I {Almost} Acheived my Cooking Goal!

By Amy

If you read my cooking post, you'll know that I'm probably the most pathetic cook out there.  But, I decided to quite being lame, and set a goal to cook 4 meals this week, two of which had to be a new recipe.  If that doesn't sound too impressive, keep in mind that I was probably actually "cooking" one meal a week before this.  The other days, we'd have sandwiches or quesadillas, or my hub would cook.

It's time to report on my week.  I told you guys I wanted to be accountable!  I didn't quite hit 4 meals, since we did end up going out of town, but I did make three meals and two were new!  WOOP WOOP!  Biggest success of all?  DIDN'T BURN A THING.  Yeah, Baby.

Monday:  Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps
I got all stressed out about what to make, I put it off, then stressed some more, and finally made a recipe I found on a cooking blog that my friend, Lori shared with me.  We had leftover rice in the fridge and two random pieces of chicken in the freezer, so this recipe was the perfect fit!  And...ya know what?  Once I got past just making the decision of WHAT to cook, and actually got to cooking, it went pretty ok!
Patrick liked them, we found out that Hayden loves black beans straight outta the can, and I got to make a relatively simple recipe which I could dump salsa over.  SO everyone was happy! :) They were pretty yum, and I will be trying them again!

 

Patty likes it!

Empty tray, what a miracle! (He's a picky little fella.)

Tuesday: Because I am a genius, when I set this goal, I forgot that I can't cook dinner on Tuesdays, cause I teach art classes at a local community center from  4:30-7:00.  SO.  I didn't cook dinner that night.  But when I got back, Patrick had hot Papa Murphy's Pizza waiting.  Let's be honest folks, that beat the pants off of anything I would have cooked.  Stinking delish.

Wednesday: Lasagna
You may not believe this (I am still in awe) but I made a freaking lasagna.  I have never done that before, but my friend, Shandee, told me that lasagna is actualy pretty do-able.  So I found a recipe online, and it went well!  I had a scare cause I thought I had overcooked those humongous noodles, but they turned out being ok.  Phew!  I did run out of cheese at the end, cause I didn't separate it out equal parts (um, duh, me!) so the top layer wasn't all ooey goey cheesy.  But the inside layers were nice and cheesy! :)  It tasted pretty dang good!  And, yes, our side dish was green beans out of a can, but...still, I MADE LASAGNA.  Patrick loved it, too!  He said, "This is really good." Not once, but TWICE.  {Insert victory dance}

Thursday: Tacos 
We had some ground beef left in the fridge from the lasagna, so I made tacos.  (I know, easy-peasy but, hey, it counts as a cooked meal!)  Gotta love tacos.

On Friday, we headed out of town, so, I ended my goal for the week.  Few things I learned

A.  I CAN cook, but I need to find simple, non-stressful recipes
B.  It's better to plan meals ahead so I take advantage of cooking double the meat and using it for two meals, using up left-over rice, etc.
C.  I still didn't enjoy cooking.  So the better I get at it, the faster I'll be, and the less time I'll have to spend doing it!  Win Win!  I also need to get crock-potting, cause HELLO!  Easy.

My realistic goal is now to cook 2 meals a week.  Between left-overs, sandwich nights, and Patrick taking a night or two, we should have our week covered!  Please hit me up with any more meal ideas that are yummy, easy, and nutritious...I (and my husband who is burned out on quesadillas) would appreciate it! :)

Thanks, Friends!
Amy
Ps. What is your go-to meal?  The one that is fast, easy, and the whole fam loves?

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