July 21, 2021

Recipes lately...in a rut?

If you're not in a cooking rut in July, please tell me your secrets. I've been in a cooking rut for years. I quite literally have no idea where my inspiration used to come from. It's a mystery, along with the other things of the mid-20s age range (your back doesn't hurt, you feel rested after sleeping, etc). If you've been around this blog for years, you know I used to do things like make homemade ice cream on school nights. Where that particular drive has gone, I do not know. 

I used to share Pinterest recipes I made and liked...here are a few recipes lately that I would recommend, even during the summer:

I made this Mexican Street Corn Salad, minus the hot sauce. I also subbed smoked paprika for the ancho chili powder. This is definitely my favorite way to prepare summer corn and I've made a few versions over the years. A lot of recipes say frozen corn is fine too. 

I did s'mores in the air fryer. They were fine. It's a good method and a fun party trick if you have guests or kids. I think that I just don't appreciate a s'more like I used to (another mystery of the mid-20s).

This was the idea for Wells' birthday cake two weeks ago. I made this vegan chocolate cake because it is the #1 go-to chocolate cake recipe for me. Not that I bake a lot of chocolate cakes, but it is completely foolproof. You can't even tell that it's vegan. I did my own non-vegan chocolate peanut butter icing. I prefer vanilla cake but I asked Wells what he wanted and he said chocolate. 

This honey-butter garlic chicken was good for a quick dinner. I needed more sauce though, so I'd double that part of the recipe. I added roasted broccoli and rice. 

This sheet pan cashew chicken was good...I'd 100% make it again, as soon as it's cool enough to comfortably use the oven. 

Then, I made two recipes out of a Gooseberry Patch cookbook that Scott's sister gave me a few years ago. We had picked a bunch of blackberries, so I made this cobbler recipe, but used blackberries:



And then I made this yellow cake as cupcakes with sprinkles, a la funfetti. Wells helped. Frosting is just a basic buttercream. 


If you're not making your cupcakes/cakes and frosting from scratch, you're doing it wrong. Not because it makes you less of a person, but because you're missing out. The payoff is worth the extra 20 minutes, I promise! Wells and I made boxed red velvet mini-cupcakes a few weeks ago and I thought they were awful. Everyone had a couple and then I threw them out after they sat in the fridge for a week. 

What's your go-to summer meal right now? (I know what you're going to say, but our tomatoes aren't ripe yet, though we do have 84759 zucchini to do something with.)

5 comments:

  1. Big on homemade frosting but use box mixes. Now that I see how easy and how few ingredients the yellow cake recipe has I will try it. I just never have shortening!
    I’ve been craving cake lately. Not good!
    I’m in a bit of a rut.
    Recently did tilapia with Cajun seasoning, your Mexican quinoa but changed the enchilada sauce to jarred salsa and I loved it, egg roll in a bowl, fried rice with cauliflower rice for me, brats, turkey dogs, southwest burrito bowls.

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    1. You could sub butter I'm sure. I do have a really good yellow cake recipe on my Pinterest. I just remember it being pretty involved. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/71072500359055732/

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  2. I am down to about three or four meals that all three kids will eat without complaining. However, two will be leaving soon for college (all the feels EXCEPT that I am giddy about the thought of only have one fussy eater in the house when the two older are gone:)). I am always looking for new ideas so I will check out the chicken recipes you referenced. Agree completely about homemade icing for cakes- making it is super easy and tastes so much better. I sometimes make cakes from scratch; when cake mixes go on a super sale at the grocery I buy them to have on hand.

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    1. Cake mixes are good for a lot of things, so I do usually have one on hand.
      I don't really worry about what our kiddo will eat or not eat. He's *usually* pretty good about it, but if he doesn't want to eat, it doesn't matter what you put in front of him.
      Enjoy your meal-planning freedom! :)

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  3. I just joined PlateJoy because I'm in SUCh a rut - & being back in the office, I dont want to think about it. They send the menu for each week, you can pick how many of each meal you want & I am so far loving it. lunch ideas & breakfast & even a BATCh cooking receipt. My daughter used it & turned me onto it.

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