Not In the Mood.

Dinner. That's what I'm not in the mood for. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to plan it. I don't want to cook it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I am in a major cooking rut. It's like I can't even wrap my brain around planning meals for a night, much less a week.

It's not that I don't like to cook. I actually love to cook. I hate planning meals, though. HATE. And for some reason, I don't have a tried and true menu that I always cook from. I think that's the the problem with loving-to-cook. When my schedule was less hectic that it is now, I used to love to experiment with new recipes, making something new and different several times a week.

 

via here and here

Now? I'm happy to just scramble some eggs and call it a night.

I have tons of yummy-looking recipes pinned on Pinterest. I have a huge collection of Bon Apetit and Cooking Light magazines. I have some amazing cookbooks.But motivation? I have none.

And, I'll be honest. This is what I'd really like to make and eat:

via here

I'm actually a lot better in the winter, which is sad because summer food is so much better. But some of the easy factor goes away with the yumminess of summer's bounty. Who wants a hot cassrole in the middle of August? Not me. And frankly, I don't even like to buy produce from the regular grocery store in the summer.  Tomatoes from Mexico? That's just silly. I live in North Carolina. I'm a stones throw from miles and miles of farmland.

I'd rather get fresh, local fruit and veggies from the farmer's market. But, of course, that is kind of a haul, and it's hot out there, and I have the kids, and blah blah blah. Just another excuse to order take-out.

So, here I sit, at 2:30 on a Monday afternoon, with no idea what's for dinner. NO IDEA. At this point, it's a toss up between cereal and a frozen pizza.

Anyone know what wines go best with Honey Nut Cheerios?

Pinterest is making me fat.

Once upon a time, I was a pretty healthy eater. Oh, I had wine o'plenty. And the occasional sweet. But I tracked calories, made sure I was eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and read healthy food blogs all the time.

Now I'm completely uncommitted to such things. Sure, I'm not eating McDonald's every day. Just Chick Fila every week. And I never look at calorie count. I guess I think I kind of know what's healthy and what's not. Most days I eat lunch at home, and it's either a sandwich or a salad. But there is a decent amount of snacking. And dessert. Man, do I have a sweet tooth.

And then there's Pinterest. I think I have pinned over  150 recipes. I have tried quite a few of them. And most of the ones I keep trying are some kind of cake, muffin, or brownie. Sometimes, things look so good that I apparently pin them twice. Like this:

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

via Pinterest

In fact, I've noticed that I have pinned quite a few desserts that involve peanut butter and chocolate. I mean, honestly folks, what's not to love? This, in particular, is a must-try for me:

 

Via Pinterest

Now, not all the food I've pinned is sinful. Some of it is healthy. I just haven't tested out any of the healthy stuff. 

Last week I made a cake from Cooking Light magazine. I have a love/hate relationship with that particular publication. If you've ever picked it up, you'll understand when I complain that most of their recipes call for now fewer than 73 ingredients. Many of those are expensive or obscure. I find it's easier to go to Trader Joe's and get some frozen entree for the family than it is to traipse around town to every ethnic market looking for bamboo shoots to go in my Asian chicken. Maybe that's just me, though.

So, the recipe I made last week was their Texas Sheet cake. It won their contest for best "light" chocolate recipe. Let me tell you: light it was not. The cake and the frosting contain a total of nearly 2 sticks of butter and five cups of sugar. And it is way too sweet. I'm not entirely sure how it won, but it doesn't make me want to rush to try out the other contenders. 

One recipe I will recommend, however, is this one, which I found off - you guessed it - Pinterest. It's not terribly light, but also not a complete gut-buster. It's meatless,  but if that doesn't appeal to you, I don't see why you couldn't add some chicken. Give it a try if you need a fairly quick weeknight meal. My kids ate it, too, so I consider it a success.

 

Find the full recipe here

(note: I was out of sour cream so I substituted Greek yogurt and it turned out great)

Oh, and I'm sure you're just dying to follow me on Pinterest, so please do so here.