and top the meatloaf after it is cooked.  Now that would be good.  To accompany the meatloaf, I made linguine with garlicky breadcrumbs from my recipes.com.

I am going to try this recipe again.  I used whole wheat noodles, and although I followed the directions on the box, they were undercooked, slightly crunchy.  Instead of making breadcrumbs, I used store bought breadcrumbs.  Give it a try, I'm sure it's a good one with properly cooked noodles.

Pinmaker's Rating:  Love it

Level of Difficulty:  easy