Let's eat

I never saw myself as the kind of person who would enjoy cooking. When Dave and I first got married, making meals was hands down the most stressful part of our entire relationship. I wanted to make good food for him, but oh, sweet cracker sandwich, I was absolutely terrible at making it happen. I burned things. I got halfway through recipes before I realized I was missing several key ingredients (and I was nowhere near qualified enough to IMPROVISE). I once, quite memorably, put two chicken breasts in the slow cooker for eight long, hot hours, WITHOUT LIQUID, where they turned into what was essentially burned chicken jerky, and I SERVED THEM ANYWAY. Over rice! I had no idea – seriously, NO CLUE – that I hadn't achieved juicy, succulent slow cooker chicken breast perfection. And then I set the plate down in front of my husband and watched as he was unable to cut into the meat. USING A SERRATED KNIFE.

And the worst part of all was that I always felt embarrassed at my ability and then guilty that I wasn't capable of feeding my husband these amazing, lavish meals. I just assumed that was what I was supposed to do as a newlywed – Dave never made me feel stupid or crappy about it – and there were many nights when I got myself in over my head and set off smoke alarms and under/overcooked everything and threw spatulas against walls and cried.

I have the utmost respect for working people who cook. I mean, granted, it's no party trying to make two dozen meatballs and a from-scratch marinara sauce while two children are throwing each other off the couch and pretending to eat marbles and I can't do anything about it what with all the RAW PORK coating my hands, but people who work a full day and then come home and make a dinner that doesn't come straight out of a Lean Cuisine box? HEROES. And if you have children and you come home and make dinner? FREE PASS TO HEAVEN.

In the last two years or so, I'd say I've actually begun to truly enjoy cooking. It helps that I've been practicing long enough that seeing words like “browning” or “dicing” in a recipe doesn't make me want to speed dial Papa John's. I still need to wear swimming goggles while I cut up an onion (I've tried every no-cry method there is) and I can't actually use my knife to dice anything as small as I like it (I use an adorable little chopper thingy because I value the tips of my fingers) and I always use garlic from a jar, but I can also make actual meals that people enjoy eating. Not my children, obviously. Asher is still afraid of anything that isn't a carbohydrate -

I will interrupt this description of my older child to tell you that when I picked him up from school the other day, I overheard his teacher thanking the mom whose turn it was to bring in snack for the class. “Everyone loved it!” she trilled. “Everyone ate the graham crackers, and only two children didn't eat the applesauce, and one of them was allergic.” Well I knew exactly where THAT was going. “Was the other child mine?” I inquired. “Of course,” she said.

- and Lucy is basically a fruitarian who occasionally deigns to eat a meatball sub. Sorry, meatball SAMMICH, as she says. Also lately she loves “soap.” (SOUP.)

I am insanely proud of myself for teaching myself how to cook. I'm sure there are a good percentage of people who do it faster or better or with less frustration or without setting off the smoke alarm twice after the kids have fallen asleep WHYYYYYYY, but still, I have grown confident in the kitchen. So I thought it might be fun to list my favorite recipes here, and if you have a link to one that you really and truly love, maybe you would list it in the comments? We can all pretend this is a big recipe-sharing commune? Maybe you can send over some incense and goat's milk, too?

I am trying to do a better job of meal planning and only visiting the grocery store once a week, so having a working list of recipes is PRICELESS. Here are the recipes I feel I can make, without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed, and that actually TASTE good, too. (I'll just stick with posting my favorite entrees, to start.)

Jambalaya

Enchiladas

Pork tacos (but not without THIS SALSA)

Bolognese sauce (better with spicy Italian turkey sausage)

Cashew chicken

Flank steak (and Crash Hot Potatoes)

Chicken cheesesteaks

Linguini with sausage and peppers

Spinach lasagna

Turkey burgers (just double the seasonings!)

