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.