14 in 2014 - #10 (Recipes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7)

Let's be honest, I haven't been doing a great job with my 14 in 2014 list. I was hoping that it would be TOTALLY manageable, given that I had already tackled my 30 Before 30 list with such success. I know I've still got 6 1/2 months, but man those first several months of the year flew.

I honestly don't quite know what the issue has been. Certainly it's due in part to the personal events as of late (and the month of feeling craptastic before that), but I know that's not all of it.

I also think that part of it is that so many of the items are ongoing throughout the year. This means that it's not a matter of checking one item off...but a matter of starting something, and continuing. I will revisit the rest of the list soon, and I think I probably am doing better than I feels like.

I also plan on doing a Summer Bucket List post. In fact, I've been drafting and redrafting the list in my head for the last couple weeks. Stay tuned! (I gotta get it posted fast, since it's already mid June!)

I was surprised to realize the progress I've made on #10 on the list - make 20 new recipes within the year. I felt like I was WAY behind, but I've already done 7!

As I think I've said before, I am NOT the cook in our house. I'm lucky to have married a man who is very good in the kitchen, AND enjoys it - so he does pretty much all of the cooking. It's good, because I am really not confident in my cooking abilities. I get frazzled in the kitchen, and often get frustrated when things don't go well.

Practice has been a HUGE help in this. An item on my 30 Before 30 list was to cook one meal a month (using at least one new recipe in that meal). It was a challenge for me, but got progressively easier. Jeromy has noticed that I've getting more confident as well - fewer questions for him during the process, and a lot fewer freakouts. Wooo hoo. Win.

Anyways, I thought it was about time to let you know where I'm at with this one, since it's one of those ongoing items.

Here's a summary of the first 7 items (don't judge on how many dessert items there are... this is just a bit of a cop-out for me, as I'm much better at baking...but a new recipe is a new recipe!)

1. Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
I LOVE bananas and peanut butter together. This is one of those childhood taste combinations that I've just never grown out of. Plus...banana cake. Yum. Is there anything better than banana cake? The answer is yes, banana cake with peanut butter frosting.

I used this recipe, found on "Two Peas and their Pod." I liked that the recipe was easy to put together, and mostly used ingredients we had around (I did not use Greek yogurt, as Jeromy and I both hate Greek yogurt...I know, I know...everyone else and their mom loves it. We do not.).

Here's a picture of how it turned out:

I brought it to work to share, and my co-workers gobbled it up fast, and RAVED about it. Not gonna lie. It was REALLY good. The cake was moist (even though I hate that word), and the frosting was JUST the right amount of peanut buttery sweetness. Yum. I'll use this recipe again!

2. Parmesan Chicken
For this, I used this recipe, which I found in one of our favorite cookbooks we have at home, Cooking Light: Comfort Food.

Like all of the other recipes we've tried from this cookbook, it was pretty easy, with simple ingredients (which is always helpful for me), and turned out really good. The chicken was moist (again with that word!), and all three of us enjoyed it. I served it with mashed potatoes, though it would also be really good with any kind of pasta. This is another recipe I would use again!

3. German Chocolate Cake Cookies
Yes, another dessert recipe... but COME ON! German Chocolate Cake Cookies?! I made these for the MN Blogger Favorite Things Party (because you should always have a place to take the yummy desserts you make so you don't eat it all yourself). I was also drawn to the recipe because Jeromy loves German Chocolate Cake, so I knew he'd love them as well.

Like many other recipes I use, I found this one randomly on Pinterest (that's the majority of what I use Pinterest for, though I hope to use it more for DIY stuff moving forward). It's featured on the blog "A Dash of Sanity." The cookies were pretty easy and tasty on their own. The amazing frosting really put them over the top!

Here's what they looked like:

Like I said, I brought them to the MN Bloggers Favorite Things party, but there were so many other tasty desserts there, they didn't get eaten. So again, they landed at work...and promptly got gobbled up! Probably not a recipe I would do all the time, but definitely something worth repeating!

4. Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing
I found the recipe on Pinterest (again)! It's featured here on the blog "All Those Things I Do."

On "paper," the recipe sounded good to me. I like pork chops and stuffing, and I think that apples and pork chops are really great together. I made this recipe when the weather was still cold and cruddy - crock pot meals are always good for that type of weather.

Well, it didn't quite turn out great. Admittedly, it very well could have been my fault. I think I set the crockpot too high. I struggle a lot with crockpot recipes because we've got a crockpot with four settings heat wise, so when the recipes says cook on "low," I don't know if it means low-low, or medium-low. So I tried to go by time, which didn't work.

The meat tasted pretty good, but a lot of it was burnt, and the texture of the stuffing was all wrong- not light and fluffy, just mushy.

Again, good on paper and perhaps my fault that it didn't turn out well, but I don't think we'll use this one again.

Ahhh...but it had so much promise (I did not take an after picture because it looked - quite literally - like crap).

5. S'more Icebox Cake
I've made icebox cakes before with good success. For those who aren't familiar, icebox cakes are generally some variation of the same basic formula - graham crackers + some sort of whipped topping and/or pudding + various fillings + several hours in the refrigerator = delicious, no bake dessert.

Jeromy has become a huge fan of icebox cakes, and will usually suggest I make one if we need to bring a dessert to any sort of party.

So when we needed to bring a dessert to a Memorial Day BBQ with friends, he suggested I make one. I searched Pinterest a bit, finding a couple that looked appealing. And then I found this one.

And then the search stopped. Jeromy and I are mildly obsessed with all things s'more. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Graham Crackers. It's the perfect combination.

Like other icebox cakes I've made, this one was messy and putzy to put together- it's all about the layers...a layer of grahams...then pudding...the grahams...then whipped cream. It just takes a while. But the result, as is true with the other icebox cakes I've made, was delicious! This one ended up looking pretty impressive too...

I would definitely do this one again!

6. Creamy Orzo
Recently, I did something I don't think I've really done before - two new recipes in one meal! Maybe not a big deal for some...but a big deal for me! I'm happy to say that I was calm throughout, and both parts of the meal turned out good!

I found the recipe for the Creamy Orzo on Pinterest (surprised?) - featured on "Damn Delicious." I had gotten a box of orzo at the MN Bloggers Favorite Things party, and have wanted to try some new recipes with orzo. This one looked good, pretty easy, with fairly basic ingredients (I feel like a broken record...but these are the main things that really help me be successful in the kitchen). It was really easy, and turned out great! All three of us liked it. Linnea said that it was like mac and cheese - I suppose so! Orzo is cool in that it's kind of like pasta...but kinda of like rice.

This turned out well, and I would use the recipe again.

7. Italian Meatloaf
This is the other new recipe I made with the creamy orzo (see picture of both above). On a side note, apologies for my really pathetic food pictures. I follow some blogs who do recipes, and their food pictures are works of art! They could make poop on a stick look delicious. Most of the pictures...nope...all of the pictures in this post are just from my phone. The intent is not to be fancy...but just to document what I've done. They taste better than they look...I promise!

The meatloaf was pretty simple - with just a few ingredients we didn't readily have on hand. I really liked the Italian twist - the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and provolone really added a nice twist! The meatloaf was pretty crumbly, but still tasted good - and almost better when reheated later in the week! I would do this recipe again.

So there you have it! Nearly halfway there! The challenge for me for the rest of the week is to do fewer dessert/baking recipes, and more main dish or side dishes. I've had a good time practicing my cooking skills, and as you saw, most of the recipes were successes!! Stay tuned for more 14 in 2014 updates!