Buffalo chicken sandwiches

Caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza

Slow cooker chicken barbecue

Honey chicken kabobs

Comments

[Carolyn]

I love that you posted this list! I think if all moms shared their "Top 10 Dinners" list, we would all be happier people. :) I love the website "Our Best Bites." Pretty much everything I have made from there is fantastic. Two of our favorites are the French Dip Sandwiches and the Chipotle Beef Taquitos. Make the French Dip first and use the leftovers to make the Taquitos. Very easy and tasty!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/french-dip-sandwiches.html

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/baked-chipotle-beef-taquitos.html

[megan]

I LOVE the bbq pulled chicken you posted, we make that all the time. I even use that mixture over chicken thighs in the oven for quicker meals too.

Other recipes I've been making lately:
Chicken stir-fry wraps: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-stir-fry-wraps (these are SO GOOD--I top w/ chow mein noodles for crunch)

Sesame beef & broccoli: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/sesame-beef-and-broccoli

(I leave the onions out of both

[krista]

this is one of my favorites, for crock pot BBQ pulled pork -

http://southernfood.about.com/od/pulledporkrecipes/r/bl88c3.htm

[Emily]

I live in Texas, so one of our consistent dinners is chili. 1 lb ground turkey, 1 onion, 2 cans chili beans, 1 can tomatoes, 1 taco seasoning packet and voila! Chili in 15 minutes. Love.

But mostly I love that you quoted Holly. Sweet cracker sandwich- one of my favorite things she has ever said.

[sarah]

Spinach and proscuitto lasagna that's EASY? Thank you so much for sharing this!

I'm a big fan of using rotisserie chicken from the g-store to make chicken noodle soup, chicken quesadillas, chicken enchiladas, etc., etc., etc.

My favorite chicken noodle soup is this one:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000000520991

[Blythe]

Our latest fave is Rachael Ray's Turkey Florentine Meatballs. I serve them with egg noodles and suddenly everyone in the family is eating spinach!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/florentine-meatballs-recipe/index.html

[Life of a Doctor's Wife]

I feel such a kinship with you over the whole feeling-obligated-as-a-wife-to-make-delicious-food-but-not-quite-pulling-it-off thing. My husband has always been the better cook in our family and I felt a great deal of (self inflicted) shame over it. But in the past year, I've gotten bolder - and even made the entire Thanksgiving dinner myself - so I feel much more like I'm a good cook.

Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-vinaigrette-grilled-fish.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/grilled-mushroom-salad-subs-recipe/index.html

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/chana-masala/

http://lifeofadoctorswife.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/fire-fry/

And I want to say that I've never had a meal made from an America's Test Kitchen recipe that I didn't love.

[Amy]

This is great! We went on a two (okay three)-week grocery vacation (aka The Fast-Food Binge Diet of Doom) after we got our tax refund, so as I was making my grocery list tonight I struggled with ideas, so this list is perfectly timed! Normally I would have suggestions of my own, but carboloading was obviously short-circuited my brain. I make a similar lasagna fairly often - sometimes I add feta to amp up the flavor. I'll definitely be checking the comments for more ideas, and I'll try to come up with some of my own!

[Emily]

One of my friends recently discovered frozen chopped onions, in the frozen food section of Kroger/Dillons/whatever it happens to be called out your way. Eliminate the need for chopping onions all together!!

[Kate]

I used to have to leave the house while someone else chopped onions it was that bad. However, I recently picked up a ceramic knife (for about $10) at Home Goods and now I can slice onions myself with no irritation! I'm not 100% sure but I think it's because the knife is so sharp the onion doesn't get squished enough for anything to get squeezed into the air. It's also amazing for cutting potatoes (and everything else really) because nothing sticks to the blade.

[Lynda M O]

I make an easy Stroganoff with any leftover meat-cut to bite size, a chpped onion, a can of cream of mushroom soup, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and a cup of sour cream.. After you brown and season the meat with the onion and wooster sauce, toss in the soup and simmer a few mins. At the very end, just b4 you serve, stir in the sour cream. Heat thru and pile over buttered noodles. Fresh broccoli steamed while you stir the pasta adds the vitamin-ish touch and provides color contrast on the plate.

[sassy]

I love cooking and have never understood how it is hard for people. But I always say that if you can read then you can learn to cook. Awesome that you taught yourself! I was going to suggest checking out P-Dub as she is very good about explaining technique. Now I gotta check out some of these recipes.

