Meals I've Made
a collection of random meals I've made for me and my partner. i've been enjoying having someone i love to motivate me to cook more, and i'm getting better at figuring out what the heck to do for dinner every night. that being said deciding what to cook remains the bane of my existence, so feel free to drop recipe ideas at my guestbook.
rating: 3/5
recipe link: here
date made: april 6, 2026
chicken & broccoli
I made this instant pot chicken and broccoli in hopes for a quick healthy meal. As I put the sauce together in the pot, it smelled really good. Unfortunately, though, the chicken came out tough - I think because my chunks of chicken were too small - and the sauce wasn't very flavorful. In the future, I'd increase the size and thickness of my chicken and add perhaps double the garlic, soy sauce, and brown sugar. I also added my broccoli and started it at 0 minutes on manual in my instant pot in order to properly cook it down. My partner and I agreed the broccoli was the best part.
butter garlic noodles
I was craving something easy and that I know I love. And so of course, buttered garlic noodles with parmesan is my go to. I cooked the egg noodles in better than boullion chicken. I reserved 1/4 cup of pasta water, then used that + measured garlic with my heart + half a stick of butter and just melted it all down. Turned the heat down, added the grated parmesan and put it all together. Topped it off with black pepper. Delicious as always!!! This was a me-only meal.
rating: 5/5
recipe link: n/a
date made: april 5, 2026
rating: 5/5
recipe link: here
date made: april 4, 2026
blackberry cobbler
I'm a sucker for Pioneer Woman's cobbler recipe. I don't care if it isn't "traditional" cobbler - it's easy and I almost always have what I need on hand. I was talking about blackberry cobbler for WEEKS, so I finally made good on what I was yammering on about. I didn't have ice cream, which sucks, but whipped cream works just as well. I love that this recipe is super good after being reheated and lasts several days in the fridge. Is it good for you? ...Spiritually, yes. Health-wise, the amount of sugar in this recipe feels crazy. But what's life without a little sugar, anyways? My partner liked it, but he prefers different baked goods. Oh well - more for me!
chicken sausage & gnocchi
I love gnocchi. My partner isn't the biggest fan, but I couldn't help myself. The heart wants what the heart wants. I followed this recipe sorta-kinda - the main difference is I used Rao's marinara sauce instead of throwing my own together. It was pretty good, but the chicken sausage was the highlight. I don't usually do any type of sausage very often. This was actually my first time trying chicken sausage... big fan. Will probably do it again. This wasn't my favorite gnocchi recipe ever but it fed us and it tasted pretty good.
rating: 3.5/5
recipe link: here
date made: march 31, 2026
rating: 4/5
recipe link: x
date made: march 23, 2026
mediterranean bowl
I'm not sure what recipe I used for this, if I'm honest, probably saw it on TikTok or some other platform like it. But anyway, it's basic. I tenderized, seasoned, and pan-fried my chicken breasts - 4 min on each side until cooked through. Then I cut it into strips diagonally. I think I used garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper for that. The base is just white rice and the veggies are diced up cucumber, bell pepper, red onions, roma tomatoes with feta. I put a dollop of aldi's tzatziki on it which I think REALLY overpowered the whole thing. It was wonderful and fresh and felt healthy but that was a bit much for my taste.