To say that I am slightly obsessed with Pinterest would be a huge understatement. I am very obsessed with it. Even One2One Network took note of that and added a Twitter conversation between myself and Amanda from Its Blogworthy to their blog post about Pinterest. That got me thinking. I need to actually use Pinterest and not just play with it. Playing with it is fun but it needs to serve a purpose for me to continue using it. So I came up with a plan.

Pinterest Meal Plan that is!

I have decided, for at least this week, to make my weekly meal plan with only meals that I have found on Pinterest. I am always looking for new recipes because my family is getting really bored with the some old meals every week. Also, I love making my family be guinea pigs and taste test everything.

Monday:  Curried Wild Rice & Chicken Chowder

via Eat Well…Living Thin

This was a little time consuming. I needed Dave’s help chopping up all of the veggies. He is so much better at it than I am. He chopped everything up and put it in plastic bags the night before so we could just throw it in the slow cooker the next morning without the prep. We also cheated a bit and used canned chicken. I know, it sounds gross, but it isn’t. There is a certain kind that we buy, Keystone Canned Chicken. It is such a time saver since it is already cooked. It is perfect for soups.

It was fantastic! We all loved it. Even my Picky Paige loved it. She doesn’t really eat a lot so to get her to eat some of it was a big achievement. Usually if she has never had it before she will refuse to eat it.

Tuesday: Ranch House Crock Pot Pork Chops (or Chicken) w/ Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

via Real Mom Kitchen

Of course I made a couple of modifications to this because that is what I do and I hate following directions. Instead of pork chops, we used chicken, because I had chicken. Simple as that. I also made instant garlic mashed potatoes because I had that too and that is how I roll.I also used 2 cans of cream of chicken because we like lots of gravy. We like it saucy!

This was so good! There was a small amount of chicken left over with some sauce and I smashed on it for lunch the next day. We are so making this again soon. Not too soon, but soon. I told Paige that it was like chicken and dumplings and she ended up loving it too.

Wednesday: Hobo Meatball Stew

via Examiner-Buffalo, NY

I wasn’t quite sure how this would turn out. Meatballs and catsup? Interesting. Once it started cooking it finally hit me. It was like a meatloaf stew! I did have some issues with this recipe. I am pretty sure that my second slow cooker was on crack. I had it on low (1o hours) and by the time I got home for lunch (6 hours) it was way done so I had to put it on low. After work, Dave put some ginger ale in it since it was cooking up way too fast and we still weren’t ready to eat yet.

It did taste great though! It was like a meatloaf stew! We will make this one again too, but I will use my other slow cooker. It is not on crack. Crack is whack!

Thursday: Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu (Attack of the Cracked Out Slow Cooker Again)

via Six Sisters’ Stuff

I totally failed on this one. It was edible, but I need to be smart about my modifications. I overdid it on this one and I tried using the same slow cooker from the night before thinking yesterday was just a fluke thing. I was wrong. I used 2 cans of cream of chicken, instead of one, because I didn’t think that one would be enough. Note to self: stop screwing with the recipes. One would’ve been enough. I also used frozen chicken breasts which may or may not have been a good decision. I have cooked with frozen before and haven’t had any issues but next time I will use thawed chicken.

It was edible, but overcooked. I need to try this one again but the right way.

Friday: Three Cheese Chicken Penne

via The Girl Who Ate Everything

This was pretty good, and healthy. It lacked some flavor so next time I will make sure to season it more. I a pretty sure that I have made something similar to this at some time. I also cheated on this one and used canned chicken as well. It was Friday after all and I was being lazy. I will try it with cubed chicken next time. Everyone seemed to really like it other than Paige. She is the only child I know that is not a fan of tomato sauce. Sucks to be her.

I did eat some for lunch the next day and, as always, I think that pasta is better when reheated. Am I the only one?

Saturday: Dinner Out at Red Robin…Yum!

Sunday: Chicken Enchilada Soup

via Real Mom Kitchen

I am always on the search for the perfect Chicken Enchilada Soup. I am obsessed with the one at Chili’s. It is so yummy and I have to have it every time I go there. This is as close as I have come to the Chili’s version. It was so yummy! The only change that was made (and this was all Dave, not me) is that Dave added some homemade salsa to it instead of a can of tomatoes. He used my can of tomatoes for his homemade salsa and didn’t realize I needed it for this recipe.

I can’t wait to make this again. EVERYONE loved it. I still can’t believe that Paige ate it. Jake devoured it. There was only a small amount left. Dave suggests that next time we double the recipe so we can eat it all weekend! Well, maybe not double it but figure out how to make so that there is more left over.

Let’s Not Forget About Dessert!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

via Pennies On A Platter

These were so GOOD! OMG! They are so yummy! I was worried at first because my pan was bigger than the one that they suggested, but with the parchment paper that they suggest using, it was perfect. USE THE PARCHMENT PAPER. It is your friend. The brownies peel off the parchment paper so well. They are very moist so be forewarned.

My kids are already asking me to make more of these. I had the hardest time finding pumpkin but luckily my Facebook friends and Wal-Mart came to the rescue. And, of course, when I went to Kroger today (my usual grocery store) they had tons of pumpkin. Figures.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

This week I am also going to do a whole week of Pinterest meals again. I am going to be a little more daring this week, but will stick to the recipes so I can see how they are really supposed to turn out. My kids were not too happy that I picked all of the meals this week but they will get over it. They want hamburgers and sloppy joes, which is funny because these are also the same meals that they were complaining that we have been having over and over again.

If you are on Pinterest, make sure to find me and follow my boards, if you don’t already. If you are not on Pinterest and need an invite, just let me know! Just a warning, if you try to sign up yourself they put you on a waiting list. It is a real waiting list too. I think I had to wait for a month!

Also, don’t forget, Julie from Dutch Being Me has a 52 Weeks of Pinterest link-up every week!