Pinterest Recipe Week

After a year away from writing on here, I'm finally back! I love writing and really do miss it when I stop, but life gets busy and other things always seem more important than getting cozy with my computer and cranking out another blog. Going forward, though, I'm going to try to update my blog at least once a week... we'll see how long that actually lasts.
Anyways.... now on to the main event.
I enjoy cooking, but it seems that I, like so many other people I know, often get stuck in a recipe rut. I make the same things over and over again, and it gets boring!
This week, I decided it was time to get out of that rut and try out some new recipes. Of course, I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration and decided to choose a different Pinterest recipe for every evening this week. Here's what this has looked like so far:

Monday Night: Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast

The link on this Pinterest recipe will take you here: http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/recipe/chicken/feta-stuffed-chicken

My hubby and I both love feta cheese, so I was pretty excited about this one! However, this recipe was far harder than the directions had made it sound.

The hardest part of the whole cooking process what trying to keep the feta mixture from running out of the chicken. Even with toothpicks holding the chicken in place, quite a bit still ran out and went everywhere. I also had a hard time getting the chicken to cook all the way through (I ended up having to finish it in the oven because it would not cook all the way through in the pan). 

I personally liked this, but Ryan was upset that I tried to serve his with spinach (the recipe called for it to be served over wilted lemon spinach, which I thought was tasty). He was not a fan, and he somehow ended up with the one piece of chicken that wasn't juicy. I don't think this recipe will be finding its way into our regular recipe rotation. 

Tuesday Night: Avocado Basil Pasta

The link on this Pinterest recipe will take you here: http://www.recipe.com/avocado-basil-pasta/

This recipe sounded simple and delicious, but I had to make a slight modification. It calls for bacon, but I don't eat pork, so I substituted turkey bacon. I'm not sure if this made much difference in the taste, but I thought it was worth mentioning. 

While it looked tasty, this pasta dish was really pretty disappointing. When I followed the recipe exactly, it was really bland. However, with a splash of balsamic vinegar, it ended up being pretty tasty. 

Ryan said I could make this again if I promised to leave out the avocado (he thought it was just mushy and gross in it). I thought the avocado was good. 

With some modifications, this recipe has potential, but I wouldn't make it just as written. 

Tonight (Wednesday): Herb and Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken

The link on this Pinterest recipe will take you here: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2013/04/herb-and-citrus-oven-roasted-chicken.html

Out of all the recipes I'm trying out this week, I was probably the most excited about this one. Check out the pictures in the link above and you'll see why.... her pictures make your mouth water!

I put my chicken in the fridge to marinate before I left for work this morning, so I didn't have to mess around with this a whole lot tonight. 

So far, this has been both my and Ryan's favorite dish of the week! The chicken came out tender and very flavorful! This one will definitely become part of the recipe rotation!

I paired our delicious chicken with some bell peppers and onion that I pan-cooked together with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, garlic and thyme. It was perfect!

Stay tuned for the rest of my Pinterest recipe week!