30 (or 45) Minute Meals

Over the past several years, I have really learned to like cooking. I didn't always. I used to really not like cooking except for the occasional delicacy, like maybe grilled cheese. In all honesty I was a little intimidated by the kitchen and afraid that anything even slightly more advanced than toast would turn out to be a disaster. What I have realized over time is that even the most amazing chefs sometimes make meals that suck. Take my dad for example. He is phenomenal in the kitchen and generally at least one item on the menu is almost impossible to pronounce. But recently he told me about a recipe that almost flopped completely. Luckily he was able to save it but it only reinforced the idea in my head that everyone blows it sometimes so you can't be afraid to fail.

I also love Rachael Ray for this reason. People seem to have strong opinions about her- they either love her or hate her and I personally think she's great. She does have some quirks and her personality is annoyingly upbeat sometimes, but she also explains cooking in a way that is accessible for even a beginner. I also like a lot of her recipes because they are yummy without being frou-frou and overly fancy. The whole idea of the 30 minute meal is very appealing, especially since many nights I have to wait until Dad is home because Baby is fussy and tired at the dinner hour and doesn't want to hang out while Mom spends a long time cooking. I admit that I'm not quite at the 30 minute mark because I'm just not as efficient in the kitchen as Rachael, but I'm working on it. I made some good old fashioned comfort food the other night and it turned out really well. You can find the recipe here. And I've found that the more that I experiment with cooking, the more I like it.