Done

I have to confess, I've already gotten bored with this blog.  It's just pretty damn tiresome documenting what I eat all the time. 

If you want to see recipe ideas, head over to pinterest.  There's a ton there and I have 3 different recipe boards right now:  paleo, low cal/healthy options, and not so good for you but very good looking recipes.

https://www.pinterest.com/aspsmith/recipe-goodness/

https://www.pinterest.com/aspsmith/low-caloriehealthy-recipes/

https://www.pinterest.com/aspsmith/paleo/

I intend to try to make more of an effort to post comments on pins for things I have made.  If for no other reason, this should help me keep better track of what I have tried and what I haven't.

Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

I can't find the pin I originally saw for this recipe but I know it's out there on a multiple smoothie pin.

My smoothie

You make this with: 8 oz of almond milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, one spoonful of peanut butter, and one banana.  You can personalize this to your own taste but this is how I made it and it was wonderful!!!

Chicken and Mushrooms in Wine Sauce

This is one of the better recipes I've made in a while.

Photo from recipe site

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840565649/

I couldn't find any exotic mushroom blends when I went to the store so I chose some shitake, oyster, and enoki mushrooms.  I don't know if you're supposed to cut the stems off shitakes but I usually do because they are so tough.  I forgot to this time so that was a minor issue in the eating.  I have never used enoki mushrooms before so I didn't know what to expect.  Basically, when you cook them, they turn into this hair-like substance which looks kind of unappetizing but tastes very good!  The other problem I had (I do this all the time) was I let the pan get too hot and most of the breading came off the chicken and ended up charred to the bottom of the pan.  Despite all this, I thought this turned out really well and was very delicious.  This is something I would feel good about serving to guests and it really didn't take much time to prep and cook.

My finished meal, steamy not blurry. :)

Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken

This is what I worked with this week:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840714668/

I actually made it a while ago but have not been with it this week.  Also, I forgot to take a photo.  But I will tell you that my results looked nothing like the appetizing photo on the recipe page.  It actually looked pretty brown and gross.   It was a good, hearty meal though.  I served my chicken over brown rice and I skipped the green onions because I felt like that was just too much onion for one meal.  If you want some simple comfort food with a little zing to it, this might be good for you to try but I don't think it's something I would ever want to make again.

Baked Banana Oatmeal

I found this.....


http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840640647/

It's only been the last few years that I've started eating oatmeal.  I've never cared for it before but I've been trying to find new recipes I like.  This one looked SO good!!!!  Unfortunately, it didn't stack up.  Here is what I ended up with:

Not only did it not look as pretty, the taste was underwhelming as well.  Considering I had to wait half an hour to finally eat my breakfast, this was pretty disappointing.  I think I'll stick with my 3 minute oatmeal in the microwave.

Fish Stew

I have never made a fish stew before.  I like fish but I've never been an adventurous cook in this area.  Mainly because I usually cook in quantity so I don't have to cook often and fish never seems to reheat all that well.  I did find a recipe that sounded easy and wanted to give it a try. 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840643941/

The main problem I ran into was that I bought the fish on the morning I had to cook it and I had to buy it frozen and the cod didn't thaw out completely by the time I was cooking.  I soaked it and got it mostly thawed and tossed it in the pot as it was.  It turned out a little chewy and I'm guessing that is why.  It also seemed a little bit bland the first time I ate it so the second time around I added some oregano and basil and thought it was a big improvement.  I also thought zucchini would be a great addition to this recipe.  The flavor would be great and it could use a touch of different color.  All and all, I wouldn't mind trying this again with those modifications.  Here's a photo of my finished attempt:

Chicken and Black Beans

For some reason, I had a craving for black beans.  It happens every once in a while.  I go for a long time without eating them and then I remember how good they are for you and then they are all I want.  So.....I found this recipe:  http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840639547/ for slow cooker beans and chicken.  I love anything I can cook in my slow cooker.  They're so low maintenance and it usually means the recipe is simple.  You can visit the pin page for the details on the recipe, but I'm posting a photo of the pin here also:

And here is what I ended up with:

Not even close to looking like the same thing.  I have no idea what caused such a drastic difference.  Even though this is quite possibly the most unphotogenic meal I have ever made, it honestly doesn't taste that bad.  The problem is that there is not nearly enough chicken for the quantity of beans and rice.  It calls for one pound, and this is what I made, but there should be about two pounds to balance this out.  There's enough beans and rice for four servings but only enough chicken for two.

Try this if you want but I'd give this recipe a fail.

Crescent Roll Taco Pizza

Sometimes I look for a recipe based on what I've had in the freezer too long.  I had some ground turkey I needed to cook up so I thought I'd give this recipe a try.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840584023/

I had a few minor issues making this.  I don't like using metal cooking pans as they have a tendency to rust on me when I wash them, so I used a glass casserole dish instead.  I have no idea if this influenced the way this cooked or not, I don't really think so.  Two containers of crescent rolls was a little too much, I had some left over so I layered the extra on some areas that seemed a bit thin. Also, the ingredients list included a small jalepeno pepper but the instructions never indicated where it should go so I stuck it in with the ground turkey after it was done browning.  I also added a little extra cheese on the top, just because I love cheesy toppings.  I thought this turned out pretty good.  I should have let it sit a little while before dishing out the first serving as it fell apart when I scooped it out.  The jalapeno gave it a pretty good kick and the crescent roll crust was really good.  The calorie count on this is pretty low and it has enough variety of ingredients for good flavor so I think I would try this one again.  It was fast and easy to make.

My finished result

Eggs in a Basket/Eggs in a Hole

I've wanted to try making this for a long time. 
 http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840420030/
I did try it a year or two ago but it didn't turn out because I used sandwich bread and it was too thin and flimsy.  I picked up some whole loaves this time so I could slice it as thick as I wanted.  I went with whole wheat even though the recipe calls for white (I'm not a white bread kinda girl).

I had a bit or burning around the crust of my bread.  Not sure if that's because of the bread I chose or because of the heat or time I spent cooking.  It didn't burn so bad that it wasn't eatable or taste bad.
I chose not to use brown sugar so I'm not sure if it would have been better or worse with it.  I've seen a few other recipes that are slightly different and I might try those eventually.  I'm glad I tried this but it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be.

Greek Chicken & Vegetable Ragout

I made this one before the new year but the meals are lasting me a few days in, so here we go...

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/210121138840551332/

This was a nice and easy recipe to make. I had some chicken thighs in the freezer so I went with it. The only modifications I made were that I had bone-in thighs and I used lemon flavored wine instead of regular wine and lemon juice. I don't know that it made much of a difference in the end taste. Just be careful when reheating this as the potatoes got a lot hotter than everything else and I ended up burning my mouth. Here is a photo of my results:

Just make sure you have plenty of dill. I didn't take a look at the quantity needed (1/3 cup is quite a lot) and was fortunate to have enough on hand. Give this one a go. It's good!! Great meal to warm you in the Winter months.