Daytons Day-to-Day: You're Welcome

You're on Pinterest, right? If not, where on earth have you been? Check it out. I like to get on there and just browse the "Humor" category if I need a laugh. I also like to check out the "Popular" category to see what's trending all over. And, of course, you can just take a look and see what your friends are into lately. Recipes are a big part of it. I love getting new recipes! But I don't just pin wildly - I always click the picture to get to the actual recipe so that I can determine whether or not I will realistically ever make the recipe. If it has 42 ingredients - no. If I have to pre-cook something before it goes into the crockpot - no (seriously? eliminates the purpose!). Since there's no professional requirement for putting a recipe on there, some of them don't work out so well. I've pinned tons of recipes and have had the chance to put a few of them to the test this holiday season. I thought I would share with you all the ones that I've tried so you don't have to experiment as much:

http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/03/crock-pot-chicken-dumplings-recipe/

This was pretty good to me, but Alan is the chicken & dumplings expert around here and it wasn't his favorite. I think when you add the biscuits, if you don't mix them in so that they cook a little more on top, it could be better.

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

http://richestoragsbydori.blogspot.jp/2012/09/crock-pot-cinnamon-almonds.html

DELICIOUS! I gave them as gifts to some of the people who work for Alan. YUM. I did find that it made enough of the sugar mixture to cover twice the amount of almonds it calls for, so double the egg white and the almonds, but keep the sugars and cinnamon the same.

Chubby Hubby Truffles

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/12/chubby-hubby-buckeye-peanut-butter.html

These are yummy if you like crunchy peanut butter. They are a little tough to roll and dip because the pretzel pieces in the mix tend to make it fall apart easier. Might be easier if the pretzels are crushed to pretty tiny pieces. Taste great as a finished product, though!

Pumpkin Muffins

http://sweet-verbena.blogspot.jp/2011/08/pumpkin-muffins.html

EASY! I added some pumpkin pie spice to the cake mix and pumpkin. When I put them in the muffin pan, I thought there was no way they would turn out well, but they did! I took them to Life Group and everyone thought they were fantastic. You can substitute Spice Cake, which I'll try next, as well. But I highly recommend this recipe! Yummy and easy.

Spinach Feta Rolls

http://clairebidwellsmith.com/2010/01/22/windy-city-crescent-rolls/

Eh. Just OK. Mine did not turn out like the photos, first of all. Second, I used three tubes of crescent rolls instead of two and still had enough of the stuffing mixture to make at least two more tubes. I was ticked that it was so off. I ended up eating it as a salad, but still...You can only pile so much of the mixture onto the tiny triangle and by the time it bakes up and the cheese inside melts and the spinace wilts, I felt like the inside was pretty empty except for a few olive pieces. Just so-so. Maybe you can figure out how to make it turn out well and let me know. I like the idea of them.

Bacon-wrapped Smokies

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/bacon-wrapped-smokies-with-brown-sugar-and-butter/

MAKE THESE NOW! They are so good. I do think you can change a couple of things: First, I think you can do less brown sugar, like maybe only 1 1/2 cups total, or even less. Second, I think if you only slightly cooked the bacon to get some of that fat off it would allow for less liquid in the pan in the end and maybe crispier bacon (who doesn't like that). Even after turning up the heat and then broiling them, my bacon was a little soggy. But they still all disappeared, so that's a good sign! Loved them!