Pinterest FAIL – Recipe Review (And Cooking with a Toddler)

Recently I have had a few successes with Pinterest recipes.  I tried these spinach and feta mini frittatas. Um, delicious!  And I tried spinachlasagna roll-ups. Awesome!  Also, I seem to like spinach.

I found this recipe HERE for white chicken enchiladas.  Now from the start I wasn’t sure, but it seemed quick and easy and was chicken and cheese so I felt Henry would love it and it would be a perfect quick dinner.  Plus it had lots of great reviews.

So the other night I tried it.  Now, normally I prefer cooking alone.  I turn on music and relax and enjoy cooking.  But this day I made the mistake of cooking this quick dinner while Henry ate his dinner.  So cooking was FAR from relaxing. 

Why you ask?! 

Well let me just get off topic for a moment and tell you.

(Now I do try to include Henry in the cooking process.  But this recipe really didn't have much he could "help with".  No stirring or cleaning veggies.  He was mad he couldn't help and partly, along with boredom, why I think ciaos ensued.)

Henry ate well at first, but when he starts getting full and is done he does what any kid would do and finds ways to entertain himself.  Apparently this dish wasn’t fast enough because he was bored.

First, Henry decided to start feeding the cats his dinner.  Then when the cats came near him he screamed. Then don’t feed the damn cats!!! 

Then he proceeded to put his mac and cheese IN his cup of milk and drink it that way.  I should have taken the cup away right then, but I was in the middle of rolling enchiladas and just wanted to get done.  Then he proceeds to dump all the contents of his cup onto his tray and splash. SERIOUSLY DUDE?!  Goodbye cup & tray. 

THEN after I took everything but a handful of mac and cheese away and am pouring the sauce over dinner I hear it.  Nothing.  Silence. I turn around and there is Henry messing with his nose and making a face.  “Henry…what are you doing?!?!  WHAT?!  Is that mac and cheese up your nose?!?!  WE DO NOT PUT THINGS UP OUR NOSE!!!” I pull the mac and cheese from his nose, throw the stupid dish in the oven and clean up the food and milk ALL over the kitchen (between his mess and mine).

I fear this recipe was just doomed from the start.

Ok, back to the recipe.  I mean really…can you tell I don’t even want to talk about it and am less than enthused by this recipe. I didn’t even take a picture of it.

Was it quick and easy to make? Under different circumstances – YES.

BUT, while it tasted OK….it just tasted OK and texturally I was not pleased.

Here is what I didn’t like:

1. The dish was white.  All white.  I like a little color in my food! Maybe some spinach?!

2. It was all the same consistency.  You have the soft flour tortillas and pour the sauce over and bake it and nothing crisps up.  It is just a soft, floppy dish. (hate when that happens)

3. Lacked flavor.  You add a can of green chilies in there and though I made some of the sauce without the green chilies for Henry, he could have eaten with the chilies.  No heat and the whole thing was bland.  It need more flavor.

4. The enchiladas had chicken and cheese.  I think they needed more.  Onion, peppers, veggies, something.  I know traditionally enchiladas are just a meat and cheese or beans and cheese or just cheese.  But these were not traditional and when I am making them at home and they are not authentic from a restaurant I want more in there.  It is the perfect way to sneak in veggies. 

What I would do differently:

1. I would not put the sauce on the enchiladas to bake.  The sauce wasn’t bad, but it was too rich for me to smother over everything.  I would make it to put on the side and I would either add more chilies or hot sauce or jalapeño.

2. Would add some spinach, sautéed onions, and garlic (maybe red bell pepper) inside with the chicken.

3. I would bake them so they crisp up.  Sort of like in this recipe HERE. 

4. I would top them with the sauce, cheese and shredded lettuce and tomato for freshness and more crunch.

I know, I know.  I am basically no longer making enchiladas.  Perhaps I just don’t like enchiladas as much as I thought!!  So maybe this recipe is actually awesome (no it isn’t) and that is why I didn’t like it.

Overall, I would definitely make a variation of the recipe and sauce but not this recipe as is.  I would also do it alone, preferably with a margarita. (hey!)  

On to my next Pinterest recipe!!  Do you have any that have been successes or failures?!?! How about cooking with a toddler...do you do it?!  

I ended up not even feeding it to Henry because I just felt the sauce was too rich for his stomach.