y Favorite Time of Year!

Man, the past couple months have flown by! I love, love, love this time of year. As soon as Fall hits, I know a lot of good stuff is on its way. I also love the yummy food and flavors that come along...pumpkin, cinnamon, peppermint, and of course good home cookin'! Here are a few fun recipes I've found on Pinterest that have contributed to all the great festivities in the last couples months. I hope you find these helpful for all of your parties and get-togethers coming up soon! 

Homecoming Week
One of the great things about working on a college campus is getting to partake in all the fun Homecoming activities. There is so much going on during that week and you can't help but enjoy it! Our office decided to do a homecoming potluck for lunch and we all brought in tailgating foods. I brought this yummy Beer Dip and these oh-so-delicious Brownie Cookies. Both turned out awesome...my favorite was the cookies. They are soooo yummy! Mine didn't come out quite as thick as they look on the website, but who cares how they look when they taste so good! The beer dip was good too and Michael was happy to finish off the leftovers that came back home. He was a big fan :) I definitely agree that it works best with pretzels.

                                 

Here is our awesome Conference Planning & Operations team at the parade! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite days of the whole year. I love the traditions that come along with it: waking up and watching the parade, being in the kitchen with my mom, and spending the day with family. We always eat too much and inevitably a few fall asleep while watching the football game, while others are outside with all the kids playing in the yard. It is truly a day to be thankful for all we have been blessed with. Of course the food always steals the show. When you grow up in a Southern family, there are enough casseroles, desserts, and "fixins" to feed a small army! I knew it was a little risky trying two new recipes for the big day, but I thought I would make something new since I usually tend to bring the same things over and over. This year I tried a recipe for Cream Cheese Corn, as well as a Pumpkin Coffee Cake. The corn was tasty...the kids especially liked it...but it could've used a little more flavor. I ended up adding a little garlic since I thought it was a tad bland and that helped a lot. It was a good compliment to the other food and I did get good remarks on it. The big winner, though, was the coffee cake. If you get a chance to make this over the holidays, please do! It was seriously delish. There wasn't a crumb left at the end of the day! It has a brown sugar glaze on the top that seeps into the cake and makes it so soft. This would also be great in the mornings with a good cup of coffee. I'd vote this one one of my favorites so far...will definitely make it again soon!













Here are a few more pictures of some great times over the Thanksgiving break. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Michael tries his first piece of pecan pie...you're Southern now! 

Clemson game! 

Enjoying Disney on Ice with sweet Ellie bug!

rockpot Wonders

I am officially in love with my crockpot. I have been for some time, but I figured that I should make a formal announcement. I do wonder if this makes my cooking efforts a little less impressive, but ultimately who cares. Everything I've made in the crockpot comes out delicious. It still amazes me every time how perfectly it cooks food. Plus, it's so convenient to add the ingredients in the morning and come home after work to a wonderful meal. If you're not using yours very often, or...gasp!...don't own one, I strongly recommend showing it some love and letting it work it's magic for you.

Just in case you need further encouragement, I HAVE to share this genius, amazing, life-changing product I stumbled upon in the grocery store a couple weeks ago. Reynolds makes crockpot liners! Check them out here:  http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/product.asp?prod_id=3200. You put the liner in, add your food, and let it cook. Afterwards, you just throw the liner away and voila! There's nothing to clean! Whoever came up with that idea deserves a big high five.

Ok, enough commercial breaks...onto the good stuff. My first Pinterest recipe is a simple Crockpot Ravioli. It doesn't get any easier than this. Only 3 ingredients are between you and a yummy Italian dish. This is a great meal for busy days or Winter nights when you are craving something warm and hearty. Even cooking-challenged boyfriends/husbands can be put in charge of this one (not that I speak from experience). You can also play with different types of ravioli. We tried spinach this time, but I'd also like to try this with a beef ravioli. And bonus, this heats up really well for leftovers.

