Earliest memory in the kitchen: Making cookies with my Mom.
Proudest creation in the kitchen: I'd definitely have to say the Beef Wellingtons I made for Valentine's Day last year. They weren't THAT incredible, but they were completely out of my comfort zone, and they turned out great!
Favorite recipe: It's definitely a tie between Spicy Sausage Pasta and Italian Beef Sandwiches (both discovered in 2013!)
Favorite dessert: Brownies
Toddler favorites: He LOVES the Country Chicken Chowder as well as pretty much anything with noodles. He also LOVES Guacamole. Why we don't make that more often, I don't know. He also loves taco salad.
Favorite recipe to make: I really really enjoy making seasonal foods, and I'd have to say that while I really hate clean up, recipes that take a good deal of preparation are my favorites. I love chopping veggies and creating from scratch. It's tough to really find the time for that with two little ones under foot right now, but when I do get the time uninterrupted, it's really a very calming feeling. It helps me unwind. I also LOVE baking pies and making my crusts from scratch. I don't mind peeling the apples or chopping and dicing pears for my favorite pie: Apple Pear Spice.
Grocery Shopping: Yay or Nay? YAY! I actually enjoy grocery shopping. I think a big part of it is that growing up, our family didn't have a lot of money, so going to the grocery store was always one of those, "I hope we can afford everything in the cart" types of experiences. Having the financial security to be able to afford the items in our cart gets me every time I check out. Literally, every time I check out at the grocery store, I say a silent prayer to thank the Lord for having this be one area of our lives where we don't have to stress about.
Let's talk meal planning: Well, that's a whole post for another day, but since we started doing this in 2014, it has totally revolutionized our eating experience. It has been HUGE! I have way more time to spend with my family, and our grocery bill has gone down significantly.
Favorite memory in the kitchen: To be honest, I'm not a big fan of cooking WITH anyone else. My favorite memories have to do with baking for sure, and usually around the holidays with a big cup of coffee. But I really love just being in my own space by myself, creating something delicious in a kitchen that started clean.
Worst part about being in the kitchen: Unloading dishes from the dishwasher!!!! I actually don't mind loading the dishwasher at all, but I despise unloading it.
Biggest kitchen flop: The first meal I ever made Mark was spinach lasagna. It was horrendous, and one of only two meals ever that I have just flat out thrown in the garbage and ordered pizza. The other one was butternut squash ravioli.
One thing you've never made but want to: Lemon meringue pie. It is one of those things that is so scary to me! I'm not really sure why, but I think the meringue part scares me. I hope to try it this year, but knowing full well that I will have to eat the entire thing myself because Mark is not a big fan of lemon.
How have things changed since kids? I wouldn't say I cook less (actually, I cook more!), but I try to do all my prep in the evenings instead of after work. Before I started meal planning in 2014, I found myself spending a good 2 hours of my evenings prepping, cooking and cleaning up instead of focusing on my time with my kids. Now, I do my prep work in the evenings after they go to bed, and I typically spend between 5-30 minutes getting supper on the table instead of an hour or more. My meals have changed drastically, since I now have to think about incorporating some part of the meal to be something that my toddler will eat (i.e. not just a big hunk of steak, baked potato and veggie). We have really broadened our horizons on our menu this year and discovered some truly great new recipes!
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