Welcome to my Food Blog

My husband and sister-in-law have been trying to talk me into doing a food blog for sometime now.  I don't consider myself an extraordinary cook, but some may say otherwise.  I definitely love to cook, and I enjoy hunting down new recipes to try (my husband calls me a recipe sleuth), as well as trying to improve on old, favorite recipes.

I come from a family of great home cooks.  Growing up, my Grandma would always have a big family lunch every Sunday after church.  It was good 'ol fashioned, Southern home cooking, such as fried pork chops and fried chicken with all the fixings.  My Grandma is now 97 years old and her vision isn't good so she can longer cook, so sometimes I will take her over some of my food.  I feel it's a token of gratitude for all the wonderful meals she made me all those years.  My Mom was also a great influence.  She cooked dinner for us every single night.  She wasn't able to experiment with many new recipes or foods because my family had a couple of very picky eaters.  When I was 19, my mom passed away from cancer, so I had to step up and take care of my Dad and brother.  That was when I started to cook.  At first, it was quick, easy meals like Hamburger Helper.  It was all I really knew how to do.  Now, 17 years later, my culinary skills have greatly improved, and now I will very rarely make anything out of a box.  I think fresh ingredients are key.  I am not a "health nut" by any means, but fresh food just taste better and is better for you.

My husband and I are just an ordinary couple who have busy lives, just like everyone else.  We enjoy cooking together, and we are always trying to improve on our cooking skills with every new recipe we try.  Some of meals we prepare are quick and easy, while other are more involved, which we usually save for the weekend.  We don't have a big, fancy kitchen (it's actually pretty small because we are always bumping into each other when we're cooking) or a lot of fancy cooking tools.  Those things don't make you a good cook.  All you need is a willingness to try new foods and recipes and not be afraid of messing up every now and then.  Everything we make doesn't always turn out great, but we learn from our mistakes and keep going.

So this blog will be written for people like me, an average person in the real world.  I'm hoping that I can pass along some yummy recipes, helpful tips and meal planning ideas with this blog.  Enjoy!