My next crockpot adventure turned out to be one of my overall favorites so far. I do love Chinese food, but we rarely go to Chinese restaurants. I usually feel icky after eating it because it's so heavy. This recipe is a great compromise: Chinese Beef and Broccoli. It's the great flavor of the classic Chinese dish, but much less filling. There's something very satisfying about creating a dish at home that is generally known as a take-out dish. I like the thought that it's going to be healthier and cheaper than it's counterpart. I have to say, this was really delicious. Michael and I both went pretty crazy for it. I used brown rice instead of white, but I'm sure either would be fine. We just happened to have brown in the pantry. Definitely consider adding this to your rotation if you're looking for a meal that's full of flavor. 

New Favorite

I've been sitting here trying to think of a good excuse for why I haven't blogged in 3 months. I haven't cooked in 3 months? Not true. I was on vacation for 3 months? Don't I wish. My computer died? Sadly yes, but that was only a few days ago. I think the simple answer is that I kept putting it on the back burner (a little cooking humor there) and never took the time to keep up with it. But here we are at the beginning of Fall and I am starting back up with documenting my adventures in the kitchen in hopes of giving you some new ideas, too.

Without further ado, are the best meals of the last few months, including one that jumped to the top of our favorites list. Just click on the titles to get the recipes.

5. Jalepeno Popper Chicken

I made this one because I knew this was right up Michael's alley. I've never tried to make chicken "stuffed" with anything before, and it's a little bit of a challenge. The act itself isn't hard, but it's a little tricky getting it to stay inside. The recipe suggested holding it together with toothpicks, which turned out to be helpful. Mine didn't hold together quite like it was supposed to, but the flavor was still good. The one thing I would definitely change for next time is the size of the chicken I used. The pieces were too big and the chicken-to-stuffing ratio was off. I recommend using small to medium chicken breasts. Michael was a bigger fan of this than I was, but it was still a tasty meal. 

4. Baked Spaghetti

I love spaghetti and I love a good casserole. Combining those is a brilliant idea. Enter the baked spaghetti casserole and you have a yummy dish on your hands. Spaghetti has always been one of my go-to, don't have anything else to make meals. This is just a good way to shake it up a little and put a twist on an old fave. I had a funny "duh" moment while making this one when I realized I'd left out the browned meat after mixing everything else together in the casserole dish. I had to just dump it on top--thus the different look mine has compared to the recipe page. If you like spaghetti, you'll enjoy this one.

3. Crockpot Cube Steak

This has been my ultimate Pinterest meal so far in that every part of the meal came from Pinterest recipes. The main course was the cube steak, which had cooked all day in the crockpot. You can imagine how tender this was by dinner time. It was hard to even get on the plate because it was falling apart...in a good way of course. It was really delicious. I also made Balsamic Honey Oven Roasted Carrots, which were awesome. If you like carrots, you'll love these that have a little extra flavor. However, as much as we liked the first two, the star of the show ended up being this Macaroni & Cheese. Holy moly, was it delicious. The only homemade mac and cheese I've ever attempted is my aunt's recipe that has always been my favorite. This one is baked in the oven as opposed to hers which is done in the crockpot. This version was ooey, gooey and a little crispy on top thanks to the panko crumbs. Seriously delish! If you like mac and cheese, this one is a must! One note: I didn't use all of these cheese it called for as it looked plenty cheesy to me only using about 2/3 the amount. You can alter it based on how much cheese you like.

2. Chicken Fajitas

Mmmm, Mexican food. One of my favorites. This recipe could easily become a regular: it's easy, super yummy, and makes for good leftovers. One of my favorite things about crockpot meals is how I come through the door after work and the whole house smells good from what's cooking. Just throw the chicken and veggies on some tortillas and you're all set. Grab a margarita and you have the perfect weekend meal!

1. Parmesan Honey Pork Roast

OK, people. If I can stress one thing to you, it's this: if you like pork, you HAVE to make this recipe. As soon as we tasted this, it shot to the top of our favorites list. This is seriously delicious stuff. Once again, the crockpot works its magic on this one, and my oh my, did we love it. I even got the comment, "This is restaurant quality!" The blend of spices on the meat smells so good, and after this has cooked for hours, the meat just soaks up all of the wonderful flavors. I actually didn't even make the gravy that the recipe calls for...I really don't think it needed it. I cooked two roasts and sliced the first and then shredded the second. We saved the shredded for leftovers and if it's possible, it was even better the next day. My friend that was visiting for the weekend had a bite and immediately asked for the recipe. If you are looking for a good meal this week, I promise this won't disappoint!!

atching Up!

