Don't you hate it when a recipe sounds fabulous and it isn't??

I am not one to make New Year's Resolutions but I do like goals. I have several right now and one is to cook from my vast array of cookbooks and saved links once a week - I hate having the same thing all the time.

So in an effort to actually "use" my large collection of recipe books I made two different meals in the last week that sounded UH-MAZING and turned out just eh, ok. Don't you hate that?? It is one of the hazzards of trying something new. It actually happens more often than I would like to admit.

First I made a Rachel Ray recipe called Supreme Pizza Pasta Salad. It makes a huge amount and while I had only one person truly dislike it - no one loved it or wanted second helpings which meant I was stuck eating it for lunch all week. I am giving the last serving to the chickens - I just can't eat another helping.

Then tonight I made Cheeseburger Salad which I didn't know was a Pioneer Woman/Pampered Chef recipe until I went to write this post. It was ok but not great. I think if I try it again I would put all the different components in individual bowls and let everyone make their own - like how we do tacos, that way we can have things like sweet and sour pickles and chopped olives to add if you wanted. I would also make a mustard vinaigrette for the mustard lovers in addition to my homemade Ranch dressing.

Will I keep trying? Absolutely - I have a fairly good handle on what my kids will like and so I tend to cook towards that. I have found that most recipes are too bland for my family. We like it spicier, saucier - lots of flavor. But every once in awhile I go out on a limb like my African Chicken Stew and we end up loving it. And that is why I keep on reading the cookbooks and blogs and watching cooking shows. You just never know!

How about you? Do you cook from your cookbooks? Do you try new things? Does your family like it when you do?

I am linking this to We Are That Family's Works for me Wednesday!