GOOD EATS!

As most of you already know, one of my favorite things is great food. I love to cook, I love to bake, and of course I love to eat!  My good friends affectionately refer to me as...Martha (I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing!).  I am definitely a sucker for a great new recipe and I get this honestly.  My mom is an awesome cook, my grandpa was a baker, and my great-grandma made macaroni and cheese that I would probably fight someone for.  I remember when I was younger and my girlfriends would come over. My mom would make biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, waffles, and of course slushy orange juice all for one meal...in her bathrobe...with at least four pies in the oven!  I do not by any means have even a fraction of the talent of my mom or my grandma..  They had that "let's just whip something up" attitude.  My mom is able to just throw a dinner together based on what she has in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.  I am a recipe follower, I am always at the grocery store, and I have had my fair share of kitchen disasters!

When I first met Brian I was trying to make a pot roast.  I tried to sear the pot roast in a pan before putting it in the crock pot. I was able to successfully singe the pot roast to the bottom of the "non-stick" pan which adhered itself to the coiled burner in the stove.  As I tried to pull the pot roast out I ended up with the roast, pan, and coiled burner which pulled out of the stove all in one piece.  So of course my solution is to carry the entire unit across the kitchen, through the french doors, and throw it in the yard.  I'm sure most of you can already see it coming but halfway across the kitchen the coiled burner released from the pot landing on the linoleum floor.  I then proceeded to kick the burner across the floor and out the door in hopes of preventing a giant burn hole in the floor.  We ended up going our for dinner and eventually laying slate tile (ourselves) in the kitchen!  Now I have learned that the roast tastes the same seared or not.  I just put it straight into the crock pot.  These are some tips I will pass along...all things that I have learned the hard way!

Between Brian and I,  he is the "we'll just add a little of this" person and I am the recipe follower.  His mom is also an amazing cook.  She introduced me to cast iron...and I'm definitely still learning.  Brian is the king of smoking meat, coming up with amazing marinades, cooking over an open fire, using a dutch oven, and making amazing soups.  Most of his recipes will take a little more time and we usually try those on a weekend off. I'll try to include step by step pictures with his recipes...they can be a bit tricky.

There are few things to know about the recipe section of the blog:

1.  I will only post recipes that I have actually made.  Not to say that I am a better cook that anyone else but I want to be able to give the accurate times necessary to make the dish.  I get so flustered when I read a recipe and it says prep time 5 minutes and cook time 20 minutes then I look down to see a pepper, onion, carrots, and celery that need to be chopped and cheese that needs to be grated.  It seems like it takes me twice the amount of time to get things ready by the time I turn the music on, answer the phone once or twice, and unload the dishwasher because I realize everything I need is in there.

2.  I believe in giving credit where credit is due.  I will always let you know where the recipe came from.  It may not be the original source...but it's my source.

3.  Unfortunately, I won't post any secret family recipes.  All of the recipes will be new...or at least new to us!  We like to reserve the family recipes for Christmas and Thanksgiving and they are best made by the moms.  

I'm excited to pass on only the successful recipes we have tried!  If you have any great recipes that are always crowd pleasers send them my way... I would love to try them out and pass them along for others!  Have a great weekend and a great Superbowl Sunday!  Check out the recipe sections for some great appetizers for a Superbowl party.