This is my first year living on my own and having to cook for myself, so I’ve found myself experimenting with new recipes quite a bit. I have recently grown tired of eating the same few meals on a regular basis so I came up with the brilliant idea to try Pinterest recipes for an entire school week. Pinterest is my go to when I’m in need of new and easy meal ideas because there are countless delicious-looking recipes. I decided to branch out by trying new recipes while using Pinterest as a source for my inspiration. Considering the fact that I have an entire board full of recipes that I’ve never attempted to make, I figured it would not be difficult to pick five recipes to recreate.
I’d like to include a disclaimer that I am not a healthy eater in any way. In fact, up until about two years ago, I would order chicken tenders and fries at every restaurant no matter the occasion. As you will see in this post, my diet mainly consists of chicken and a lot of starches. I did try to incorporate some veggies here and there, so I’m making progress. Slowly but surely.
In this post, I will share the results of me attempting to recreate Pinterest recipes over the course of a week. I am no Rachael Ray but I will say that I was quite impressed with how all of these meals turned out.
Monday: Honey Glazed Salmon
Recipe: https://chefsavvy.com/honey-garlic-salmon/
I have never been a fan of salmon or seafood in general, but I wanted to branch out and try something new. I came across this Honey Glazed Salmon recipe on Pinterest and it is honestly what sparked the idea for this blog post. The recipe looked pretty easy and seemed fail proof so I decided to give it a try.
It only took four ingredients: salmon, honey, lemon juice, and minced garlic. The only thing I didn’t already have in my kitchen was the salmon so this could be a great recipe for when you’re looking to make something on the cheaper side.
I paired the salmon with baked mac & cheese and dinner rolls. In the future I will probably pair this with asparagus and/or rice.
Overall, although I am still not a huge fan of salmon, I was satisfied with how this recipe turned out and will definitely making it again in the future when I’m craving something different.
Tuesday: Baked Caesar Chicken
Recipe: https://www.thecookierookie.com/melt-in-your-mouth-caesar-chicken/
As you will probably be able to tell from this post, the only meat I typically eat is chicken. After a while it can get boring eating the same thing so I wanted to try a new way to give my chicken flavor.
This recipe only requires three ingredients that most people already have in their kitchen: Chicken Breast, Caesar Dressing, and Grated Parmesan. All I had to do was season my chicken, cover it with the dressing and cheese, then pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes.
This recipe definitely required the least amount of effort and with my busy schedule, I typically don’t have the time to spend hours in the kitchen cooking elaborate meals.
On the side, I sliced up a few potatoes and cooked them in a skillet with garlic salt, pepper, grated parmesan, minced garlic, and onion. This is one of my go-to side dishes because it’s super simple yet extremely flavorful. I ended up eating half of them out of the pan before my chicken was done
Overall, I was impressed with how simple this recipe was and will be making it again in the future.
Wednesday: Garlic Butter Chicken and Potato Skillet
Recipe: https://www.eatwell101.com/garlic-butter-chicken-and-potatoes-skillet
Not gonna lie, this isn’t my first time making this recipe but I enjoyed it so much that I felt I needed to include it in this post. This is another super easy recipe that puts a twist on plain old chicken. This skillet requires a little bit more time tha the first two recipes but it is worth the wait.
My favorite part about this recipe is the soy and hot sauce marinade which gives it its flavor. On top of that, the chicken is cooked in garlic which makes anything taste 10x better.
In an attempt to be somewhat healthy, I decided to cook asparagus on the side to eat along with the chicken and potatoes. Because I am typically only cooking for one, I have plenty of leftovers which makes for a great lunch the next day.
Like I said, I’ve made this recipe before, and I will forsure be making it again.
Thursday: Chewy Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe: https://www.ihearteating.com/chewy-brown-sugar-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/
I typically find myself eating out at least once a week so Thursday instead of making a real meal, I made a classic dessert. Chocolate chip cookies. I have a HUGE sweet tooth so I knew that I just had to make a dessert recipe at some point throughout the week.
I find myself buying cookie dough all the time. Occasionally I will actually bake the cookies, but most of the time, I just eat the cookie dough raw.
After combining all of the ingredients that the recipe calls for, I let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for about thirty minutes before baking them. This helps to prevent the cookies from spreading too thin. This recipe made plenty of dough so I only baked half and put the rest in my freezer to use later on.
I’ve found that in the past when making cookies from scratch, the consistency is never quite right, but these came out perfect! Next time I want to impress my friends or family with my baking skills, I will be using this recipe.
Friday: Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells
Recipe: https://lmld.org/chicken-alfredo-stuffed-shells/
This is another recipe that I’ve made a number of times and I have yet to grow tired of it. At this point, it is my favorite Pinterest recipe out of all that I have tried. The name of this recipe is pretty self-explanatory. It combines two classic dishes; stuffed shells and chicken alfredo, into one creamy, cheesy, and delicious meal.
I was never a fan of ricotta cheese until I tried this recipe for the first time. The filling consists of ricotta, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese, as well as one egg and shredded chicken. I also added chopped spinach which was not included in the recipe, but it’s a good way to incorporate some greens into your meal.
I am a pasta lover so these stuffed shells are perfect to satisfy my cravings. The recipe makes a lot of food so unless you want to be left will days worth of leftovers, I would suggest cutting the ingredients in half.
Overall, I enjoyed preparing and eating each of the five meals, and it is likely that I will be making them all again in the near future. Comment down below some of your favorite Pinterest recipes, as I am always looking to try something new!
