Weekly Meal Plan: April 29-May 3

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Still unsure if you want to create your own meal plan? It’s ok, here’s ours. You can steal it, use it to get ideas, or just be nosy and judge us for what we’re eating. Enjoy!

Monday:

Southwestern Chopped Salad (recipe coming soon)

Tuesday:

Lobster Rolls & Baked French Fries *Also see: How to Cut & Cook a Lobster Tail + Recipes

Wednesday: 

Chicken, Bacon, & Avocado Chopped Salad

Thursday:

Bits and pieces of Antipasto Salad mixed with parts of  Italian Stallion Salad

Friday:

Authentic Louisiana Red Beans & Rice

 

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Pinterest Tested: Cheesecake Factory “Buffalo Blasts” Copycat Recipe

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Who doesn’t love fried food? I mean- talk about classic Americana. I know, I know, its so bad for you but it’s sooo good that sometimes that I just can’t resist! One of my favorite places to eat is the Cheesecake Factory (Fun Fact- did you know their menus cost $12 each to make? Thats why they have ads.) I digress. Hubs hates it there… I don’t know why… its soooo yummy! The only thing he likes loves about Cheesecake Factory is their Buffalo Blasts. I have to admit, they are not my first choice on the 3 page appetizer menu but they are pretty good. When I found this copycat recipe from Tasty Kitchen on Pinterest I knew I had to give it a try. Hubby was so excited that I was making these along with my homemade blue cheese dip. How did they check out? Find out below!

Overall rating: 9.5

Cost$$ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Advanced (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: Umm… how to put this lightly… these were a pain in the butt! They literally took me a few hours from start to finish! I would definitely recommend just grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the store and shredding it up rather than buying raw chicken breasts and baking, then shredding them. You will not notice a difference and it will save so much time. In any case, my biggest peeve with this recipe was the wonton wrappers. They were so small it was hard to get as much chicken mixture into each little wrapper as possible without overflowing and then causing a big mess when trying  to seal the edges together. I had wing sauce all over me. Next time I will try to find larger wrappers for these so its less of a mess and also less tedious work. It took for-ev-er to get a bunch of these scooped, sealed, and dipped in the coating to fry. I’m not sure what type of wrapper the Cheesecake Factory uses because their Buffalo Blasts are larger than these but I highly suggest trying to find out. If I do, I will post an update to save you time too! In the end, I finally got these plated and we really liked them. Or should I say, hubby L-O-V-E-D them. I liked them a lot but after all the time I put into them I was a harsh critic. I probably would’ve loved them too if someone else made them for me. In any case, I will definitely be making these again if I can find the larger size wrappers. I’m not sure how these would go over at a party unless you made them on the spot because typically fried foods don’t travel well. However, take my recommendation and do give these a try with my minor adjustments, you will be glad you did!

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Pinterest Tested: For #Sunday Supper- Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Bites

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For this week’s #SundaySupper we are featuring tailgate food, a football season must have! This week, I decided to test out an amazing looking recipe I’ve had pinned for a while on Pinterest:

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeño Bites

I chose these because I LOVE jalapeño poppers and my hubby LOVES bacon. I also wanted to find something new to bring to football parties besides the usual chips & dip. This recipe comes from Doughmesstic.com.

Bacon Wrapped Cream Cheese Jalapeno Bites

makes 24

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay
  • Pinch of Salt
  • 12 Jalapenos, halved & seeded
  • 24 – six inch pieces of bacon, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine cream cheese and spices in small bowl.  Spoon mixture into each pepper half, until level.  Wrap each in bacon, and place on baking sheet.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Remove and enjoy!

And now for the Real Best Recipe “Pinterest Tested” Results…

Overall rating: 7

Cost$ (scale: $-$$$)

Difficulty level: Beginner (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: I had high hopes for these. They were okay, but not what I was expecting. While the concept was amazing (spicy+creamy+salty), there was something amiss here… I think it was the seasoning in the cream cheese. I found it a little strange to be putting a common seafood spice (Old Bay Seasoning) in these but figured if thats what the recipe called for, it should be fine. But after taking a bite of these, I knew I should have listened to my gut reaction and made some without it. Hubby is not a very big fan of these types of snacks but he liked them more than I expected so I give this recipe a 7 out of 10. Would I make these again? Yes but I would alter the spices in the cream cheese (i.e. no Old Bay Seasoning.) and maybe mix some parmesan cheese into it. I probably won’t make these again soon but I am glad I finally got to try them! I have already been eyeballing another recipe on Doughmesstic.com that looks very similar but is a bit different- Bacon and Jalapeño Popovers.

