A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Pinterest Recipe: 1, 2, 3 Cobbler: Fruit, Cake Mix, Sprite...and that's it!

"Hi, My name is Glenna and I, too, am addicted to Pinterest."

I admit it.  I have a million (well, maybe not QUITE that many) pins of recipes and crafts that I will, I promise myself, someday cook, create, paint, plant, or read. 

I pinned this cobbler photo/recipe earlier this very afternoon and thought "I have all three of these things on hand, why not tonight?"  So, along with the spaghetti, homemade bread, and roasted garlic we had for dinner, we also have this lovely peach (or the original is berry) cobbler to enjoy for a little something sweet to end the night on.

I tracked this photo back to Jennifer's blog "Living a Changed Life", Be sure to check it out  and follow her amazingly inspirational weight loss journey. 

I followed the directions which are just as simple as the directions someone has written on the Pin itself:

Jenn's Yummy Pecan, Rolo, & Pretzel Chip Nummies

 

 Our friend, Jenn, brought these to our annual New Year's Eve party and they were a huge hit: the perfect combination of crunchy, salty, sweet, nutty, and chocolate.  They're a quick and easy addition to any dessert table that will disappear faster than any other treat.

Thank you, Jenn!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Chili over Rice

From my Pinterest board to yours....

Found this recipe from Rita's Recipes on Pinterest and it looked like the perfect no work Crockpot/slow cooker recipe for dinner tonight, on this cold and dreary rainy day in the Ozarks.  It was! 

It's  a little different style from most of the dishes I make but Gene's always game and always honest.  Not rude, but honest. If he doesn't like something, like the stuffing I made the other day, he'll be honest and and reply to my "Did you like it?" with a simple and direct "No, I did not. But thank you for making dinner tonight."  The reason why I make a point of telling that is that I was curious to see how he'd react to this new recipe.  He chose to heat up leftover mashed potatoes instead of spooning it over rice, but he cleaned his two chicken breast bowl like a big boy begging to get dessert.  He even said about halfway in, with a full mouth no less, "This is surprisingly tasty!"  (I think he assumed that creamy would mean boring but it's not)   Lots of flavor and perfect comfort food.

I made a few changes to the recipe, mainly spicing from my spice rack since I don't keep packets of ranch dressing mix on hand, more chicken for my meat-eater hubby, and I used chickpeas instead of kidney beans. It was delicious. I think any type of bean would work well in this dish.

Thank you to Rita for blogging this dish (Gene thanks you too).

Earthquake Cake

Mmmm....chocolate...and coconut...and more chocolate...and walnuts...and more chocolate...and cream cheese...does it really get much better than this? I didn't think so either!  My friend, Melissa, found this recipe posted several times by approving pinners on Pinterest and I researched to find the original recipe, which was no surprise to me, came from the Duncan Hines web site.

Kin to my cream cheese brownie recipe, this is a great step up with even more flavor.

Thanks for letting me use your photos, Melissa--so scrumptious looking! 

Pepperoni & Provolone Crescent Rolls

Another kid-friendly recipe that my sister, Suzanne, served for lunch to the kids (toddler through seven) she babysits this summer.  They were easy to make, the kids helped, and they loved them.  I think one of the great things about simple recipes like this is that it gets kids in the kitchen, on their level, doing something they can gain confidence with and then when they love the taste, it gets them even more excited about cooking and trying more complicated things.  It's about building a foundation of skill and confidence.

For parents, it's quick, easy, and tasty, so that's ALWAYS a winning combination!

Fast & Tasty: Coney Dog Casserole

This is another of those Pinterest recipes that is so simple and so tasty that I automatically wonder why I never thought of it.  Four ingredients, five minutes prep time, 30 minutes in the oven or toaster oven, and dinner's on the table with the exception of a salad or quick vegetable. It can also be prepped the night before a work day or church so it's even more accommodating to busy lifestyles.

Gene and I both liked this, sort of non-messy Coney's you can easily eat with a knife and fork (and don't have to get in the car and go to Sonic to get), plus I used only half a tortilla per hot dog so it has much less breading and more hot dog/chili goodness!

Good & Good For You: Quinoa "Mac & Cheese"

 Saw this recipe repinned on Pinterest several times so decided to make it to go along with the other Pinterest recipe I tried, the Easy Garlic Chicken.  Both were very good and will be made again!

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is an ancient grain most often associated with the Incan Indians of Peru.  It is the only grain that contains all the essential amino acids of meat, making it a complete protein.  Just as wheat, barley, oats, and rye all have their own unique taste, so does quinoa, of course. I admit I'm still in the process of learning to love it. I'm in the "I really really like you but I'd like tokeep seeing other grains" stage of dating with it.  The more I cook with it, the more recipes I gather like this, that are very good, the closer I get to saying the big "I love you" and putting it in a special place in the front of the pantry of my heart.  

Does this taste EXACTLY like macaroni and cheese? No, because it's quinoa instead of pasta, but it is very good and very healthy. It would also be very tasty with half quinoa, half brown rice.

Thank you to Monica Nelson for posting this to her web site!

Good & Good For You: Summer Porridge aka Yogurt Oats

 

When I first saw this recipe, called "summer porridge", "yogurt oats", or "overnight oatmeal", I honestly thought it sounded gross but so many people were enthusiastic on Pinterest and other places on the web that I knew I had to give it a chance. It's not like I'm not an adventurous eater anyway, and with these ingredients I knew that at the very least it would be very good for me. (I just needed to check it out to see if it was "good" in the concept of "good & good for you".)

Guess what? It's my favorite way to make oatmeal now.  Hot oatmeal in the winter is filling and somehow defines cold weather for me, but the summer? Not so much.  Now I have a summer oatmeal to enjoy and start off the day with a nice healthy meal that keeps me going.  And more than just breakfast, it's now included in my lunchbox almost every time I go to work as my go-to healthy mid-night snack that keeps me going until 0700.

This healthy habit plays off another of my new favorite healthy habits:  Sangria Water, where I fill a pitcher with filtered water and fruit of all kinds and let it soak overnight, giving me great fruit-tasting water to drink all day and then the fruit to put on my oatmeal for the next day. So the Sangria Water  I made yesterday, with peaches and blueberries, became the peaches and blueberries that topped my yogurt oats this morning for breakfast. It's a win-win, for sure.

 

Good & Good For You: Garlic & Brown Sugar Baked Chicken

I saw this recipe from Food.com on Pinterest and immediately thought we'd like it since garlic gets very sweet when baked and one of our other favorite chicken recipes is Curry Honeyed Roast Chicken which is delicious. I was also intrigued by the simplicity of this recipe.  With only four ingredients:  chicken, olive oil, fresh garlic, and brown sugar, it doesn't get much easier than that.

The verdict: DELICIOUS! Both Gene and I loved it and will be making it again and again. The oil covers the chicken to keep it moist and the garlic and brown sugar caramelize the chicken into sweet goodness. Serve it with something creamy like mac & cheese and something crisp like a great salad, and you've hit the comfort food trifecta.

Thanks to Alexis who posted this on Food.com and to all the pinners who repinned until I saw it. Yummy!