Kitchen (mis)Adventures

In the 16 months since I became a stay at home mom, I've tried more new recipes than I have the rest of my life combined. I really enjoy cooking, and am always on the lookout for nutritious, fun, and easy meals. Most new recipes I use come from food.com. My favorite part about that website is that so many people leave reviews, thus many recipes have been tried and tested. These are some of the new things I've tried!

Perfect Brown Rice: I've been trying to incorporate brown rice into our diet more. Why? Well, that is the same thing Corban asks me every time I serve it. Instead of getting on a soap box, I will just tell you to read this and you can do your own research from there. Cooking brown rice takes a lot longer than white rice, but it's worth it! To help my picky-pants husband not starve, I often cook the rice in reduced sodium chicken broth and/or lime juice. It helps him choke it down:) After many failed attempts at cooking the rice stove-top, I found this recipe and have used it many, many times. I usually half it.
Brown Rice with Spinach and Feta: This was yummy. It turned out a lot like a quiche.
Roasted Tomato Soup: YUM! Homemade tomato soup straight from heaven... and doesn't include cream!
Spicy Sweet Potatoes: Another food I've been trying to incorporate more into our diets. Why? Again, Corban also wants to know that. "Why eat sweet potatoes when I like white ones so much more? And they're both potatoes?" Through my awesome googling skills, I found out that not only are sweet potatoes super healthy but they are a completely different vegetable (and family of vegetables) than white potatoes. I liked this recipe for sweet potatoes... Corban has yet to be convinced of their value and deliciousness.
Peach Cobbler: I've had better... definitely have had better. Corban said it's the best he's ever had. Wtc?
Applesauce Brownies: Surprisingly good. I added a little cinnamon and I really like them. Corban told me he didn't really care for them, but ate almost as many as I did.... ???
Whole Wheat Tortillas: They were ok... a little too thick for our tastes even though I thinned them out as much as I could. I really only made them in an effort to meet Corban's "need" for carbohydrates at every meal.
Herb Salad with Feta, Roasted Red Peppers, and Toasted Nuts: Oh, YUM!!! Thanks to Chelsea for sharing this recipe with me. Yum, yum YUM!
Bourbon Chicken: Another yum! So yummy, it can almost mask the taste of brown rice! (My husband was grateful:)
Sweet and Sour Meatballs: Yummy... too much vinegar though. I made it again with 1/2 vinegar and it didn't burn our nostrils with every bite.
Dutch Apple Pie: Oh this is DIVINE!! Such an easy and yummy dessert that won't kill your cholesterol/heart/veins/etc. (Or maybe I just like to think that because there's fruit in it...) I reduce the amount of sugar it calls for by about 1/2.
Simply Sour Cream Enchiladas: Yum!! Delish!! I always use this recipe for the sauce part of enchiladas.
Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese: Yes, Mom, I made a recipe that called for CREAM CHEESE for DINNER! Gasp!! It was good. I don't know that I'd make it again though... Corban didn't care for it, and that's big meal to eat by myself.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Dessert: This was basically death in a Pyrex dish. It sure was delish, but man is it FATTY. The good thing is that it's so rich you can't eat a ton. Probably wouldn't make it again.
Marinade for Grilled Vegetables: Yum! I would make this again.
Southeastern NC Pulled Pork: Mediocre.
Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa with Tomatillo Dressing: Best. Recipe. Ever. The first time we made this, we were having friends over and wanted a nice dinner, but didn't want to go out... after we tallied it up, however, we realized it wouldn't been cheaper for the 4 of us to actually eat at Costa Vida or Cafe Rio than to make all this at home. Hahaha... silly us. That hasn't kept us from making it again and again though! (We prefer the cilantro lime rice recipe below to the one on the link above.)
Cilantro Lime Rice: Always yummy!
Tortellini Tomato Spinach Soup: Super easy, healthy, yummy! I make this a lot in the winter.
Bacon Parmesan Brussels Sprouts: Yeah, these were a little deadly... but oh man, were they GOOD.
Supreme Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Corban liked these! Hooray!!
Oven-Fried Chicken Chimichangas: Yum! We add more stuff than the recipe calls for, like beans, corn, green peppers, etc. I really like this recipe.
Spinach and Mushroom Pasta: I liked this... next time I would do something different with the sauce. It would probably be better with some cream (instead of just milk) in it, but I really try not to cook with cream. The milk in the sauce was just so.... milky. Blah.
Easy Cinnamon Brunch Cake: Oh YUM! So easy, so yummy. One time I made this and forgot to add the cinnamon, and cinnamon is a MAJOR ingredient, so I made a new one. I was going to throw the messed up one out, but Corban said he'd take it to work to "feed to the guys." He said they really like it, and one actually said, "This is really good the way it is. I think it'd be gross with cinnamon." Really? Boys are weird.
Buttery Bread Machine Rolls: Mmmmm yum. These will melt in your mouth. I recently started to cut down the butter by 1/3... it really doesn't need as much as the recipe calls for.
Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne: Yikes. I LOVE artichokes, spinach, and whole wheat pasta, but this was a failure, and I blame it on the mint. Gross.
Vegetarian Meatloaf: Surprisingly tasty! I made this for an elderly woman in our ward going through chemo. She loves healthy stuff and I was happy to have excuse to make this.
Low Fat Peanut Butter Cookies: These were surprisingly good. I skipped the ground flax seed.