Cooking with Pinterest.5

Here are my thoughts on the Pinterest recipes I tried last week:

Monday
Crunchy Black Bean Tacos via Six Sisters' Stuff

The flavors for this were great. Jack just wanted to eat the black beans and cheese and Daniel thought I should have added chicken (so that it would be more filling). I thought that they would have tasted better if I cooked the tortillas in butter instead of cooking spray. I saved some of the mixture and made myself lunch two days later using a flour tortilla shell and butter and I liked it a lot better. For my dipping sauce, I like to mix sour cream and salsa.

Parent Score 4/5 | Toddler Score 2.5/5

Tuesday 
Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats via Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice 

Daniel and I both loved, loved, loved this dish. I used sharp cheddar cheese instead of Gouda in the bechamel sauce and it was still incredibly flavorful. I think that the diced pickles in the hamburger mixture really make the dish. Daniel actually thought that I had stuffed pickles not zucchini! This filling would be amazing as a pasta dish (think Cheeseburger Macaroni) or even as a pizza topping. I may have to play around with this recipe in the future, it was really that good (especially if you like cheeseburgers!). Jack was ambivalent about the dish. I think he would have liked it better with pasta instead of zucchini.

Parent Score 5/5 | Toddler Score 3/5

Thursday
15 Minute Lasagna via Kevin & Amanda with Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms via Kalyn's Kitchen

This was really easy to make. If I did the lasagna again, I would just use diced tomatoes instead of Rotel (for Jack). Instead of roasting the green beans and mushrooms, I sauteed them on the stovetop, but I still used balsamic vinegar and parmesan to flavor them. Overall a great mid-week meal.

Parent Score 4/5 | Toddler Score 4/5

Sunday
Sauteed Chicken and Veggies with Spaghetti, topped with Parmesan (my own creation)

Sometimes you just have to throw together a quick meal with ingredients you have on hand. I was supposed to make a crockpot meal, but as usual I have a hard time getting it prepped ahead of time. This was a great substitute. Easy to make and everyone loved it. I guess you don't always need Pinterest to make a delicious, healthy meal.

Parent Score 5/5 | Toddler Score 5/5