Sunday, November 16, 2008

Kiss the Cook!

Thanks to the encouragement of my wonderfully talented mother-in-law and my own incredibly gifted mother I have given cooking another try. Those of you who know me well know that the kitchen is the last place you want me when it's dinnertime. I have never been much of a cook. Now I have, on occasion, successfully followed a recipe or two (mainly the sweet ones) and made out pretty well, but even following a recipe, for me, was daunting. It would take me hours and I would have to re-read it over and over again for fear that I would mess it up (which I'd done before and, to this day, hadn't heard the end of it from my husband).

Now that I am a stay-at-home mother, I find it very necessary to be able to cook well. Not only for my child's sake, but for my husband's as well. I have tried several recipes and have even ventured out from my coveted book of recipes and "winged" a few things. I have met with success quite a few times, now, and even have had the courage to try and cook some of Matt's favorites that his mom cooked for him growing up. Here is a picture of one of his favorites, chicken broccoli and pasta casserole (it was sooo good and I was soooo proud of myself that I had to take a picture - and yes, Matt laughed at me taking a picture of our dinner).

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Great job! I would agree that Matt/Jason's mom is a great cook and gives great encouragement. Although I gave up on trying to live up to her 'famous' recipes and decided to NOT cook Jason's old favorites...now he can't compare and has to chose new favorites :)

It's amazing how your cooking skills change when you become a SAHM.

The Ollila's said...

Way to go Vanessa. It looks very yummy!!!

VirtualM said...

That looks good - recipe?

I'm trying to incorporate veggies into other foods since my family members will not touch them unless they are mixed with other stuff and this looks perfect!

Vanessa said...

I am not at liberty to share this recipe, as it is not mine. I could, but then I would have to kill you. :) J/K. But I can give you my favorite way to add a good veggie to a dish. Add some canned spinach (drained) to any kind of pasta sauce.

Don and Judy said...

I learned to cook just like you guys. trial and error. By the time my kids were teenagers I could do pretty good. But now that the kids are gone, I don't cook any of the dishes they liked, and I have lost my touch. No more a dab of this and a pinch of that, I have to have a recipe. I am sure that your children will grow up loving your cooking. Congratulations on your brocolli casserole. It looks really good!

The Memea family said...

That looks really good! Congrats!

Screwed Up Texan said...

So, what's the recipe.

And thanks for the 38 days til Christmas reminder...sheesh, I cant believe this year has gone by so quickly!