Let the Chanting Begin...This Time I'm Ready!

Do you cringe when you realize its 4:30 (or 6:30, or 8:30...) and you have no idea what to serve for dinner? This blog grew out of my goal to learn to make Egg Drop Soup which led to my compulsively taking pictures of my food to post on my diary blog. One day, while I was waiting for my husband to open a jar of tomatoes for me with a pipe wrench, feeling a little stressed because I wasn't quite sure what I was concocting, but knowing I needed to put something on the table and it was already nearly 8pm. I like to cook, but only if I know what I'm making, have everything I need, and have some relative peace and quiet...

I decided I have got to get some kind of system going. I'm something of an artist. I love to draw, sing, play musical instruments, and carry out spontaneous, fun activities with my kids. Needless to say, boring things like dinner menus don't work for me. They get thrown out the window because by the time Monday rolls around, I've already eaten the cheese that goes with the lasagna, and I don't feel like having lasagna anyway. Besides, there are so many more interesting things to be doing than fumbling around in a fridge trying to make something delicious.

Lest I become Jeannette Walls mother from the Glass Castle, something had to change. I needed a visual, creative place I could go scan through various ideas of various meals made with ingredients that are readily available, and decide what I feel like today, and have it ready before bedtime! Better yet if it can be something inexpensive, delicious, healthy and earth-friendly, and something every member of my family would happily eat. I didn't believe it was too much to ask, so I set out on an experiment-this site.

I recruited my super organized friend MommyK to bring her expertise in coercing toddlers to eat (organic) veggies and whole grains, her taste for sophisticated "grown up" food, and the fact that she has a toddler and a baby to work around in the kitchen to add to my crazy "throw in a little chili powder" methods that at one time won me a State Fair ribbon. We are testing our recipes on our meat an' potatoes husbands and our spirited children-not an easy feat as we each have a two-year-old.

So, let the "What's for Dinner" chanting begin...this time I'm ready, and its gonna be delicious! We will be posting new meals we have made for our families, and how they went over as well as tried and true recipes, inexpensive meals, cook once-eat twice meals, and our discoveries in shopping for & feeding our families with healthy foods. I hope this site is as delectable to you as I know it will be for me!