For new home cooks, here is a tip you will thank me for (I learned the hard way!): Make sure you really get those seeds out of the jalapeños. Those are the spice in the pepper and trust me you will taste any seeds you miss because your mouth will be on FIRE! I love spicy foods and even I was kicking myself for leaving a few hard to reach seeds in these because I was just too lazy. You can always whip out a dairy product (i.e. milk, ice cream, yogurt, etc.) to calm your tastebuds after a hot pepper incident but its better not to experience one  at all! :)

In any case, don’t forget to check out what our friend’s at #SundaySupper are making for their football tailgates this season! I have to tell you, some of the best meals I’ve made at home lately come from this group and they all turn out AMAZING!

Join us on Sunday as we share our favorite tailgate recipes and tips. Hop on twitter at 7pm EST for the live #SundaySupper chat.

The Lineup

Pre Game Warm-ups:

On the Sidelines:

Main Events:

Overtime:

From the Cooler:

Wine Pairings by Wine Everyday

Happy Gameday!

 

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Pinterest Tested: Man-Pleasing Chicken

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I saw this on Pinterest; the exact description was: “One pinner said, ‘I have never gotten so many compliments before, let alone for a piece of chicken. David suggested calling this chicken, So Good it Cant Be Described, Explosion on Your Taste Buds Chicken. Exactly. I have never encountered a dish that is so basic and simple to put together yet creates such a big pay off. This chicken, quite simply, is one of the most savory things Ive ever eaten.’ Must try.”

So, naturally, I had to try it. I made it that very night.

Overall rating: 8

Cost: $$

Difficulty level: Beginner (scale: beginner, moderate, intermediate, advanced)

Thoughts: First off, the comments on that recipe are hilarious. “I don’t like mustard, can I substitute something else?” Uh, yeah, seeing as mustard is the main ingredient, you should substitute an entirely different recipe. Anyway, I loved how easy and quick this was. Cut up the chicken, mix the sauce, pour it on top, put in the oven, take out, add rosemary. Almost foolproof.

But– you want to know the important stuff: how did it taste? The comments had plenty of rave reviews that hyped up this chicken even more, but there was also a good amount of not-so-good reviews (mostly from the people who hate mustard but decided to make this anyway– whyyyy?).

What this was: It was pretty good. A good, solid, 8  My boyfriend agreed.

What this was not: This was not ~TaStE BuD ExpLosIoN~ nor “the most savory thing that has ever crossed my lips”. This didn’t taste overly mustard-y, as some of the ~mustard haters~ claimed. It also didn’t taste overly sweet, as some people commented. My sauce also did not do weird things, as some mentioned, such as separate, congeal, turn into Flubber and come alive, etc.

Final verdict: I will make this again because it was so easy and it is good, but I won’t be running through the town praising this chicken any time soon.

*side note: I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs. Also, because I caught my oven on fire a few weeks ago and I’m terrified of using high heats now I cut them thin, I decided to cook it on 400 degrees (vs. 450) and it only needed 35 mins (vs. 40).  I bet this is even better when it browns (as it looks in the original recipe’s picture), so next time I will use thighs and cook on the recommended heat, and I’ll report back as to whether it made a difference.

 

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Oh How Pinteresting

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We are linking up again today with The Vintage Apple for Oh How Pinteresting Wednesdays!

Some things we found “pinteresting” this week are:

 

These Summer friendly Mojitos with Pineapple Rum created by Cat Cora were featured as a Healthy Cocktail on Oprah.com. Healthy, cute, and delicious- we’ll take it!

This Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans featured on RealSimple.com is a perfect weeknight meal. This one is definitely going on the ‘must make’ list!

Of course, our “Real Best” Grilled Cheese Sandwich winner had to get pinned for the Pinterest world to enjoy. We’ve made it again already! If you haven’t tried the winner, or any of the other contenders, you are missing out! They’re all so easy, cheap, quick, and delicious!

We love ourselves some coffee and this genius idea from The Peanut Butta Runna is too good not to share! Freeze coffee as ice cubes and then put into a glass of almond milk! Or, our twist, just put the coffee ice cubes in a cup of hot coffee to cool it down. PS- This is vegan friendly! Both versions sound amazing!

 This recipe was on The Pioneer Woman’s website and is called My Brother’s Chicken Tacos. She also pinned it and said its a total mess to make but totally worth it. By the looks of it, we agree! This will definitely be made around here very soon!

We recently joined the amazing #SundaySupper movement and during this week’s round, we came across these delicious Salsa Chicken Quesadillas with Cilantro Chimichurri by Juanita’s Cocina. We’re definitely adding this as another “must make” recipe to our list!

Fall is slowly coming up and these Pumpkin Crunch Cakes by The Picky Apple look like the perfect snack for a cool autumn day on the porch to pair with a tasty fall latte from Starbucks. Can’t wait!

Find us on Pinterest to follow all of these pins and more!

What are some of your favorite pins this week?

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