Operation: Feed The Family

As you have heard me mention before, I am learning my way through domestication. So, on that note, I wouldn't say that I'm NOT a good cook because I never really cook. And I guess I couldn't say I'm an awesome cook because I never really cook. My idea when Clint says "What's for dinner, honey?" is a bowl of cereal or take-out. My brain is so not in that track of actually cooking anything that me slaving over a stove is never even a thought. My poor husband is usually in charge of the kitchen because he is an awesome cook! But I've decided that I need to step up my domestic game and put "Operation: Feed the Family" into action.

On a girl's trip to Salado, while Colleen was roping in the girl's roping, Beth and I decided we would check out the shops in downtown. In one of the stores, I found "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". I have wanted to buy this book for so long but just never pulled the trigger. So I figured, what the hell, this is a "me" trip and I bought it.

Let me tell you one thing, this is my kind of cook book! The ingredients are things that we ACTUALLY eat, not weird, hard to pronounce food that I wouldn't even know what isle to look down in the grocery store for the ingredients. The recipes are simple, and I need all the simple I can get. And they are delicious! And for me to make something and it be edible is like winning a gold medal. I made the chicken spaghetti and it was definitely a hit. Clint loved it. Blaze kept eating off my plate. I was so happy and puffed up my chest a little bit. I don't think y'all understand how deprived of a good wife and mother my family has been in the kitchen, but it was bad.

I didn't take pictures or step by step instructions because I believe that The Pioneer Woman does such a good job of it that I didn't want to insult her by trying to do my own, but I made Chicken Spaghetti from her cook book. The next week I made chicken fried steak, creamy mashed potatoes, and peach crisp with maple sauce. All fabulous! The next week I made Cajun Chicken Pasta and it was out of this world good! And today I am trying a pot roast.

Have you ever seen the movie "Ratatouille"? You know the part where Chef says "Anybody can cook!" For the longest time I giggled at that part because I always inserted my own caption, "anybody but Kaci!" But Chef, you are right! Anyone can cook!

If you are starting out like me and have no idea what the first step in making mashed potatoes are, I encourage you to pick up "The Pioneer Woman Cooks". It's fabulous and beautiful and so much more than a cookbook.

Happy cooking!
-Kaci