Pinterest Pressure

About a month ago I pinned a recipe on Pinterest.  Not that unusual, but what was unusual was that very quickly over 500 people repinned that recipe!!!  571 to be exact.  Maybe this happens to you all the time, but I don't think I ever got that many repins before.

 

Sure, the recipe sounded good and fairly simple.  However, I wasn't feeling like soup 

until the weather started getting a bit chillier outside...as it has lately.  

 

For the love of you people, I am sharing my little Pinterest Test Kitchen experiment here, and I can tell you it turned out pretty darn good!!  It's simple and a little more hearty than some soups because of the tortellini.  I served it with some crusty garlic bread and called it a meal.

 

For the sake of authenticity, I followed the recipe to a tee (I don't always).  I chose to use the sun dried tomato paste instead of the sun dried tomatoes just because that's what I had.

 

This is a recipe that could definitely be played with to suit your taste.  I may add some baby spinach leaves or lighten it up by substituting the half and half.  However, it tastes great as is.  I will be keeping this soup in my quick lunch or dinner repertoire this fall and winter. 
571 people were on the right track!!

Let me know if you try it!!!

 

 You can follow me on Pinterest here!

The Ingredients

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup Adapted from {Mrs. Schwartz's Kitchen}
Credit www.recipeswagger.blogspot.com

2 whole large Cloves Of Garlic Minced
2 Tbl Olive Oil
2 10 3/4 oz Cans of Condensed Tomato Soup
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes, chopped or 2 Tbl Of Sun Dried Tomato Paste
2 cups Half-and-half
2 cups Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 Tbl Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 whole 9 Oz Package Of Cheese Filled Tortellini
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese, for garnish

Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.
Be sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t get too brown or burnt.
When the garlic is done, add tomato soup, tomatoes, half and half, chicken stock and spices.
Bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, drop tortellini into the soup. Cook according to the package directions.
After tortellini are cooked, ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese.

A watched pot never...simmers!

 

My "Go To" Summer Salad

     Well hello out there in blogland!!  This poor little blog has been so neglected, but here I am with a quick post on what has been my "go to" summer salad.  It was totally inspired by the salad I LOVE at Salad Creations.  They call it their Sesame Shrimp Salad -- the problem is, there is only one Salad Creations I know of and it is 45 minutes away so we only occasionally stop there on our way home from "up north". 
     Ya know how when you just crave something sometimes!!!???  Well, this healthy salad was actually a "good" kind of craving so I knew I had to try to duplicate it.  I must say, the results were pretty much spot on to the real deal, and it's oh so refreshingly good!! 

  Here's what you'll need:

spring mix - mixed greens

cooked shrimp (fresh or frozen)

canned mandarin oranges

sesame seeds

tortilla (or wonton) strips

Kraft (Lite) Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing

 

I just thaw the frozen shrimp under cold running water, and

 then pat dry with paper towel
 

 

 

In a large bowl I add the spring mix, 1/2 small can of mandarin oranges (no juice),
sprinkle sesame seeds (which to me are more for looks), add the tortilla strips
(I use about 1/4 c.) and then add the shrimp

 

Then, to make it even more like the real deal, I take my hand pizza cutter and use it as a salad chopper in my big stainless bowl...  I love a chopped salad!

 



Voila!!!  I have my yummy pretty chopped Sesame Shrimp Salad!

 



     The finishing touch -- the Asian Toasted Sesame salad dressing!! 

I use 2-3 tablespoons...

    

  It's a big salad and this is the size I make for myself for lunch or dinner.  Obviously, I know you guys are smart enough to make it any size you want and just adjust the portions accordingly!!  Of course, you could substitute all kinds of things, but you know that, too!!!

 

 I think I'm going to go make myself one right now -- before summer's over!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Set It...and Forget It Sliders

     With sports and school schedules at a peak (actually, last Fall was even busier!), I have been looking for quick and easy recipes!  I love anything with 5 Ingredients (or less!).  Of course, it's a bonus if it tastes good!
     One meal idea that has never really been on our radar is Pulled Pork Sandwiches.  I like them, but have never made them.  Thought it was possible the kids would like them, too.
On Pinterest, more than 50 percent of the recipes seemed to have Dr. Pepper as their secret ingredient.  So, I thought it was interesting and would give it a try.  I kind of adapted my recipe from the one I pinned from here.

