Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet van Horne

After much hard work and determination, I am actually finding a bit of joy in cooking.  I’ve figured out a few roadblocks that have been in my way.

1.  Hard water – We have horrible hard water and our dishes and utensils never seem to come out looking clean.  It’s hard to get excited about cooking when nothing looks shiny and new.  So, we started adding A LOT of vinegar to our dishwasher and it’s made a ton of difference.  Sure, we go through white vinegar by the gallon, but here’s the before and after.  Amazing.

2.  I have three cats. . .two of which feel like they need to try to eat everything on the table. (Thanks, Autumn, for being so awesome and just eating kitty food.)  I’ve learned to just shut them in the bedroom while I’m cooking.

3.  I have diabetes.  That makes it really hard to cook things that I really want to make.  I’ve been told to eat only protein and veggies. . .what’s the fun of that?  I’m beginning, however, to look at this as more of a challenge.  Eating at home, after all, is a lot better on my blood sugar than eating out.

4.  My daughter hardly eats anything.  No matter what I make, she lives off strawberries, applesauce, Smart Puffs and chocolate milk.  She will “try” almost anything, but takes 1-2 bites and is done.  I can’t even get her to eat more than a half of a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and its her favorite candy! Getting Olivia to eat (and color) are  probably two of my biggest challenges right now.

5.  I don’t like cooking the same things over and over.  I love making NEW recipes.  I don’t think I’ve repeated any recipes this past month!  Thank you, Pinterest.

So, I’m putting together a new cookbook of recipes that I’ve personally tried and Ryan’s approved of. Ha!  I have like a zillion cookbooks and recipes stashed in different places, so I’m condensing them all into one.  And I found the cover of my cookbook:

 

I don’t look anywhere near that domestic in real life, but the little girl is the spitting image of Olivia.  If only Olivia would beg for food like that. 

And, for dinner tonight we had Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken, Onion roasted potatoes, broccoli, strawberries/bananas and 7 Up biscuits. Delicious.  Just click on the links for the recipes.

The potatoes were my favorite.  Super easy and very tasty. 

I will be a cook someday and I will enjoy it!  And if I ever find a recipe where Olivia goes back for seconds. . .I’m going to make it every day!  She may not find joy in eating, but at least she finds joy in wearing her pajama pants as a hat.  LOL!