Pinterst Inspiration & CSA Week 2

Do you pin?  If not, you really should.  My fascination with pinning happened while sitting on the couch at Stephanie's house on the Cape. She showed me how to use this amazing website called Pinterest and then I was hooked.
Hooked on a site that provides amazing food inspiration when I'm in a cooking rut.  If you didn't know this already, I'm pretty much obsessed with CREATIVE food recipes. I love unexpected use of ingredients or interesting use of equipment.  This week I used a cupcake pan to make tacos, mini pie tarts to make pizza, fries made of Avocado and spinach meatballs.  I'm going to overload you with a bunch of recipes.  Recipes that were completely inspired by PINTEREST and my boards.  Come follow me there! I think you'll be inspired too!
Here's a look at what I made this week....from the site...

I used as much of my CSA produce as I could in these dishes.  Here's a look at CSA Week 2!

Strawberries, Lettuce, Summer Squash, Turnips, Beets, Peas, Swiss Chard and Kale!

 I adapted the pintrest recipes into my own!  First up was the Vegetable Pizzas.  I decided to make mine in my mini tart pans that I love! I used various veggies from my CSA- swiss chard, summer squash combined with mushrooms and onions, store bought sauce, store bought pizza dough, cheese and pepperoni.  With a side of Kale Chips.

 I love mini pizzas!!! Aren't they cute!!!! They were tasty too.  See, I'm not much of a baker, but I am good at using my baking tools for dinner recipes  : )

I also made Tacos in Muffin Pans with Avocado Fries! This recipe was super easy to make.

How genius is this?  Taco shells made in cupcake pans! So how did I make them?

Muffin Tin Tacos

Inspired by the Hispanic Kitchen and Pinterest!

Ingredients:

1 pound of ground turkey

1 onion diced

1/2 jalapeno

taco seasoning mix + 3/4 water + extra seasoning- I used chili powder and cumin

12 flour tortillas

2 cups of Mexican blend cheese

Instructions:

Saute the onion and jalapeno until soft then add the ground turkey. Blend in seasoning and coat.  Adjust as needed- I added extra cumin and chili powder. Stir for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and well combined. Meanwhile, use a margarita glass to make circles of the flour tortillas. Wrap tortillas in in a wet towel and microwave for 30 seconds to soften.  Then mold the circles in a greased muffin tin - mine went up around the side. Add a layer of cheese to the bottom.  Then add spoonfuls of the taco mix and add more cheese on top.  Bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes. 

This is the most perfect simple recipe and a unique way to enjoy tacos!!! With these tacos, I made Avocado Fries!

Avocado Fries

Inspired by Adventure Cooking

Ingredients

2 Avocados

2 Eggs, beaten

1 and 1/3 Panko Bread Crumbs

1 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1/4 Teaspoon Cumin 

Instructions

 In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, lemon pepper, salt and cumin. Set it aside. Cut the avocados in half and then slice them vertically into 4 inch by 1 inch wedges. Set them aside. Dredge the avocado slices in the breadcrumb mixture, then in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumb mixture again. Place them on a baking sheet and bake until golden or about 10-20 minutes.

What a fun twist on one of my favorite foods!  I definitely think next time I would fry them like the original recipe suggested- but I was trying to be healthy.

I also made Spinach Meatballs with an awesome tangy cucumber yogurt sauce.

 Spanakopita Chicken Meatballs with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
inspired by the Cookbook Junkie, Rachael Ray and pinterest
Ingredients:
1 10-ounce boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
1 pound ground chicken
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of preminced garlic
1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 ½ cups Greek-style plain yogurt
1/3 seedless cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon dried dill
½ tablespoon cumin 
½ tablespoon coriander
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wring out the spinach completely dry. Separate the spinach as you add it to the mixing bowl. Add the feta, chicken, onion, garlic, the grill seasoning to the bowl. Mix the meat with the veggies and feta and form 18 1 ½-inch meatballs. Place the meatballs on a rimmed non-stick baking sheet and bake them for 10 to 12 minutes until they are golden and the juices run clear. While the meatballs bake, place the yogurt, remaining chopped garlic, the cucumbers, dill, cumin, coriander, lemon juice and a little salt in a food processor and process until smooth. Adjust the seasonings and transfer sauce to a serving bowl. Serve the meatballs with sauce in whole wheat pitas.

These were similar to my Spinach burgers only with some meat.  (which didn't really add anything by the way, meat is definitely not always needed!) I loved this cucumber sauce and it was soooo easy! I love my food processor!  I think this sauce is a great alternative to tziziki sauces and so much quicker to make.

I also made No Recipes Strawberry Lemon Bars.  I followed the recipe exactly so check it out.  I used my CSA Strawberries to make this and it was awesome!

 PS- No Recipes was on Chopped on the night I made these bars!  What irony : ) 

Not nearly as gorgeous as his, but a great dessert for mid-week.  And the CSA berries made a huge difference.

So there you have it.  Pinterest is a fabulous website to get inspired in the kitchen, in your house, with design, photography and art.  Whatever your passions are, you can get the inspiration you need to be creative.  Check it out and follow me if you haven't already : )

Where do you get most of your creative inspiration from?  Do you pin?

HAPPY 4th WEEKEND!