New Year Resolutions
I have never been one to partake in the resolution aspect of each upcoming year because I knew that I would never accomplish anything that I set forth. I believe that calling them resolutions is a bad idea; they should be called goals instead. It's a much nicer word and to me, it has a more positive connotation to it.
All of that changed at the end of 2016 though. The new year was just around the corner and I had experienced some rough things, and I wanted 2017 to be a bit more positive. So I told my mom that I wanted to cook 1 meal every month, after I had bought the ingredients myself. I grew up helping her in the kitchen while she made dinner, so why not do it by myself for a whole year; it was only going to be 12 meals, and maybe a few desserts.
I learned a lot about myself during that time and I had a lot of fun doing it as well! So much so, that I decided to to it again for 2018!
In no particular order, here are the recipes I made for 2017! I should also note that this is not the complete list of all the things I made for 2017, but all that I could find/remember!
Honey Lime Chicken
Cold Peanut Noodle Salad *It called for rice noodles and that turned out to be a mistake for me to use. I would recommend regular pasta, like mini spaghetti or linguine. I also used cashews instead of peanuts.
Cilantro Lime Vegan Tacos *This was made to be eaten warm, but I would have preferred it to be eaten cold. I'm personally not a big fan of beans or hummus, but overall it was tasty.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole *Part of the recipe is to make your own alfredo sauce, but I used store-bought.
Chicken Fried Rice
Creamy Garlic Pasta
Garlic Butter Cheesy Crescent Rolls
Italian Sandwich Roll-Ups *I doubled the filling amount for these roll-ups and that meant 2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning. I should have kept that specific ingredient to 1 Tablespoon, or none altogether.
The last two things, the Crescent Rolls and the Roll-Ups, are more in the appetizer or snack food realm, and not really a dinner or full meal. I made them for New Years Eve, so it was totally fine to have apps for dinner!
Desserts
Carrot Cake
Frosty Cherry Cookies
Homemade Caramel Apple Cheesecake *Says to make your own caramel sauce but I bought it from the store and used that instead! Also says to make your own cinnamon flavored whipped cream, but I just used cool-whip.
All American Trifle *Calls for lemon yogurt but I couldn't find that, so I used vanilla. Also calls for the white chocolate flavor of instant pudding mix, but I think I did vanilla instead. Coconut flavored rum is a part of the recipe, but that stuff is expensive, so I used coconut extract. I even added in some sweetened coconut shreds that my dad had bought for a previous recipe.
All of that changed at the end of 2016 though. The new year was just around the corner and I had experienced some rough things, and I wanted 2017 to be a bit more positive. So I told my mom that I wanted to cook 1 meal every month, after I had bought the ingredients myself. I grew up helping her in the kitchen while she made dinner, so why not do it by myself for a whole year; it was only going to be 12 meals, and maybe a few desserts.
I learned a lot about myself during that time and I had a lot of fun doing it as well! So much so, that I decided to to it again for 2018!
In no particular order, here are the recipes I made for 2017! I should also note that this is not the complete list of all the things I made for 2017, but all that I could find/remember!
Honey Lime Chicken
Cold Peanut Noodle Salad *It called for rice noodles and that turned out to be a mistake for me to use. I would recommend regular pasta, like mini spaghetti or linguine. I also used cashews instead of peanuts.
Cilantro Lime Vegan Tacos *This was made to be eaten warm, but I would have preferred it to be eaten cold. I'm personally not a big fan of beans or hummus, but overall it was tasty.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole *Part of the recipe is to make your own alfredo sauce, but I used store-bought.
Chicken Fried Rice
Creamy Garlic Pasta
Garlic Butter Cheesy Crescent Rolls
Italian Sandwich Roll-Ups *I doubled the filling amount for these roll-ups and that meant 2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning. I should have kept that specific ingredient to 1 Tablespoon, or none altogether.
The last two things, the Crescent Rolls and the Roll-Ups, are more in the appetizer or snack food realm, and not really a dinner or full meal. I made them for New Years Eve, so it was totally fine to have apps for dinner!
Desserts
Carrot Cake
Frosty Cherry Cookies
Homemade Caramel Apple Cheesecake *Says to make your own caramel sauce but I bought it from the store and used that instead! Also says to make your own cinnamon flavored whipped cream, but I just used cool-whip.
All American Trifle *Calls for lemon yogurt but I couldn't find that, so I used vanilla. Also calls for the white chocolate flavor of instant pudding mix, but I think I did vanilla instead. Coconut flavored rum is a part of the recipe, but that stuff is expensive, so I used coconut extract. I even added in some sweetened coconut shreds that my dad had bought for a previous recipe.
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