Challenging myself to get through more Pinterest recipes

I spend a lot of time scouring through Pinterest for all sorts of things, including recipes.  And I end up pinning so many things and then never getting around to trying them out.  So, last month I joined a challenge to try to get myself to plan on using/trying/making more of them.  I did well with getting through several items on my to do list, and the majority of them were cooking, baking, or cake/cookie decorating related.  I will get to the decorating in a separate post (I know, I know - I've been promising that for a while, but this time I really will do it!), but here are some of the recipes I tried out.

chicken, sweet potato, and coconut curry
I have made this twice.  The first time we all really enjoyed it.  Leighton loved the lentil sauce and he is always keen on anything with sweet potato.  The second time, Riley and Roy were both much less enamored with it.

roasted strawberry & rhubarb buttermilk cake
This was so moist and yummy.  It was amazing when fresh, but if I recall correctly it lost some of it's oomph after a day.  I will definitely make it again (and will make sure to devour it all the first day!)!  The roasted strawberries were really yummy too.

roasted red pepper and goat cheese linguine
I felt so accomplished making this since I roasted the peppers on my own!  It was really good.  Roy & I liked it, but the kids didn't.

coconut chicken fingers
Leighton has been all about coconut lately, so I gave these a shot.  I haven't made homemade chicken fingers in a couple years because for some reason he had decided they were yucky, and I got annoyed that he liked the deep fried ones at restaurants and not my homemade healthier ones, lol.  But, these were a hit.  So, we're back baby!  Homemade chicken fingers will be seen again on our table!

Korean (ground) beef
It was ok - but better with the addition of sriracha!  I didn't look closely at the recipe before making it and thought there would be something more to it, but I have made something with a very similar flavor (and ingredient) a few times before, so I was a bit disappointed it wasn't more 'new'.

skillet lasagna
I have always wanted to make one of these because they get so much love on Pinterest and blogs and message boards.  I've made pseudo versions before, but this time I made the actual recipe of my friend's.  I loved it.  So did the kids.  Wahoo!

frozen custard
I love frozen custard.  And I love making homemade ice cream.  Why had I never thought of this before!  Luckily I came across this so we could try it right away.  Very yummy!

blackened chicken with cilantro lime quinoa and avocado cream
I expected me to be the only one enjoying this meal.  I was wrong.  Well, I was right about Riley - she had no interest in the quinoa, but Leighton surprised us all and LOVED it.  Like, seriously LOVED it.  He even decided it was worth eating like an adult and putting each component together on a fork instead of eating them all separate (with his hands!).  He had the right idea.  You need a little of everything in each bite and this meal is amazing.  We are having it again this week because I liked it so much (and I have a bunch of avocados that need attention!).

zucchini and corn pasta
This was based off this recipe for pasta salad.  I saw a photo of it on Pinterest and was excited to make it.  But every time I planned for it, I backed out.  I didn't like the idea of raw mushrooms in my pasta salad.  I also didn't like the idea of raw zucchini sticks in my pasta. Textures were just not 'right' in my mind.  So, I was going to grate the zucchini.  But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of the corn and the zucchini in a warm pasta dish instead of as a cold pasta salad.  It was delicious!  I really, really love zucchini cooked with pasta.  Mmmmm.

naan bread
There is no way homemade naan can be as good as what you get at a restaurant.  It's one of those things that a home kitchen (well, mine anyway!) is not equipped to produce.  But, I thought I'd give these a shot to see what they were like.  They were tasty and soft and easy and the kids really liked them.  They were not true naan, but they worked with rice and curry in a meal.  I will definitely make them again.

grilled cheesy portobello mushrooms
I did a lot of googling and looking at pins on Pinterest before deciding what route to take with the mushrooms.  In the end, I made a little dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and oregano.  I brushed that on both sides of the mushrooms and then sent them outside with Roy to the BBQ.  After both sides had a little time over the heat, he filled them with fresh mozzarella and/or mediterranean feta and let it melt.  They were delicious.  I would happily have them again!  The kids?  Not so much.  Good thing we had some giant steaks with the meal that they enjoyed.

never browns guacamole
I have seen various methods that will supposedly stop guacamole from browning, but for the most part, I haven't ever been too concerned with it because there is rarely any leftover to worry about! But, Leighton had loved the avocado pasta we made a while back and wanted it for lunch but I knew it would be brown and unappealing, and I was right.  This little trick might just make that meal a possibility for him to take to school!  I only kept a sample of guacamole in the fridge for 2 days and at that point, it wasn't nearly as brown as it would have been after a couple hours, but it was no longer as bright green as when fresh.  I consider it a successful way to keep guacamole green and will be using it should I need long-lasting green guac!  (Note that I didn't use the guacamole recipe, just the method for soaking the whole avocados in salt water)

after 2 days in the fridge

pumpkin coconut granola bars
These are a keeper!  I've sent them for Leighton's snack the last couple of days and both kids have devoured several at home as well.  I had a few changes to the original recipe, but I can pretty much guarantee that the original and/or any little changes you make will yield a tasty result!  I was a little too overzealous in my clearance shopping at Target and grabbed pumpkin pie filling (ick!) instead of pure pumpkin, so I had to work around that little issue.  I also only had sweetened coconut.  So, I skipped the honey and used a little extra of the pumpkin for moisture.  I omitted the vanilla and cinnamon as well.  And I didn't use the chocolate chips, either.

tomato mozzarella basil tart
Yum.  Yum.  Yum.  I don't really need to say anything more.  All four of us will happily eat this again. The kids even ate every scrap of leftover crust that I had tossed in the oven after trimming it off the tart pan.