Pin Win or Pin Flop?

Happy Hump Day!  I don't know about you, but I'm glad the first part of the week is over.

This week, I gave this pin a shot:
Mediteranean Smothered Chicken

The minute I saw this on Pinterest, it was on my boards.  Chicken, pasta, artichoke hearts, yum. It reminded me of something coming out of Macaroni Grill.  Carb heaven.  Yes, we do eat carbs around here.  I try to make them as complex as possible, but I LOVE me some good pasta dishes.

This time, I did a little research on the origination of the pin.  This recipe comes from Iowa Girl Eats.  I have to admit that more than half the stuff she posts looks amazing.  And it seems like she loves Southern European food as much as I do.  Ah, a girl after my own heart.

So, I ventured out to buy the ingredients.  I had to opt for her substitute - sun dried tomatoes.  But that's okay.  I LOVE sun dried tomatoes.  All the other ingredients are SUPER easy to find.  And it's a fairly simple dish - WIN WIN in my book!

So, here's how mine turned out (remember, no doctoring of the photo!):

So, was it a win or flop?  HUGE WIN!    In fact, I've hidden the leftovers in the fridge so I can have them tomorrow for lunch!  The chicken was moist.  The pasta was perfect.  The vegi's were flavorful and just the perfect touch.  If you like Macaroni Grill, then OMG (Oh, Macaroni Grill!).  Make this!  You will not regret it.  Thanks for the pin, Iowa Girl!

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Pin Win or Flop

I stumbled across this slow cooker recipe a few weeks ago and thought Sunday would be the perfect opportunity to give it a try.  Honey Sesame Chicken.

Looks good, right?  I even read through the comments to make sure it wasn't going to totally through my Sunday out of balance.  Looked like a winner.  So I dove in a started to make the sauce.  A whole cup of honey?  Okay.  A half a cup of soy sauce?  Um, alright.  Ketchup....skeptical.  Here is my result (remember, the picture has NOT been doctored up):

(Looks NOTHING like the recipe photo)

(Uh oh, the Hubs is pouring on the Sriracha sauce.  Not a good sign.)

(K1 doesn't look too happy.)

(K2 got the "Willies" and gagged.  Crap.)

The verdict?  FLOP!  Biggest flop yet.  It was so salty.  The sauce was thick and sticky.  And there was NO way I was going to be able to cut the chicken breasts up in cubes.  It fell apart the minute I removed it from the slow cooker (which normally would be a good thing!).  Did I follow the recipe to the letter?  Yup.  I did read the comments and the alterations suggested.  But I followed the recipe to give my followers an idea of what it turns out like.  

We ended up tossing 90% of the meal and had PB&J.  Bummer.

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Pin Win - Quote

I know, I know, it's not a recipe.  But, it IS Spring cleaning time, and I have to use what is in my house.  Those are the rules, my friends.  So when I stumbled on this awesome quote on Pinterest last week, I thought I would use this as my cooking Pin-Win for the week.

I hope my readers understand that I'm not an actual chef.  I didn't go to cooking school, I didn't study under the tutelage of Bobby Flay or Paula Deen (BUT COULD YOU IMAGINE?!), I just simply started cooking.  And I am constantly learning every day.  I research, I read, and I try new things.  Yeah, sometimes trying those new things are very scary for me because I am a bit of a perfectionist and I sincerely fear failure.  But I still try.

So if you are here, feeling a bit intimidated, please don't.  I simply want to share my love for food and inspire others to learn to cook and cook good food.  So there's my Pin-Win.

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Pin Flop - Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Jalapeno Popper Chicken.  Oh this recipe had so much promise.  The name alone had me so stinking excited for that hot, cheesy goodness of the jalapeno popper.  This is the pin:

No, it doesn't look like it would be spicy, but I still had hope.  Just look at all that cheese!  And the crunchy panko crust!  Well, this is what mine looked like:

Wow.  Immediately, I could tell that this was NOT going to be what I expected.  The filling turned out not creamy and cheesy, but grainy and greasy.  Heat?  None.  NOT A SINGLE BIT!  Oh, jalapeno, where did you go?  The preparation was easy enough, but the final result left me wanting for something else.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't gag through the meal.  The chicken was still moist.  But there was little to no flavor.

The biggest problem I have with this recipe though?  It says to cook the breasts for 25-30 minutes.  WRONG.  I checked them at 30 minutes, still pink.  45 minutes, starting to look done, but juices still not clear.  Finally at the 1 hour mark, they were finished.  Wowzah.  Salmonella anyone?

Nope, I will not be making this recipe again.  Bummer.  Now I have to send The Hubs to the store to get a pack of jalapeno poppers to satisfy my craving.

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Pin-Flop: Cadbury Cream Egg Brownies

I'm starting a new feature on here called Pin-Win or Pin-Flop.  If you visit my Pinterest page, you will find that I have pinned recipes and cooking ideas.  I am going to be incorporating Pinterest finds into my weekly posts and recipes.  If something isn't going to work, I would like to know about it.  Wouldn't you?!  So, if you see something, please stop by here to make sure it isn't on my Pin-Flop list.

Today's Pin-Flop is Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies.  Here's what they look like on Pinterest:

Yeah, show me someone who could resist those!  So, I set off to make them.  This is what mine looked like:

And what you can't see is that the yummy creamy goodness of the egg center caramelized on the bottom of the brownie, making it chewy and hard.  Yuck.

The difference?  After looking back at the recipe, she only cooks her brownies for 30 minutes.  If you look at the Pinterest picture, you can see that the center of the  brownie is not cooked through.  Um, salmonella anyone?  So in my book, big Pin-Flop.  I'm not ready to make my family sick over a yummy creamy center in a brownie.  I'll just eat them separately.

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