This is what I did:

3 1/2 pounds uncooked pork shoulder (lean, trim fat).  Slow cooked and then shredded.

1 cup chopped onion, uncooked,

3 cups Dr. Pepper

1 package McCormick Grill Mates BBQ or Pork Rub

BBQ Sauce (we use Sweet Baby Rays)

1-2 Dozen King Hawaiian Rolls (we used small Sweet)*

*OK, it's six ingredients, I wasn't counting the rolls....
  

Place all ingredients except BBQ sauce (and rolls -- ha) in slow cooker for 6-8 hours.  Remove meat from cooker and remove all bones (meat should be falling off the bone).  Shred pork with two forks (a rhyme!)  Drain juices as desired.  Mix pork with BBQ sauce as you like.  (I let each person add their own.)  Slice rolls and serve as sliders.  We each ate about 3 sliders.  Some of us more (husband!).  We have 5 in our family and had meat leftover.  Goes well with coleslaw and or sweet potato fries!

    I am calling mine, Pulled Pork Sliders** (because I used the small rolls) and my kids actually like them!  Jacob did a "Yes!" (insert hand gesture) when he came home from school and smelled his dinner.  My husband loves them, too!! 

     I'd love to try another recipe if someone has one out there that they like.  There's so many ways to cook the meat, beer, root beer, etc...  Let me know if you have a recipe I should try or if you happen to try this one!!

**Finished Picture Not Available...Ate Too Fast (maybe next time!?)

My Week of Pinterest Dinners

    This past week, as a promise to myself, I wanted to commit to making dinner for the family every day.  I know, that's the way it's supposed to be, right?  However, this was the first full week that all my kids were done with outdoor soccer (yes, now indoors), volleyball, football and marching band and the reality is dinner has been a crazy scramble the past two months as nobody was home at a normal dinner time.  I also wanted to prove to myself that I was "pinning" those Pinterest recipes for a reason, so I decided that would be a good resource for my meals.

     What I didn't take into account was that my kids did not have school on Tuesday (Election Day) and that Wednesday and Thursday evenings were parent teacher conferences.  This was going to make preparing meals and eating them as a family tricky.  Thus is our life -- dinner time interruptus.  The reality is -- there's always gonna be something!!
     I'd also like to give a little shout out to my new Cuisinart Smart Stick (emulsion blender).  I guess I've been living in the dark ages and did not have an emulsion blender.  It's my new love and the possibilities with it are endless!!  Highly recommend -- it's a food processor, blender and more!!*  Does everyone else already have one?  (Time for another bridal shower!!)  Smoothies without cleaning a blender...yes, please!
    (In full disclosure -- I took pictures of all of my meals and then just now got "delete happy" and deleted all but one of them (the last one).  Soooo bummed about that! 
      Monday:  Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Roll Ups as found here. 

     Comments:  In my opinion, this could use more Italian spices.  I added garlic and oregano, but it still could have used more.  It was little bland for me.  I also put leftover chicken mixture on top of each rollup and replaced feta cheese with shredded mozzarella. 
     Served with:  Caesar salad and fresh bread.

     Review:  Everybody liked these!

 

Pinterest.com

     Tuesday:  Meatloaf Muffins With Barbecue Sauce as found here
     Comments:  I used some salsa we had leftover.  I didn't even check how spicy it was.  Turns out it was medium spicy and a little too spicy for me and my kids.  Might want to keep that in mind when you are making yours.
     Served with: Mashed potatoes, gravy, and french cut green beans.
     Review:  Everybody ate it.  My husband liked it the most.  He's a meatloaf kinda guy.  Kids thought it was too spicy.  I thought it was good...for meatloaf.  Fast cooking time was nice.  Moist and flavorful.    

Pinterest.com

 

     Wednesday:  Carrot Chicken Soup recipe found here

     Comments:  This was a recipe I went in search for.  There is a local restaurant which has excellent carrot chicken soup.  If it doesn't sound good to you -- well, you might be surprised.  Be careful not to over blend. The recipe does not call for any spices. I added salt and pepper, but it probably could have used a little something else (I'm not sure what). However, I was surprised how much it looked like the restaurant's soup and tasted good, too. Lots of chopping!   

