Last week I invited you to share your tried-and-true recipes with us. So many of you clicked through to see the recipes others have actually made and loved, only to find that mine were just about the only recipes linked up. I have some theories about why this was the case:
a) You have no time to find your favorite recipes on Pinterest, let alone figure out how to link them up. You may have even been at the drive-through when you read the post.
b) You don’t even know what I’m talking about. You’re on summer vacation after all!
c) You pin recipes. You don’t actually MAKE them.
If option c applies to you, allow me to encourage you to make one of the great-looking recipes on your “to try” boards. I want to make it even easier for you!
The problem with making Pinterest recipes is we know that sometimes we’re being deceived by the photos. Sometimes that delectable-looking dish is going to taste disgusting and that’s after spending a ton of time and money making it. Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable actually making these dishes if a real person had made them and could vouch for them?
You know what I mean. Some of these food bloggers know the key words to use to get our mouths watering. Right now I think they could concoct a s’more omelet and we’d pin it. Sure they’re going to make it look good. And most of the comments on their sites are along the lines of “Can’t wait to try it!” Truth is we are most likely to make dishes we have eaten elsewhere and we are second most likely to make dishes our friends rave about. When a non-food blogger says a dish is to-die-for, we’re all ears.
I prowled Pinterest for real people with boards of recipes they’ve actually MADE and liked. I’m following them and you might like to, too:
Shayla has some healthy and yummy looking recipes I can’t wait to try.
Jeannette has a huge variety of recipes here that are quick and get raves.
Katt has a nice selection of breads, soups, breakfast and more. She reports how it went over and how she would change it.
Miranda offers up plenty of yummy main dish recipes, including crock pot recipes, often giving a brief review.
Joanne has pinned some of the yummiest looking dishes ever, including desserts. My mouth is watering. She also shares comments.
Karie offers a creative variety of dishes on her Made board, too. I love that she describes one of the dishes as “Awesome!” That’s exactly how my friends and I talk about food.
Now It’s Your Turn
You can either link up your “Made” boards and recipes below after pinning the graphic for this post (see this post for full instructions) or share the link to a recipe you’re committed to trying in the next week in the comments. Come back and tell us if it’s a winner.
I’ll be making Clean Eating Lemon Muffins. I am being more intentional about clean eating and my kids are crazy for lemon. I think this will be a nice change of pace for breakfast.
Update: The Clean Eating Lemon Muffins were a fail for my family, unfortunately. I would have needed to zest four large lemons to have enough zest and I didn’t care for the lemon extract taste. I think the problem is we’re comparing the taste to lemon cakes that are loaded with fat and sugar.
I don’t plan on doing another Pinterest link-up. But I will be sharing recipes I’ve tried and pins and pinners you shouldn’t miss. So be sure to click here for the latest finds.
These caught my eye on Pinterest. Kevin & Amanda call these Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars. It makes more sense to me to call them You Can Have it All Brownies. You layer chocolate chip cookie dough (Kevin & Amanda give a recipe for the dough, while I used a large roll of refrigerated dough), followed by Oreos, and brownie mix prepared as directed. If you read the comments, you’ll worry for nothing. You have to make sure you cover them with aluminum foil for 30 minutes and bake for another 25 minutes. There will be some ooey gooey unbaked stuff drizzling down your plate. Is that a problem for you? Please click the highlighted link above for the recipe.
Oven Tacos
2. Oven Tacos
What, dessert before dinner? I love this recipe from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures because it’s so handy for a large family like mine AND it gets the fiber and protein of beans into my kids with no complaints. Oh, they knew they were there, but they kept eating.
Greek Pasta Salad
3. Greek Pasta Salad
If you love Greek Salad like I do, you’ll love this unique twist on pasta salad. This would be great to take to a picnic or potluck if you can keep from eating it yourself. I’m not as wild about the big mushrooms, but I don’t think I would miss them. I found this recipe on my go-to site, All Recipes.
Breakfast Cookies
4. Breakfast Cookies
Are you aghast at eating cookies for breakfast? You mean as opposed to donuts, Pop-tarts, and sugar-coated cereal? These cookies have the protein of peanut butter, the goodness of oats, and they’ve got to be better for you than most preservative-laden bakery items. Even if they’re not, I don’t care, because they’re DELISH. 🙂 I modify this AllRecipe’s concoction to include Rice Krispies (yes, you’ll need SIX CUPS) and chocolate chips.
Bean and Bacon Casserole
5. Bean and Bacon Casserole
Growing up in South Dakota, the pot luck dish I looked forward to most was my aunt’s bean casserole. I think she called it 3-Bean Casserole or some other number of beans. But because I didn’t care about the number of beans as much as the fact that there was BACON in it, I’m calling it Bean and Bacon Casserole. AllRecipes calls it Calico Bean Casserole. I need to doctor it up more next time, but it was pretty close to what I remember. Think beans, bacon, hamburger, and a brown sugar barbecue flavor. Yum. This was also a popular dish at Chuckwagons when I was growing up.
Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal
6. Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal
My kids just aren’t wild about traditional oatmeal. Too bad because I really love it. I was very excited to find Lynn’s recipes for baked oatmeal because I was sure we’d both love it and we do. It tastes like a soft granola bar. I sprinkled it with mini chocolate chips and drizzled milk over it and everyone slurped it up. What’s wonderful is this can be prepared in advance.
Pretzel Fruit Pizza
7. Pretzel Fruit Pizza
I LOVE salty and sweet and this really delivers in both ways. I used the blender to pulverize the pretzels. It made creating a yummy crust much easier. The cream cheese topping includes lime juice which is another flavor I’m crazy about. And who doesn’t love berries? I suppose if they make your lips swell, you wouldn’t like them as much, but hopefully that’s not you. Check out this AllRecipe’s link to make this great light dessert. Perfect 4th of July dessert, yes?
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper, the Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor, and I've never outgrown my love for it. I still make it because it's cheap, it's fast, and it's tasty. The problem is it's made with stuff I can't pronounce. I know there is no way it can be the best choice for my family.
So I was particularly intrigued by Laura's ability to break up with HH and start a new love affair with a recipe made from scratch. Honestly, after the taco corn fritter meal, I was pretty skeptical. But I made it exactly as directed, using whole wheat pasta (not my favorite because it can tend to be tough) and white cheddar cheese that I shredded quickly using my Pampered Chef Ultimate Mandoline. I happily used whole milk to ensure it would be as creamy as possible. I served it up, took a bite, and…
It wasn't exactly like Hamburger Helper. I was worried. But the more I ate, the more my old Hamburger Helper was like a high school honey–long forgotten! The whole wheat pasta was tender, my husband loved it, and the kids who normally eat it were satisfied (c'mon, if everyone ate it, I'd think I was dreaming). Leftovers were particularly yummy I thought.
The great news is it's good, it's better for us, and it doesn't take long to make. I cooked the noodles 15 minutes from the time they started simmering. That's when the milk and cheese mixture really started to thicken.
Do you have any other healthy meal makeovers to share with me?
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
