Friday, April 9, 2010

Cooking

Some of you are really into cooking. You love trying new, complicated recipes, spending hours in the kitchen and even plate the food with garnishes and stuff. You might even go as far as to call yourself a "foodie." I like cooking dinner for my family, and I am enjoying teaching Addison how to cook. I even think I do a halfway decent job, but I definitely wouldn't consider it a hobby of mine. Maybe it's because I have so much going on in my life right now, but there are times (nightly) where I just dread going in that kitchen to make dinner. It doesn't help that evening time is usually death hour in this household, and hearing Addison say "What are we having mom? I don't like that! I don't want that!" before she's even tasted it certainly doesn't help. Then there's Ainsley, and the endless task of keeping her out of the pantry. or the litterbox. or the toilet, or trying to get in and out of the fridge before she can get her grubby little fingers around the salad dressings. All that to say cooking is not my most favorite thing right now.

Having said that, the thing that makes cooking worth it, besides hearing Addison say "I LOVE THIS DINNER, MOM!", is thinking of all of you guys when I'm looking through my recipe book, getting ready to make something you posted, emailed, or made for me when we were together. Whenever I make spice pancakes, I think of Brenda. Whenever I make white chili I think of Roz, chicken divan casserole aka "heaven in a 9x13", I think of my mom. We've been eating those sweet potato fries for years, but Em changed my whole world when she posted a recipe for them with coriander. Tonight for dinner I made Chicken Succotash and it made me think of Keri. I could go on...and on...and on.

So next time you post a recipe, thinking no one really cares, know that I might be trying it out and thinking of you and appreciating having you in my life while I do, even if I accidentally burn it to a crisp, or in the case of Amanda's peasant bread, leave it raw on the inside. ;)

3 comments:

Keri said...

Marie, if it makes you feel better, I go through phases where I feel the same way. Sometimes cooking is fun, but there are weeks when I absolutely hate it. I always like to bake though, and unfortunately I can't feed my family cookies for dinner:)

Seriously though, it doesn't make you less of a wife or mother if you don't enjoy cooking. There is nothing wrong with grilled cheese and soup from a can!

I do have a perfect recipe for you though, my mom gave it to me. Four ingredients in a crock pot=delicious.

In a crockpot put:

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, rinsed

Cook on medium heat for several hours and shred the chicken into big chunks with a fork. My mom adds a block of cream cheese to it at the end, I just sprinkle some cheese on top. You can serve it over rice, in tortillas, eat it with chips, whatever. It's delicious!

roz said...

Keri is so right! And so are you! The pre-dinner hour is the most tense "hour" of the whole day! Hungry, tired kids, husband hungry...the joy of cooking disappears with the desire to get something on the table fast and fill all the tummies. Some of our favorites are so simple....sloppy joes and carrot sticks, pancakes and sausage (love breakfast for dinner!), taco soup, spaghetti (make a double batch and freeze!), tacos, tuna melts, grilled cheese and tomato soup. One night the kids asked for "Roadkill" for dinner....I made it...they loved it! The thing that I felt was most important about dinner was that we were all together---even with the bickering and fighting--we were family. You will have time in years to come to putz around and create in the kitchen...now, just enjoy the family together.
I admire you so much for your ability to plan a menu for a week, shop for it, and stick to it. You are a tremendous saver when you do things like that. Me, I just shopped for the moment...whatever I felt hungry for and had the time to make...
You are a GREAT wife and mother!

Marie said...

Thanks for your comments Roz and Keri. Keri, that sounds YUMMY! I will definitely give that a try.

Roz, I haven't been doing the best job sticking to my meal planning. I hate doing it, but it does save the most $$. Thanks for all your support. Love you.