Well, I do believe it's officially summer. It was 102 today in Memphis. What better time to stay inside and update the blog?? I'm way past due anyway. So in an attempt to catch up on what's been cookin' the past 3 weeks, here's my rankings and notes on what's come out of my Pinterest kitchen lately.

4. Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon

We eat a fair amount of salmon and we usually keep it pretty simple, so I thought it would be nice to try a glaze that has some different flavors in it. After reading all the rave reviews on this one, maybe my expectations were a little too high. Between the brown sugar, soy sauce and dijon mustard, I was expecting this to be a party in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, this was still tasty and a nice compliment to the salmon itself...but not quite what I was preparing myself for. Maybe I should've put more glaze? Not sure, but I would definitely try this again to see if I can do it a little better.

3. Honey Garlic Pork Chops

This recipe is somewhat similar to the last one in that the glaze is the star of the show. Even though this one had less ingredients in the glaze, I think I actually liked it a tad better. As soon as I mixed this glaze together, I was excited to try it on the pork. The flavor of this was really good. Based on comments from the website, I opted to bake them instead of grilling. I think I may try the grill next time and see how that affects the flavor. For some reason, I had to put the chops back in the oven for a little longer (still learning the tricks of a gas oven), and I think they got a little too dry. I did enjoy these, but I'd be interested to see the differences on the grill. I'm guessing they'd actually do well on the stove, too. 

PS: I've just discovered the handiness of a meat thermometer. Go buy one if you don't have one...super helpful!

2. Crockpot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken

So this is one of those meals that you feel like shouldn't really qualify as cooking. It's literally 3 ingredients in a crockpot. That's it. Serve it over some rice and you have yourself a meal. And of course, this was Michael's favorite. When he first took a bite and let out a happy choice word that won't be repeated here, my first thought was, "Yay, success!" My second thought, however, was, "Seriously? Your favorite can't be the meal I slave over?" Oh well, I'll take what I can get :) I'll admit, this was better than I expected. It was surprisingly flavorful, especially considering the lack of ingredients. This could definitely turn into a go-to meal when you have limited time or, if you're like me, limited groceries.

1. Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

Out of this batch, this was my favorite. I'd always wanted to attempt a homemade pesto, and it is definitely worth the effort...not that it's even that hard. This one is unique because it uses a cilantro base instead of basil. It was ridiculously good. The beauty of a pesto is that you can taste all of the great elements. Once the chicken was coated in it, it was the perfect balance. We only added some lettuce, cheese and a little salsa to the tacos because it really didn't need much else. I think black beans would also be really good, but I didn't have any on hand. Do yourself a favor and make these soon! 

One thing to note: you definitely don't need all of the salt the recipe calls for. My friend Mary mentioned this to me after she had made them, and I am so glad she did. I only used 1/2 teaspoon of table salt in the pesto. I'm not a big salt fan, so that was plenty.

ittle Extras

So here are a couple of small items that I've made in the past week.


I made this Hot Corn Dip over Memorial Day Weekend. We were watching the NBA playoffs and I was in the mood for some sort of chips and dip. I remembered this recipe and took a shot with it. I really enjoyed the simplicity of it, and it was a little different from the other corn dips I've had. This would be great for a party or tailgating, and next time I would add even more of the topping as those were the most flavorful bites.

Rating: 4

We also grilled burgers one night, so I wanted to try this recipe for Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes to go on the side. I love red potatoes and thought they'd be great with the ranch seasoning. Maybe I had my expectations a little high on this one, but I was a tad disappointed. I think it had potential to be really good, but I just didn't love them. For one thing, I think they may need to be flipped while cooking, as some were very done on one side, but undercooked on the other. I also might add a few more potatoes next time since the ranch flavoring was a tad much for me. Maybe more potatoes would even it out.

