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