Our Computer Broke!

Our home computer broke. The hard drive failed - thankfully only 2 picture folders (that we know of) were corrupted. Bummer, though.

With that said, we're getting a Mac in the mail on Tuesday probably. I'm hoping that the it has some cool programs that will help me with organization.

I've fiddled around with a couple of recipes. I made shrimp soup the other night and while the recipe called for chicken stock or water, I used cream of shrimp soup with some milk, and also added old bay seasoning! And it actually was good! I never do that, but the fact that it was good was definitely a confidence booster for me. Maybe I do have some of my parent's talent for cooking.

I'm still brainstorming about my recipe book, though. Maybe I'll head to Office Max to get some good ideas. Or surf the internet some (wait, surf the internet? Do people even say that anymore?).

A Little Comedy

I was just re-reading my last post, the parts where I'm probably going to have recipes more than once/in different sections and I thought about a funny Friends episode where Monica is searching through her wedding planning book that she created when she was growing up. The venues, bands, cakes, and flowers were labeled, cross-referenced, and color coated according to their themes and how they related to one another. Maybe one day I'll be that organized, but by that time I may be on the verge of OCD.

It does sound tempting to do, though...

Ok wait, maybe I am on the verge of OCD.

Upcoming Goals

I thought of something cool in the shower the other night. I'm going to work hard to compile cheap, quick recipes that Mark and I like in a recipe book (with sheet protectors). I'll probably use a 3 ring binder so when I print out recipes I can stick them right in the binder. If they are in cookbooks, I usually type them out and print them out.

My goals for my meals:

Prep in 30 minutes
Bake for however long I need to that evening.
Cheap (Under $10 for my family)

My goals for my recipes will tell:
how many servings it makes,
what season it would be best in,
how much prep and also cooking/baking time it takes.

I might print out a couple of copies of each recipe because sometimes one meal may fall under other categories. For instance, I want to know which of my recipes are good for Sunday meals - those I can either stick in the crock pot in the morning, bake while I'm at church, or get it on the table in 30 minutes from getting back home. Most of those meals will be fine for using at other times, too.

My "tabs" will include at least these:
Basketball game nights (or evenings when we have to get out the door quick)
Sunday Dinner
Large get-togethers
A log of my own recipes (what I tried, what I liked/didn't like, mistakes I made, etc)
Crock Pot Meals
Quick Sides

Also, I want to experiment with recipes more. I think I've been cooking long enough that I don't have to stick to recipes like I've been doing. Maybe I'll do one recipe every month where I don't use one at all. (Of course I'll have some spaghetti on standby if something terrible happens!). It's time to leave my comfort zone, lay down my pride, and get to making some good creations.

Something that's annoying me is that I have a tendency to let food go bad because I don't have the creativity to use it in something. Celery, Carrots, Green Peppers, Lettuce, Green Onions are a few of the vegetables I often let go bad. I want to figure out ways to use them up so I don't waste money.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

~Rebecca