Rating: 3 (with potential to be better)

talian Night

I love pasta. It's one of those comfort foods that I get a craving for every so often. There's just something about it that is so satisfying. I have to admit, though, that I've never attempted much with it at home other than the basics like spaghetti or noodles with some chicken thrown in. Since being on Pinterest, I've pinned several recipes that revolve around pasta shells. I thought these would be pretty simple and the options of what to stuff them with seem endless. I decided to first try this recipe for Stuffed Shells with Spinach and Sausage. I was pretty excited for this one since the pictures look delicious and the ingredients all sound wonderful. 


Michael volunteered to do the grocery shopping since he knows I hate it (gold star for him!), but he ran into a little problem: no jumbo pasta shells to be found. We had to go to plan B and ended up using manicotti shells. (By the way, I looked on my next trip to the store and couldn't find them either...why are these hard to find?) The manicotti shells worked pretty well, but I'm sure this would've been better with the normal pasta shells. I had a hard time getting the stuffing in without ripping the shells open. 


Despite all that, these were quite delicious. These made me hungry just cooking them. The stuffing smelled so good once all of the ingredients were in the pan together. I will definitely be trying the other pasta shell recipes I've found...once I can actually find pasta shells :) I think these will be a keeper.

Stuffing it in :)

Rating: 4

Music Selection: Marc Broussard's Carencro

izza Party

Confession time: I didn't cook this week as much as I had intended. It was just one of those weeks. I did finally get around to one Pinterest recipe. It's for Caprese Pizza, which I've been wanting to try for a while. I've never done a homemade pizza and after attempting this one, I've realized I should've been doing this for a long time. It was super easy and super quick...I'd barely classify it as cooking. More like putting together really.


Confession #2: I may or may not have cheated a little on this one. I couldn't find the refrigerated pizza dough, so I used a pre-made crust that basically just had to be heated up. I did still add the Parmesan cheese and garlic to the crust to give it flavor. It came out great, so maybe it's worth the cheat.


This was such a delicious pizza. It's so light and fresh tasting. With so few ingredients, you really get to enjoy the flavors of the ones that are there. It makes for good leftovers too :) One tip I can offer: you definitely need to let the tomatoes sit with the salt on them to help draw out the liquid. I probably didn't let them sit quite long enough. I had to dab a good bit of liquid off when I took the pizza out of the oven. This was definitely one of the best smelling recipes I've made too. Olive oil, garlic, and basil...YUM! This will become a staple, especially for a quick weeknight meal.

Rating: 4 

Music Selection: Sam Cooke's Greatest Hits

eekend Comforts

This weekend, I decided to make a couple of my favorites: chicken salad and corn on the cob. In the spirit of trying new things, I found recipes that put a twist on these classics. 


In keeping with the avocado theme, I tried this recipe for Avocado Chicken Salad. It peaked my interest since I couldn't remember ever having chicken salad that included avocado. And that's a darn shame because this was yumm-o! This one will definitely get a home in the recipe box. We have ourselves a keeper.

Since it was the weekend and I had a little more time, I cooked the chicken in the crockpot while I was out running errands. By the time I was ready to cook, the chicken literally fell apart and was perfect for shredding. Since the recipe didn't have measurements, I just started adding the ingredients until it tasted right. I loved it because it still tasted like the chicken salad I've always enjoyed, but it had these new flavors in the background that made it different. Next time, I'll definitely add some almond slivers...I think they would be an excellent addition. I ended up eating it on its own, but it would be great on a sandwich, with crackers or even pita bread. I'm sure I'll be partaking in leftovers this week.


As a side item, I attempted this interesting recipe for Mexican Street Corn. Part of me thought this would be delicious and part of me thought it was a sin to mess with good ol' corn on the cob. I figured it was worth a shot. So, I have to say the different flavors went well together in some weird way. The main problem was that I screwed up cooking the corn. I only had frozen on hand, so I boiled it on the stove and may or may not have lost track of how long it had been cooking. It turned out mushy and in case you have any doubt, mushy corn on the cob is not appetizing. I'm going to have to try this one again and I'll probably buy fresh corn and roast in the oven like the recipe suggests...and also use that timer thingy on the stove :)

Chicken Salad Rating: 4.5

Corn Rating: 3 (lower rating is my own fault)

Music Selection: Maroon 5's Hands All Over

ooray Avocado!

