Pinterest + Dinner = New Recipes in the Rotation

I've mentioned here before that we struggle with dinners.  Honestly, I can say that I find it to be the most challenging part of the day.  I almost dread it.  But, I refuse to just give up and eat out all the time.  First, we don't have the money to eat restaurant food for days on end, and second, I get tired of eating 'healthy' fast food (i.e. Subway).  So, we've set out on a mission to try and eat real dinners (not eggs or oatmeal) for dinner at least 4 nights a week (Mon-Thurs).  That means that we have to be org-org-organized.

Pinterest has become my new best friend in Project: Dinner Organization.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll see me pinning recipe after recipe.  Many of them are crock pot recipes, and others are ones that I can either do super quick or that I can have all ready and freeze ahead of time.  Pinterest can be a bit of hit and miss though.  We've tried many recipes that are total flops, or are just so-so...nothing to write home about, or to blog about for that matter.  But then there are others that are total winners.  Some of the Pinterest recipes are super delicious and have made it into our regular rotation.

Source

Through all of our trial and error, I have kept a board on Pinterest entitled Recipes We Have Tried and Love.  Since we love them, I thought I'd share the board with you....in case you also find dinner on week nights next to impossible.  I don't just post anything on the board, I can assure you that we have actually made and eaten the recipe.  I also add my little notes to the pin with any changes that we have made or modifications that could make it healthier, etc.  And since it's my blog, I guess it's ok to play favourites.....the Singapore Street Noodles and the Cauliflower Chocolate Cake are our current faves.

Do you have a pin board with your favourite recipes?  Leave me your link in the comments, as I'd love to follow you and find new recipes.  It's just a lot of recipe love around here today.

On a totally unrelated side note, I wanted to just make a couple of quick comments about advertising.  You may have noticed that over the past few weeks I have integrated some advertising onto the blog.  I struggled with the decision to start adding ads to the blog, as I want to maintain the integrity of my posts.  But, blogging isn't entirely free, and although the costs are small, they are still there (domain name, blog design, etc).  I love writing and sharing, but if I can recoup some of my out of pocket costs, I will.  And to be honest, having a few extra dollars doesn't hurt :)

I only show display ads that I think fit with what I have going on around here.  They are stores that I enjoy, and that you may too.  The little section on the right hand side titled "Swell Goods I am Loving Right Now" contains affiliate links.  If you click on one of the items from this blog and then purchase it, the store sends me a small percentage of your purchase.  It's like a little bonus for me scoping out cool things.  You may also see sponsored posts every once and a while.  These are posts that I have been paid to write on behalf of a company.  The words are all mine, and I only write about things that I believe in or use myself.  I've passed up quite a few sponsored posts that I just don't think are the right fit (like white bread and car insurance....).  I know most of you won't care too much about any of this, but it's important for me to be honest with you.  I often get question on how you can make money blogging, so hopefully this will answer some of them.  And just to prove that blogging isn't a good way to get rich, I have made a total of $19.84 since I started blogging almost 9 months ago.  I think I'll use it to buy lotto tickets.

Have a great weekend!  Any big plans?  We have Halloween craziness this weekend.  Can't wait!