Recipes

I love to cook!!  I love experimenting in the kitchen – it is my laboratory.  God bless my husband, he will eat anything I put in front of him and ask for seconds with smile! 🙂  He (usually) waits until after the meal to let me know that it may not be something I should repeat.  What a saintly stomach he has!!  There was evidence that he was a keeper from the first time we really got to hang out together.  My roommate and I were hosting a game & chili night.  It was on a Friday, NOT during Lent, but we had friends coming who abstained from eating meat on Fridays all year long.  Trying to be a gracious hostess, I found a vegetarian chili recipe and went to town on it.  Oh it was AWFUL!!  I felt so terrible for my friends who were’n’t eating meat (and therefore couldn’t enjoy the fantastic white chicken chili I’d also made).  What did my dear Harold do?  He ate a full bowl of that nasty chili and went back for seconds.  He thanked me for cooking, complimented it, and was the ultimate in being a gracious guest.  He even saved me from the leftovers – he took them home!!  Later on, I learned that he not only hated the chili (I tasted it – I knew how terrible it was) but he wasn’t really fond of me, either!!  He thought I was too crazy, brash, and zany.  He still calls me zany (and has added klutz to his list of adjectives for me) – but he loves all that now.  I’ve added a little spice to his life. 😉  Thankfully (for his stomach and my precious ego), I haven’t had too many real bombs since that first chili night.  I also tossed that recipe and haven’t looked back.  Below, I’ll share some of my go-to tips, tricks, and recipes that have become family favorites.  Fair warning – I am one of those cooks who uses “a pinch” of this and “a dash” of that, even when baking.  I measure by sight, taste, and smell.  Keeps things a little more interesting & cuts down on dishes!  🙂