Thursday, October 20, 2011

Meal Planning via Pinterest

  Every two weeks, I do a big grocery shopping trip. The day before I go, I sit down & plan my menu for the coming two weeks. I look in my freezer & fridge to see what I have on hand & try to incorporate those things into my meals to save on costs. Why buy extra ingredients when you already have some on hand?

  Since discovering Pinterest, I've come across a whole new world of delicious looking recipes. This week, I've decided to put some of those yummy looking dishes onto my meal plan. I told myself to stop dreaming of cooking & baking those fabulous recipes & start DOING it! I love to try new recipes. Love, love, LOVE! But I have stipulations for the recipes I pick.

  • I have to know what all the ingredients are. Or at least be able to easily find out what they are. See, I'm willing to learn new things.
  • The ingredients have to be easy to find. I don't want to have to run into 5 stores to do my shopping.
  • They have to be somewhat easy to make. I don't do incredibly detailed recipes.
  • They have to be ready in 1 hour tops! (Excluding crock pot recipes, of course.) I have a few exceptions to this rule, but they're pretty few & far between. I start cooking supper between 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. & we eat between 5:00 - 5:30. 
  So, when I look at a recipe with those conditions in mind, I can easily decide whether to make it or not. 

  As I said, this week I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. Wanna see what made my list? Here's my plan:

1) Hamburger soup (a recipe from one of my cookbooks) with Red Lobster biscuits




3) Mini Frittatas & salad 


4) Lemon Chicken Breasts with roasted potatoes & salad


5) Bean & sausage soup (my own recipe) with homemade Crescent Rolls


6) Pizza (cuz a girl's gotta have one night off, right? *wink*)



8) Greek Pasta Salad (my mom's recipe - I'll post it soon.)

Goodies / Extras for the lunch box, snacks, or desserts:

Best Ever Blueberry Muffins (a favourite recipe I've been making for years)





  That's my plan & we'll see if I stick to it! ;) Most weeks I do, but there's the odd one that I veer from the path that I've laid out. I'll be sure to let you know how the recipes turn out. I usually divide new recipes into a few different categories:

  • Make again
  • Make often
  • Don't bother making again
  You should see my cookbooks. Full of notes, they are. 

"So & so liked this one". 

"Blah. Don't bother with this one again." 

The favourite note that still makes me smile is on a soup recipe that my mom made when I still lived at home. It says, "This soup ROCKS MY WORLD!" Truly. I still make it & it's a family favourite. :)

  Have you tried any recipes you've found on Pinterest lately? What were they? How did they turn out - would you make them again?

Enjoy your day!

Linkin' Up:


11 comments:

  1. Love Pinterest and YES I have tried a couple of recipes that I have found and plan to try more! I made Citrus Butter Cookies, found on the Pioneer Woman blag and they are great! Thanks for introducing me to Pinterest - it's been tons of fun pinning. :)

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  2. Yum, I have those cookies pinned too. I'm going to try them soon. 

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  3. I have made reese's cheesecake brownies and stuffed mushrooms(with a few minor adjustments) from pinterest. Both were delicious and I would make them again.

    http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2011/8/14/reeses-cheesecake-brownies.html

    http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/12/stuffed-mushrooms.html

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  4. You had me at Red Lobster biscuits!! Wow I love those... I love your list of stipulations too-- totally makes sense to me!
    Hugs,
    Jill

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  5. Red lobster biscuits ... WOW! I have made a recipe I found on Pinterest ... pumpkin soup with white beans ... it was delicious. I want to try more. PIN ON!

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  6. That is super smart to make notes in your cookbooks! I have been using pinterest a lot for my menus the last few weeks and have found some great recipes. I usually add a comment if we liked it or to say what I would do different. Never thought to write in a cookbook;) Will be trying that.
    I just noticed looking up that I have at least one of your recipes pinned, the chai loaf. Have not tried it yet but it is moving closer to getting made.
    Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Yum & Yum. Pinned & Pinned. Thanks, Ang!

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  8. I know, right? red Lobster biscuits are the bomb! Thanks for stopping by to say hello. :)

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  9. Yumminess. Not sure my kids would eat pumpkin soup, but I sure would! Might have to try it. 

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. Glad I could help you out. :)

    The Chai Loaf if amazing... you definitely need to try it. Not to brag or anything, right?

    Thanks for stopping by to say hello!

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  11. Oh boy, my mouth is watering! This post was delicious!! Thanks so very much for joining in with my weekly Pinning
    and Singing Pinterest Party. I am so thrilled that you joined in and shared
    these yummy pins. I am going to try the chicken breast recipe this week-it looks so easy and so yummy!


     


    This week’s Linky party is on now so please come and check
    out my favourite Halloween pins for the week if you have 5 minutes to spare.


     


    Best wishes and happy pinning,


    Natasha @ 5 Minutes Just for Me!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. Your comments make my day!!

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