My Top 5 Biggest Cooking Fails & What I’ve Learned
Do you ever have cooking fails?
Even though my career involves cooking and sharing recipes, I’ve definitely had some AMAZING cooking fails! LOL! What I learned is that failing is a natural process, and no one can be perfect all the time! Mistakes are gonna happen, and they actually help you get better at whatever you are trying to master. AND some of mine are a little funny!
Hi, I’m Lina and I’m perfectly imperfect!
Please know I don’t have any sort of formal training in the kitchen. In fact, I just enjoy cooking for my family, trying new recipes, and sharing my results. And the food pics. I LOVE taking those the most! My mom is an AMAZING cook, so my current life goal is to be just like her. Above is a picture of us making tamales at Christmas! <3
Today, I’m keeping it real and sharing some of my biggest flubs in the kitchen. Think of it as a behind-the-scenes glimpse into some of what I do daily here at Hip2Save.
1.) Pumpkin Dessert… but fit for Taco Tuesday
The first time I made this Pumpkin Dessert featured HERE, I grabbed the ground CUMIN instead of the ground CINNAMON and dumped it all in! Well, I tried to scoop out all the cumin, but there’s no onlineing back after that mistake. My beautiful pumpkin dessert tasted more like a taco! LOL, so sad! My family was not impressed! 😂
Lesson: Slow down, pay attention, and wear glasses when cooking! I’m also very careful now when using cinnamon and cumin in recipes! LOL
2.) The Cloud Bread that fell flat
Bread without carbs sounded so amazing, I had to test it out. As you can see, things didn’t go so well! Ha. I talked about this epic fail in THIS post and asked readers where they thought I went wrong!
Lesson: Do a little recipe research before you start something new. According to most readers, it sounds like I folded the mixture too much after beating the egg whites into stiff peaks, which then gave my dough a soupy type mixture!
3.) Instant Pot Fail (Marinara & Spaghetti Squash)
I planned an Instant Pot one-pot meal idea which called for cooking marinara meat sauce and a small spaghetti squash at the same time! Seems efficient and smart, right? Well, I ended up with a giant soggy mess of a spaghetti squash. Part of the problem was because my Instant Pot was not onlineing to pressure properly and I kept having to re-start.
Lesson: Know your cooking appliance. When browning meat in the Instant Pot, it’s important to de-glaze the pot and make sure there aren’t any bits stuck to the bottom. Also if the sauce is too thick, your pot may not onlinee to pressure (thin sauce with broth if too thick).
4.) Slow Cooker Tater-Tot Mush
Doesn’t this slow cooker meal look yummy? It was so awful no one in my family would eat it. Ha! And it wasn’t so much the taste but the texture. It turns out that lining the slow cooker with frozen tater-tots and then dumping in a bunch of other stuff = potat-oatmeal! LOL!
Lesson: When texture matters, not every type of meal is great for the slow cooker. I’m thinking this taco tater-tot meal idea would have been yummy in the actual oven, just like a casserole!
5.) Crescent Roll Hot Dog Pinterest Fail-on-a-Stick
So I tried this camping recipe where you wrap hot dogs with crescent dough and then grill. Well, this was my result! LOL
Lesson: I learned that when “baking” on the grill, you really need to use indirect heat like an oven. Also, soaking those wood skewers first would have been helpful! Read more about this fail HERE.
General cooking life lessons I’ve learned:
- Just because a recipe looks yummy, it may not actually taste great! This is why I test these popular recipes and share my feedback. I only share ideas that are easy and tasty, and I always try to add my personal tips for success!
- To avoid mistakes, slow down and read directions and ingredients a few times before starting a new recipe (this is a hard one since I’m always in a hurry! ha). When I research a recipe idea, I look for a half dozen ways to make it, just to make sure I get the result I’m hoping for.
- Read recipe reviews. I’m obsessed with recipe reviews and what people think, just like I am about products I buy online. It helps to see what changes others may have made to recipes, too!
- Most of all, HAVE FUN, adapt recipes to your taste, and don’t get discouraged by cooking fails!
Do you have an ultimate cooking fail? Share with us in the onlinements!
Written by Lina for Hip2Save. Lina is a proud mom of 2 small kids who loves photography, all holidays, cooking, thrift store makeovers, bargain shopping, and DIY makeovers. Her goal is to create a beautiful life and stylish home on a dime! Check out all of Lina’s DIY/CRAFTS and RECIPES created just for Hip2Save.
