Let's Eat Together!

When dinner time rolls around or is just wrapping up, do you feel like you've got the downy-frowny-dinner-dog-blues? Are you sometimes sick and tired of the same old things? On the other hand, isn't it just the worst feeling to make a new dish for the family and have it turn out bad!?! I mean all those wasted ingredients, time, energy, and the pain it puts your taste buds through! Ugh, you leave the meal feeling like it would have been better to dine with Fido.

(note: this is not our dog. But we thank him for being our model)

Just wanted to draw your attention to the 

"Tried and Tasty Recipes"

  page (above) that I started. I always appreciate tested and approved recipes from others whom I trust. My purpose in this page, is to give that same service to others. I'm not a chef or even an expert. I'm just a young wife and mother trying to learn and develop skills in the kitchen. The recipes are simple enough that I can do them, so nothing too gourmet will be happening anytime soon =D. I hope the 

"Tried and Tasty Recipes"page

  proves to be helpful in expanding your recipe collection AND in putting a smile on yours and your families faces at dinner time.

(Above photo borrowed from FOTOSEARCH, Thanks!)
After all, let's face it. It's time to  

BE together and EAT together!

But we want it to be a positive experience, moms included;-)

Elder L. Tom Perry said, "I think one of the most important things that has been lost is family mealtime together. ...Convenience foods, fast foods, eating on the run have replaced the nurturing setting of a family circle which feeds both body and soul."
Now, don't get me wrong. Buying a pizza some nights is a life saver! And going out to eat is often such a welcome treat! I'm not anti-"living life" and doing what needs to be done. But, I am PRO-Family!! And if family mealtime is going to enhance my family then sign me up!! I'm making my best effort to make family mealtime doable and enjoyable. Both in eating it and the creative process of making something from nothing! I hope you enjoy witnessing my quest to eat well and eat together =D And please share your tips, tricks and success stories!

Summary of My Culinary Story

I'm new. I'm learning. I'm inexperienced. This picture represents me in the kitchen until, well... quite recently. Ha Ha Ha =) Growing up I was surrounded by amazing cooks! My mother is one of them. She tried to teach me and involve me many times, but man did I hate cooking. I loved eating, but I hated how much work went into something that was gone in less than an hour. After I graduated from high school I started picking up a little here and there. I eventually had enough to be able to live on my own and keep myself alive ;-) I even got married without really knowing how to cook. About 6 months after I was married in 2008 I got into cooking from scratch. I LOVED it!!!! And I was getting pretty good at it, I felt. Although, I've got to be honest. Every meal I cooked I was on the phone with my mom as she would help to walk me through it, even when I was using a recipe. I still have to call her sometimes. Anyway, then the holidays came which slowed things down for some reason. Then we got pregnant (yes, "we" did. Its an event that effects the whole family you know ;-) shortly thereafter. At that point, I couldn't even step in the kitchen!!! (Literally I had to hold my breath and run past) I was so sensitive to the sight and smell of my kitchen. It just makes me sick even thinking about how sick it would make me! =( So, for the majority of my pregnancy the kitchen was off limits for me. Because of that, John made it all.

Below- A wonderful love-filled breakfast masterpiece made by my sweet husband during the first trimester.

I eventually got back in the kitchen later in my pregnancy.
Below- Making breadsticks for Sunday night dinner (if I remember correctly).

 Sometime in the middle of the pregnancy my mother and family gave me a late wedding gift. It was a machine called a BlendTec Mix'nBlend. This machine is amazing!! More about that in another post. Anyway, it really got me wanting to learn more about how to make bread and other, more advanced (atleast to me), cooking.
Below- Learning to make bread at my Aunt and Uncle's home.

Below- Making HOMEMADE WHOLE WHEAT Cinnamon rolls! WOW!!! Now this is a LABOR of Love. I mean LABOR!!!! It took us practically the whole day. We had a recipe and we even had watched it done. But it's just different when your new at baking, and grinding your own wheat etc. But WOWZA were they DELICIOUS!!

Below- These pictures are for no other reason then to make your mouth water and just to make you go...yummmmm.

After Bryce was born it took a few months to recover from the trauma and complications. I couldn't be alone so my mom stayed with us all that time. Anyhow, we watched Food Network channel all day. Really I'm not joking, quite literally ALL day. In fact, it got to the point that when a certain show would come on I knew John would be home from work soon. Ha Ha Ha! That is kinda pathetic, but you know what? Looking back now it makes me smile =) During that time I learned SOOOOO much! Not just from watching Food Network (which by the way I think they do an amazing job at inspiring you!), but talking to my mom about what I saw and questions I had. This was an awesome opportunity. However, this is really all the stuff I should have learned when I was growing up. I would have too if I wasn't such a stubborn (and sometimes rotten) anti-cooking teenager. Anyway, my desire to cook grew and grew and just over took me. As soon as I was able I got in the kitchen and made meals. I read recipe books. Sometimes I plan it out and sometimes I don't. I look for pretty simple ideas, but with a lot of good taste and generally healthy. I just LOVE to make food! I love it when dinner time comes around and I get to perform a magic show in my kitchen! I feel like a kid sometimes, I just want to go out in the street and yell, 

"Hey! Look what I did!! Look what I just made! Me, not a Chef. Not a cooking superstar. Not a box. Not a restuarant. Just ME!" 

I hope you feel more inspired. I realize that my culinary credentials are lacking, but that is all the more reason that I feel I can say that

"If I can find bliss in cooking, ANYONE can and learn to love it too!".