The post where the South officially disowns me

I have cooked up quite a few things off of Pinterest lately, and thought I would share some of my successes. Ok, and failures too. Because maybe you can avoid my tragic mistakes in the future.

First on the list is foil-pack chicken and broccoli dinner.

This was not only easy, but delicious as well. My only suggestion is to be sure to spray the foil with cooking spray REALLY well so that you don't have any stickage, and to not be skimpy with the Ranch dressing.

Crockpot chili.

I subbed ground chicken for the turkey (healthier!), and never remembered to buy black beans, so only had 2 out of the 3 beans that were called for in this recipe. But it was delicious and filling. The flavor was amazing and even SAM ate it. When he first started eating it, I remember thinking, omg this has to be disgusting, because he usually only eats foods that are devoid of any flavor whatsoever. But he must be evolving, because this had taste! And it was as easy as dumping everything in the crockpot in the morning (after browning the meat) and letting it cook all day! (It says to cook on high for 6-8 hours. That seemed like a little much to me since the meat was already cooked, so I set it on low. Turned out perfectly.)

Granola.

What an appetizing picture, right?? I have had some plain oats in my pantry for the longest time and actually got to CRAVING granola in my yogurt. (I know. Freaky for me to crave healthy things like that.) So I whipped this up one evening and it really was simple. I keep it in an airtight canister. Oh, and I DO NOT let Steve near it anymore. I had no idea those little granola oats could be so powerful.

Quinoa burgers.

Needless to say, mine did not turn out this pretty. Nor did they have this yogurt-y mixture plopped on top of them. This recipe calls for quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah), and it is basically like rice. Itty bitty balls that cook like rice and can be substituted for rice in virtually any recipe. It is naturally gluten-free, high in protein, and super-easy to make. At least one of those things makes each person in my little family very happy.
The ingredient list for these little burgers sounds kind of odd, but the flavor of the finished product is really great. (You can tell by that last sentence alone that I'm well on my way to becoming a food critic.) The only part that gave me a little trouble (and by a little, I naturally mean, TONS) was the frying portion of the recipe. You see, while I hail from the deep South, I did not grow up in a family that fried things. I'll never tell you a story about "how Mama fried up the best finger-lickin' chicken I ever did taste" because Mama never fried no chicken. While she makes lots of OTHER delicious foods, she was never one to fry anything. And so, I have become fry-stupid by default. (Not to put any BLAME or anything on you, Mama! Just trying to relate the facts here.) So when it came time to "fry" these burgers, I was a wee bit nervous. And let's just say it didn't go so well.
The burger mixture contained raw egg, so I knew that in order to salvage this meal, I needed to figure out a way to cook these burgers so that we wouldn't all experience death by salmonella. So I added a bunch of breadcrumbs to "firm up" the mixture and patted them into burgers and stuck them in the oven. (Note: this makes this recipe gluten-free no more.) Broiling (on low) for ten minutes per side cooked them nicely (although they were a bit drier than the "fried" ones).

Obviously I am awaiting my expulsion from the South thanks to this no-fry confession. And to add insult to injury, my MIL asked me for my cornbread recipe (a WHILE back), and I had to direct her here.

But seriously? I screw up regular bread. Just imagine what I could do to cornbread.