My Journey To Home-Cooked Meals

As I’m sure all of you guys know, going out to eat instead of cooking meals at home is EXPENSIVE! Even just two people going out to eat 3 times a week (spending an average of $7 per person) adds up to $2,184 a year. But what do you do if you don’t know how to cook?

That was me. When my husband and I first got married almost 10 years ago, I had no idea how to cook. None. At all.

I was so busy with band, choir, tennis, school, and tons of other activities in high school that I just never watched my mom cook. It’s not that I chose not to watch her and learn how to cook, it honestly just never crossed my mind. Then I went to college and, seriously… who cooks in college?

So when I got married the summer after my sophomore year, I was completely clueless.

I still remember my first attempt at a “home-cooked meal”. I had bought one of those box meals that has the rice, spices and sauce in it. All you have to do is add the chicken. So you put the rice/spices in the bottom of a 9×13 pan, pour a specified amount of water in, lay the boneless/skinless chicken breasts on top of the rice, pour the sauce over the chicken, and then bake. Easy enough, right? I cooked it for the right amount of time and it came out looking and smelling wonderful! Ryan and I sat down for dinner and cut into the chicken, only to find that it was still VERY pink through the middle. Oh…. wait…. you’re supposed to THAW the chicken before you put it on the rice??? Yeah, I was clueless. BUT, lesson #1 was learned: thaw meat before you cook it!

One of our wedding presents from my mom was a recipe book with several of the recipes that she had made for us growing up. Several of my favorite recipes (like Homemade Chicken & Dumplings) were in there, so I was excited to try some! I knew exactly what these recipes were supposed to look and taste like, so I felt more confident trying these first (BTW, recipe books without pictures are one of my BIGGEST pet peeves!) There were a few recipes that I got correct right off the bat (like the Hawaiian Chicken) and then some that took me several attempts to master.  But through my trial and error, lesson #2 was learned: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

So at that point I had a few recipes under my belt and I could make a pretty mean spaghetti (i.e. ground meat and Ragu)…. but I was in desperate need of more options. I’m still amazed that I never once thought during my high school/college years, “Hey, it might be a good idea if I learn how to cook BEFORE I get married.” Not once. {sigh}

My next discovery was the Betty Crocker Cooking Basics Cookbook (I have the 1998 version, the one I linked to is the 2008 version). I’m pretty sure we got this as a wedding present, but it didn’t come off the bookshelf until at least year 2 of our marriage. This cookbook has huge, colorful pictures of every recipe, as well as step-by-step instructions for all kinds of basic cooking skills. With the Cooking Basics Cookbook I learned how to broil/grill/pan sear meat, make a glaze, make bread crumbs, cook fish, steam asparagus, make baked potato wedges, okay… I really could go on and on. This cookbook was a lifesaver for me, and I would recommend it to anyone starting out their learning to cook journey. So… to the wonderful lady that got us this cookbook…. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

After going through the Basics Cookbook, I had the confidence to try more things, and even to change some things up (like using different spices from what the recipe called for). These next few years weren’t without error, but it was such a huge learning experience to try different things.

I have definitely learned to enjoy cooking (other than when I’m pregnant), but I am still FAR from a master chef. I watched Julie & Julia a couple of months ago and, oh my… the things that they made were just incredible! I really don’t think I will ever, EVER be at that level. But I love experimenting with different spices and recipes, and I’m no longer fearful of failing.

That is probably the biggest thing that I’ve learned in my cooking journey: it’s okay to fail. It’s okay to fail a lot. But if you keep trying, you will get it and you will be so glad that you didn’t give up!

I am truly so grateful for my mega-gracious husband who has eaten all of my experiments over the past 10 years. He has even eaten things that I wouldn’t eat! As far as I still have to go, I definitely wouldn’t be where I am in the cooking-realm without his support and patience.

So, that’s my journey so far. I still have TONS of things that I want to learn (like canning, sprouting, gardening, and making my own pasta, to name a few) and I look forward to looking back in another ten years and seeing all of the new recipes that I have under my belt!

What’s your cooking story? I would love to hear it!