Adventures in Cooking

I have always been very open about the fact that I can't cook. Baking I can do- I enjoy it even; but cooking? No thanks. The most common response I get to not being able to cook anything that doesn't come in a box is "Can't you read directions?" Well yes... yes, I can but cooking decent meals has still somehow eluded me. Now that I'm home full time part of my "job" is cooking. It is going surprisingly well! I am shocked. So far I've made homemade chicken noodle soup (which turned out mediocre- but for me, that's a miracle!) and pepper jack and chicken quesodillas (hard to screw up and apparently turned out delicious according to my cheese-loving husband). Last night I tried making dinner with (EEK!) no recipe. It was lemon rosemary chicken, garlic green beans with roasted red peppers and garlic and herb rice (the rice was courtesy of a box). Surprisingly, it was really good! A jar of minced garlic is my new best friend. With my new found confidence, I'm attempting a pot roast for tonight. I got up this morning and tossed everything into the crock pot... fingers crossed.

I'm finding that I'm actually really enjoying cooking (for the first time ever!). My husband tells me at least twice a day how happy he is to have me home full time. That helps. He's so encouraging and I love getting to not only spend the day with our awesome kid, but getting to take care of this wonderful man who has taken such good care of me. I find myself thinking a lot about the Proverbs 31 woman and really striving towards being more like her. I am so thankful for this wonderful life I ended up with. It feels like a world away from the place I was at in my life 5 years ago. Even though I still struggle with forgiveness, I am so thankful for the tough years I went through that brought me Benjamin, brought me here. Those times have made me so appreciative of where I am now. Living in a home that overflowing with so much love and so much laughter makes my heart feel like it's going to explode in such a good way. God is so good.