Results of the Pinterest menu week!

Last week I decided to make some meals from the items I have pinned on Pinterest - I didn't get to make all of them, but here are my opinions on the ones I did make:

Source: quick-dish.tablespoon.com via Claudia on Pinterest

The 3-ingredient (pork tenderloin, root beer, bbq sauce) pulled pork was pretty tasty. Both my husband and I enjoyed it. It wasn't spectacular by any means but I think we would have needed other ingredients for that. The meat was tender and juicy and you could not taste the root beer at all. It is a very good base recipe and I would add some other spices next time.

Source: realsimple.com via Claudia on Pinterest

This sandwich was underwhelming for me. The bean/avocado puree makes for a very nice spread and I will use it again, but it needed stronger flavors. My husband enjoyed it, though.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Claudia on Pinterest

I made these as an accompaniment to the pulled pork sandwiches and they were very good. You could go a whole bunch of different ways with these depending on what you put on top.

Source: foodandwine.com via Claudia on Pinterest

We both enjoyed this pasta dish, but the sauce really merits something more succulent. Maybe next time we will serve it over a nice filet.

So there you have it, a nice batch of meals overall, we didn't have one bad meal although a couple of them I would play around with and change up a bit. It was definitely nice to have a few new meals in our rotation!!

Ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!!!

Photo from SFGate.com

Have you seen all the yummy cherries popping up everywhere? My local paper wrote about them, and I have eaten my share a couple of times already. But other than stuffing myself with delicious cherries I also do plan on actually making some cherry-based goodness - here are some recipes I will be giving a try:

Some refreshing Cherry Limeade by missamy

Now that I have a proper canner, some Sweet Cherry and Lemon conserves from Epicurious

Something decadent like the Pioneer Woman's Cherry Cake Pudding - yum!

Got any cherry recipes you'd like to share?

Organizing: Menu Planning

I have been planning weekly menus for the past few months and I have to say it has made a difference. From the amount of money we spend to the quality of the food my family eats, it's a difference for the better.

I like to use AllRecipes because the reviews are real as opposed to a place like foodnetwork.com, where you have people praising the shit Sandra Lee "cooks" and Rachael Ray's "recipes". Come on.

Also, at AllRecipes, you select the recipes you want to cook and it creates a shopping list for you. Easy peasy. I recently made lasagna for the very first time - for a couple of foodie friends, no less - and it was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

My goal this year is to fine tune my menu planning process and try different cuisines. My husband loves Indian and Thai food so I will be trying some of those recipes this year. What are your favorite recipe sources?