Some back story...

So here's a bit of back story. I've always wanted to cook...I even thought of going to chef school. I love dining out, drinking fine wine, and taking photos of what I find (Facebook friends are rolling their eyes). My problem was that I was overwhelmed. I couldn't figure out how to make my ever increasing grocery bill translate into dinner on the table a minimum of five nights a week with leftovers for my husband to take for lunch the next day.


I decided about a month ago that after 13 years of marriage, the least I could do for my wonderful husband was give him dinner every night, even if he has to heat it up after the kids and I have gone to bed. There's something about a home cooked meal at the end of the day that makes life just that much sweeter. But with a 1 year old that goes to bed at 5pm, a 6 year old that goes down at 7pm, and an Ironman husband that eats like a horse getting home at 9pm, I found myself very scattered, and basically making 3 "meals"at night...none of which were particularly inspired.


I stumbled on a fantastic food blog that included great recipes, beautiful pictures and fantastic advice. I started sitting down with cookbooks on Thursday mornings, making a menu for the week (based on family activity schedule), checking my pantry, and then making my grocery list. Not only did I feel more organized, I actually had a plan, and started to look forward to feeding my troops.

I spent 8 years in a kitchen that would make professional chef's drool and cooked only a handful of times. We've downsized recently, and my much smaller kitchen with its casement windows overlooking my bird feeder suits me much better. I'm finally experimenting, um....cooking, and loving every minute of it.

My Troops