Friday, July 5, 2013

Ten Awesome Main Dishes from Pinterest

Before I get started, I just wanted to remind y'all that you can subscribe to my posts so you won't miss any!  There's a box on the right sidebar where you can put in your email address.  I don't even know how to spam, so that's not gonna happen.  It will just email you when I post something.  Thanks!  Ok, back to the post...

I get a lot of my new recipes from Pinterest.  In fact, I have a recipe card book that is pretty much completely full of just recipes I've printed off and glued on index cards.  I love trying new dishes, and usually, they're pretty good.  Every now and then I get one that makes me feel badly for inflicting it on my family, but usually, they're great.

These ten, though, are beyond great.  These are the ones that make me say, "Wow!" when I take the first bite, and they are the ones that I make over and over again.  Most of them are also pretty healthy, and can be easily tweaked for a real food lifestyle.

Sadly, because I do not have an iPhone or an Instagram account, I do not have pictures of any of these foods.  The sites they came from have great pictures, though, so I've used those, because this post looked really boring without pics.  They are not my pictures!  I take no credit for them!  The source is in the title of each recipe.

The links to the pins are in the titles, so get busy pinning and eating!



Lasagna Soup



This was one of the first recipes I made from Pinterest, and it kind of made me think that Pinterest was magical.  Seriously, I cannot believe that so much flavor can exist in one bowl of soup.  You should make this as soon as humanly possible.

I usually use leftover lasagna noodles that I break into pieces, just because it looks better.  I also use ground turkey instead of sausage because Brian can't eat pork, and I use paprika instead of red pepper flakes because I never have them.  Oh, and I use my own chicken stock.

Stuffed Pesto Shells



This one is awesome, and a good way to use up some leftover chicken or pasta sauce.  The original recipe doesn't call for it, but I have found that it tastes way better if you pour some spaghetti sauce over the shells before you bake them.  It cuts the richness of the cream cheese very well.  Plus, you don't need as much cream cheese as it calls for.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup



I love soup, as you may notice by how many soup recipes I've included.  This soup is just amazing.  It has a strong umami flavor that just jumps out at you.  I used homemade chicken stock and whole milk, and I just used whatever mushrooms I could find at Aldi.  My only complaint is that there is never enough of it.

Cheeseburger Soup

Hamburger Soupfinal1resize

Unlike what the name would suggest, this is actually a very healthy soup.  I use Monterrey Jack cheese instead of Velveeta, and it's delicious!  I also used one pound of ground turkey instead of ground beef, whole wheat flour, and homemade chicken stock.  There are like four veggies in there, and it's hearty, so it fills you up.  Cricket especially loves this one, and what better seal of approval does a food need than that of a toddler?

Apple Cranberry Turkey Meatballs



The recipe says to make these in the crock pot, but I never do.  I just cook them in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  I also usually use sweetened cranberries because they're easier to find, and it's delicious.  They don't need any sauce or gravy or anything.  We finally forced ourselves to put some away before we sat there and ate the whole batch in one sitting!

Alice Spring's Chicken



I used turkey bacon instead of real bacon, but let's be honest.  Even with that change, there is really nothing healthy about this recipe.  It sure is good, though!  Even Brian, who hates honey mustard, loves this one.  It's a knock-off of a recipe from Outback Steakhouse.

Homestyle Chicken and Noodles



I never can find the frozen noodles that this recipe calls for, so I just use egg noodles and cook them before I make this.  I also use chicken breasts instead of legs because it's what I have.  It's really good though, and feeds a bunch of people!

Baked Quinoa Broccoli Casserole



You can't go wrong with quinoa, although it is kind of a pain to cook.  Worth it though.  I make my own cream soup from scratch to save money and save having to eat all those preservatives from the canned stuff.  I don't use Splenda or any of the "reduced fat" options the recipe suggests.

Cheesy Mac and Cheese



This is one of my favorite recipes of all time.  It's delicious, and the recipe makes quite a lot, so there are plenty of leftovers.  I use a combination of cheddar (white cheddar if I have it), Monterrey Jack cheese, and Swiss cheese instead of Velveeta, and I sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.  I use my own bread crumbs and whole wheat flour, too.  Oh, and I use chicken stock instead of white wine.

Creamy Chicken Pockets

Chicken Pockets

I think this is my mom's favorite thing that I've ever cooked.  It's not hard, and it really is delicious, although it's not really healthy.  I usually use rotisserie chicken that I have in the freezer and homemade bread crumbs.


You can find all of these on my Mission Accomplished Pinterest board, where I pin all the recipes and ideas that I've tried, and I usually comment on how they turned out.  Happy eating!

4 comments:

  1. Yummmm! Can't wait to try some of these; I'm always needing good, new recipes!

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    1. Haha What's funny is, I was thinking this afternoon...I wonder if Laura has seen that post yet. Seems like she would like that one... :o)

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    2. Have you done a post on which homemade laundry soap & dishwashing soap recipes you like? I'd love to read that!

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    3. Yes, I did! It was the post on household products. http://howtobeawesomeateverything.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-be-awesome-at-making-household.html

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