A Night From Cooking

Well I did not have to cook last night, my lovely husband took me out to eat at Chili's! We had a gift card, and thought it would be a good time to use it. However, while I was there I realized that yet again I was let down by the Chili's food. I had the Chicken Fajitas...which on the 2 for $20 menu, this comes out to being a pretty good deal. However, as I bit into my second fajita, I soon realized that the only thing that I've ever truly enjoyed at Chili's, is going for Margharita's with the girls!

On the flip side, I was happy to not have to battle the kitchen for one night and that I didn't have a pile of dirty dishes to tend to!

However, oddly enough this morning I am finding myself a bit restless and really wanting to find something to create for dinner tonight! This is an odd fascination to me! I've gone from dreading stepping foot in the kitchen; scared of whatever concoction I destroy in there...to now being intrigued to see what I can learn next. Although, I think tonight we'll keep it simple, I'm still really wanting to cook up something!

So, tonight I believe (if the meat thaws in time), we will be making Tri-Tip on the grill and good 'ol Macaroni & Cheese! Jarrod has an incredible rub that he's created for the Tri-Tip, and we usually just use the simple KRAFT Mac 'n Cheese out of the box. I could make Mac 'n Cheese myself...many people have said in the past that they do like my mac 'n cheese (when I make it correctly), but why go through that level of effort when I really enjoy the KRAFT kind and it's so much less work?

Follow up to the "Back to Basics" Post

So I figured out an AMAZING "fix" to the salty fried chicken! It all started with a craving...I really wanted to have a Monte Cristo Sandwich. However, I didn't want to pay $13.00 for one from a restaurant that I've never been to. I also didn't want to go to the grocery store to buy meats just for one sandwich (I know my husband wouldn't eat a Monte Cristo). I also thought of making the sandwich on a waffle, similar to how Belgian Waffle Works does. However, once again I would be making a lot of waffles for no one to eat...even if I only made a 1/4 of the waffle recipe.

Needless to say, this thought track started me on the waffle kick! Then I had it...Chicken & Waffles! The salty chicken would balance out well with the syrup. I considered making waffles from scratch...since the recipe is pretty basic. However, I still had the problem of there being too many waffles if I made them

What pray tell do I do? Well, I remembered that we had some of those frozen eggo type waffles...yes I know not quite as glamorous as fresh fluffy waffles, but since I wasn't in the mood to cook and I didn't want a mountain of waffles around the house...I toasted up some eggo waffles, heated up some of the salty fried chicken and lathered on the butter and syrup!

It was really good for a quickie meal and I will definitely keep it in mind for the future!

On a side note...I have to remember to make a monte cristo sandwich after either Thanksgiving or Christmas when we have fresh turkey and ham!

Going back to the Basics...

Well last night I thought I would go back to my roots of cooking and do something that I know I can cook well! So, I went with my classic Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. Some may say, "How is cooking fried chicken, going back to the basics"? Well for me it is...it's just one of those foods that I've always cooked and cooked pretty well! I was determined to cook this well and observe myself to see what it is that I do, that makes this work out so well. I did realize that I am very confident when cooking Fried chicken...probably because I have made it a million times. I also realized that I was not in a rush...I know that in order to make good fried chicken you have to cook it pretty slowly. If you cook it at too high of a temperature, the fried coating will burn and the chicken won't get fully cooked. You also cannot get impatient...you have to let it cook quite a while on one side before turning it over. Otherwise the fried coating will come off.

I think knowing that cooking the fried chicken was going to be a lengthy process, I was ready for it to be time consuming. Therefore I wasn't in a hurry and could take my time with it. I think the biggest problem with cooking that I tend to have is that I am usually pretty hungry by the time I start cooking and I grow far too impatient while it cooks and then get annoyed and try to find shortcuts to get food in my mouth sooner!

The ONLY problem with the fried chicken last night is that I was far too heavy with the season salt...ugh! There seems to always be something wrong with some aspect of my cooking (this has only been so in the last 6 years!). I sometimes have a problem of making food a bit bland because I'm worried about over seasoning! This time, I "went big" and it was a BIG mistake. I guess I should stick to making things more on the bland side...because you can always add to it once it's been cooked.

Needless to say...I do feel a bit defeated today from my salting fiasco! So, I will not be cooking tonight! However, I did learn that my patience (or lack thereof) is my downfall yet again!

...I think God is trying to tell me something here, what do ya think?

A New Hobby?

Well, now that the wedding is behind us and all that planning is done and the holidays have passed...I'm finding myself with a lot of free time! It's difficult to fill that time during the week simply because my wonderful husband works nights. So, I'm usually coming home to a pretty quiet house since he's sleeping in the bedroom!

Unfortunately, I haven't been feeling well the last few weeks so working out hasn't been an option. However, I am slowly starting to add small increments of work outs at home to see how I do with it and to just get back in the swing of things again. That always seems to happen to me (or at least in the last two years). I work out for two months and get a routine going and start to feel good about myself again...then I get sick or injured or this retarded stomach pain kicks in again.

I have really been wanting to take a cooking class...I'm not the most confident chef and find myself struggling with some of the basics (probably wasn't a good thing to never take home-ec after all). Unfortunately, I haven't found any cooking classes with hands-on experience in the area. The only thing I find are the culinary arts classes, but I do not want to pay that much just to better my own personal skills.

I find myself watching "Worst Cooks in America" and think, "Yep, I should really go on that show!" Although watching some of the shows does boost my confidence because some of the things they do I am even baffled by! The recent episode had them making Hamburgers on the BBQ...needless to say it was interesting to see how clueless they were! I guess BBQ'ing is easy in my eyes...just prep it, throw it on and check it regularly. The best thing about a BBQ too is, less mess! Barely ever any dishes to be cleaned!

Baking is also very easy for me. I like baking because everything has to be very precise, there's no guessing or improvising...it's straight forward and simple.

I should specify...the few things we eat routinely, I can make pretty well now. However, I know I for one get bored with eating the same things all the time! So, typically the problem arises when I try to "change things up" or find new recipes.

So maybe for now...my new hobby should be to learn through watching TV as well as trial and error how to be a better and more consistant cook! As well as how to find the "good" recipes that both my husband and I will enjoy and that don't break the bank to make!