A "Pinterest" Type Site...For Food!

Have you heard of TasteSpotting? I was looking for granola bar recipes and came across it on Pinterest. Where have I been? It supposedly has been around since 2007 but I am just coming across it... and it's wonderful! Billed as a "virtual potluck" for it's visitors, it works sort of like Pinterest in that pictured links are posted to the website which carry you to directly the recipe on various websites. I do think you have to submit your recipes to be placed on the site, but right now I just plan on reaping the benefits of having other people come up with the recipes and I just have to cook them and try them out! I did have good luck with one granola bar and bad luck with another, but the kids LOVE the one that was good so I have a plus in my cooking arsenal!

***Update: I decided to add a list of my recipe trials on my sidebar to let you know of any TasteSpotting recipes that are REALLY good. So far the Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats (not what the recipe author refers to them as) are a huge hit at my house with me and my kids!

Oh, and the top AND back of my Falling Charms quilt are done so it is off to the quilter this week!!

All I will have left to do is binding when it comes back! Yay!!

It's Gettin' Hot In Here!

I was asked about where I got some of my freezer recipes so I thought I would post about it. I used some websites and a cookbook, so I tried to mark them accordingly. I used the 30 Day Gourmet's Big Book of Freezer Cooking, purchased for my Nook. Those recipes are marked with a pound sign (*).
So far:
*Chicken and Broccoli Lo Mein
Chicken and Wild Rice
*Cheesy Chicken Penne and Vegetables (this only called for spinach but I added some frozen peppers I had to clean out some veggie bags from the freezer)
Layered Enchilada Casserole

• Beef w/onions, peppers, and carrots for spaghetti, sloppy joes, etc.
• Beef for Mexican food (modified: I browned 2 pounds of ground beef, about 1 cup of Pioneer Woman salsa, and about 2-3 T. of taco seasoning from this recipe) 
• Stuffed potatoes
• Teriyaki marinade: used for chicken breasts and pork chops (we already tried these...yum!)
• Mojo marinade (Publix brand): used for chicken breasts and pork chops
• 4 bags of shredded chicken and 4 of chicken broth cubes 

Joyful Mama also has a few more recipes here if you are interested.

I'm going to use some of my shredded chicken to make this yummy looking crock pot cream cheese chicken chile. I'm going to do everything the same except not raw chicken. I'll just put my shredded chicken in with the rest of the ingredients in a regular pot and heat through. Last night I used it to make this Buffalo Chicken Pizza Roll. YUM! I made a half recipe and wished I'd added just a tad bit more buffalo sauce.

I should also admit that we have an extra fridge in the basement. When we bought our side by side about 12 or so years ago, the old one still worked fine so we put it in the basement for outside drinks and overflow. That's why the pics of the top freezer didn't look so full. The picture of the chicken broth cubes were taken in my side by side and I had to maneuver some things around so I could place all those ice cube trays in there to freeze.
Happy cooking!

Mommy Motivation and Let's Do the Hustle!

I got motivated this weekend! I have often thought in the past about cooking up some freeze ahead meals and this weekend I decided to go for it. I spent all morning yesterday cooking and I now have 8 meals in the freezer and two ready to cook in my fridge for this week. Woohoo! I'm going to hit the wholesale store to get some volume ground beef and do some beef cooking next. The cooking I did yesterday was all chicken: chicken and broccoli lo mein, cheesy chicken and penne with vegetables, chicken enchilada casserole and chicken with rice.

I'm also getting ready to get some sewing done.

Here is my list for this:
1. Finish at least the top for my Carpenter's Wheel quilt.

2. Finish the top for my Rainbow Double Slice quilt.

3. Finish at least the top for my Yule Pop quilt.

4. Make and send out my Pay It Forward crafts. Already started on this but there are 3 things to create.

5. Finish the top for this quilt.

6. Quilt my jellyroll race quilt.

I know. Overly ambitious. But many are just tops so hopefully I can put a dent in them!