A few random tips:
- Before trying any Pinterest recipe, always read the comments. I won't make any recipe from Pinterest without reading the comments on the original post first. Often, I won't make it at all after reading the comments. Other times, I find really helpful hints from other people who have tried the recipe.
- Looking for a great seasoning? Use Darcy's Seasoning! This is my family's all-time favorite. We use it on chicken, in twice-baked potatoes, in sauces, on cottage cheese on top of Ritz crackers. The uses are limitless. Mmm.
- I have only found it at Harmon's grocery store. If you're into the buy local movement, this is a Utah product! TRUE STORY...one day I went to buy Darcy's at Harmon's and they didn't have it! I pretty much had a panic attack in the spice aisle and marched straight to customer service to find out what the heck had happened. I told them that Darcy's seasoning was one of the reasons that me, my mom, and a bunch of our friends even go to Harmon's and that they had to keep carrying it. Thankfully, it was back on the shelf the next time I went back. (And I may have bought five or six bottles just in case a similar disaster occurred again.)
- Use frozen chopped onions! Whoa! In my reading of recipe blogs online, I saw someone mention that she never chops onions. She just buys frozen chopped onion from the freezer section of the store. What!? I didn't even know that was a thing! I bought a bag, and I'm never going back. No mess, no smelly onion hands, no watering eyes. Just open the bag, dump some in the pan, and voila! Chopped onion.
- One Pot Dishes are. the. bomb. One pan, 20-30 minutes. If I can make something yummy, fast, and only have one dish to clean afterwards, sign me up! I click on and read about pretty much every one pot recipe I see on Pinterest.
WINNER: Pepperoni Pizza Pasta (One Pot Dish)
We really like this one. It is simple, easy, inexpensive, and all three of us are fans.
Find the recipe HERE.
Hints: I think that the Basil, Garlic, & Oregano Diced Tomatoes are key to the flavor of this dish. Don't go with regular diced tomatoes! I typically use whatever kind of noodles and cheese I have on hand (bowtie and cheddar jack are usually what I use in this one). I also cook my own sausage (about half a roll of Jimmy Deans regular or reduced fat) to use.
WINNER: One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage Skillet (minus the smoked sausage)
I've made this one a bunch of times. I actually do not care for the smoked sausage, so I usually make this for a meatless dinner. I haven't wanted to tweak the recipe at all, except for leaving out the meat!
Find the recipe HERE.
WINNER: Pull-Apart Pizza Bread
We LOVE this one. I have made a few key changes to the recipe.
Find the original recipe HERE.
My Hints:
- Dough: Matt really dislikes the Pillsbury-style dough (biscuits, crescent rolls, pizza dough, etc.). I don't totally disagree. The unexpected POP of the can is terrifying, and there is some kind of weird taste in all of it. I use frozen Rhodes rolls for this recipe. Set them on your counter on some wax paper sprayed lightly with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap sprayed in cooking spray. Let them sit for a few hours until they are thawed and have started to rise a little bit. (For a 13x9 pan of this, I thaw 20 rolls...a lot, I know.)
- Italian Seasoning: I stumbled upon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning, and this is what makes the recipe.
- Pepperoni: I've used both turkey pepperoni and regular, and they both taste good. Might as well go with the lower-calorie turkey, right? (Matt didn't even notice it wasn't "normal" pepperoni.) ;)
- Don't use the bundt pan. We did it this way the first time, but I don't think it cooks as well. Mix the ingredients really well and dump into a sprayed 13x9 glass baking dish.
MIXED REVIEWS: Broccoli Rice & Chicken Casserole
Coleman and I like this one. It's kind of a "Mormon mom meal," but it is warm, comforting, and yummy. Matt doesn't like most casseroles and he doesn't like Cream of ________ soup, so he doesn't love this one.
Find the recipe HERE.
Hints:
- Cook the rice and chicken first.
- The comments on this recipe said that lots of people have had problems with the rice still being crunchy. I use regular white rice (not instant), and I cook it first.
- I cube the chicken and cook it in a skillet with a little olive oil. I let it get a little brown and yummy on the outside, and I always season it with Darcy's.
- Add some seasoning to the sauce (I like Darcy's)!
- Decrease the cooking time because all the ingredients are cooked (or thawed) already. I pretty much just consider the oven a way to get it warm and bubbly and crisp the top a bit.
Matt really loves Asian food of all kinds, and he has missed it since we've been eating out less. I typically feel really ill after eating most Asian foods I've tried, so I'm not the biggest fan. I have liked these three recipes, though, and haven't felt gross at all after eating them!
WINNER: Ham-Fried Rice
We had ham for Sunday dinner the other day, and I was trying to figure out what to do with the leftovers. The original recipe for this rice calls for chicken, but I diced up the ham and used that instead.
Find the recipe HERE. I didn't make any changes beyond using ham. This was delicious.
WINNER: Skinny Orange Chicken
We really liked this. If you're looking for something that tastes like the orange chicken you usually get at Panda (insert other Chinese take-out here), this is not the recipe you're looking for. For me, however, that's a good thing! It isn't as sickly sweet and the orange is there, but not overpowering. This had a really unique flavor, and I loved it.
Find the recipe HERE. The only change I made was that I didn't have rice wine vinegar, so I used the rice vinegar I had in my cupboard (honestly not even sure that those two things are different).
MIXED REVIEWS: Simple Sesame Noodles
Matt really likes these; I think they're fine. We've made them more than once because they're easy, Matt likes Asian food, and I don't hate the recipe. :)
Find the recipe HERE.
Variations:
- I have tried this with rice noodles and with thin spaghetti. I didn't find it remarkably different either way.
- The first time we made this we cubed and cooked chicken and added it; the second time we went meatless. Again, I didn't find it remarkably different.
- The second time I made this I added some chopped peanuts and some shredded carrots, and I thought this was an improvement. I didn't have any, but I think some cilantro would have been good, too.
WINNER: Basic White Bread
I've been on the hunt for a good white bread recipe for a long time, and I think this one might be the one. It isn't overly hard or time-consuming, and it makes a soft, good-tasting, nice-textured bread. I also really like the way the blogger of this recipe describes the stages of the bread and gives pictures of each stage. I think I tend to add too much flour to my bread, and her pictures and descriptions stopped me from doing this. The way she folds her loaves is fantastic, too! I also like that the recipe uses all-purpose flour and not bread flour. That way, I always have the ingredients on hand.
Find the recipe HERE.
WINNER (if I tweak it...): One-Hour Cinnamon Rolls
Matt loves cinnamon rolls. I have found another good recipe that I don't think I've posted about yet, but this morning I saw a recipe that claimed to make cinnamon rolls in one hour that are as good as the long, time-consuming ones, so I thought it was worth a shot! I was super impressed by this recipe. The rolls were soft, light, and fluffy, and it really only took an hour. Holy smokes!
Find the recipe HERE.
Tweaks:
- I will definitely make these again, but I think the filling needs adjustment. Other cinnamon roll recipes instruct you to spread softened butter over the rolled-out dough and then sprinkle the sugar over the top. I think this makes a nicer, smoother filling than the way this recipe does it (a fairly small amount of melted butter mixed with a whole lot of sugar). The flavor of this filling is good (I haven't done both white and brown sugars in my filling before), but it was still really grainy after the rolls baked. I think if I did more butter, spread on the dough, and less of each type of sugar, it might end up with a smoother filling.
- I don't keep bread flour on hand and this was a last-minute thing. I used regular all-purpose flour (probably closer to 6 1/2 cups) and it worked perfectly.
Happy Pinterest-ing!
