cooking, cooking, cooking

It's been a while since i've posted anything! Lately i've been cooking up a storm. I do not enjoy cooking, but this is in preparation of spring & summer, when my son & I are constantly busy & on the go. I like to cook in large batches and freeze multiple meals, so when we are busy I can just thaw them out and heat them up. We are all getting bored with my usuals, and though Jack is not a picky kid, dinners are the most challenging meal, so I have been trying some new stuff. I am making a lot of stuff with ground beef, because we recently bought some grass fed beef in bulk. Here are some recipes that i've tried (and tweaked... I can't leave a recipe alone!) this week (pictures are all from the recipes' sites)...

Debdoozie's Blue Ribbon Chili from allrecipes.com. This was a hit with my family (the last chili I tried wasn't :( , so it's not just a chili thing), and I will be making this again for sure. Tweaks: I skipped the black pepper (none of us are fans of black pepper), and I used real garlic, instead of garlic salt. I don't know if the brand of salsa makes the difference, but I used Trader Joe's.

This Mac & Cheese I found on Pinterest sounded cool, because the pasta is cooked in the milk, which forms the base for the sauce. I tried this as a lunch for me & Jack, but it wasn't a hit. It might have been because I used extra sharp cheddar, instead of a mild cheddar. I will try this again with regular cheddar.

Sloppy Joes, again from allrecipes.com. This was a huge hit. Everyone had seconds, including Jack! He proclaimed it "as good as the ones from the Green Market", and those are made by a chef using fresh & local ingredients! My tweaks on this recipe: I skipped the brown sugar (totally unnecessary in my opinion), used twice the amount of green peppers & onions that it called for, skipped the black pepper, and used real garlic instead of powdered. I think next time i'll use whole grain dinner rolls, instead of hamburger buns, so they are mini.

I also tried these cookies I found on Pinterest. The title alone made me want to try them, "Hippie Cookies {that don't suck}", lol. My tweaks: I used sweetened coconut (I couldn't find any unsweetened at the store), and I used craisins instead of dried cherries (much cheaper!). My opinion? If you would have told me they were muffin tops, I would have said they were delicious, but as cookies, they are a bit bready and not as full flavored as a regular cookie. Jack said they were ok, but he kept asking me for more of them, so he must have really liked them. What would I do differently? I would use twice as many craisins & chop them up, so they were in every bite. The bites with craisin in them were very yummy, but the bites without were bland. Would I make these again? Yep!

I'll try to post more recipes as I make them.