Colb and I have now been married for over six months. In that entire six months, I think I can count the number of meals that I've prepared on a couple hands (I may also need my feet, but it hasn't been a lot). Not that Colb has ever complained. I think he prefers a bowl of frosted mini-wheats to about anything, but I still want to be that good, cook-meals-for-your-family wife.I started working at Ernst & Young in January and this has only made matters worse. It is busy season at work and we work and eat out a lot. Now my idea of making dinner for Colb is bringing him home my dinner from the restaurant of the day.
I decided it was time to change this fact and start cooking more. A couple months ago we received a free turkey that has been taking up freezer space so I decided to make turkey for a Sunday dinner. The first week I planned on making turkey didn't work because I didn't realize that big turkeys need a couple days to thaw out. However, the next Sunday we were prepared and had the turkey thawed and ready to go. We woke up early Sunday morning to put the turkey in the oven so it would be ready to go when we got home from church. We did pull the insides out because I had talked to Mom the day before. Everything was going well until I didn't read all of the directions. Instead of the turkey being ready when we got home from church, the turkey was completely done and ready to come out at about 9 am, just as we were headed out the door. We pulled it out and came back to a much cooler turkey than we were previously expecting. I can say that I didn't mess up the BOXED stuffing and Colb made mashed potatoes. As for the gravy...let's just say the gravy was very interesting. All in all the meal wasn't a complete failure. However by the time I am finished cooking at least something is already cold and I'm pretty much unappetized. Also, I've decided the rest of the cooks in the world must use lots of salt and butter or know some pretty good secrets that I'm missing because the food I cook tastes a bit bland.
The scariest part was that I was also asked on that Sunday to take dinner to a family in our ward that had just had a baby. I can make cookies and follow a recipe, but meals/dinners are not my strong suite. After much fretting (and many phone calls with mom), I did take the family a meal (and I don't think it killed them).
I decided part of the solution is practice so I actually made three meals this week...lasagna, a casserole, and chicken chili (ours was actually turkey chili). All turned out fine, but required lots of effort and time. Colb always says he really likes it, but I'm curious to hear what he'll say about these meals in 20 years. I guess in the last six months I've grown to appreciate my mom's (and all the other women in my life) time and patience in cooking so much more than I used to. I saw a quote that said..."If at first you don't succeed, order pizza." I was tempted to go for that, but for our waistlines I think I will keep practicing my cooking skills. In the meantime, I welcome any advice or yummy recipes. Happy Cooking!
