Cooking Rocks.
If you’re going to cullinary arts school and you’re on myspace don’t think I’m flippin’ out just because you’re hot, …if you are hot that is. Anyways..
I just have begun to enjoy the pleasures of cooking. I’ve always considered myself to be able to pick up on home-ec type stuff quickly if I put my mind to it. I just never did much until now. Since I moved back here to the coast (Seattle area), I’ve tried to apply myself a bit more because I know two things: 1) I am going to need to save my money right now so eating out all the time doesn’t quite fit the bill. 2) I want to be able to cook when I get a wife and am married.
So I started doing a little bit. I started with the one thing I was fairly certain I could handle making; Taco Bean Dip. It happens to be one of my favorite family dinners. So I made it and it was great. I made it again another couple of times and once make a double-batch since we had guests over. That was fun because not only was it normally rewarding in the regular ways, but I received compliments from more than just a couple of people. I also had the satisfaction of knowing I just cooked dinner for several people and it was fun doing it.
So I have been saying I wanted to broaden my cooking horizons. I don’t like to talk about stuff and not do what I say I want to do so, I started looking at recipes. I found a cool book in the kitchen. Its a big durable book called “A Man, A Can, and A Microwave”. Its a neat book. Lots of simple recipes in there, but you do need to read through pretty carefully in order to make sure you’re not missing anything. I went to the store with that book and picked out four recipes I would try and bought everything I needed for them.
I’ve tried making the Chicken Parmesian Sandwich out of that book so far. It was decent, but wasn’t as tasty as I had hoped. I think maybe I need to add my own twist to it ..perhaps special sauce or something….or maybe more cheese? I also tried the Sloppy Joes and it was totally awesome. Anyway, I am going to try the Reuben Sandwich, and the Pesto Poultry Wrap. I still have yet to try them.
So in the meantime I am finding other things to make. I usually am infamous for cooking macaroni and hot dogs unusually well. I have done it so much that I’ve got it perfected. That’s pretty sad right? So I cook that on occasion. Now here’s the cool part!
I was at the store today not even thinking about looking for something to cook when I remembered something I woke up thinking: “Shake and Bake Chicken..” So I thought to myself that would be pretty easy I think. So I looked in the packaged meals area where the mac and cheese were because I happened to be buying some more…and found a similar product made by Campbells. I looked at what I needed and it hardly needed anything other than chicken! So I found a bag of chicken in the freezer section and grabbed that box and I went on my merry way.
So I came home and decided I would make that for dinner tonight. I didn’t just talk about it…haha. I began making it. The preparation was so quick and easy I could hardly believe it. I did forget one thing though…I overlooked that it said to thaw the chicken first! So I had to fix it after the fact and keep the stuffing from turning into cement by adding water to it while I nuked it for about twice as long as it called for. Yes I nuked the whole meal, ..because for one it was really hot, and two its faster…NORMALLY.
In spite of the fact that I had to work with it for a long time fixing my mistake, it was very simple and turned out to be delicious! I had boiled a bunch of frozen veggies out of a bag in the freezer too and that couldn’t have been simpler. It was the perfect side for the perfect meal. I set the table, got out some juice and we had dinner at the table as a family. THAT’s priceless.
So yeah, I think I’m really enjoying learning to cook. I can appreciate the work that goes into it when I taste what I’ve made and when other people like it too!