My Quest To Become Domestic

So my great friend Kim sent me an email this afternoon in response to my last blog post. I think she had some wonderful ideas and I'm tickled pink that she took the time too respond. So I though if there are any of you who have decided to join me on their own journey to being domestic divaness, then maybe these tips will come in handy. Thanks a bunch Kim, I can't wait to order the cookbooks.



I'm sorry that it's taken me awhile to respond to your post on your blog. I've been meaning to get back to you. So a few things about cooking etc. that I have learned.


1. You can't go wrong following the recipe. I LOVE trying new recipes. My husband and myself always get a little nervous when I'm prepping something new. Is it going to be a cereal night???? I can honestly say I don't think that I've made a new recipe that we haven't liked


2. So where do I get my new recipes from. I have the cookbook FAVORITES. It is to DIE FOR!!! Now, I don't talk to many things up but I have bought this cookbook for about every woman in my life because it is just that good. No pictures in the book (which I'm totally opposed too), but I haven't made anything bad from here. The recipes are pretty simple too. So this cookbook is purchased through the Make a Wish foundation in Utah. Here is the link to purchase it http://www.utah.wish.org/2009/09/09/favorites-ivory-family-cookbook/


3. I also love the Martha Stewart Everyday Food monthly magazine. https://martha.zt01.net/EF/1/ef_google/landing/ef_google.php?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=martha_food&utm_campaign=Everyday_Food&utm_content=EF_10_@_$12_no_premium&gclid=CM-i55Wfi6ACFRFbagodWgTJdQ
I know you probably think oh great Martha, these recipes are going to be hard; but no. They are actually very simple and basic and sometimes get me to try new things.


4. So besides these books and some favorite casseroles. I try to keep it simple in my kitchen. With each dish I do either brown rice, cous cous, whole grain pasta, or sweet potato. Some type of meat, shrimp, or fish. my favorite thing to do is to marinate chicken in salad dressings (Ranch, Italian, Catalina, Caesar) and then grill it up. Then lots of veggies.....my favorite new way to cook up our vegetable is roasting. I used to be a big fan of steaming, but roasting is yummy too.


5. Weekly Meal Plan-HUGE!!! I almost forgot this and I would say this is my biggest factor of having success in the kitchen. I don't do good pulling dinner together on a whim when it's 4 pm and I'm hungry and Allie's hungry throwing a fit in the kitchen. So on Sundays I sit down and figure out what produce is on sale and make up my shopping list for the week and then make a menu for the week. THIS IS HUGE like I said. I've done it before where I have a "pasta night-Tuesday", "mexican night-Wednesday", "pizza night-Friday" etc. then you can try different dishes every week and it helps with planning.


So, sorry to talk your ear off. Take it for what it's worth. You are an awesome house diva right now! I know that as we set goals and learn new things we will grow and I'm all about that. Put in some hard work to learn new things and you will get rewarded.

And so with those great ideas and wonderful words of encouragement, I decided to tackle these tonight with the girls. Skipped eating dinner so I could enjoy the reward. Yummy!