The Cook In Me

Going along with this post on organizing my life, I also have a trusty little system for meals. Scott and I like to eat out alot. Before we had kids, we ate dinner out several nights a week. Even after the kids were born, I found it tough to cook meals consistently, so we continued to eat out often. We were always astonished by how quickly the restaurant charges added up on our credit card. I discovered that the toughest part of cooking at home wasn't actually the preparing of the meal part. Scott usually gets home from work fairly early and is more than happy to play with the kids while I get dinner ready. The hardest part was knowing what to make and having all the ingredients in my kitchen already. So just like with my chore chart, I decided that if I set aside some time to do the prep work, I wouldn't resort to making mac-n-cheese every night or spending more money eating out.

So here's my plan: I sit down on Sunday night or Monday morning with cookbooks and recipes and I come up with five dinners to cook for the week. I also love allrecipes for new ideas. This gives us two nights to eat out, and I've found that I enjoy those times more now. I make my grocery list off of those recipes so I know I have everything when I get ready to start. I'm trying to get better at making big portions so I can build more leftovers into our five meals. And to choose recipes that use some of the same ingredients so I don't end up throwing away half a stalk of celery or a bushel of cilantro. Oh and to always be thinking healthier! I'm still learning!

And let me just say that a couple of weeks ago, I freakin' rocked our dinners. Here's what I made:

1. Asian pork tenderloin with rice and stir-fry veggies
2. Homemade Tumeric chicken wings (dry rub and sauce) with salad and rolls
3. Carne guisada with black bean stew and spanish rice
4. Baked salmon topped with fresh spinach and a creamy sun-dried tomato filling
5. Chicken Parmesan 

I was able to make those just because I took the time to plan. If I don't plan I end up at the store searching the frozen meal section for Stouffer's lasagnas and Chicken Voila. We do a lot of simple grilling stuff, especially in the summer, or taco nights, and I've learned there are endless possibilities with a rotisserie chicken. So I still go simple alot, but I have fun stretching myself to try new stuff.

I love Rachael Ray's 30 minute meals, although I've yet to actually make one in 30 minutes. Even ones I've been making for years.  But there are tons of great recipes that get me out of the box and using more exotic ingredients. One of my favorites is her "My Sister Ria's Lazy Chicken/My Lazy Sister Ria's Chicken." I also like her Cashew Chicken although I think I feel the same way about it as I do her mexican food. Having grown up in New Mexico and Texas my whole life I know what good mexican food is. RR has some Mexican recipes that taste good but are definitely not real Mexican food. I'm sure her Asian recipes are the same way. If you're looking for authentic Chinese, this isn't really the place for you, but if you want a great, healthy, pretty, colorful dish that tastes yummy than try her Cashew Chicken. It's an Ela family staple.
 

The Melting Pot is probably my favorite restaurant ever. I love it. We only eat there about once a year since it has a big celebration kind of price tag, but I look forward to our next visit on a continual basis. Scott got me their cookbook for Valentine's Day this year and I am really excited about getting into fondue and making some of their great recipes. So come on over for fondue night...but give me a little while to practice first!

This is the cookbook, "Dip Into Something Different"

I've found that I truly do like to cook. I'm not a huge fan of the constancy of it, but with a little discipline and prep work, I can prepare meals that my family will love and that I'm proud of. And its kind of become a little escape for me. I can be in my own world and not have to be the "go-to" person for the kids. And since Scott always helps with the clean-up, I'm pretty much out of excuses! So Happy Cooking!