Meatloaf Mama

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not the greatest at the homemaking kind of stuff. Growing up, we basically ate out every night. Which was fine by me. I love my mom to death but we girls did not come equipped with all the homemaking skills other women seem to have. In seventh grade I got a "C" in Home Ec but an "A" in Shop. Go figure. I had to sew a pair of shorts and I ended up sewing them backwards and the teacher used them as an example of "what not to do". So I have had a dislike towards cooking and sewing since the beginning. But with it being a new year and all, I decided this would be the year I figured out how to cook. For the first three years of our marriage, Justin and I ate out a lot or just ate cereal or popcorn for dinner. I know, I'm pathetic but a lot of it had to do with his schedule. He was always home late and I'm not going to cook a big whole meal! Needless to say, I'm finally getting around to this after a couple of failed attempts. I was going to be the next "Rachel Ray" the summer I had Easton. I was on maternity leave for three months and it was the perfect opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Yeah...that never happened. Then I decided to try that "Girlfriend's Kitchen" where everything is pre-packaged and you just freeze it and then throw it in the oven when you are ready. Yeah...we ended up eating one of the ten meals and the rest had freezer burn.



But I am committed to it this year. Mainly for budget reasons and because I need to know I can make something! But my break into cooking started out a little rocky. I've heard everyone brag about the crockpot and how simple it is. I thought I could throw some stuff in there and "presto", I've got a wonderful home-cooked meal. Yeah...it didn't turn out that way. I first tried to make a meatloaf. After 10 hours it was a really weird color and we didn't dare try it. Down the drain it went. My second attempt was chicken noodle soup. I thought I had done pretty good until I went to serve it and all the noodles had dissolved. Turns out I had bought the wrong kind of noodles. Down the drain it went. My third time was a chicken casserole or something like that. I went shopping with Jill and Justin called me two hours later and asked if the lid should be on the crock pot. I about lost it. Who forgets to put the lid on the crockpot! So I was pretty down because I thought I have failed as a wife because I can't even cook a meal for my starving husband. But then last week, I decided to ditch the crockpot and just start using the oven. I made a manicotti that turned out almost as good as my mom's. But my crowning achievement came last night when I made a kick-butt meatloaf. Look out Rachel Ray! So, I am on my way. Granted it has taken me this long to get it together but I feel that I have a had a breakthrough. Which is really good because I hate to cook! The cleaning part I will do in a heartbeat. Thanks Dixie for teaching me how to clean! So if any of you have really simple recipe (and I am stressing "simple") I would love to get my hands on them. I am feeling a little more confident in the kitchen! It is time to redeem that "C" in Home Ec!