For 21-25 I decided to post the pictures of how it should look first. I have pictures of how mine looked but they were not as good for a couple of reasons 1) because I took them with a cell phone at night in a poorly lit kitchen 2) because I changed some of the recipes a bit (sometimes a lot) and 3) sometimes I just didn't even take a picture.
With that being said, here are dishes 21 through 25.
(top to bottom starting left)
1. Penne Bake with Spinach and Tomatoes /// This recipe is the one that I completely changed. It called for diced or something tomatoes, I nixed that and put in Prego meat sauce instead. While sauteing the onions and the spinach I did not add paprika and instead of garlic I used garlic salt. Can you see where I am going with this? I did the lazy version. Best part? It turned out tasting pretty good.
2. Broccoli Pasta Salad /// I don't think I changed this recipe too much. It was relatively easy to make, but here's where the confession comes in... I didn't eat more than a couple bites. Not due to taste, the couple bites I did have tasted alright, but more because I already had dinner before I made this and then the next day at work I had carne asada fries and then went shopping at Target after work and I just didn't trust the dish after it had been in my car for the duration of my shopping trip. I might try to make it again someday, or I might buy the Souplantation version they sell at costco.
3. Melissa's Overnight Baked French Toast /// This is not my first baked french toast. Some might call this cheating, I call it doing what I want because it's my project. This is a different version of baked french toast though I didn't like it as much as the first one. Not because Melissa didn't have a good thing going, she did, just because I didn't let it sit long enough and I'm pretty sure my bread should have been a little more stale. I still ate it all though.
4. S'mores treats /// I made these as a thank you for letting me stay at your place. They were delicious. There are several variations of how to make them. Some have you melt the marshmallows and the chocolate together, I melted the marshmallows in a pan, poured them over golden grahams in a different pan, mixed it and while the mixture was still hot mixed in chocolate chips. They melted and it was good.
5. Cool Southwestern Salad /// I have no picture for this which I realized when starting this post. I made the dressing at night, the same night as the broccoli pasta salad to be exact, and then had the rest of the ingredients ready to cut and put in a little tupperware with lettuce. I get to work and try to eat it and find that there was far to much cumin in the dressing. Maybe I didn't half the recipe in my head quite right. I wouldn't be surprised, I've made many a cooking mistake that way. Either way, I'm sure it would have been tasty had my dressing been good. Oh well. Onto the next.
(unflattering photograph of Southwestern Salad not shown)
Thoughts about this project: I think I need to be a little more intentional here and slow down a bit. When I am cooking I am usually doing at least two things and once whether it is making a tuna fish sandwich and trying to make a cookie dough or watching Julie and Julia while making pasta salad. I want to spend more time with the recipes, maybe not read them off my phone that always goes to sleep in between ingredients. Maybe read the recipe in its entirety before starting, prepping as I need to. Maybe writing changed measurements down if I am cutting it in half or even thirds and not just winging it.
The truth is, I'm not good with exacts when it comes to cooking, and I'm quite picky. I don't want to have to find a specific kind of tomato for a casserole when I can get some meat tasting tomato sauce and have something I know I like. But I think from here on out, even if I don't make it to 52 dishes, I'm going to give what I do make a little more of my attention. Enjoy the process, not just speed my way through to the finished dish.
Do you have any suggestions for what I cook next? Go easy on me, I'm still learning.
xoxo
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