I Know...Where Have I Been?

Gosh I thought I was going to be better at this! I religiously check everyone else's blog day after day...then there's me...a slacker!  BUT I'll have you know I am no longer a slacker in the kitchen!  I have turned a new leaf!  

I'm often impressed with Daren's culinary skills.  He offers to make a meal, goes in with confidence, and in the end creates this delicious treat.  On the other hand, I attempt to make dinner, 9 out of 10 times am missing a main ingredient, try to substitute, and then result in an "ok" meal.  I know I've passed the test if Daren says, "now this would be something you could make if we have people over for dinner".  Unfortunately, I do not get that response quite as often as I'd like.  

Fortunately, I work in a place where I've become very dear friends with my coworkers, all of which are female.  Over the past couple weeks I finally started asking the girls what types of meals they make, how they go about it, where they get their recipes, and how they do their grocery shopping.  Of course, I have also consulted my mom who made homemade meals for our family all growing up.  Mom says, "AnnMarie, if you know how to read and follow directions you can cook".  

So...last Friday after work I sat myself down with all the recipes I've collected over the past couple years. I picked out ones that had similar ingredients, yet a selection of dinners.  Then I wrote out a grocery list and collected my coupons. I drove myself over to Kroger and away I went.  With this week coming to an end I am happy to report I made a Pot Roast (thank you Great Aunt Cathy for your recipe) on Tuesday, Italian Mac & Cheese (thank you Joelle for your recipe) on Wednesday, and Foil-Pack Chicken, Mushroom & Stuffing (thank you Kraft Foods magazine) last night!  AND...Daren liked them all!  YEAH for me!

I always had this impression that cooking at home would be expensive, time-consuming, and make way too much food.  Well, I'm here to say if you plan your grocery list out with your recipes you can save quite a bit, if you have all the ingredients ready at home your preparation time is quick, and we've enjoyed having leftovers for lunch all week.  I'll let you know how next week goes!

This weekend I am going to get back on board with posting well-overdue pictures too!