Cooking Adventure

Those that know me know that my hubby Chris does the cooking 98% of the time. The other 2% is when I tell him I will handle dinner---which translates into--"Honey I just called _____ and it will be ready in 20 minutes to be picked up". It isn't that I don't know how to cook (even though I have forgotten alot of things) it is just I don't find real enjoyment chopping, peeling and cutting...and don't even get me started about raw chicken---yuck. This wasn't how it always was. For the first 6 years of our marriage I did the majority of the cooking (and I do mean REAL cooking). Then I got a job at a bank and it became "who ever got home first starts dinner (that is when I started to drive real slow and take the scenic route home--just kidding)". I still made dinner most nights. About 8 years ago I started nursing school full-time. That is when it turned into Chris cooking for no other reason than he and the kids (only 2 at the time) like to eat. I was WAY to busy with school to even think about cooking. My Honey was a real life saver back then. After nursing school I worked 4 evenings a week from 3-11:30. At first I did try making some meals in the morning but Chris preferred to just make them himself.

So that is how this all started. I am really lucky that I have someone that doesn't mind cooking. And just so people know, he is home everyday by 1:30 p.m.. Also, I don't MAKE him cook.

I have been trying here and there to take a more active roll in cooking. Last week I cooked 2 meals and helped Chris with the cookout we had on Monday. This week I made dinner 3 times including making 2 Lasagnas---one for dinner and one for the freezer. It was actually very interesting. I don't think Chris knew what to do with himself while I was cooking. He kept trying to "help". I think he gets nervous when I am cooking. I told him I felt like I was in cooking school and he is the teacher always looking over my shoulder. But to be fair I guess I sometimes do deserve it. After I got him to finally sit down we were talking. At this point I finished browning the hamburg and in a separate pan I was now cooking onions and garlic. I do get distracted easily and I forgot they were there. I went back running to the pan. Thankful everything was alright. I then looked at Chris and said to him---totally seriously mind you---"you know, someone should come up with a book on how to cook an onion". He is usually really good about keeping a straight face and not making me feel totally stupid but he couldn't help himself. He busted out laughing and said "that would be a short book...like one page." That is not exactly what I meant. I mean a book that is "kitchen lingo" and basic things. I should go and look...they must have one of those books "Cooking for Dumbies". Anyhow, here are the lasagnas.

Top one is to eat tonight. BTW--the pan is not dirty, it is Pampered Chef and it is "seasoned"

Everyone sitting down to dinner--I made a salad too.

I will be the first to admit though that I forgot or just don't understand "kitchen lingo". An example--I decided to try to make a yummy Avocado dip we had the weekend before at a friends house. I got the recipe from All Recipes. I went on the site, got the recipe, made out my list for the market and had everything I needed. Monday came around and it is time to make the dip. It was the first time I had ever handled an avocado before. To my surprise it was pretty easy to peel and cut up. I was doing well with the recipe until I came to "2 plum tomatoes, chopped". I stood there thinking to myself that my tomatoes look really big and I don't remember seeing oddles of tomatoes in Lisa's dip. Then it dawned on me. When I went to the market I saw the recipe called for "plum tomatoes" so I got the 2 biggest tomatoes I could find....maybe plum was not the size but a type of tomato. I called my sister and when she got done laughing at me she did tell me there is a difference between "plump" and "plum". WHO KNEW!!! Atleast I found my mistake BEFORE I put it in the dip. When Chris called me on his way home from work I asked him to stop and get me "plum" tomatoes. He handed them to me with a straight face and a kiss----that's love.

This upcoming week I am going to try to make not only a few dinners myself but also breakfast too. Since I am laying it all out there I will admit that if you tell the kids that Mom is making breakfast they all know to go and grab the bowl for cereal.

Atleast I am trying : )