I'm No June Cleaver

After dinner last night M. and I sat down on the couch to enjoy a little TV time. Obviously I watched bits and pieces of the Bachelorette, but for some reason Ali bothers me…maybe it’s the fact that I can’t stand the way she laughs or maybe it’s her dark roots showing up against her dyed blonde hair – either way, I just am not really a fan. I realize I am probably in the minority here….but I digress…

Either way, during our TV watching I spent a little time organizing my recipe binder. M. made a joke that I actually spend more time organizing and adding to my recipe binder than actually cooking. Valid point, M., valid point.

I really don’t cook that much although I would love to be a better cook. Seems like a crazy statement, huh?! How will I ever learn to be a better cook if I don’t practice regularly? In the months leading up to the wedding I was really a slacker. We were watching what we ate so we stuck to easy dishes like grilled chicken with rice, or chicken and vegetables. Turns out that since I was the one at work during the days (M. was studying for the bar exam) M. usually ended up taking the chicken out to thaw, trimming the chicken, marinating the chicken and then grilling it or putting it in the rotisserie. Maybe, just maybe I would come home in the evenings and prepare a vegetable or two…but even that was a stretch.

While living in my college sorority house, one of my “sisters” proclaimed (as though she were a five year old) that when she grew up she either wanted to be a politician or a politician’s wife. Her statement has always made me laugh and the fact that she flitted around the sorority house as if she were a 50’s housewife made me laugh even more.

Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to be a “housewife,” and for some people being a homemaker is their calling. I’ve never felt like the “housewife” type, but of course, like most women, I have the desire to (someday) have children, have a nice home, be creative and resourceful and provide good meals for my husband…all the while looking my best and completely avoiding any unnecessary stress. WOW -- maybe I am more of the "housewife" type than I thought.

It’s just that when we’re really watching what we’re eating we tend to eat meals more on the “simple” side which involve very little prep work and never have a preparation time that would require me to put on a frilly apron to get the job done.

I mentioned this “idea” a LONG time ago on my blog and it most certainly failed with the madness of getting ready for the wedding. Now that the wedding is over it’s my job to start making my home more of a home. I’m not saying that I’m going to go all out and try to be June Cleaver, homemade pie cooling on the window sill, freshly vacuumed carpet everyday, hand your man the paper and a drink when he gets in type of wife, but I really am going to try to stick with this “idea” this time.

So the idea you ask?! I’m going to actually USE my recipe binder (get excited M.!) and on Sunday evenings I am going to cook up a storm…or at least a little maybe generate a light drizzle in the kitchen. I’ll cook a new recipe from my collection every Sunday evening which will not only save us a little bit of money (the weekends are when we go out to eat), but maybe I will learn a thing or two in the kitchen. M. can only hope!

Yes, I’ve made this “promise” before, but this time I really mean it!! I also promise to let you know how the “cooking adventures” go and I’ll let the blog hold me accountable for these Sunday night meals…if I fail miserably I suppose I can always kick up my high heels, take off my pearl necklace and catch up on some episodes of Leave it to Beaver. ;)