     Served with:  Warm pita bread

     Reviews:  Everyone liked it but would probably rather go to the restaurant.

fivestarfoodie.com

 

     Thursday:  Marsala Chicken and Mushroom Casserole found here
     Comments:  This was another conference night, but I was able to prepare this in advance and pop it in the oven when we got home.  I love that this uses rotisserie chicken.  I only put mushrooms on one half of the casserole as, unfortunately, I knew my kids would not touch the mushrooms.  If I make it again, I would probably add another 1/2 cup of marsala wine and heavy cream.
     Served with:  Nothing (pressed for time)
     Reviews:  This was very good and probably the overall family favorite of the week (thanks, Kerri)!!

     Friday:   I was happy to take the night off.  We had Megan's band banquet.
Oh, and by "week" I meant weekdays -- you didn't think I would actually cook seven days in a row, did you?? 

  What are some of your favorite "go to" dinners??

 

Kohls.com
 

*Of course this is my very own opinion, not a sponsored review
 

Easy Summer Salad

     Recently Kerri at The Pleasures of My Life posted about this salad she had seen in a magazine.  Although she didn't have the exact quantities, she listed the the ingredients and put them into a yummy BLT Pasta Salad.
     With the 95 degree humid weather here in Michigan, it was time to try it!!  I went with a simple leaf lettuce so as not to scare the kids away with the arugula, which apparently looks too healthy for them!!
     I did not have any red onion and somehow ran out of my big container of EVOO so I substituted with Garlic Expressions salad dressing instead.  I shaved some fresh Parmesan cheese on top.  It was a perfect summer meal!!  I will definitely be making this a lot this summer.  As you can see, you can improvise on this as you like.  I would never have thought of a BLT pasta -- guess that's why you've never seen me on the Food Network!! 

     Thanks for the idea, Kerri!!

What I Used:
Rigatoni, Leaf Lettuce, Grape Tomatos, Bacon, Salt and Pepper and
Garlic Expressions dressing

 (or another oil based salad dressing)

BLT Pasta Salad

Robin's Nest Springy Treats!!

     Me and my girls whipped up these treats today while my husband and son were up north opening up our little summer cottage (yay!).  This is a no bake recipe, so it is super easy (and messy)!!!  I let the girls take over after I made a few of them. 
Ingredients:
1 (11-12 oz) bag milk chocolate chips
1 (11-12 oz) bag peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate or any flavored chips
1 (10-12 oz) bag Chow Mein noodles
M &M's, Jellybeans, Chocolate eggs, or any other kind of "egg-shaped" candy (I used Whoppers)
Directions:
Empty your two bags of chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 50% power for 60 seconds. Stir and repeat until all chips are smoothly melted.  Gradually fold in chow mein noodles until covered in chocolate.  Now the messy part...  Form little nests onto wax paper (which I didn't have so I used foil).  Then place your egg shaped candies in the middle of your "nests".  Wait for chocolate to dry and harden or put in refrigerator to accelerate the hardening process.  Makes approximately 4 dozen.

     I plan on bringing some of these treats over to my mom's caregivers who are working on Easter -- hope they like them!!

Ravioli - Kicked Up a Notch

     One thing I've learned from reading blogs is that it's a great way to share recipes.  Although I do have some recipes of my own, recently I found myself in a bind for a quick dinner and after looking in my freezer and seeing a couple half bags of frozen ravioli, I had a flashback to a recipe I saw over at Clover Lane.  I would have never thought to do this, but sometimes you just want your kids to eat without any moaning and groaning about the same ol' stuff. 

     It was good, and I even did a batch for the adults with some Lobster Ravioli I had.  Something different and pretty quick and easy!

Toastedoli

2 TBS whole milk

1 egg

1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

25 oz. package frozen cheese ravioli, thawed

3 cups of vegetable oil for frying

2 TBS parmesan cheese

1 jar of spaghetti sauce, for dipping

Thaw raviolis.  

Combine milk and egg in a small bowl.  Place breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in another bowl.  Dip ravioli in milk mixture, and coat with breadcrumbs.

Heat sauce in a small pan for later.

In a large heavy frying pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches.  Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown. Fry ravioli, a few at a time, until each side is golden.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve with heated sauce for dipping.  Enjoy!

Egg and Milk/Breadcrumbs and Parmesan Cheese

Don't Look - The Not-So-Healthy Part

The End Result = Yummy Dipped in Marinara/Spaghetti sauce!