I have recently started a love affair with avocado. I don't know that I had ever eaten it before a couple years ago, and now I can't get enough of it. I haven't cooked with it that much at home because Michael doesn't really like it, so I usually get my fix when we're out to eat. However, since he was out of town this week, I had the chance to pick a couple recipes that included this yummy fruit (I thought it was a veggie, but I was wrong-o). It can be tricky because it goes bad pretty quickly once you cut into it, but it's worth it. 

So, my first avocado adventure was really a double-goodie for me because it also included shrimp, which Michael also doesn't eat. I had never before attempted to cook shrimp, but I happily discovered it's not too difficult. I followed this recipe for Shrimp and Avocado Tostadas. I have to admit that I was pretty proud of myself for taking the time to make these. I had come home from a long day at work and really just wanted to crash on the couch, but forced myself into the kitchen to get cookin'. It was worth the effort. Other than cooking the shrimp, these weren't very time-consuming as there's only a few ingredients. They were very light and would be a great meal during the warm summer months. Plus they were pretty :)

I used flour tortillas instead of corn, mainly because corn tortillas only seem to be sold a million to a pack. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe. I enjoyed these quite a bit. I don't know that they are something I'd make frequently, but yes, I'd try them again. There was something about the flavor I didn't think blended perfectly...maybe because the few ingredients are all fairly potent in their own right. They were tasty though and good for an evening when you're not starving. 

Rating: 3.5 

Side note: 99% of the time, I listen to music when I cook. It helps me get in the zone. Since I love music, I'll share what's on my iPod too in case anyone's looking for new music.

Music Selection: Ray LaMontagne's God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise

o Far...

So, for any and all who are interested, here is the link to my Pinterest board where I save all of my potential recipes: Yummy In My Tummy. So far, I've attempted around 10 of them, most of which have been quite delish and not too complicated to make. You may notice that I tend to gravitate towards recipes that are fairly simple and don't require a bajillion ingredients. Baby steps people, baby steps.

After conferring with my guinea pig boyfriend Michael, who is luckily (I hope) the recipient of many of these experiments, we agreed on 3 recipes that stood out as our favorites.

• Best Pot Roast Ever
• White Chicken Enchiladas
• Crockpot Buffalo Chicken

We also agreed that there was one recipe we wouldn't make again. I was unimpressed this one. 

• Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

As you can see on my Pinterest board, there are many more to go. Perhaps I should quit pinning for a while so I can actually work on the ones I've already found. Looks like I've got some cooking to do!

PS--I still haven't found a cure for my hatred of grocery shopping. Anyone else suffer from this ailment?? 

nd So It Begins

I find it rather ironic that I, of all people, am starting a blog about cooking. I've never been one to spend much time in the kitchen and when I do, I don't always emerge with the most exciting results. I tend to stick to the same ol' tried-and-true recipes that have been passed down from family and friends. When I'm occasionally feeling crazy, I may even tear a recipe out of a magazine...but often times it finds its home in my recipe box, never to see the light of day. On the average day, I usually fall back to my boring staples: sandwiches, Lean Cuisines, and other assorted mish-mash items I find in the pantry.

Then along came Pinterest. This one little website has subsequently changed the way I look at cooking. I'm finally excited about finding new recipes and spending the time it takes to create them. Now don't be misled...sandwiches and Lean Cuisines are still close friends of mine. But it sure does feel nice to enjoy being in the kitchen and actually have a sense that I might, just might, be kinda good at this. At least I'd like to think so.

I figured starting a blog would encourage me to keep up with this new hobby by giving me an outlet to share my adventures and maybe even help my other culinary-challenged friends out there. Since Pinterest is my new source of inspiration, I'll be posting each time I attempt a new recipe from the site. I really hope you enjoy my trial-and-error cooking tales and can even use them in your homes too. 

Happy Cooking!