Using Pinterest to Menu Plan and Peanut Udon Noodles Recipe

Recently I started using Pinterest. I did try it shortly after it came out but I didn't get. I just didn't spend enough time exploring! Well, I have found I can waste huge amounts of time find fantastic recipes for menu planning! You can type in the search bar "chicken" and viola you have all manner of recipes with pictures! 

Part of keeping it organized is about the boards you pin things to. Originally, I had one for Recipes to Try. That got overwhelming very quickly, as I had to scan through so many pins to find the recipe I wanted! Then I started one with Desserts to Try and half of my Recipes to Try left. Then today as I was menu planning I thought, "Self, why not a board called This Week's Menu!" (I know you thought of this already, but it was a light bulb moment for me!) Now, I have a lovely area to go to see what we are eating this week! Once I have tried the recipe it either goes into Recipes We Love or it gets deleted. I wish there was a way to delete them forever from  Pinterest because it's about the visual for me. What will happen is I will see it in Pinterest world again and I will repin it because I like the picture and forgot I had tried it already!
The fun thing is you can be as creative as you want for the naming of your boards! 
I got a kick out of one guy who had all these lovely chocolatey desserts....his board was Things I Wish My Wife Would Make!

My menu planning inspiration before Pinterest!
Today one of my Recipes to Try that went into my This Week's Menu was Peanut Udon Noodles. It was so good and so easy!

Ingredients needed for this quick, yummy, Peanut Udon Noodle recipe. The original recipe is here. The  red  pepper paste is optional. As you can see I have a LARGE bucket of it! This came when we had a lovely Korean lady living with us and she taught me some spicy, super tasty Korean dishes.
The thing that takes the longest with this recipe was boiling the water! The udon noodles only take 2-3 minutes to cook. I would definetly use at least 2 packages to feed 3-4. 
The sauce calls for chicken broth, but I just used water.

Peanut Udon Noodles

1/2 cup chicken broth(I used water)

 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced (I used grated frozen)

3 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce 

3 Tbsp. peanut butter

 1 1/2 Tbsp. honey 

1/2 tsp.hot chili paste (optional) 

3 cloves garlic, minced

 8 oz. Udon noodles

 green onions, chopped 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced roasted peanuts, crushed fresh cilantro, chopped

I didn't use the peanuts or the cilantro(there's a ban on it in my house)

I didn't know it was going to be so yummy. I didn't know I would want to blog it, so this is the sad bottom of the bowl  left in my son's portion. He had a hard time stopping long enough for me to take this picture! Next time I make it I will add pictures. The sliced pepper and bits of green onion added nice color to it.

 r