Cooking Hiatus

So after a short cooking hiatus, I returned last night to the kitchen with vengeance....well sort of.  I decided to make deer cubed steak and baked sweet potatoes.  Then I decided to add Skillet Corn and Fried Okra.  Now before you get all excited for me, the fried okra was out of a bag.  The skillet corn was missing some ingredients but the rest was great!
I only had the cream cheese, red bell pepper, and corn for the skillet corn.  I thought maybe no one would notice if they didn't have green chilies or green onions in the dish.  While I'm sure those 2 items would have made the dish even better, it was edible.  Looking back, I think I am the only one who ate it though.....hmmm.
The frozen fried okra could have been better.  It was a little soggy but who doesn't love something fried with lots of salt?  So it was edible.
All-in-all no one got food poisoning so I call it a Success!

Cutting Vegetables

So this little discovery happened by accident really.  Let me first clarify, this was not my first attempt at cooking with vegetables.  I often flavor dishes with bell pepper, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, etc.  So last night I had bought a ham (fully cooked) and baked it on low with apricot jam smothered on it.  Then I decided to saute some leftover veggies from earlier this week.  I start chopping as I am reading a book (multi-tasking!)  and realize that I am chopping my bell pepper and zuchini into small pieces when I really want them to be chunky as a side to the ham.  So I finish chopping, finish the ham, and sit down to eat.
I taste the veggies, which actually are tasty, yet I notice something.  The ones that are chopped into tiny pieces taste different to me.  The flavor is different or something.  Then I hear my grandmother's voice in my head, "the way you cut your vegetables makes a difference."  Now let me first explain that when a recipe calls for "minced" or "julienned" or whatever else, all my veggies basically get cut the same because I don't know what all those words mean in the cooking sense.  Yet due to a mistake I made in chopping my vegetables, I now understand that it does matter at least in size of the vegetables as to how you are cooking them.
Another new discovery in the kitchen!  What have you discovered lately?

RECIPE CONTEST WINNER

Thank you to the few of you who submitted recipes.  With my lack of skills, I was hoping to be bombarded with recipes to try but the few I got sound fabulous.  So to pick a winner, here is the criteria I used (remember I have no skills) --
1.  Sounds easy enough
2.  Ingredients are typical items I would have on hand or that we eat
3.  No tree nuts or peanuts as my daughter is allergic
4.  Requires one cooking method (not cooking part in one pot then more in another pot then combining to a 3rd pot!)
5.  Sounds like something my family would eat.

So now that I have established the Criteria......... The Winner is           ROB RHEW!!!!  His Veggie Soup recipe sounds super easy, requires basically one pot, and is something I think even my daughter would eat!  So congrats to Rob who wins.........$10 gift card to Lowes!  I had to revise my prize a little since a man won!  Hope you enjoy, Rob!  It will be in the mail later this week!
And thanks to Becky and Sarah for the great recipes!  I can't wait to try them all!

New Recipes

So lately I have been checking out some new recipes from all kinds of cookbooks in my possession.  I have tried to use items in my refrigerator or pantry with the hope of finding some new things my family will like.  Unfortunately I have not succeeded in finding new items that they would like to have again.
I feel like my menus often feel redundant and I feel in a rut sometimes.  I love to look through cookbooks and my mother-in-law actually gave me some of hers yesterday to add to my collection!  I can't wait to sit and go through them all!
Ultimately I would like to eat healthier but darn it, healthier is not always tastier!  So I want your help!  Give me some of your BEST recipes.  I want to know what your recipe your family turns to the most.  Help me to expand my horizons!  Oh -- I like simple and quick recipes the most but you may sway me if you can convince me that your recipe is yummy!
To make this really fun, how would you like to make this into a Contest?  Yay!  So the best recipe wins and you have to submit the Entire Recipe -- not just the name!  Winner will be announced on Monday, September 12th at noon (EST).  Winner will receive ----- it's a Surprise!!!  I can't wait to read all your recipes!