[Angie]

Good post! I'm always looking for something new to cook. I hate getting in the "dinner food rut". I've really enjoyed recipes from You've Got Supper: http://www.youvegotsupper.com/
You get an email once a week with a list of weekly recipes. You can print the ones you want. So far the recipes I've used have been great. There are also coupons attached for items. Check it out!
This is one of our favorites and SO easy if you use Panko instead of the chip/bread crumb mixture. I also use red instead of green pepper. "Crispy Tilapia on Steamed Veggies: http://www.youvegotsupper.com/recipe.aspx?rid=347

[HereWeGoAJen]

I have my best chicken ever recipe, but it is on my old blog which is password protected now. I will have to move it over, I need it all the time.

[Gia]

Emily,

Have you ever seen this site ...

http://www.relishrelish.com/

Because I work long days and then schlep kids to and fro activities this site has become my life-saver. I love the grocery list aspect since I only grocery shop every 2-ish weeks or so (HATE grocery shopping). Also, there is a great selection of menus. There is a fee but it is so worth it to me.

Gia

[Jill]

http://bluecrabeats.blogspot.com/search/label/recipes

I put some of my favorite recipes on a blog :)

[Fran]

I have recently started to love cooking as well and it's partly due to the wonderful foods blogs out there. I was even inspired to start my own and it has all our favorites.
http://rcpmomfeeds.blogspot.com

[andreajennine]

Ooh, recipes! Our current favorites are:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lighter-chicken-enchiladas (I use leftover chicken and more cheese!)
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chicken-stir-fry-wraps (we often just serve over rice instead of lettuce)
http://entrusted.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/pork-tenderloin-with-onions/

[Beth]

I was born to two farm-kids-turned-teachers, and then married a farm kid...so all my recipes are very simple, and would probably be bland to most, but we love them all!

http://bethtastic.com/category/recipes/

Most all of our favotrites are there if you scroll back. I actually added it to my site so when our kids are old enough to be cooking, they can find my recipes there :).

[Michelle]

Just an idea for grocery shopping - I made myself a binder with all my favorite recipies. I either printed them from online or copied them from various cookbooks. Then when I sit down to make my shopping list I just pull out the recipes for the dinners I want to make during that week and put my list together from there. It has helped alot to have everything all in one place! You could even get fancy and make dividers with categories if you wanted to.

[Anna]

Brilliant idea! And I love that you have given me a free pass to heaven ;)

Here is a VERY EASY RECIPE, and it's incredibly delicious. I served this for a friend who doesn't even eat fish and she loved it. Don't thank me, it's Cooking Light:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001054902

Now I'm going to go check out your recipes! :d

[Kim]

Ranch Chicken is the first meal I ever made without a recipe. We have it two or three times a month. It is supper afforable, super easy and super delish!
Rinse and pat as many chicken legs as your fam will eat. Combine breadcrumbs (enough to coat chicken) with one packet of dry ranch mix and stir really well. Bread the chicken in the ranch crumbs and bake at 375 for 30-40 min. Drumsticks will get golden brown and really crispy on the outside but stay nice and juicy on the inside. Yum!

[Ellen]

I have always been comfortable in the kitchen, and I never had problems with meal planning and cooking after work... now that I have a baby tho? Seriously, I can hardly find the time to heat up a frozen meal without my daughter screaming.. much less meal plan!

I recently decided to sign up for E-Mealz (e-mealz.com) It is $1.25 per week and they give you a weeks worth of meal plans that are VERY easy to execute... AND the shopping list. You just print it out, go to the store and you have a week of meals! Tada! Seriously, I am now able to cook real food again because I know what I'm cooking each day and I don't have have to sweat getting the grocery list together with a screaming infant. Sooo helpful.

[Michelle]

I have an onion thing too... can't chop them. So, I started buying chopped frozen onions and using those in my recipes. Problem solved!

[Kelly P]

When I got married I had approx 2 meals that I could cook really well. That got old rather quickly though, so over the past few years I've managed to expand my repertoire a bit (with many, MANY stumbles along the way - including a kitchen that I LIT ON FIRE! TWICE!) Anyway, this is one of my faves but really I love all of her recipes (esp the choc sheet cake one - check that out if you haven't already!)

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/chicken-parmigiana/